Review: Galaxy Golden Eggs

I bought these a few weeks ago having been enchanted by the idea of golden coloured eggs - this really is a great idea from Galaxy. Of course, I fully intended to keep these under wraps until Easter, but my willpower clearly had other ideas. 

And wow, do these Golden Eggs live up to their name. They look gorgeous, in fact they're so aesthetically pleasing that I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to eat them. I was tempted to just keep them in a bowl for decoration.

Inside the Galaxy Golden Eggs are filled with Galaxy chocolate and crunchy caramel pieces. There's not really too much to say about the flavour here, it's the Galaxy chocolate that we all know with the caramel pieces just adding a bit of crunch. They're certainly tasty enough but not really anything new in terms of flavour. These are clearly all about the bling. I mean, seriously how good are these going to look for decorating Easter bakes or treats. I can't wait to make some simple cereal chocolate nests with these Golden Eggs inside. I'll definitely be buying a few more packs before Easter!

Grocery Gems Review: Galaxy Golden Eggs

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Tesco
Price: £1.00p for 80g (about 17 eggs in the pack).

New Instore: Galaxy Golden Eggs, Kinder Joy UK release and more!

New products spotted instore:

Galaxy Golden Eggs: There are plenty of new Easter chocolate instores at the moment but the most exciting are the new and shiny Galaxy Golden Eggs. They're covered in a gold coloured dust and, from the pictures I've seen, they look really impressive. I'll have a review soon. £1.00p at Co-Op.

Kinder Joy (new UK release): These might look the same as Kinder Surprise eggs but they're actually quite different. I reviewed the German Kinder Joy version a couple of years ago after I was sent it in a Candy German subscription box. It's great to see them finally released in the UK! Check back later today for a review and photos. £1.00p at Co-Op.

Cadbury Eggciting Layers of Joy Egg: I've been on the look out for these ever since I saw instagram photos from Amy Seeks New Treats. The fondant 'egg' on the top of the dessert just looks so realistic! It's certainly more impressive than the original Cadbury Creme Egg Pots of Joy (which surprisingly are also available this Easter). I might get these for the kids nearer to Easter. £1.00p at Co-Op (twinpack).

Tesco Frozen Avocado: On a healthier note, I noticed quite a few interesting new frozen products at Tesco this week. These frozen avocado halves would be useful for smoothies. There were about six in each pack from what I could see. £2.50p at Tesco. 

Tesco Healthy Living Lime Coriander Rice & Quinoa Mix: There were also lots of frozen products available in the Tesco Healthy Living range such as this Lime Coriander Rice & Quinoa Mix. I also spotted an Indian Style Superfood Mix, a Mexican Whole Food Mix and a Lemon & Coriander Quinoa mix. Each bag is only £1.50p so I'm sure I'll try these out at some point. £1.50p at Tesco. 

Müller Corner Florida Inspired: Many thanks to Lucy who sent me a few of her recent finds too, including the new Müller Light Peanut & Caramel flavour and also one that I haven't seen yet, the Müller Corner Florida Inspired yogurt. The latter is a lemon flavoured yogurt with a pineapple and pink grapefruit compote. Both found at Asda.

Good4U Super Bites: Lucy also spotted this new range of healthy treats at Asda in two flavours; Coconut or Cocoa & Orange. There is also a Banana & Cocoa flavour in this range too. Let me know if you've tried these! 2 for £1.50p at Asda. 

Many thanks again to Lucy for the last two photos. As always if you've spotted any new products instore then I'd love to hear from you - email grocerygems@gmail.com or tweet me @grocerygems.

New Mars Cakes: Galaxy Treat Cake and Mars Cake Bars

I was recently invited to try out some products from the new Mars range of cakes and cookies. I've already covered a few of these products before with the new Bounty Cookies, Milky Way Cookies, and the new Maltesers Teasers Spread. There were still quite a few products which I haven't tried yet and I was very kindly sent a few to try out. 

The Galaxy Treat Cake looks amazing - it's so fully loaded with chocolaty treats. The cake itself is a large tray bake style chocolate cake topped with Galaxy chocolate buttercream and decorated with mini Galaxy Counters and Ripple chocolate pieces. It's a generous size, with 15 servings, perfect for larger gatherings or parties, and very reasonably priced at £7.00 in Asda. 

The cake itself is simply delicious too. The base cake is a fairly simple chocolate sponge but the added toppings and buttercream have that distinctive creamy Galaxy taste which really gives the traybake an added indulgence. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this if I needed a larger cake for a special event. 

I was also sent a pack of the new Mars Cake Bars - I've really had more than my fair share of cake so far this week! These are small treat sized cake bars with a Mars inspired filling.

These sponge cakes include layers of chocolate cream and caramel. They're super sweet but I was pleasantly surprised by just how much they tasted like a cake version of a Mars bar. There is that same nougat type flavour within the cake layer that makes this much tastier than the average cake bar. I enjoyed the thick layer of caramel combined with the cake and also the generous coating of outer chocolate. I don't usually buy these types of cake bars but judging how popular these were in the Grocery Gems household I'm sure these will find there way into my shopping trolley in the future.

The Mars Cake Bars are available in packs of 5 from Coop, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons - RRP £1.65.

Products sent for an honest review. 

New Mars Hot Chocolate Pouches including Magic Stars & Galaxy Ripple!

Mars have recently launched a range of hot chocolates in convenient treat sized pouches. They offer a fun and flexible hot chocolate range which allows you to make the drink the way you like it - drink it cold, drink it hot, add milk or add water. The new pouched range includes Mars hot or cold, Galaxy hot or cold, Milky Way Magic Stars with added chocolate pieces, Galaxy Ripple with added chocolate pieces, Galaxy Caramel for milk or water, and Maltesers for milk or water. 

Everyone in the Grocery Gems household was especially excited to try the new Milky Way Magic Stars Hot Chocolate!

It has solid chocolate stars (mini sized) within the chocolate powder. These basically melt as soon as the hot water is added and ensure the Magic Stars Hot Chocolate is extra chocolately. The flavour is very sweet, the sweetest of the bunch, but it still has a lovely rich chocolate taste too. This is my children's new favourite hot chocolate by far!

There is also a more grown up version - the Galaxy Ripple Hot Chocolate with real Ripple Pieces within the hot chocolate powder. This is just divine! Galaxy is my go-to brand for hot chocolate and this Ripple version is super chocolately! Again, the added chocolate pieces just seem to add an extra boost of flavour.

The Galaxy Caramel Hot Chocolate is one that can be made with milk or with just water. Useful for making a quick hot chocolate or for when you only have access to a kettle, but it's perfect for using with milk too. This drink has a wonderful flavour from the start, it really is like a caramel filled chocolate masquerading as a hot chocolate. It's my personal favourite from this range.

I've been buying Galaxy hot chocolate for awhile now and, as I mentioned before, it's my favourite brand for hot chocolate. I love the fact that this new pouched Galaxy Chocolate Drink can be drunk hot or cold, very useful if some members of the family prefer milk shakes over hot chocolate, as there is no need to buy a separate product.

The classic Mars Chocolate Drink can also be used hot or cold. This is a chocolate and caramel flavoured drink which offers a twist on the usual hot chocolate or milkshake flavours. My eldest son loves this one as now he can make his favourite bottled milkshake at home.

The Maltesers Hot Chocolate is also flexible in that it can be made with milk or water. This has always been one of my kids' favourite hot chocolates. They love the mellow chocolate flavour mixed with a sweet malty edge. It's especially lovely as an evening drink.

The new pouched range is available from Asda and Tesco for £1.99.

Products sent for an honest review.

Review: Mars Milkshakes & Galaxy Hot Chcoolates

Everyone in the Grocery Gems household wanted to try out the new look range of Thick Shakes that we were recently sent. There were three varieties in our parcel, all based on famous chocolates; Galaxy Caramel, Maltesers, and Mars. The latter two were especially popular amongst all the testers. Each Thick Shake contains 300ml. Nutritional information: Galaxy - 213 calories, Maltesers - 241 calories, and Mars - 221 calories per bottle. 

Galaxy Caramel - At first I was surprised by just how pale this milkshake was in appearance. I had expected this to be a chocolate based milkshake, but taking a closer look at the bottle it's simply described as a "caramel flavoured milk drink". It doesn't have any chocolate so it's essentially a caramel milkshake! It's quite milky with a strong caramel flavour, but also a background hint of vanilla. 7 out of 10. 

Maltesers - We all loved this one, it's a well blended combination of chocolate and strong malt flavours. Neither flavour the strongest, they both work well together to create a pure Maltesers treat in a bottle. I love chocolate flavoured Ovaltine and this is a bit like a milkshake version of that! 9 out of 10.

Mars - This milkshake is described as a "chocolate and caramel flavour milk drink" so it's quite different from the above Galaxy Caramel. It's much darker in colour and has a sweet chocolately flavour from the outset. There's a subtle edge of caramel but it doesn't overshadow the chocolate. Definitely a hit with my boys! 8 out of 10.

I've been really getting into hot chocolate in the past few months so I was pleased to see these Galaxy Instant Hot Chocolate and Frothy Top Hot Chocolate included in the parcel. Even though I've tried and reviewed a fair few hot chocolates, somehow the Galaxy range managed to pass me by. 

I tried the Galaxy Instant Hot Chocolate first and I was surprised by just how rich and smooth the chocolate tasted. I'm used to instant hot chocolates being very sweet but Galaxy have clearly focused on the chocolate experience with this drink. It's creamy and rich tasting - exactly what you would want from a Galaxy Hot Chocolate. It also has a fairly decent frothy layer on the top so I was interested to see how the Galaxy Frothy Top would be able to out-froth it! As you can see from the photo above it is very frothy indeed! The same rich chocolately flavour is present here with an extra creamy feel. I will definitely be buying from the Galaxy Hot Chocolate range in future. (9 out of 10). 

Products provided for review.

Review: New Galaxy Iced Coffees! Single & Double Shot Mocha Latte

It's always lovely receiving new products in the post to review, and I was especially excited about a gorgeous parcel of goodies sent from the PR Agency for Mars. In amongst the items were these two new Iced Coffee Mocha Lattes from Galaxy, which I also spotted today for the first time in my local Tesco (next to the new Jelly Belly Milkshakes!).

I have to admit it's not quite the perfect time of year to be drinking iced coffee, but as a self-confessed coffee addict, a bit of cold weather is not enough to stop me from enjoying these! The Galaxy Iced Chocolate Coffee comes in two varieties, Single Shot and Double Shot Mocha Latte - the only difference being the strength of the coffee. They both have the satisfyingly creamy chocolate attribute that you would expect from Galaxy, which blends perfectly with the smooth coffee taste. The two flavours work together extremely well to create that classic mocha combination, without being overly sweet. The Double Shot of course, provides that extra burst of coffee flavour, but even the Single Shot will hit the mark with coffee fans.

My pretty-in-pink parcel also contained the new Milky Bar and Galaxy Chocolate Spreads which I have reviewed HERE, and also some Galaxy Hot Chocolates and milkshakes that I will be reviewing soon.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Galaxy Iced Coffee

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: Single Shot:168 calories, Double Shot: 181 calories.
Price: 2 for £2.00 (Tesco and Asda).

Review: New Galaxy Hazelnut Spread and Milky Way Stripey Spread!

I was quite taken aback when I saw these Galaxy Hazelnut Spreads and Milky Way Stripey Spreads sitting in the chocolate spread aisle, alongside the likes of Nutella. I mean look at them - they're in TUBES! Even though they may look like toothpaste tubes (chocolate toothpaste - now that's a nightmare scenario), these are actually in much wider 225g tubes.

The Galaxy Hazelnut Spread is described on the back simply as a "Hazelnut Chocolate Spread" and unsurprisingly contains hazelnuts (7%) and cocoa powder (4%).

I've tried a fair few hazelnut chocolate spreads in my time and I was very impressed by this Galaxy version. It's extremely similar in flavour to Nutella, but noticeably sweeter with a softer consistency. The chocolate flavour is especially sweet, but it still has that recognisably smooth taste that Galaxy is known for. There is a lovely strong flavour from the hazelnuts too, providing a really nutty finish to the overall experience. Even though I was unsure of the tube at first, it does make the chocolate spread easy to use with minimal mess.

The Milky Way Stripey Spread has existed before - albeit in a jar rather than a tube. Even though it's a shame that the stripey nature of this spread isn't visible anymore, like it was with the jar, the tube has the advantage of squeezing out a perfect stripe, much like a stripey toothpaste! Kids will no doubt be enthralled by this fact!

Apologies for the awful photo above, but believe me it's hard to make chocolate coming out of a tube look good!

The Milky Way Stripey Spread is described as a "chocolate and skimmed milk duo spread". It works well in this tube format and does come out striped in brown and white. The chocolate section here is VERY sweet, to the point over sugariness. I much preferred the white coloured part of this spread. It has a wonderfully creamy flavour, a bit like a milky white chocolate with a sweet vanilla edge - very tasty on it's own! However the whole thing did become a bit too sweet for me once it was all combined so I can't imagine eating this very often. I'm sure my kids will love it though! :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Galaxy Hazelnut Spread and Milky Way Stripey Spread

RATING: Galaxy - 8 out of 10, Milky Way - 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition (per 15g): Galaxy - 83 calories, Milky Way - 84 calories.
Vegetarian: Both Suitable for Vegetarians.
Purchased: Sainsbury's.
Price: £1.99 each.

Review: Galaxy A Gift For You - White Chocolate

Following on from my recent successful tasting of the new Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp chocolate bar, I decided to try one of their Christmas offerings - the Galaxy a Gfit for You White Chocolate with a Bubbly Centre. Of course the fact that it's white chocolate helped to make that decision a lot easier :)

I love the appearance of the this chocolate with it's pretty parcel shape and cute bow. The glutton in me also appreciated the fact that, although these might look quite small, inside it's actually a decent chunk of white chocolate that can be easily portioned into four well sized pieces.

The white chocolate is extremely creamy and smooth, perfectly satisfying as a sweet treat. The aerated white chocolate centre gives it a light texture and extra melt in the mouth consistency. The whole thing is of course quite simple in terms of taste and not exactly innovative. However, this product is all about the charming present shape and I prefer the use of white chocolate for a Christmas product, it just has a more wintery feel!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Galaxy Gift For You White Chocolate

RATING: 8.5 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per 26g): 148 calories.
Purchased: Sainsburys.
Price: 2 for £1.00p.

New Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp

I'll admit I very rarely buy Galaxy chocolate, even when they're on special offer I would usually choose another brand. Still, the word NEW worked it's magic on this occasion and I found myself buying the Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp.

The packaging and chocolate itself appear to have undergone a bit of a cosmetic update, but it's nothing too drastic and still represents the classic Galaxy brand.

There are plenty of visible crunchy honeycomb pieces within this 40g bar and to the naked eye it looks like a lot more than the 8% total stated on the packaging - especially when looking at the underneath of the bar.

Galaxy chocolate is always extremely smooth and creamy, and the addition of crispy honeycomb pieces gives it an extra textural interest. The flavour from the honeycomb is not particularly strong in itself, the pieces are almost too small for that, but it certainly adds a lot of extra sweetness and crunch. Overall, I enjoyed this combination but I know I wouldn't be able to eat more than a few pieces of this at a time.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp

RATING: 7 out of 10
Buy them again?: Maybe.
Nutrition (per 40g): 219 calories.
Purchased: Newsagent.
Price: £0.70p.

"Who Knew It Was Not So New?" Review: Part One

Grocery Gems is all about new and limited edition products, so you won't be surprised to hear that I hate it when goods still have NEW on them, even though they have been out for more than a year. I'm not talking about small local shops that might have old stock. I'm talking about products in major supermarkets and chains. I can only assume that these products are being produced with the word "new" on them, even though THEY ARE NOT NEW.

So, fellow consumers, I give you my "Who knew it was not so New?" review of products available in a shop near you. All photos have been taken in the last ten days.

Dairy Milk Bubbly "new"? Really?

Oh look I spotted some NEW Aero Bubbles! Oh no...wait. The good folks at Foodstuff Finds must be capable of time travel because somehow they spotted them ... in January LAST YEAR!

Here's a double whammy side by side. Milky Way Crispy Rolls - old old old. Also, Nestle Drifters are not claiming to be NEW - silly me, they're just in a "NEW PACK". I'm sure they wouldn't want to confuse consumers into thinking it was a "new" product. Would they?

Galaxy can you please stop with the NEW on your Galaxy Orange & Shortcake. It's been around since 2010! And while we're at it...

...Galaxy Bubbles Orange are not "new" either. They were released in January 2012. Grrrrr!!

And here is another example of a misleading use of the word NEW. Surely Yorkie haven't put the word "New" on this just because it's a slightly different sized pack? Yes, it appears they have.

I have been unable to find a packet of Cadbury Boost Cake Bars that don't have the word NEW on the front despite the fact that they were released in July 2011. These look like they'll be staying "new" throughout 2013!

Sharing bags are especially guilty of an unecessary use of the word NEW. BiscBits Chocolate Crisp are not that "new".

Galaxy Chocolate Caramel bites have been around since 2011 so why are they still being produced with the word NEW on the bag?

Choc Full of Pretzels are not yet a year old, but do they still count as "new"?

Apologies for the fuzziness of the photo but if you place your eyeballs perilously close to the screen you should be able to make out the word NEW. These Kellogg's Rice Krispies Squares Rocky Road were released around 7 months ago.

Should there be a cut off point for use of the word NEW on packaging? Is it misleading to consumers? Let me know your opinion on this very important new "new" issue.

I don't want to let you think there no genuinely new products in the supermarkets; here are a few geuninely "new" products I spotted instores:

Marks & Spencer's Easter range includes this hand decorated white chocolate Hello Kitty - completely adorable!

Cadbury's have released these heart shaped With Love boxes for Valentine's Day, filled with hazelnut praline chocolates. Available at Sainsbury's.

It says "new" and it's actually new - Hooray! Rowntree's Randoms Squidgy Speak were released a few weeks ago, review coming soon!