New Review: Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs

Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs.  Enough said. I should just end the review here. Just look at the adorable photos. It's a cuteness overload that brings together two of my favourite things; Hello Kitty & chocolate. Of course, now the only downside is that I need to collect THEM ALL. I need all the Hello Kitty Kinder toys right now.

Each Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise toy comes with it's own scenic background that is decorated on both sides. The details are all so cute and well done. 

I've got three Hello Kitty figures in my collection so far, each with a unique themed background.

Zoom in to see the eight figures available - I NEED the reindeer kitty!

The Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs are part of a release with the Hot Wheels Kinder Surprise Eggs but honestly who cares about Hot Wheels? I bought just the one for my sons to fight over. Anyhoo, Hello Kitty is awesome! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Kinder Surprise Hello Kitty

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes!
Purchased: Asda.
Price:  £0.80p each.

Review: Kinder Surprise My Little Pony & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Thanks to a reader who left a comment on my previous post - I was able to find the individual Kinder Surprise My Little Pony and TMNT eggs for sale today in Co-Op thanks to their tip. I really don't like buying those triple packs that only have one themed toy instead of three. Anyway, here's a quick peak at which toys we got.

Kinder Surprise My Little Pony: I GOT RAINBOW DASH! I GOT RAINBOW DASH! Ahem. So this grown-up woman was thrilled to find the rainbow My Little Pony in her Kinder Surprise. I might as well just stop this collection here because it's not going to get any better than this!

There are four My Little Pony and four Equestria Girls toys to collect in this series. Apparently these have been out in Germany since last year. 

Kinder Surprise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: In comparison the TMNT toys are not as impressive. The toys are similar to the Kinder Surprise Marvel Heroes collection, with the same twistable heads that can be used to create mini-battles between the figures. There six different characters to collect - I think the one above is meant to be Splinter? 

As always, if you've completed any of these Kinder Surprise collections then let me know in the comments. Send me a photo and I'll share it here too!

New In Store: Kinder Surprise My Little Pony & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Kinder Surprise My Little Pony & TMNT: A very quick New In Store post from me today. I was wondering whether there would be a new themed Kinder Surprise collection this January similar to the popular Disney/Marvel promotions of the last few years. Happily I discovered the new Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are featuring My Little Pony and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm quite tempted to start another collection!

So far I've only spotted these triple packs for sale (with only one themed egg per box). Spotted at Tesco - 2 boxes for £3.00. If you spot these new Kinder Surprise available individually anywhere them please let us know in the comments below - thanks!

UPDATE: Check out a review with toys here:  www.grocerygems.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-kinder-surprise-my-little-pony.html

Review: Kinder Joy (UK Release)

 

A quick review of this new release for the UK. I previously reviewed Kinder Joy in a post about German candies a couple of years ago and it's great to finally see this product available here. 

The Kinder Joy is quite different to the more familiar Kinder Surprise chocolate egg. Instead of a foil wrapped chocolate, the Kinder Joy is made up of two plastic halves, that are individually sealed. 

The foil covered side contains a sweet treat of creamy and milk chocolate layers with two crispy chocolate and wafer balls There's even a little plastic scoop included to make it easier to eat. The other half contains a toy that is usually a bit bigger than the ones you'd find in a Kinder Surprise. Ours had a little tennis set with two little rackets and ball. (UPDATE: In our second Kinder Joy, the surprise was a kids plastic ring (like costume jewellery) with a large colourful flower). Overall, the Kinder Joy is a nice treat for the kids and I'm sure it will be a popular product over Easter.

Grocery Gems Review: Kinder Joy

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.

Purchased: Co-Op.
Price (updated): £1.00p each or 2 for £1.60p.

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.

Review: Kinder Surprise Disney Fairies & Marvel Avengers Assemble

I finally managed to find the new Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs featuring Disney Fairies and Marvel Avengers Assemble toys to review. They're a great follow up to the Disney Princess and Marvel Heroes Kinder egg range from last year. 

So far I've only seen this Kinder Eggs in these special triple packs, rather than the far preferable single eggs. Please be aware that these triple packs will only contain ONE Disney Fairies or Marvel Avengers Assemble figure per pack. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to open all three eggs to find the Disney or Marvel toys ... but typically (in both boxes!) the special toy was in the last egg I opened out of the three. 

The Disney Fairies figure I found inside is Zarina, a fierce looking pirate fairy with her own flowery stand. The figure itself is made up of several pieces which results in a toy that is larger that the plastic egg casing. 

The rest of the Disney Fairies in this collection are; Tinkerbell, Rosetta, Iridessa, Periwinkle, Fawn, Silvermist, Vidia and Zarina. 

The Marvel Avengers Assemble figures are not as cute as the previous Marvel Heroes collection bobble head figures, but they still have the same play aspect, with a battle feature built in. This time if you push the figures head down you will get either an attack or defence number that you can use to play against your friends.

The other characters in the Marvel Avengers Assemble Kinder Eggs range are: Falcon, Iron Man,  Hawkeye, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Nick Fury, and Loki.

I'll update this review with further photos as my collection grows. If anyone has completed their collection already then I'd love to add your photos too - please email me at: grocerygems@gmail.com. Thank you!

UPDATE: 

Here's a great photo from Lucy of her Disney Fairies collection. She's just missing one figure - Fawn and luckily didn't get too many repeats to get this far. It's such a pretty collection - thanks for the photo Lucy!

UPDATE 2: 

Lucy found the last one and now has a fabulous complete collection!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Kinder Surprise Disney Princess & Marvel Heroes

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Iceland.
Price:  £1.85 for triple pack box.

Disney Frozen Toy Eggs

In  my Top Ten of 2014 review post a few days ago, I mentioned that it was funny how the Disney Princess Kinder Eggs last year didn't include any characters from Frozen. Then yesterday I happened to spot these Disney Frozen toy eggs in my local newsagent. They were actually labelled as "Kinder Eggs", and cost the same too, but they are actually made by Zaini, an Italian confectionery company. 

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the film Frozen, I was still excited when it came to opening these up. The chocolate itself is a plain milk variety and is tasty enough, but it's not a patch on the creamy sweet Kinder chocolate. Inside is a white capsule with a toy and small leaflet.

Well, I certainly managed to pick the two worst toys - Prince Hans and one of the trolls of all things! But even that's not as bad as the dire quality of these figures. Unlike Kinder Egg toys, which are usually made up of several pieces, these Frozen figures are made of one thin piece, which means they're absolutely tiny. The Prince Hans figure in particular is so one-dimensional and flat, it can barely stand up on it's own. Looking at the rest of the pictures on the leaflet, it looks like the Princesses are quite flat too. Apparently these toys are "handpainted", but it's a shame more effort wasn't put in to making the actual figures more substantial. Very disappointing and I certainly wouldn't recommend these particular eggs at the price I paid for them! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Disney Frozen Zaini Eggs

RATING: 4 out of 10.
Buy them again?: No.
Purchased: Local Newsagent.
Price: £0.89p each.

Other reviews you may be interested in: 

Kinder Eggs Disney Princess & Marvel Heroes

Grocery Gems: Top 10 Reviews of 2014

Following on from my Best of 2014 list yesterday, here's a look at the readers favourites - the Top Ten most read reviews of the year on Grocery Gems. It's always a surprise to see which reviews are the most popular and I have to admit that I was completely surprised about some of the posts which made the top ten, including the number one most viewed post on Grocery Gems in 2014! For this list, I left out any post that made the top ten that wasn't actually published in 2014 (there are a couple of reviews from 2013 that are still very popular). You can click on the product name for links to the original review.

10: Coke Life

Just making the top ten is my review of the first new core brand to be released by Coca-Cola since 2006 - Coke Life. This also made my personal favourites of the year list. It's no surprise to me that this is in the top ten, in fact I'm just surprised this review from back in August it wasn't higher up on the list.

9: Müller Corner Bliss Whipped Greek Style Yogurt

This is one of those reviews that I had completely forgotten about so I was completely surprised to see it anywhere near the top ten. The photos are ones that I had taken on my kitchen worktop which usually means that I'm not planning to even review the product (I pretty much take photos of everything now just in case!). Anyway, I'm certainly glad I posted this review in the end, as readers were obvioulsy curious to know more about this new Whipped yogurt from the Müller Corner range. 

8: Lidl Deluxe Coconut Spread

Coming in at number 8 is the Lidl Deluxe Coconut Spread review. This was definitely one of my favourite finds of 2014. Even though it had been around before in previous years, this is the first time I had managed to find and review it. Lidl brings out the Deluxe range of spreads for sale at sporadic intervals during the year and it remains a frustratingly difficult product to find.

7: M&S Toffee Fudge & Belgian Choc Hot Cross Buns

At number 7, the M&S Toffee Fudge & Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns. I was quite shocked to see this review amongst the most popular of the year, I didn't really remember these hot cross buns at all. Looking back, however, they were one of the more interesting products released last Easter, along with the equally tasty Double Chocolate Hot Cross Buns from Tesco. I hope we'll see some interesting hot cross bun flavours for 2015 too.

6: Haribo Minions

I'm pleased to see these Haribo Minions in the Top Ten even though the sweets themselves were quite disappointing in terms of flavour. Despicable Me 2 is one of our favourite family films and I think the cheeky Minions characters are here to stay as popular characters for products aimed at children. In fact, I spotted Minions products for Easter already - check out my instagram photo of these Minions Eggs. 

5: Asda Piñata Cake

Asda came up trumps with this great value piñata cake - a celebration cake filled with sweets. Piñata cakes were already popular on blogs and Pinterest but it's handy to have a supermarket version for anyone who is not a keen baker. Asda often releases celebration cakes with wow factor - such as the Asda Rainbow Cake back in 2013. 

4: Tesco Custard Cream Spread

Reaching the number 4 spot, this review of the Tesco Custard Cream Spread, was the post I was expecting to hit the number one spot easily. I hands down thought this was my most popular review, especially after it was mentioned on various news sites and my photos used on Buzzfeed. However, not only wasn't it number one, there was actually another sweet spread review that beat it on viewing figures.

3: Maltesers Teasers Chocolate Spread

Surprisingly, there are a total of three chocolate spreads in this top ten! I posted this Maltesers Teasers Review just a few days before the Tesco Custard Cream review but I didn't expect it to have been more popular. I guess that's what happens when you turn a favourite chocolate brand into a spread. Here's hoping that 2015 sees the release of a proper Bounty Chocolate Spread! 

2: Walkers Ranch Raccoon Crisps

Of all the crisp reviews I posted in 2014, I didn't expect the one with the worst rating to become the most popular and certainly not to be the second most viewed post. This was a variety that divided crisps fans with it's love-it-or-hate-it gamey meat and sour cream flavour. I wasn't even going to review this variety, having already reviewed all the other varieties in Walkers Do Us A Flavour promotion. However, even though I hated the flavour, I decided to review them just to complete the series. Funnily enough this review was also posted in the same week as the above Tesco Custard Cream Spread and the Maltesers Teasers Chocolate Spread. Looking back that was an important week for Grocery Gems!  

1: Kinder Surprise Disney Princess & Marvel Heroes

And finally, easily being my most popular post of 2014 is this review of the Kinder Surprise Disney Princess and Marvel Heroes range. It's funny to look back and see a Disney Princess product that doesn't include any of the characters from the movie Frozen! This review from back in February 2014 was my most popular post by far in 2014. It even attracted a staggering amount of comments, with a mini swap-shop taking place via the comments section. I thought that was just wonderful! 

I hope you enjoyed this run down of the Top Ten Grocery Gems posts of 2014. Thank you to all my readers, commentators, and anyone who's sent me photos over the year. I really do appreciate your support. Here's to more foodie gems in 2015 :)

Review: Limited Edition Kinder Surprise Disney Princess & Marvel Heroes

UPDATE: I would love to add more photos of these Kinder toys to this post - if you have a photo of your collection please send it to me at grocerygems@gmail.com. Full credit will be given. Thank you! 

Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs have been been available in blue and pink versions for a while now, since last year at least. As a bit of a Disney geek and with two children who are fans of Marvel Heroes, I'm loving these new Limited Edition Kinder Surprise. Let me know what you think about this latest release in the comments below!

Firstly the Kinder Egg Disney Princesses. There are seven princesses to collect; Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, and Rapunzel. I'm old enough to know better but I still enjoy cracking the chocolate and opening up the little orange plastic egg to find out which toy is inside. Obviously I was holding out for Belle, as she's the BEST Disney Princess, no question.

Inside I found a little Princess Jasmine, made of three interlocking pieces. It's very easy to put together, i.e. even I managed it! I wasn't disappointed, she looks incredibly detailed for such a miniature toy, even her skirt is glittery (which doesn't show up on the photo I'm afraid!). I'll just have to buy a few more Kinder Eggs until I find Belle...

My kids however, were only interested in the Marvel Kinder Surprise. Unlike the Disney Princesses, these toys are not realistic miniatures, these are Marvel characters as rounded "Twistheads", a concept Kinder has used before in previous ranges. I'm not sure where these Twistheads originated or the concept behind them, so feel free to leave a comment if  you have any information. There are ten different Marvel characters to collect; Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Loki, Thor, The Lizard, Venom, and Green Goblin.

Super cute Wolverine! These toys have little twistable heads (well only their scalps really!) that will reveal a number when twisted off. The idea is simply to get more than one and pit them against each other, whoever has the biggest number wins. I liked the look of these and the little strings on their heads which mean they can be attached to school bags or clothing.

We also got a mini Loki. Guess who won in the Twistheads battle between Wolverine and Loki? Overall these are lovely little toys that I'm sure any little fan (and more than likely quite a few big fans too...) of Disney or Marvel will enjoy.

UPDATE:

Our Marvel collection so far!

Here's an absolutely gorgeous photo sent to me by Sophie B. This is a full collection of the Disney Princesses completed by Ellie-May aged 2. Thank you so much for the lovely photo - the collection looks so wonderful displayed altogether! Well done for such a brilliant collection! :)

Kirstie L. sent me this fabulous photo of her Marvel Heroes collection. I love it, such a brilliant collage of photos that perfectly sums up the buy>devour>display sequence of trying to complete a full collection! Just three more to go for this collection, I'm sure it won't be long now. Thanks Kirstie!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Kinder Surprise Disney Princess & Marvel Heroes

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes..
Purchased: Co-Op.
Price:  £0.79p each or 2 for £1.20.