Degustabox February Review & £6 Discount Code

Degustabox is a monthly subscription service that promises to send out a big box of surprise foodie treats. I love the fact that there's always a mix of smaller brands alongside established household names and plenty of new products too!

Discount Code: BLDEG15

Each Degustabox costs £12.99 a month, which includes delivery, with no fixed contract involved. Degustabox have kindly provided my readers with a massive £6.00 off your next Degustabox, bringing the cost to £6.99 delivered. Enter the Discount Code: BLDEG15 

www.degustabox.com/en

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

Ritz Crisp & Thin: These are oven baked potato snacks that are great for snacking and dipping. They're available in several different flavours and luckily for me I received my favourite; the Sea Salt & Vinegar. Check out my previous review of Ritz Crisp & Thin. 

The London Crisp Company: This may just be the most hipster packet of crisps I've ever seen. Hand-cooked in the heart of the capital, each flavour features a different London scene and vibe. There's Shoreditch inspired Cheese & Onion, Greenwich inspired Prawn Cocktail, Soho inspired Sea Salt, Camden inspired Sweet Chilli and South Bank inspired Salt & Vinegar.

I received a large sharing size bag of the Sweet Chilli flavour in the Degustabox. The flavour and texture of these crisps was spot on and very tasty. The sweet and salty flavours come through nicely without being overly spicy or hot. 

J20 Spritz: The J20 Spritz range combines delicate bubbles with crisp blended fruits. It's been developed with adults in mind so it offers a light flavour with around 63 calories per bottle. There are three flavours available; Peach & Apricot, Apple & Watermelon and Pear & Raspberry. I tried out the last two and really enjoyed both fruity flavours but especially the Pear & Raspberry. 

Hartley's 10 Cal Jelly: There were four pots of jelly in this month's Degustabox. The Hartley's 10 Cal jelly pots are useful for anyone on the 5:2 diet as they (obviously!) only have 10 calories per pot. I've bought these in the past and they're a nice enough sweet treat for those less indulgent days. 

Hartley's Fruit In Jelly: I've been meaning to try the new Hartley's Fruit in Jelly range so I was pleased to see a few pots in the Degustabox. I tried out the Peach in Strawberry Jelly which was nice and fruity. I really want to try some of the other, more exotic, flavours in this range such as the Mango in Mango Jelly! 

Nutribix Gold and Grains: Nutribix is a wholebrain biscuit style cereal made with ancient grain, coconut and honey. I'm not usually a fan of Weetabix type cereals (too mushy!) but I actually enjoyed Nutribix. The texture is quite crunchy so they held their shape quite well in the milk. The flavour is wheaty with a touch of sweetness and I didn't need to add any extra sugar. 

VitHit Lean & Green: VitHit is a juice based soft drink with 100% recommeded daily allowance of 8 different vitamins, no added sugar and fewer than 35 calories per bottle. The Lean & Green flavour combines apple, elderflower and maté tea (which I've never heard of!. The flavour is light and refreshing with a lovely sweetness - a bit like a lighter version of Coppella Apple & Elderflower juice. I would definitely try more from the VitHit range in future.

James White Drinks British Carrot Juice: I've only ever had carrot juice as part of other juices, usually a combination of orange, carrot and ginger, but it's quite a different flavour on it's own! This British Carrot Juice from James White is has an earthy, almost grassy taste, but with a sweet overall flavour. I'm not sure that carrot juice will ever be a popular juice on it's own but this might be useful for adding to smoothies.

Divine Caramel: Two chocolate bars in Milk Chocolate & Caramel and Dark Chocolate & Caramel. The caramel centres have a thick, creamy texture rather than a gooey caramel. The flavours are both delicious with a super sweet caramel taste that has a buttery, vanilla edge. 

Beloved Bars: These are 100% natural bars with no added sugar - the ingredients are cold-pressed and bound together using natural date nectar. I don't think there are any other bars similar to these out there. I received the Date & Seed Bar and the Date & Berry Bar varieties. I especially liked the berry variety which had a natural tart sweetness and fruity flavour.

Mr. Kipling Cranberry, Orange and Oat Slices: These are really delicious and moist little cake slices. I really enjoyed the combination of the juicy cranberries, zest orange and oaty flavours here. I'll have to try the Chocolate & Coconut version next!

Another great selection of products in the February Degustabox! My favourites this month were the J20 Spritz, Mr. Kipling Oaty Cake Slices, and Divine Chocolates.

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

Review: New Müller Corner Gold Edition Yogurts - Rio Olympics

And so it begins! This is the first official Olympics related product I've seen in the supermarkets but no doubt this is just the calm before the storm. But funnily enough I'm looking forward to seeing what all the big brands are going to come up with for Rio 2016. It's interesting for me as I actually started this blog in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, and many of those first reviews were Olympic themed products (which usually just meant the Union Jack featured somewhere!). It feels like this blog has come full circle and I'm now back where I started!

Anyway, I bought the Müller Corner Gold Edition as a multipack which comes with three Vanilla Yogurts with Golden Balls and three Toffee Yogurts with Golden Hoops. The packaging is very eye-catching and attractive with it's soft gold colour and a sports stadium design in the top corner. 

I'm not going to witter on about the taste of these yogurts as the vanilla and toffee yogurts already exist in the Müller Crunch Corner range. The golden hoops and golden balls are crispy cereal pieces, covered in milk chocolate and a golden colouring, and they really do look brilliant. The gold colouring is darker than the Galaxy Golden Eggs, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, but still looks very effective. The overall flavour is pretty much the same as the Müller Corner Crunch Vanilla Chocolate Balls and Toffee Hoops yogurts which have been around for ages - they've just had a shiny makeover!

Alongside the Müller Corner Gold Edition there is also a new Olympics themed Müller Corner Rio Edition which are tropical fruity flavoured. Each Rio Edition multi pack has 3 x Coconut Yogurts with Pineapple compote and 3 x Lemon Yogurts with Mango & Passionfruit Compote.

Grocery Gems Review: Müller Corner Gold Edition

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: Golden Hoops - 146 calories, Golden Balls - 142 calories.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £2.00p for multi pack.

It's Back! TRIO Toffee Chocolate Biscuit Bar

Trio was a very popular chocolate biscuit back in the 1980's, which was probably better known for the shouty "I want a Triiiioo and I want one NOW' adverts than for it's flavour. Seeing as I'm slightly *ahem* older than most snack bloggers out there, I can vouch for just how iconic and memorable those adverts were. 

Along with the 54321 chocolate biscuit bar, the Trio was one of my favourite chocolate treats as a young child. Although, I didn't actually realise that the Trio was still around until as late as 2003, I thought this brand had disappeared much earlier than that. 

I like the fact the the new Trio bars are wrapped in gold foil with an outer red paper wrapper, rather than plastic. It enhances the retro and nostalgic feel of the experience and it's certainly how I remember the Trio from back in the day.

The Trio is so named because it's made up of three elements; chocolate, biscuit and a toffee flavour cream layer. It also consists of three distinctive and chunky segments. The best part of the original Trio for me was just how thick the outer chocolate layer was and I'm pleased to see that's still the case here. In fact the whole thing instantly brought back memories of eating these as a kid. The inner layers are both really tasty, with a light and crunchy biscuit base and a caramel leaning toffee flavour, but it's the thick chocolate that makes these so memorable for me. 

I do remember the toffee as being a bit lighter in colour and creamier then it is here, but I'm not sure my memory can be relied on after all this time! Regardless, the Trio is still a delicious biscuit bar and one that I'm very glad to see return. I hope this is a limited edition that will be around for a little while longer! 

Grocery Gems Review: Trio Chocolate Biscuit Bar

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes!
Nutrition: 124 calories each.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.00p for six 23.6g biscuit bars.

McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries & Back to Normality Campaign

I was recently invited to join the McCain 'Back to Normal' campaign. McCain have launched the campaign to help families get back into the full swing of the school routines and mid-week dinners during term-time. 

Holly Bell has created lots of interesting recipes using McCain frozen products on her blog Recipes From A Normal Mum which provided lots of inspiration. Check out this inventive Baked Tortilla made using McCain Home Chips. I make a chorizo and egg tortilla quite often but I would never have thought to use chunky chips instead of potatoes - I'll be trying this out for sure!

McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries: I actually had no idea that McCain made sweet potato fries and I couldn't wait to give these a go, especially as my kids are big fans of baked sweet potatoes. Luckily I found the McCain Sweet Potato Fries easily in my local Iceland. They're easy to make too. After 18 minutes they were ready, with a light crispy coating but still very soft inside.

After looking through the recipes I knew I had to try the Garlic, Lemon &  Sweet Chilli Chicken with McCain Sweet Potato Fries. This recipe is so quick to make and is really flavourful for such a quick recipe. It was a complete hit with all the family and they've already asked me to make it again soon! 

McCain Home Chips: As well as the McCain Sweet Potato Fries I also gave the McCain Home Chips a try for those busy midweek meals. My kids enjoyed a soft taco with home made beef chilli, fresh tomato salsa, carrot spaghetti and some chunky McCain Home Chips. Very filling after a busy day!

McCain Ready Baked Jackets: Even though I was skeptical of this product when it was first released it's quickly become a mainstay in my freezer. It's the ultimate healthier fast food when I'm pushed for time. Another quick mid-week meal sorted - leftover chilli with McCain Jacket Potato and salad. Super tasty and ready in no time at all. 

Thank you to McCain for their Back To Normal pack which included some fab kitchen items! 

Grocery Gems Review: McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes - already have!
Purchased: Iceland.
Price: £2.00p for 500g.

PR samples. 

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.