Review: Vego Whole Hazelnut Chocolate Bar - finally a chocolate bar that tastes like Nutella!

The Vego Hazelnut Chocolate Bar is a whopping 65g of delicious hazelnut flavoured chocolate goodness. The bar I tried is actually called the Vego Mini, despite being twice the size of regular chocolate bars, presumably because there is also a 150g Vego bar available - I need to get my hands on that one!

The ingredients list is a short one and consists mainly of cane sugar, whole hazelnuts, cocoa mass, hazelnut paste and cocoa butter. The chocolate bar itself is very thick and consists of two massive chunks. I loved the texture of the chocolate here, it's quite soft and fudgey and melts in the mouth easily. The flavour is excellent, plenty of rich cocoa that is perfectly paired with a strong hazelnut flavour. The overall taste really did remind me of Nutella! Even though the cocoa flavour is a little 'darker' than Nutella, honestly, it's just as delicious.  Completing the whole experience there are a few whole hazelnuts added into the chocolate - providing a lovely crunch and even more hazelnut flavour.

All of my family were super impressed with the Vego Hazelnut Chocolate bar, they all compared it to Nutella and wanted to try it again. I'm hoping that I find a box of these under my tree on Christmas day!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Vego Whole Hazelnut Chocolate Bar Mini

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes - loved it!
Nutrition: 591 calories per 100g.

Purchased: The Vegan Tuck Box.
Price: £1.80p.

New Starbucks Oats and Nutella Cookie & Create Your Own Nutella Coffee!

Starbucks recently launched a Nutella Cookie just ahead of Nutella Day a few weeks ago. It's described as a chewy and perfectly balanced oat cookie, delicately spiced with cinnamon and filled with a generous dollop of smooth, delicious Nutella chocolate & hazelnut spread.

Excitingly, the press release also included a recipe for how to create your own Nutella Coffee at Starbucks! If you've heard of the "secret Starbucks menu", then you'll know that there are plenty of drinks to order that aren't available on the standard menu. Keep reading below for exactly what to ask for in Starbucks to create a Nutella inspired coffee!

I couldn't wait to try out the new Oats & Nutella Cookie for myself and I was pleased to find just how generously sized the cookie is, and also how much Nutella filling there is inside! The outer oat cookie itself is absolutely delicious, it reminds me of a home baked cinnamon oat cookie, with a slightly soft and chewy texture. The inner Nutella filling is essentially a thick amount of chocolate hazelnut goodness within the cookie, and it adds an extra indulgence to the traditional oaty base. It's a winning combination especially when paired with a lovely hot drink too. 

The photo above is actually of the new Starbucks Triple Hot Chocolate, which I couldn't help trying out at the same time (especially as the Junior Grocery Gems members were with me). For myself, I ordered a stronger coffee, which I always prefer when I'm having a sweet treat too.

Next time I'll definitely be taking the instructions below to my nearest Starbucks and asking the barista to make a Nutella coffee!

How to create your very own Nutella coffee at Starbucks:

With 80,000 different flavours to personalise your Starbucks, why not try a Nutella coffee on your next visit? Simply pop into your nearest store and ask for the following:

·        Tall Cafe Misto (filter coffee with plenty of hot milk)

·        Add Mocha Syrup (1/2 pump tall)

·        Add Hazelnut Syrup (1/2 pump tall)

·        Add a few drops of caramel drizzle

·        Sit back and enjoy!

Let me know if you've enjoyed the new Starbucks Oats and Nutella Cookie or if you try out the Nutella inspired coffee above!

Grocery Gems Review: Starbucks Oats & Nutella Cookie

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Starbucks.
Price: £1.89p (instore) or £1.59p (take away).

I received a voucher to try the Starbucks Oats & Nutella Cookie for an honest review.

Degustabox January: Surprise Foodie Box & Discount Code!

January's Degustabox arrived yesterday and it's fittingly called the "January Healthy Box". Thankfully it's still full of interesting products from a selection of different brands - clearly healthy doesn't have to mean boring. If you haven't seen my previous posts, Degustabox is monthly foodie subscription service that is guaranteed to be filled with a mix of foodie surprises from new and established brands.

Discount Code: MTAFQ 

Each Degustabox costs £12.99 a month, which includes delivery. There is no fixed contract involved and you can cancel at any time. Degustabox have kindly provided my readers with the following Discount Code for £3.00 off your next Degustabox, bringing the cost to £9.99 delivered. Simply enter the code - MTAFQ.

www.degustabox.com/en

Here's a quick round up of all the products I received in the January Degustabox:

Alfa One Rice Bran Oil: A versatile cooking oil which is full of natural antioxidants such as Vitamin E. It also contains a naturally occurring plant sterol, Gamma Oryzanol, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol absorption. I like trying out different types of oils when cooking and I'm sure this will Rice Bran Oil be very useful in the kitchen.

Magners Light Orchard Berries: The premium Irish Cider brand has launched a new range of fruity flavours for its low calorie cider range; Magners Light. At 103 calories per bottle, Orchard Berries Light is the first new flavour to be released and is available at Tesco (in 4 x 330ml packs).

Sukrin Bread Mix: This is an interesting product - a Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed Bread Mix which is free from gluten, egg, sugar, wheat, yeast and soya. Each slice is made up of only 1% carb and has a great fibre content at 21%. I like the fact that is can be used as a base for other bread products such as pizza bases, burger buns and tortilla wraps. I'll  look forward to giving this easy to use bread mix a try!

Koko Dairy Free: This is already a product I buy quite often (I tend to go dairy free for cereal and coffee). Koko is an alternative to dairy milk made from freshly pressed coconut milk. It contains fewer calories than skimmed milk, and has 0% cholesterol. It also doesn't curdle in tea or coffee which is a real plus.

Little Miracles Organic Teas: Little Miracles is a blend of organic tea, juice, and ginseng drinks that are sweetened with agave. They are free from artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. Degustabox have featured the Little Miracles range before and I really enjoyed the flavours I tried previously. There were two Little Miracles drinks included in the January Degustabox; a White Tea  with Cherry and a Black Tea with Peach.

Simplee Aloe: A blend of aloe vera and grape juice which is made used ethically sourced ingredients without any artificial colours or flavourings. Each 330ml "Grab & Go" carton has less calories than an apple. I've tried Aloe Vera drinks before and enjoyed them, but they've always been flavoured versions. It will be interesting to see how this "Simplee Aloe" drink compares. The range is available at Sainsbury's, Whole Foods Stores and Japan Centre.

Haywards Piccalilli: I have a confession to make: I've never tried Piccalilli before, which is strange, especially considering how much I like pickles (and mustard!). I can imagine this would have been great at Christmas time as an accompaniment to cold meats, but luckily it's also recommended for sandwiches, burgers and BBQs. Either way, I'm sure we will get plenty of use out of this Piccalilli and I'm already a fan of the Haywards range after trying their Hot & Spicy Pickled Onions recently.

Finn Crisp Original: Another product that I buy fairly regularly. The Finn Crisp Sourdough Rye Crispbreads have only 22 calories per slice and are made from wholegrain natural ingredients, making them rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and low in fat. 

Kabuto Noodles: I've always wanted to try the Kabuto Noodles range so I was delighted to find a pot in the Degustabox. Unlike other mainstream noodle pots, Kabuto Noodles are made with authentic Asian flavours and quality ingredients. It's described as a "fresh tasting noodle dish with miso, soy and vegetables". I'll update once I've tried it!

Mornflakes Top Porridge Pots: Nutella Porridge!! Without a doubt, the highlight of the Degustabox for me, are these individual porridge pots from Mornflakes. They are available with additional portions of sweet treats on top in either; Lyles Golden Syrup or Nutella. Yes, that's real NUTELLA. 

It's such a brilliant idea! I've honestly never added Nutella to porridge before but I'm more than happy to give it a go. These cute pots are available at Waitrose.

Clipper Green Tea: Included as a special free gift is a sample pack of 10 bags of Clipper Fairtrade Green Tea with Lemon. We're currently drinking a lot of green tea at home (and at work) so this will be very useful for us. 

Overall, I was pleased with the healthier selection in the January Degustabox. I'm sure there will be plenty of chocolates and savoury snacks in the future, but for now it's great to have some more balanced treats in the box. Once again, most of the products in this months box appeal to me and are ones that I would buy and use myself, especially the Mornflake Porridge, Kabuto Noodles, Haywards, and Little Miracles drinks.  

If you're a subscriber than I'd love to what you thought of the January Degustabox in the comments below.

For more details:
Degustabox website: www.degustabox.com

Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DegustaboxUK
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DegustaboxUK

I received a Degustabox in order to provide an honest review.

New Nutella & Go! (UK)

A big thank you to Rachel on Facebook who let me know via the Grocery Gems page that Nutella & Go had hit the UK. I've been on the lookout for it ever since and I finally spotted it in my local Tesco yesterday. Nutella & Go has been available in Germany. France and the US for some time already, so it's good news for us Nutella fans in the UK that it's now been released here.

At first glance the Nutella & Go may not seem too exciting; after all it's just a portion of Nutella with some breadsticks on the side. I think I was already assuming it would be just like KP Choc Dips, which have been around for ages with the same chocolate dip and breadsticks format. However, whilst Choc Dips are quite nice (especially for younger tastebuds), the Nutella & Go are far tastier. 

The breadsticks themselves have a golden appearance and crunchy texture, and have a slight hint of salt in them. This really helps to bring out the gorgeous hazelnut and chocolate flavour of the Nutella dip. Let's face it we're all here for the Nutella and not for the breadsticks! Thankfully, the portion of Nutella is very generous and there's no danger of running out of the dipping side! The whole thing together creates a different taste experience in it's own right - it's really not the same as eating Nutella on toast or on a waffle (insert your preferred method here...!). There's something about the crunchy nature of the sticks and the super smooth texture and sweetness of the Nutella that works together perfectly. 

Overall this is a lovely new way to enjoy Nutella and I can see why it's been so popular in other countries. The fact that it can be eaten whilst "out and about" is probably lost on me as I'm only likely to eat something like this at home. But I suppose if you need a Nutella fix whilst on the go then this is the perfect way to get it! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Ferrero Nutella & Go!

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.

Nutrition: 248 calories.

Purchased: Tesco.

Price: £0.84p.