REVIEW - Sunbites Red Pepper and Chilli Pitta Bakes

A slightly belated post (due to the craziness that was exams and my subsequent celebrations), but here's another one from my revision snack box. As you might have gathered, I'm a big fan of 'crisp alternatives', like rice cakes, lentil curls, popcorn and pitta chips. I also love the flavours of red pepper and chilli, so naturally I was drawn to these 'Red Pepper and Chilli Pitta Bakes' from Walkers, as part of their Sunbites range. You can also pick them up in a 'Cheddar and Onion' flavour if you fancy something milder.

LET'S EAT - Zizzi Italian

After a whirlwind week of last-minute revision, my exams are over and I am officially no longer an undergraduate student! I'm also not technically a graduate, considering that the papers are yet to be marked and the ceremony doesn't take place until July... so I'm not really sure what I can class myself as for the next month or so. 'Exhausted' and 'relieved' are perhaps two good alternatives.

Anyway, I really just wanted to nap after finishing the last exam but that didn't seem particularly sociable so I went out for dinner with a friend to Zizzi instead. I've frequented most of the Italian chains (Pizza Express, Prezzo, etc) numerous times however had never been to Zizzi, so it seemed as good as ever a time to try it out! The following day I then headed to another Zizzi with some other friends, because why not. My NUS card gives me 40% off on Mondays and Tuesdays so it seemed worthwhile!

REVIEW - Galaxy Duet Cookies and Cream

After a pretty decent experience with the 'Toffee and Popcorn' Galaxy Duet bar a month or so ago, I've been looking for an excuse to try the other two varieties in the range. Getting through my first (and worst) exam seemed like quite a triumph, so off I popped to Tesco for a celebratory sugar-hit.

I went for the 'Cookies and Cream' variety this time around, but I'll definitely be giving the 'Caramel and Shortcake' one a try at some point as well! Each sounded as good as the other so I spent a fair bit of time dithering between the two.
Incidentally this is described by Galaxy as "milk chocolate with a lightly whipped filling (15%) and cookie pieces (3.2%)." Yum!

REVIEW - Kettle Bites Lentil Curls

Exam season is back in full swing (so soon? I swear it feels like I only just finished the last ones...) which for me means daily trips to the library, loaded down with revision notes, neon-bright highlighters and a small pile of snacks to keep me motivated! I can't decide if I need more food during revision because my brain is working so hard or if it's just because I get very bored. I'd like to think it's the former, but I'm not so sure...

I spied a new range of snacks - 'Kettle Bites' - on my latest snack run to Tesco and ended up buying these 'Mozzarella and Pesto Lentil Curls' to try out. I've had lentil curls before and quite enjoyed them, so these held promise (not to mention mozzarella and pesto are big flavour favourites). Also in the range are 'Maple Barbecue' and 'Coconut, Chilli and Lime' wholegrain waves - essentially in the same style to the Sunbites products. I'm not sure if I'll be giving those a go; they seem a little adventurous for my tastebuds!

REVIEW - Yeo Valley Banana and Custard Yogurt

Being the banana fan that I am, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to try Yeo Valley's Limited Edition 'Banana & Custard Yogurt' when I saw it on the shelves. Yeo Valley are one of my favourite yogurt brands (their products are so thick and creamy and they have such a good range of flavours) and I always stock up my fridge when they're on a 2 for £2 offer.

The fact that I'm from the West Country myself may also have a bit of an influence...

REVIEW - Starbucks Banana Caramel S'mores Frappuccino

There are lots of things that indicate that summer is coming. The birds are awake at 4am, everyone's having a barbecue, and your skin turns a brilliant shade of pink because you neglected the suncream. That, and everyone's wandering around clutching Starbucks frappuccinos - thanks to Happy Hour.

Happy Hour (or 'Frappy Hour') is that one glorious week in May when, between 3pm and 5pm, all Starbucks frappuccinos are half-price. Great! You can get a nice cool drink to freshen you up! The only problem is that everyone else has the same idea.
If you've not experienced the joy of a university-campus Starbucks during Happy Hour, just picture: a queue snaking out the door, a scrum of people building up at the end of the counter, stressed and hot staff, constant confusion regarding which drink belongs to who, an ever-depleting supply of straws, and more frappuccinos than you care to count. If you're in a rush to be somewhere - forget it. You'll be in there for a good 20 minutes.

It's the staff I feel bad for; I've worked my fair share of retail jobs (and still do) so know full too well how awful busy periods can be - not to mention how dull it must be, having to make the same drink straight for 2 hours. I wouldn't have actually ventured into Starbucks, had I not really, really wanted to try the new 'Banana Caramel S'mores Frappuccino'. I LOVE banana, and coffee, and caramel - so I had to face Happy Hour.

REVIEW - Gu Alphonso Mango and Passion Fruit Cheesecakes

I've made the happy discovery that the shop on my university campus - I place I pretty much only use for emergency milk purchases - sells Gu puddings for the very reasonable price (compared to the supermarkets) of £2. Unfortunately, this does also now mean that I can't seem to pick up a pint of semi-skimmed without also grabbing myself a packet of puddings. Still, deadlines are fast approaching so I can be excused - I'm a stress eater.

Sandwiched within the Gu selection were these Alphonso Mango and Passion Fruit Cheesecakes - they're not a new product (according to Google) but I've never seen them before so naturally they took my eye. They're made up of of a biscuit base, a layer of passion fruit and mango curd, and a topping of passion fruit cheesecake. Mmm! 

(I'm not actually the greatest fan of either mango or passion fruit, but I like Gu and I love cheesecake so I didn't let that put me off)

REVIEW - PG Tips Strawberry Cupcake

As dull as it may seem, tea is my number 1 beverage. Sure, I like others, but they can't compare to a well-made cuppa. I love tea so much that I own more mugs than I care to count (mainly because people are always buying them for me) and have been known to come home from nightclubs and have a cup of tea before going to bed. I am a wild 20-something, I know.

If I could, I would drink breakfast tea (or Earl Grey, mmm) day, noon and night. However in a bid to cut down on a bit of caffeine I've been drinking a lot more green tea as of late. I get a bit bored of plain green tea so am always on the lookout for something new and flavoured teas are fast becoming a firm favourite.

I thought I'd give this new Strawberry Cupcake tea from PG Tips a try - I like berry-flavoured teas, and baking is a huge passion of mine, so it seemed perfect! I picked up my box of 25 bags for £1 (it was on promotion) in my local Tesco.

REVIEW - Galaxy Duet Toffee and Popcorn

My friend Laura is wonderful, for many reasons. One of those reasons is that she quite often surprises me with spontaneous little gifts, the most recent of which was a bar of Galaxy's Toffee and Popcorn Duet. I've never actually tried any of the Duet bars before, despite always being intrigued by them, so I was pretty excited to give this one a go (and was also incredibly grateful to have been gifted chocolate at a time of immense stress i.e. dissertation hand-in).

The bar is described as "milk chocolate with a toffee flavoured caramel filling, popcorn pieces and toffee pieces". Me being me, I got distracted whilst eating it (I'm incredibly absent-minded) and failed to notice if the bar was split equally with caramel down one half and popcorn down the other. I would presume so... but a repeat purchase might be necessary to make sure...

REVIEW - Cheerios Cinnamon Oat Crisp

Woops, time certainly flies when you've got a dissertation deadline coming up! That, coupled with Easter excitement, family visits and squeezing in a few shifts at work over the university holidays, means it's been nearly a whole month since my last review. Still, I'm back again, and with some newly-stocked kitchen cupboards, so I'm good to go!

One of my most recent food purchases was Nestle's new-ish Cinnamon Oat Crisp Cheerios. Cereal is one of my go-to breakfasts and I love normal Cheerios and cinnamon, so naturally these were appealing to me! Oh, and they were half price in Tesco as well. That's always a big selling point...

REVIEW - Double Peanut Butter Magnum

Magnum have released 3 new flavours to their range fairly recently - Double Caramel, Double Chocolate and Double Peanut Butter. I probably would have overlooked these (being more of a fan of tub ice cream rather than stick, as nice as Magnums are!) had I not been such a huge fan of peanut butter. It took me two Tesco trips to get hold of them, as they were out of stock the first time - I can't decide if they were really popular or if the store just didn't order very many in. Either way, I managed to snap up a box on round two.

It was £2 for a box of 3, which I presume is an introductory offer and will probably jump up in a few weeks. Grab them while you can!

REVIEW - Bounce Energy Balls

I love my degree. Not only because I get to learn about things that I genuinely find really interesting (food, nutrition and all that jazz) but also because we occasionally get gifted free food. The raw carrots we had in second year (as part of a sensory analysis lecture) were maybe not my favourite, but over the years I've also managed to obtain cheese, milk, biscuits, sweets and an entire cake. I'm not sure if the food has actually aided my learning, but I'm certainly not one to turn down free food!
More recently I was lucky enough to take home a whole box of Bounce energy balls. I've always wanted to give these a try but the price tag has been the main factor stopping me from doing so. I was pretty delighted when my lecturer showed up and started handing them out to us one Thursday afternoon!

I ended up with 3 different varieties: peanut, cacao orange and cacao mint. With no idea what to expect, I got stuck in first with the cacao orange.

Bouncing into today's review...

REVIEW - Gu Maple and Pecan Pies

With Gu puddings still half price in Tesco, it was inevitable that they were probably going to end up in my basket again, despite buying the Zillionares' puds barely a week before. Still, in my defence I had actually been planning to pick up the new peanut butter Magnums, but my store was out of stock (!) so I needed to console myself with something else.

Again, I hovered indecisively over the Gu selection but ended up choosing the 'Maple and Pecan Pies', described delightfully by Gu as: "crumbly pecan biscuit base, topped with a creamy maple syrup-infused cheesecake". This did lead to me wondering why they are described as "pies" and not "cheesecakes", but then I decided that I wasn't really that fussed and would much rather just get stuck in with my spoon.

Gu for two (or one)

LET'S EAT - Bill's breakfast

Remember those horrible exams that were causing me no end of stress back in January? Well, my results came out last Thursday and much to my delight (and relief) I managed to surpass my own expectations and pass everything with some pretty good marks! Myself and my friends decided that a celebratory breakfast was a good way to celebrate - and, having always wanted to try the breakfast menu but never quite getting round to it, we took ourselves off to Bill's.

I love Bill's - it's one of those restaurants that, even though it's a chain, manages to still feel quite unique and independent in comparison to a lot of the others that you pass on the high street. Not to mention, the food is really good.

REVIEW - Gu Zillionaires' Puddings

I can't be the only one who doesn't really understand Valentine's Day, can I? I'm all for showing love and affection to your partner, but I don't think you need a designated day in the middle of February in which to do so. I also don't understand why shops and supermarkets seem to think that all women would LOVE an enormous teddy bear as a gift (sure, they look cute, but they take up a lot of space).

Still, I do appreciate Valentine's Day because it means that there's always lots of nice food on offer in the shops. There's also usually an abundance of half-price chocolate in the days that follow. Tesco have currently got Gu puddings on offer for £1.50 (half price!) and, fancying an indulgent treat, I picked up the Zillionaire puddings the other day, which I haven't tried before. With 2 in a pack, these are an ideal Valentine's dessert for a couple - but, for singletons like myself, it's even better because it means you don't have to share.

Valentine's treat for one

REVIEW - Tesco Banana Bliss/Berry Blast Fruit Bars

Still on my hunt for a decent cereal/snack bar, I picked up these (fairly) new bars in Tesco the other day - Banana Bliss and Berry Blast fruit bars. I'd heard tales that they were Tesco's answer to Nakd bars and, with individual Nakd bars costing up to 75p, two of these Tesco boxes (each with 4 bars) for £2 seemed fairly reasonable to me!

Being incredibly fond of Nakd bars, I was interested to see how these offerings would shape up as a humble snacktime product.

Ingredients-wise, they are quite similar to Nakd bars - the Banana Bliss bar is made of dates (49%), soya protein crispies (18%), raisins (15%), cashew nuts (10%), dried banana (4%), as well as other ingredients like grape juice and rice starch.

Nakd bars are generally either 30g or 35g, but these Tesco bars are slightly lighter at 26-28g. In my opinion you could definitely feel the difference when holding the bar in your hand - however at the cheaper price it's difficult to get too miffed about the slightly smaller size.

REVIEW - Maple Syrup Muller Rice

Brrr. It is just me, or has it suddenly become rather unpleasantly chilly? It may not be that the weather is actually *that* cold, but we had such a mild November and December that I think any drop in temperature is suddenly a lot more noticeable. Personally I would quite like it if the weather would perk up again soon. Not least because Easter is so early this year, and I would like to do an egg hunt in the garden without having to wear a coat, a hat and a scarf.

Still, in the meantime I shall endeavour to warm myself up by staying inside as much as it is socially acceptable to do so. I also thoroughly recommend piping hot food, like some nice warm rice pudding. Anyone for a maple syrup Muller Rice?

REVIEW - Ben and Jerry's Cinnamon Buns

It's finally February! Don't get me wrong, I don't despise January quite as much as some people do, but you have to admit that it doesn't have much going for it. It's cold and damp, there's never anything good in the sales, your boiler breaks down (well, maybe that's just me) and you're subjected to a barrage of healthy recipes and fitness tips every single day.

February is much more exciting. Pancake Day! Valentine's Day! Cut-price Valentine's chocolate on the 15th! And, by now it's surely an acceptable time to admit that your New Year's resolutions were never going to be successful and you might as well get back to eating some nice food. Possibly in the form of Cinnamon Buns Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

A February delight

REVIEW - M&S Roasted Vegetable and Avocado Sandwich

It's been a very long month but finally, FINALLY, my exams are over and I have a brief period of freedom before starting all over again in semester two. After my last exam yesterday (which was horrendous) I decided to pop on the train and come back home for a week - I'm seriously needing some 'me' time and some home comforts. Being ridiculous early for my train (I have a thing for punctuality) and also having no food to sustain me for the journey, I decided to splash the cash and get a sandwich from M&S.

This 'roasted vegetable and avocado' sandwich caught my eye straight away - partly because I thought it sounded nice and also partly because it had a green "new!" sticker on the shelf. I have no willpower for new foods. I haven't been loitering around the sandwich section of M&S for a while, so I couldn't say how recently this was brought out, but probably since after Christmas.

LET'S EAT - Pizza Express (again)

Monday night found me in Pizza Express (yes, again), devouring a generously sized pizza and a good helping of dessert. This was mainly as a way to have an early birthday celebration for one of my closest friends, but it just so happened that it coincided with the completion of my first exam so I was very much in a 'treat yourself' and 'eat your sorrows' mood. We were drawn to Pizza Express largely because of the promise of pizza, however the 40% NUS discount on Mondays was also incredibly appealing.

Pizza for two

REVIEW - Muller Light Peanut and Caramel

I find it difficult to believe that we're well over halfway into January now. Christmas seems like a distant memory, there are Easter eggs filling the shelves of the supermarkets (why?! I don't understand?) and the newspapers are taking great delight in informing us that the country has "come to a standstill" (it hasn't) under "4 feet of snow" (there's not). And I am slowly but surely battling my way through pages and pages of exam notes as I try and emerge from my January exams reasonably unscathed. One exam down, two to go!

As I've been constantly cramming my brain full of information on polyphenols, fat metabolism and dietary assessment methods, I haven't had much time to venture to the supermarket (or beyond my front room, if I'm honest) and pick up some new foods to try. However I did manage to get my hands on this new 'peanut and caramel' Muller light yogurt, which has been intriguing me ever since it popped up on social media a week or so ago. I'm not the greatest fan of peanuts (but will eat a Snickers bar if there's really nothing else going) but I wanted to give this a try all the same.

REVIEW - Nakd Gingerbread

A while back, I lamented the fact that I can never seem to find the perfect cereal bar - despite the hoards of them that fill the supermarket aisles, nothing so far has ever quite lived up to my (admittedly high) expectations.
In all truthfulness, maybe this is because my perfect cereal bar isn't actually a cereal bar at all - but rather a smooshed together combination of dried fruits and nuts in a bar shape. Yep, it can only be the one and only Nakd! I do really like Nakd products, particularly the bars, however don't purchase them all that often because I usually find it difficult to justify the 75p cost for a single bar. For that reason, I suppose they can't be classed as my perfect cereal or snack bar (the quest continues) however they certainly fall pretty close.

Feeling extravagant the other day (and spurred on by the special offer price of 50p) I picked myself up a gingerbread Nakd bar - something I've had in the past, but not for a long time. I'd completely forgotten what it tasted like so thought I might as well get reacquainted. Truth be told I was actually hoping for the Christmas pud Nakd bar (always tasty) but that seemed to have been whipped off the shelves as quickly as the Easter eggs were brought in.

REVIEW - Twining's Earl Grey Green Tea

It's only the 6th day of January and yet I'm already suitably fed up with the daily headlines and articles telling us all about how we can 'eat clean, lose weight, get fit and shed those festive pounds!'. Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly support the idea that we should all be eating more veggies, having fewer processed foods and doing more exercise to improve our health (both physical and mental), but the barrage of information that we're subjected to every year after Christmas is a little overbearing and it doesn't do much to blow away the January blues.

Still, if you are feeling like making a few changes to your diet and lifestyle this month, then drinking more fluids (not alcoholic or sugary!) is a good way to go. This is something I'm trying to do myself - I'm generally really good with drinking water in the mornings and the evenings but seem to completely forget during the daytime. It's safe to say that water is pretty bland and boring (hence why I'm so disinclined to get myself a glass) so I do try and drink green tea to keep myself hydrated.

Green... Earl Grey?

REVIEW - Ben and Jerry's Save Our Swirled

My Christmas this year (or technically last year) was lovely - a full 5 days of festive tunes, lots of food, family get-togethers, slobbing around watching tv and occasionally going on blustery walks in the afternoons. Sadly it was over all too quickly and the period since then has been a bit of a whirlwind of working at my part-time job and trying to squeeze in some revision for my January exams. This evening I definitely decided it was time for a treat and I finally got stuck in to this Save Our Swirled tub of Ben and Jerry's.

Ben and Jerry's is definitely up there in my top 3 favourite brands of ice cream, my only niggle being that I can only ever buy it when it's on offer! However I am also blessed to have an amazing mum who picks me up a tub every now and again as a treat for when I come back from university in the holidays. I've been waiting months to give this one a try, as I know she bought it some time back in October.

Healthy January?