Graze Seriously Spicy Sriracha with chilli and garlic

In my Boots meal deal I got this week, I decided to try another one of the Graze punnets. I'm trying to make my snack in the deal savoury rather than sweet at the moment and these looked pretty appealing. It's a mix of peas and half popped corn coated in a spicy thai coating and jumbo crunchy corn pieces as well.

It's a nice little punnet that is just the right size for when you fancy something but aren't really that hungry and at 118 calories, nothing too heavy. When they say seriously spicy, they actually deliver on this. For a snack it is fairly fiery, which I loved with a really moreish chilli hint with lots of powerful flavours of paprika, garlic and chilli. It never gets too hot but keeps building giving your tongue a sligthty nice hot feeling.

All the pieces are nice and crunchy but also feel quite light even though they are satisfying to bite down on. The salted corn pieces pop delightfully in the mouth and the spicy peas are crunchy making for a nice mix of textures, which works well with the spicy taste. It's got the right level of saltiness with a moreish savoury quality that make them really enjoyable. It's probably one of my favourite savoury Graze boxes (although they're all pretty good) and one I'd have again.

Price: £1.29
Nutrition per punnet: 118 calories, 4.2g fat, 1.2g sat fat, 1.5g sugars, 0.4g salt

Score: 8/10

Pret Protein Packed Superbowl

Expensive as it is, I do like to treat myself to a Pret now and then and like the fact they are first with new trends and offer genuinely healthy lunches on the go. The new protein packed superbowl caught my eye today as I was in need of a less carby lunch following a carb heavy breakfast and this ticked the box nicely.

It's all simple real food. Chargrilled chicken and egg form the protein basis and it's on a bed of lentils and quinoa - both pulses known for being good vegetarian protein as well as low GI. Chuck in some healthy fats from avocado, superfood spinach and then parsley, peas and lemon juice for flavour and a seed mix for crunch and extra protein and you've got a rock solid nutritional lunch right there.

Is it the most exciting taste ever? No, it is as you expect simple wholefoods but they do all taste great and complement each other nicely if not setting your taste buds nicely. What I like about Pret is that it tastes fresh. The avocado is firm but ripe and very creamy rather than mushy, the leaves aren't wilted but perky and crisp and the chicken in particular is very flavoursome and tender rather than the nasty stuff you get in cheap pre-packed salads.

It's just a good tasting healthy lunch and it really kept me going. I also bought a bag of kale crisps from there and this tided me over until dinner time with no need to snack. I can't afford to spend £5 on a salad every day but it was a good fit for me today.

Price: £4.99

Bought at: Pret A Manger

Nutrition per bowl: 411 calories, 16.9g fat, 3.9g sat fat, 3.6g sugars, 32.7g protein, 1.3g salt

Score: 7.3

Moma Super Seeds Porridge

After enjoying the coconut and chia Moma porridge pot and having an early morning where I had no access to a microwave for my usual porridge, I thought I'd give another one a go - this time the superseeds. This one does contain dairy and is your normal porridge but also has no added sugar and actually because of the dairy you get more protein in it as well. As well as being high in protein, it's also a really source of fibre and we all know about oats and their cholesterol lowering function. A nice touch about this one as well is that it's gluten free.

In addition to gluten free oats and skimmed milk powder, it contains pumpkin seeds, linseed and chia seeds. This adds a nice textural contrast to the creamy, soft porridge and adds a little flavour. It's super simple to make, just pour in boiling water to the line, stir and wait five minutes so very convenient if you don't have access to a microwave or hob but still want porridge.

Having dairy in this one, I think makes it an improvement over the coconut milk one as it means the texture is much more rich and creamy. It also feels more filling, I guess because the milk adds necessary and protein. This plus a banana and a latte kept me suitably full until lunch.

Again, I prefer to make my own porridge and this isn't cost effective but it's probably the best and most nutritious porridge pot I've found.

Price: £1.29
Bought at: Ocado
Nutrition per pot: 254 calories, 4.3g fat, 0.8g sat fat, 9.9g sugars, 5.4g fibre, 14.4g protein, 0.4g salt

Bounce Protein Energy Bites Cacao and Orange

I've reviewed plenty of the bounce balls before and I am a big fan of them even if they are expensive. I just find them a really convenient post or pre exercise calorie dense ball and I love their ridiculously chewy, heavy and close texture. They're feel satisfying and a good source of protein. They've now expanded into a range of snacking bags called bounce bites - available in three flavours: coconut and cranberry, sweet and salty almond and these cacao and orange ones.

The principle is sound -take an existing product and make mini bites of it in a sharing bag - it's something that seems to work for Cadbury and chocolate and cakes so why not for healthier snacks too. This 90g sharing bag has a recommended 3 x 30g servings and nutritionally they're pretty good with each serving giving you 6.6g protein, 7.4g sugars and 129 calories and apparently a good mix of fat, protein and carbs. There's no refined sugar and is made up of your usual cashews, whey protein, dried fruit and seeds etc.

I was expecting little mini versions of bounce balls so was surprised by the flat disc shapes of the bites, which were uniform in shape rather than the squashed irregular shape of Bounce Balls. Biting into my first one I have to admit these are a bit of a disappointment and not as good as bounce balls. The taste is right and I get the cacao and orange - although worth noting this is a healthier wholefoods chocolatey orangey taste rather than a treat version. The taste is actually pretty good but the texture is all wrong.

Rather than the dense fudginess and chewiness of Bounce balls these are dry and kind of dusty tasting and a little tough. I'm also a little confused by the size of the bag, 90g is too much but then the serving sizes are quite small and 129 calories and 6.6g protein is less than a standard bounce  balls so not as good after exercise. A sharing bag also seems odd for a food I associate with after the gym. I think I'd just rather have a bounce ball.

Price: £2.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 30g: 129 calories, 6.3g fat, 2g sat fat, 7.4g sugars, 6.6g protein

Marks and Spencer Cajun Spiced Plantain Crisps

So summer is definitely off the cards now and M&S is fully gearing up for winter treats but that means discounted M&S summer goodies! I found a couple of bits and bobs from the Spirit of Summer range discounted in my local M&S so I'm afraid there are still more summer related M&S products for me to try and review. It's a good chance for me to try things that I liked the look of but that just didn't excite me as much as some of the other products and so got overlooked.

I managed to get a bag of these cajun spiced plantain crisps for just £1 - bargain. Well bargainish as it's only a 100g and you could quite easily eat this pack in a single sitting because they are just delicious. I was slightly wary that these are crisps made of plantain, which is a member of the banana family so was a bit worried they might be a) sweet or b) more akin in texture to the banana chips you get in health food shops.

However, I needn't have worried because these are deliciously savoury. Emptying a few out, all my pieces were nice and large and intact with no broken crumbs like you sometimes get in badly transported crisps. The pieces were a mix of long strips and coins, which do resemble banana. However, texture wise, plantain is similar to a sweet potato crisp but less sweet with a nice crunch. Texture wise they are slightly different to potato crisps with a a nice thin crisp that isn't greasy but that feels satisfying  and light.

They are unbelievably moreish and addictive. As soon as I ate my first one I knew I'd have trouble stopping. Plantain crisps actually work really well but its the cajun spicing that is addictive. A heady mix of garlic, cumin, fennel, cayenne pepper, tomato and onion - it's smoky, deep, slightly sweet, tangy and really rather powerful. It's not spicy but the taste is impactful and it lingers in your mouth long after you've eaten it.

These were utterly wonderful and I'm a bit annoyed I only bought the one bag as had I known how delicious they are, I would have stocked up. On a final note, they are also suitable for vegans as well as vegetarians and the ingredients list is simply plantain, sunflower oil and then salt  flavourings and spices with a coating of rice flour. Too good just for summer, I hope these may make an appearance again next year!

Price: £1 (reduced)
Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Nutrition per 25g serving: 130 calories, 8g fat, 0.9g sat fat, 1.4g sugars, 0.13g salt

Score: 8/5/10

Aldi Domio Blueberry Yogurt

After being really rather impressed by the passion fruit Danio yogurt copycat by Aldi, I decided to give the blueberryone a whirl as well. I've made no secret that when it comes to yogurt I like high protein ones that super thick and the Aldi Domio yogurts do just this with a high protein content and a thickness that stands up to my 'hold a spoon upright unsupported' test.

Blueberry is also my favourite fruit and a favourite yogurt flavour of mine. Something about tart, plain yogurt and its creaminess just complements the sweetness of berries.  Now this is more of a jammy compote at the bottom so does have some added sugar and it is quite sweet and sticky but I fully expected this as that is what you get with Danio yogurts.

Once again this fully delivers and in my opinion is probably just as good the brand. The top is wonderfully creamy and also a dense but mousse like airiness that makes it feel indulgent and more a dessert than a yogurt. The blueberry compote is sweet but not overly so and when eating with the creamy yogurt almost tastes like a cheesecake without the base. There were also lots of whole bits of blueberry in there as well, which held their shape rather than disintegrating.

At 39p a pot and with a high protein content and fat free, I am fully sold on these yogurts. They taste great and whilst the sugar is a little high, you can always choose to leave some of the compote rather than mix it all in. These are likely to become a regular evening snack for me

Price: £0.39
Bought at: Aldi
Nutrition per pot: <0.5g fat, <0.1g sat fat, 16 sugars, 0.12g salt

Score: 8/10

Marks and Spencer Moroccan Spiced Butternut Salad with a roasted carrot dip

This was an easy choice for lunch as soon as I clocked eyes on it. Just look how attractive it is – the bright colours, the mix of textures, lots of big chunks of vegetables and lots of Middle Eastern flavours and spices for a big punch of flavours. This is exactly the type of healthy, convenient product I love – based on lots of vegetables (with this containing 2 of your five a day) and lots of interesting tastes rather than just salad leaves.

To list every ingredient and component of this would take a while because there is so much in it but it essentially breaks down into a couscous with a Moroccan style dressing, a generous helping of soft and creamy tasting carrot dip and large chunks of roasted and spiced butternut squash. That’s not to say there isn’t a whole load more going on as there’s onion, peppers, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, quinoa, spinach and dried apricot as well.

What works so well about this is that individually each component is delicious but also they also work together so you can eat the bits separately or mix them together. It’s really hard to pick what my favourite part is – maybe the roasted butternut squash –it’s soft but firm with a lovely earthy smokiness from cumin and paprika that complements its sweetness. But then the roasted carrot dip is delicious – I would buy a pot of this just by itself as a houmous replacement, its sweet and savoury and has a really thick luscious texture.

And that’s not to say I wouldn’t eat the couscous by itself either – with garlic, chilli and more lightly spiced Moroccan flavours, it’s fragrant and packs a real flavour punch with is accentuated by the mish mash of different textures, bites and flavours studded throughout.

The portion size is exactly right and made a great healthy lunch. Suitable for vegetarians, it’s certainly more interesting than a tuna nicoise or Caesar salad!

Bought at: Marks and Spencer

Nutrition per pack:

Score: 8/10