Review- The Grown Up Chocolate Company NEW White Chocolate Praline Wonder Bar

I have heard a lot about The Grown Up Chocolate Company but have never managed to get my hands on any.. That was until I visited the lovely, Snape Maltings in Suffolk which had a smorgasbord of their bars! 

I picked up the NEW White Chocolate Praline Wonder Bar for £1.99 - Very pricey for only 65g of chocolate! 

Caramelised wafer praline topped with creamy white chocolate fudge and biscuit pearls all encased in smooth white chocolate. A true Wonder Bar! 

Boy, did this smell sweet! It was a bit like a Milky Bar, biscuit concoction. The texture was a little odd - It had a very soft bite due to the fudge which did melt in the mouth but the biscuit balls were crunchy and the wafer had a gritty feel once chewed. Taste wise, it was as ridiculously sweet as expected.. Throat burningly so, unfortunately. A caramel flavour did come through as well as it being nutty from the praline but everything was completely overpowered by the condensed milk plus added sugar flavour, thanks to the white chocolate and fudge. I couldn't really distinguish the biscuits but I'm guessing they were mainly just sweet as well - Not one for me, sadly! 

Overall, I think this one might be best left to the real, pure sugar fanatics.. Who clearly have a proclivity for expensive dental work. I wasn't particularly impressed by the quality of the white chocolate - As much as I like Milky Bars, I don't expect or want a "premium" chocolate bar to taste like it, especially with all the other sweet elements going on! There are lots of other bars including the Glorious Coconut Hocus Pocus that I will be reviewing, in the not to distant future and the Lovely Fruit Nutty Crunchy which I have sent, the gorgeous, @NibsnScribs' way so go badger her for a review if peanutty things are up your street! Its a 1.5 out of 5 for this cavity inducing treat! 

Review- Quaker Oats NEW Warm & Crunchy Oat Clusters: Golden Crunch and Cranberry & Apple

You can't beat a bowl of steaming porridge, come a chilly Winter morning. That is why it makes perfect sense for Quaker Oats to release their NEW Warm & Crunchy Oat Clusters, straight bang in the middle of Summer - Clearly, a well thought out decision on their behalf. I picked up 2 different flavours in Asda thinking they were on offer.. Turns out, they were £2.99 each. 

I went for the Golden Crunch and Cranberry & Apple flavours. Each box contained 8, 48g sachets which were made of 100% whole grains to help lower cholesterol as well as being naturally high in fibre. 

Golden Crunch 

As instructed, I emptied the contents of the sachet into a microwavable bowl, measured out 60ml of milk by filling up to the line, poured it into the bowl and microwaved on full power for 30 seconds. 

This is what I was presented with! No, that is not a giant size bowl - You really do get that little of a portion! It had a very strange texture, being a lot like a very sloppy Ready Brek with hard, nobbly clusters swimming in it. It was like the milk had been absorbed by only some of the cereal to produce some sort of mushy yet crunchy mixture. It had a very creamy flavour even though, I only used skimmed milk when preparing. The oaty taste was very nice and went perfectly with a fairly subtle, golden syrup taste - I am glad it wasn't overly sweet or had that horrible metallic flavour! 

Cranberry & Apple

Once again, I followed the instructions as written above. I found 30 seconds in the microwave to be the perfect length of time to produce a warm, but by no means hot, brekkie. 

I looked at this in a state of bewilderment.. Where had the milk gone? Why wasn't it sloppy? Things got even stranger when after one mouthful, it became very apparent that this flavour was no where near as crunchy as the Golden Syrup, yet was lacking the milk to make it soft! Taste wise, it was essentially Christmas in a bowl! Although neither the cranberries or apple were particularly plentiful to the eye, it certainly packed a punch in terms of flavouring. There was a nice tartness from both elements whilst still having the sweet, creamy oaty taste. The few dried apples pieces that I did notice, had a pleasant, almost foamy chew to them - A nice change in texture!

Snack Warrior does Science

I was so confused by the stark contrast in textures that I decided to look at the remaining sachets in their boxes. At first, I thought maybe I had just been a twit and prepped them incorrectly but then I noticed this.. 

The milk line on each of the packets are in completely different places! Look at the wavey line! LOOK AT IT! Thats some good manufacturing right there.. 

I disregarded the information on the box and proceeded to weigh each packet with its full contents. I wanted to check one didn't contain more than the other and in turn, would warrant more milk. 

The Golden Crunch weighed in at 53g. 

The Cranberry & Apple weighed slightly less at 51g. 

So far, so good..

My next move was to fill each emptied sachet, up to the milk line, as suggested both on the box and the sachet itself. I tipped each, one at a time, into a tumbler that had been zeroed on my scales.. My results were as followed: 

The line on the Golden Crunch holds 78ml of milk.

The line on the Cranberry & Apple holds 42ml of milk. 

Thats a 36ml difference, Folks! I am not a twit, after all! 

To get a true representation of what this cereal is actually meant to be like, I precisely measured out 60ml and added it to another bowl of Oat Clusters. This time, as expected, it had a texture somewhere between my 2 original breakfasts - Not overly sloppy, not overly crunchy. 

There are so many issues with these Quaker Oats, I don't know where to begin. They've been released in the wrong season, the sachets are a faff to open, the milk lines aren't consistent, the textures are totally different, the serving size is only ever going to sustain a 4 year old.. I could go on. Taste wise they are alright and probably would be very enjoyable come the Autumn - That is along as you have 2 packets and can be bothered to measure out 60ml (or 120ml for 2 servings!) of milk every morning whilst still in half of a slumber. I am not going to mark them separately out of 5 given the forementioned discrepancies but I shall just say 2.5 and be done with it. Sort yourself out, Quaker Oats! 

Review- Krispy Kreme NEW Reese's Peanut Butter Crunch

As many of you are probably already aware, Monday saw Reeses Peanut Butter Krispy Kremes back in Stores and Tesco Cabinets, alike. Along with the return of this much loved doughnut came a new addition and Cabinet exclusive, the Reeses Peanut Butter Crunch. I was given marching orders by my big Brother, to get him one whilst doing the weekly shop. Somehow, I ended up hand delivering the blooming thing to him at work and have managed to rope him into doing a guest review as I can't eat peanuts. Without further ado.. Its over to BSW!

Hello Snack Warriors!

For people that know me, this is definitely not something I would ever do but seeing as the usual blogger would literally explode if she ate this product, I am here.. so brace yourselves for one of the hardest to read and grammatically incorrect reviews ever!

I don’t even know what its official name is, it was literally plonked on my desk and I was told to eat it.. Again people knowing me will know I'll eat things and ask questions later. It looked like a doughnut and smelt somewhat like a doughnut so assumed it was what I had asked for and my sister was not trying to poison me. 

Anyway, its pretty much a ringed doughnut with some things placed onto it. As I was eating it, the chips on top were clearly peanut butter flavoured and reminded me somewhat of Reese’s which I have to admit I do like quite a lot and could easily eat the peanut cups by the bagful. The doughnut itself tasted like a usual doughnut, nothing really stood out and the texture matched. Apparently  it had a peanut butter icing/glazing but I couldn’t really taste it, I’m the kinda guy that likes things to taste strong to get a real feel for it. Along with the chips and this supposed glazing, there were what I would describe as cookie bits on the top, but again didn’t really add to the flavour and was probably only there for aesthetics, but what do I know..

As someone that loves peanut butter (probably due to being denied it for the first 20 years of my life or so) this could have easily been flavoured with something else and been equally as enjoyable, not the best Krispy Kreme but also not the worse I’ve had. I would have to give it a 3 out of 5 for that very reason. 

Well there you have it, the opinion of a true PB addict! A big thank you to BSW for that fab review which I have to say was actually, really quite well written.. Trust me when I say, no one is more surprised at this revelation than me! I'll be back tomorrow with a review of something that doesn't make me to explode when eaten - See you all then! 

Review- Greggs Caramel and Pecan Greggsnut

Greggs is somewhere I never, ever go. I did spend a lot of my youth in them though.. I don't know about you but there's something about a Chicken Bake, that just screams, sweaty, hormone raging teenager, to me. With that delightful image in mind.. I was on my way back from my holidays, early Sunday morning and found myself so ravenous, I had to stop at a service station to get something to eat. I grabbed a Sausage & Onion Toastie in Costa, a Strawberry & Cream Cooler to wash it down and this Caramel and Pecan Greggsnut from.. Wait for it.. Greggs! I can't think of a better 7am breakfast combo, can you? 

Delicious layered doughnut with toffee flavour filling, topped with white icing and pecan pieces decorated with a chocolate flavour drizzle. 

You'll have to excuse the terrible lighting - Never something to complain about but it was a gloriously bright morning which made picture taking in my car, a tad troublesome! 

This may have been the best thing I have ever eaten and I am not just saying that due to my ravenous nature at the time! It was like a doughnut/pastry/bun hybrid! The flakey layers were crumbly yet super soft and chewy with a sweet, buttery dough flavour. Inside, hide a thick layer of "caramel" which tasted exactly like a Werther's Original and not to dissimilar to my own toffee sauce - Greggs have clearly stolen my recipe! A sugary layer of set, white, water icing coated the doughnut with a topping of chopped, crunchy pecans for added nuttiness and a chocolatey drizzle, as the finishing touch. Absolutely divine! 

I think I need to visit Greggs more often.. If their other sweet bakery goods are anything like the Greggsnut, I could easily find myself embracing my inner teen and setting up camp in there, once more! At £1 a pop, I highly recommend dashing down to your local store, buying a dozen and not sharing them with anyone. Its an almighty, top marks from me - 5 out of 5! 

Review- Hope and Greenwood Pate De Fruit

I am quite the fan of Hope and Greenwood - They make some real amazing "posh" sweeties including Cherry Bakewell Bonbons and the Sicilian Lemon Curd Superior Coconut Ice, I reviewed previously. Today, it is the turn of the Pate De Fruit!

The 150g box consisting of Strawberry, Pear, Lemon, Raspberry and Apricot flavours, cost £3.99 in Waitrose - Quite a splurge!

I could only identify there to be 4 different coloured, 60% real fruit sweets in the box L-R Red, Green, Amber, Pinky Orange 

The sweets were sticky to the point where the sugar would stick like glue when even, ever so lightly touched - I didn't handle them for to long, in fear of losing all the coating! They had a ridiculosuly squidgy, jelly like texture which had a soft gummy chew before melting in the mouth. None were particularly fruity scented which did surprise me given that the flavours packed a serious punch! 

Red- As expected, this sweet was Strawberry flavoured and very strongly so! The taste was identical to that of a good quality jam which was a very pleasant surprise considering that most Strawberry sweets tend to either be wishy washy, artificial or sometimes even, medicinal tasting! 

Green- A potent Pear flavour came from this sweet - It was very true to the fruit and not like a hard boiled, nail polish-esque, Pear Drop. I also think that it had a slight apple aftertaste even though it is not listed as being one of the ingredients.. Maybe Mr Greenwood sneaked one in? 

Amber- I knew the flavour of this sweet in no time at all.. Apricot! Thinking about it, it probably tasted more of Apricots than actual Apricots do! They reminded me of Kellogg's Fruit Winders before they changed their recipe in attempt to make them healthy.. er. 

Pinky Orange- This one confused me a bit - I wasn't sure at first whether it was its own flavour or just a lighter coloured Strawberry/darker Apricot.. It turned out to be, what I think was, a Raspberry come Lemon, concoction! Although very pleasant, I do wish it had been easier to distinguish.

Overall, I loved yet another fabulously, flavoursome sweet from the Purveyors of Splendid Goods that are, Hope and Greenwood. They certainly aren't ordinary fruit jellies so if you are after something a bit fancier and don't mind paying a little bit extra, I highly recommend getting a box of these delights. Its a 4 out of 5 from me! 

Review- Pots & Co Strawberries & Cream

I have been wanting to try Pots & Co for ages but have never seen them anywhere apart from a random Budgens at a Petrol Station - Not the most practical place to pick up a pud! Lucky for me, I am on my holidays and found this Strawberries & Cream pot in a local Tesco. 

The 110g ceramic pot cost a pricey £2 - Its a good job it is reusable.. I do like to collect ramekins. 

The fresh strawberry compote set on a baked Madagascan vanilla cream was ready to eat, straight from the fridge and does not need cooking. 

I can't say the dessert smelt of a lot - There was a vague strawberry scent along with a biscuity aroma which I don't know what was about since no biscuit was present! The texture was very soft and quite similar to that of a thick yogurt - You wouldn't know it was meant to be baked! Taste wise, it was all a bit to creamy for me! There was very little vanilla flavour to the cream so it was mainly just rich and sickly with a a hint of strawberry from the compote. A baked cheesecake with a fruiter tangy, topping would have worked so much better! 

Overall, I think I may have picked the wrong flavour as my first Pots & Co pud - Cream fanatics might love this but it certainly wasn't my cup of tea. Next time, I will definitely go for the Salted Caramel & Chocolate or Chocolate & Orange but for now.. At least I have a nice new bit of ceramic crockery! Its a 1 out of 5 from me. 

Review- Ritz NEW Crisp & Thin: Cream Cheese & Onion and Sea Salt & Vinegar

There are a whole host of NEW savoury snacks out, at the minute. I was in two minds whether to try these Ritz Crisp & Thin but was persuaded when I saw they were on a "Better than half price" offer at £1 rather than £2.19.  I picked up 2 flavours - Cream Cheese & Onion and Sea Salt & Vinegar.

Cream Cheese & Onion

Oven baked, crispy potato thins with Cream cheese and Onion flavour.

I am not sure what had happened to the bag but as you can see, all the crisps were broken! The onion scented shards had a super crispy texture due to being thin and airy. Taste wise, the flavour was just as strong - I do think this overpowered any potential cream cheese flavour though, apart from maybe still having a slight tang. Another thing to note is how greasy they felt, both in hand and in the mouth! They left a horrible film which along with the potent onion aftertaste, wasn't all to pleasant! Its 1 out of 5 from me. 

Sea Salt & Vinegar 

Oven baked, crispy potato thins with Sea Salt & Vinegar flavour. 

I couldn't believe it when I tipped these out of the bag - How are they the same crisps as the Cream Cheese & Onion!? Once again, the texture was very crunchy and would be very more-ish.. Thats if they didn't taste of bananas! Yes, you read that correctly. I am assuming the acid in the vinegar is to blame for this horrible flavour! I was immediately put off and I stopped munching, immediately. I did however eat enough to know they aren't as greasy as the others which is something.. At least! Its a 0.5 out of 5! 

Overall, I was right in being hesitant about trying these NEW Ritz Crisp & Thin - The flavours are totally whack! I hope they are a snack that comes and goes promptly as no one should ever be subjected to greasy onion nor bloomin repulsive, savory banana crisps! Good grief.