Review: Rachel's Organic Greek Style Banana & Dulce de Leche and 0% Fat Greek Style Yogurts

Rachel's Organic have recently launched a delicious new Greek Style Banana & Dulce de Leche yogurt. It's an indulgent tasting treat, perfect as an after dinner dessert, and is made with organic ingredients and fruit. There's also a new range of 0% Fat Greek Style Yogurts in three flavours; Blueberry, Peach & Passion Fruit and a Lemon & Ginger. These fruity flavours are all made with 0% fat organic yogurt with no artificial colourings, flavours or preservatives.

Rachel's Organic Greek Style Banana & Dulce de Leche: This yogurt flavour is so appealing to me - it's just a dream combination. I love banana yogurts (and ice icream!) but I've never had it paired with Dulce de Leche - the gorgeously buttery caramelised sauce from South America. As expected, the combination is just divine in a yogurt, with a deliciously fruity banana taste and a sweet and mellow caramel flavour. The consistency of the yogurt is just wonderful too, it's super creamy and thick, with extra texture from the addition of small banana pieces. I've been enjoying this yogurt with some sliced banana and cinnamon and it makes a really delicious, dessert-tasting treat.

I also found two of the new Rachel's Organic 0% Fat Greek Style Yogurts. I'll have a review of the  third flavour, Lemon & Ginger, later this week hopefully. 

Rachel's Organic 0% Fat Greek Style Peach & Passion Fruit: This has a surprisingly creamy texture and flavour for a fat free yogurt. The fruity flavour is very peachy but with a tropical twist from the passion fruit. It's a classic yogurt flavour but it works wonderfully with the creamy organic yogurt base. This flavour is especially delicious and filling in the morning with granola or cereal instead of milk. 

Rachel's Organic 0% Fat Greek Style Blueberry: This yogurt is filled with small blueberry pieces and has the same creamy texture as the Peach & Passion Fruit (although neither is as thick as the Banana & Dulce de Leche!). Blueberry is not a yogurt flavour I usually go for but it's one of Mr. Grocery Gems favourites and he really enjoyed this one. The flavour was spot on for him, very fruity and not overly sweet. 

Overall, I'll definitely be buying these new Greek Style Yogurts from Rachel's Organic again in the future. The whole family enjoyed the different fruity flavours and creamy textures. The Greek Style Banana & Dulce de Leche is my favourite in terms of flavour but I would probably buy the 0% Fat Greek Style yogurts more often as a healthier breakfast alternative. 

Grocery Gems Review: Rachel's Organic Greek Style Yogurts

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Waitrose.
Price: £1.49p for 450g (special offer - usually £1.99p).

PR samples. 

Liberté Strained Greek Style Yogurt Peach Layer

Late last year I reviewed the Blueberry Liberté (see here) and it's since become one of my favourite brands of yogurt. I always stock up on these super fruity and thick delights whenever I see them on offer. Today in Tesco I noticed that there was a new Peach flavour in the range and I couldn't resist snapping it up, peach is one of my favourite flavours when it comes to yogurt (alongside cherry, and of course, coconut!). 

As an aside, the whole Liberté range was on special multi-buy offer in Tesco APART from this new Peach variety, which was the only one at full price. It really annoys me when that happens and seems to be occurring more often with new products. Normally I wouldn't pay it and would wait to find an "introductory offer" at another supermarket, but seeing as it's my birthday tomorrow I felt I could justify a little treat!

And I'm glad I did because this yogurt is just as delicious as I hoped. The super thick and creamy yogurt is joined by a layer of sweet peach compote on the bottom. This peachy layer is made up of a syrupy type jam and actual chunks of peach too. All very tasty and perfect for peach fans! I'll definitely be buying these again, hopefully they'll be included in a special offer next time :)

Each pot has 100 calories, is naturally rich in protein and is free from artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Liberté Strained Greek Style Yogurt Peach

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes, the smaller size is perfect for me.
Nutrition: 100 calories
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £2.19 (multipack of 4)..

M&S Passion Fruit & Peach Jaffa Cakes

These Passion Fruit & Peach Jaffa Cakes are part of the new M&S Summer of Flavour range. As a fan of Jaffa Cakes I couldn't resist giving these a try! They're traditional sponge cakes topped with a passion fruit and peach jam filling, half covered in dark chocolate.

This is my first time buying M&S Jaffa Cakes and I was quite surprised by how thin they are compared to regular Jaffa Cakes. However, the smaller size means there are only 45 calories per cake (or should that be biscuit?).

Each rectangular shaped biscuit has thin layers of sponge, filling and chocolate. All the basic elements are tasty and well done here but it's peach and passion fruit flavour that I was really interested in. The passion fruit was immediately evident and is quite tangy, however I couldn't really detect any peach flavour itself. Taste wise they were actually very similar to to a regular Jaffa Cake but with a slightly tropical edge. I think because the layer of filling is so thin, some of the flavour gets lost. Still worth a try if you're a fan of Jaffa Cakes and I really hope to see more interesting flavours like this from other makers of Jaffa Cakes.

Grocery Gems Verdict: M&S Passion Fruit & Peach Jaffa Cakes

Rating: 7 out of 10

Nutrition: 45 calories per cake.

Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians. 

Purchased: Marks & Spencer.

Price: £1.49 (two packs).

Japanese Sweets Round Up: Puccho, Hi-Chew & More

I've been trying out some gorgeous Japanese sweets courtesy of Oyatsu Cafe. If you've never tried any sweets from the Hi-Chew or Puccho brands then I highly recommend giving them a go. The flavours and textures are always of a high standard and very tasty. It also helps that the packaging is super cute too!

The first candy I tried was this watermelon flavoured gummy stick. I'm not usually a fan of melon or watermelon flavoured sweets so I didn't expect to enjoy this one, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how yummy it is!

The watermelon flavour is surprisingly sweet and fresh tasting, there is no artificial edge or aftertaste with these. I couldn't resist eating the whole thing in one go, it's incredibly moreish. Rating: 9 out of 10.

Next are the individually wrapped gummy sweets; Hi-Chew Apple, Hi-Chew Strawberry and the Puccho Peach Plum.

The Puccho Peach Plum is a gorgeously peach scented sweet that hides a little sour surprise in the middle - it's infused with extra sweets! It's so sweetly peachy but has a really tangy flavour from the plum candies nestled in the centre. Again, I absolutely loved these sweets, they're so unique and completely delicious too. Rating: 10 out of 10.

The Hi-Chew varities offer a much sweeter candy with plenty of chewiness and full fruity flavour. It's worth trying Hi-Chew just for the extreme chewy nature of the sweets, which lasts for much longer than regular sweets. I enjoyed both the Strawberry and the Apple flavour, they're both spot on with an authentic flavour and very satisfying. Rating 8 out of 10. I've also previously reviewed the Hi Chew Golden Kiwi HERE. 

Take a look at Oyatsu Cafe for all their newest and limited edition Japanese snacks! 

Don't forget you can use the discount coupon GROCERYGEMS for 15% discount off any Oyatsu Cafe order. 

Fruyo Greek Fat Free Yogurts Review

It's been far too long since I last reviewed any yogurt, so I was very pleased when FAGE, known for their Total range of Greek yogurts, came to the rescue by offering to send me some of their Fruyo fat free range to try. There are four flavours in the Fruyo strained yogurt range; Cherry, Peach, Pineapple and Vanilla. They are all free from artificial colours and preservatives, and suitable for vegetarians.

Strained yogurts seem to be the next big thing in yogurts. I've previously tried them in the super thick Danio range (review here) and loved the dense texture. Fruyo yogurts are very similar texture wise but they have the added bonus, in my opinion, of having the fruit flavour within the yogurt rather than layered separately at the bottom. I much prefer the yogurt being fruity and not just plain.

Cherry

Cherry Fruyo- The fat free strained Greek yogurt creates a luxuriously thick experience with lots of fruity flavour. There are generous chunks of cherry pieces throughout the yogurt too, adding extra bursts of satisfying fruitiness.

Pineapple Fruyo - The super thick yogurt is again bursting with fruity chunks. The pineapple is extremely sweet and very moreish. This was my husbands favourite of all the flavours.

Peach

Peach Fruyo - Peach is usually one of the first flavours I try from any yogurt range and this Fruyo did not disappoint. This was my favourite fruity Fruyo flavour, closely followed by the Cherry.

Vanilla Fruyo - I love the fact that there is a vanilla in this range. It might seem to be a simple flavour but I find it quite hard to find a simple vanilla yogurt in individual servings. There are little black specks from the vanilla seeds throughout the yogurt. The sweet flavour and thick texture makes this taste more like a dreamy dessert rather than a yogurt!

I also tried the Total 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt. This unsweetened yogurt, with it's deliciously thick texture, is perfect for enjoying with a drizzle of honey in the morning. The large tub goes a long way and provides several servings.

The Fruyo strained yogurts are all extremely generously sized and due to their thick nature, I find them very filling to eat. On several of these recent very hot days I've been having a tub for lunch and it keeps me full for ages. It's not often I say something like this, but I'd actually like to see these tubs available in smaller sizes too - my kids love the flavours! Edit: The Total 0% range is available in smaller 170g tubs :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Fruyo Yogurts

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Absolutely.
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians.
Purchased: Available at Waitrose.
Price: £1.09p per 170g pot (also on 4 for the price of 3 offer).

Danio Super Thick Yogurts Review

I've been meaning to give these new Danone Danio yogurts a try ever since I heard they were being launched in the UK. The Polish version of the Danio brand has already been available in my local Polish shops, and I'm glad to see them getting a wider release.

Danio Super Thick yogurts are available in six varieties; Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Blueberry, Peach, Cherry, and Raspberry. All those flavours looked good to me but I plumped for the Blueberry and Peach varieties to try first.

I know these yogurts are called Super Thick but I was still surprised by just how thick the consistency was. They're not like a thick Greek style yogurt, the texture is more like a mascarpone cheese consistency, whilst still being incredibly smooth and creamy. The yogurt has a very mild taste to it, without any real tanginess that you can sometimes get in yogurt.

The fruit layer at the bottom is quite generous with a syrupy sauce and small chunks of fruit. It compliments the thick plain yogurt perfectly and I loved the fresh fruity flavours in both the peach and blueberry varieties.

I really did enjoy these yogurts, especially the thickness of the yogurt itself. Both yogurts are very high in protein and low in fat, which is excellent, however, they're also quite high in sugar with 18g per pot. I would really love to see these available in smaller pots as I found the 160g size quite large. I usually eat yogurts as a post lunch treat but these are almost too filling for that. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Danio Super Thick Yogurt

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes, I'd like to try all the flavours.
Nutrition: Blueberry - 154 calories Peach - 157 calories
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £0.85p per 160g pot.