Activia Pear Yogurt Special Edition

The Activia range of yogurts is great for anyone who likes to try something a bit different from the usual flavours of yogurt, and the latest addition to the range is certainly not a common one - Pear flavour.

Does Special Edition mean the same as Limited Edition or does it mean it's a new flavour with extra bonus features? Whichever it is, I was interested enough in this new special edition to give it a try. I haven't bought Activia yogurts in a while; my yogurt of choice is the Muller Light Coconut & Vanilla, but as you may have noticed I do like the word "new". Pear is also one of my favourite fruits and not one that I have ever tried in a yogurt before.

The pots look slightly different to other fruit yogurts I have had in the Activia range, they are more curved and all green. The design suits the pear flavour very well.

The yogurt itself is nicely thick and creamy in consistency. There are large and small pieces of fruit within it which have a good texture, not too soft or hard. The pear taste is very strong, it's sweet and full of flavour, possibly even more full of flavour than most actual pears! This means the taste can border on being slightly too reminiscent of pear drops. I loved the creamy flavour of the yogurt combined with the rich sweetness of the pear. Needless to say, I'm always pleased to see bold new flavours and I'm glad that Activia have added to their range with this new Pear flavour.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Acitiva Pear Yogurt

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition (per pot): 129 calories. 4.8g protein,  17.0g carbohydrates, 16.9g sugar, 4.3g fat.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.89p

CyberCandy Takeout Box (Valentines Lovemix Version)

I recently blogged about the awesome US version CyberCandy Takeout Box and I mentioned that I had won a Valentines version in a Facebook competition - well look what arrived over the weekend! A gorgeous takeout style box filled with Valentines themed sweets - and it even comes with a pair of heart print chopsticks. Last time I gave the box a 10 out of 10 for the design alone and even though it's mathematically impossible, I want to rate this box even higher just because of the super cute chopsticks!

Seriously - just how cute is this box? I think I'm in love!

The CyberCandy Takeout Box is a really adorable idea, it's been modelled on American style Chinese takeout boxes, complete with little wire handles and lots of bright images printed on the outside (that look like they really do belong on a Chinese take out box).

Dig straight in and practise those chopstick skills!! Once again the inside of the box is crammed full of sweets but this time they are all "love" themed. There is a great mix of alphabets, rings, and white chocolate jazzies - and of course lots of hearts and kisses!

I much prefer the sweets in this selection to the US version I had last time, they are all enjoyable to eat and were a hit with my whole family.

Oh and did I mention how cute the whole thing is? Being filled with Valentines themed sweets makes the CyberCandy Takeout Box even more adorable! And yes I do realise just how many times I've used the words cute and adorable in this review!

Big Sister and Little Sister

The CyberCandy Takeout Box comes in three different versions - US candy, UK sweets and this Valentines Lovemix. There are also different sizes available - the Lovemix version comes in a smaller box, which is still a generous size and a good price too. I still have the larger box from my last purchase - there's no way I'm throwing these takeout boxes out!

Many thanks to CyberCandy for running this fab competition with such an awesome prize!

Grocery Gems Verdict: CyberCandy Takeout box (Valentines Lovemix)

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Absolutely.
Purchased: Only available at CyberCandy.
Price: £2.69.

New Cranberry Belvita Breakfast Biscuits

I've reviewed lots of new breakfast biscuits since I started this blog but I've never actually reviewed the most established brand on the market: Belvita. I've enjoyed their breakfast biscuits many times and my husband is quite a fan of the Honey & Nuts variety. I was delighted to be asked to review this Cranberry version which has recently been added to the Belvita range.

The biscuits come in the usual format; each box has 6 individually sealed packs of four biscuits. Belvita Breakfast Biscuits are made with a combination of five wholegrains, (wholegrain oat flakes, wholegrain malted rye flakes, wholegrain spelt flour, wholegrain barley flour and wholegrain wheat flour) which help provide a slow energy release. They also have added vitamins and minerals and each biscuit has 55 calories.

I love the appearance of these biscuits, even though they have an oat pattern imprinted on the top, they are still very rustic looking with an appetising golden colouring. There are plenty of visible fruit pieces and a generous sprinkling of oats. The fruity cranberry smell is immediately evident from these biscuits, alongside an appetising wheaty biscuit aroma.

The biscuits have a great texture, crunchy but not too hard, and very slightly crumbly. The taste of the cranberries lives up to the promise of the initial scent - the sweet berry flavour is prevalent throughout the entire biscuit. There is a generous amount of dried cranberry pieces which add a lovely chewiness to the otherwise crunchy biscuits. The satisfying fruity flavour really sets these biscuits apart from other dried fruit breakfast biscuits on the market, they have more depth of flavour and are very moreish. I find four biscuits to be a very generous portion, I would usually eat two and save the rest for later. Whether you like eating these for breakfast, or as I do, as a mid morning snack, they're just perfect with a cup of tea or coffee!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Belvita Cranberry Breakfast Biscuits

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per biscuit): 55 calories. 1.0g protein, 8.4g carbohydrates, 2.4g sugar, 1.7g fat.
Purchased: Product was sent to me for an honest review.
Price: Available at most supermarkets for £2.45.

3 Musketeers Coconut Review (CyberCandy)

My husband picked up this imported chocolate bar from CyberCandy, knowing that I love most coconut flavoured bars (apart from Bounty, but more about that later!). I've never actually had a regular 3 Musketeers let alone a flavoured version so I was intrigued to give it a try.

The 3 Musketeers Coconut comes in two separate pieces, a feature that always appeals to me. I don't always want to finish a chocolate bar in one go and this is perfect for that! As soon as I unwrapped the chocolate the sweet coconut smell was full of promise. The wrapper describes it as a "chocolate coconut flavoured centre" but I would have assumed the coconut was also in the outer chocolate as the scrumptious coconut smell was so prevalent.

I wasn't sure what the "chocolate coconut flavoured centre" would be like but I suspected it might be a Bounty type filling. I was very happy to discover that in fact this bar has a whipped centre. The texture and taste of the filling is just like a Milky Way, which is not too surprising seeing as both bars are made by Mars, but with the added benefit of a sweet coconut flavour. What you have here is essentially a coconut Milky Way - and I thought it was just delicious. The coconut flavour is just as strong as the tempting scent suggested and it combines perfectly with the fluffy nougat.

Tthe filling is of course extremely sweet, but because of the it's whipped nature, it's also a very "light" experience at the same time. The outer chocolate is quite bland, which means the whole bar is dominated by the inner filling. A bit more balance from the chocolate would have improved the overall flavour but, even without that, it was a very enjoyable bar, and one that I can imagine buying again. Yes, it's a very simple confection but it's one that I found very appealing. Another bonus is that there are only 180 calories for the whole bar, that's just 90 calories in each segment. It's also advertised as having 40% less fat that standard chocolate bars.

 Grocery Gems Verdict: 3 Musketeers Coconut

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Definitely.
Nutrition (per 42.2g bar): 180 calories. 1g protein, 32g carbohydrates, 6g fat.
Purchased: CyberCandy.
Price (each 160g bag): £1.55.

A quick note on the whole "Bounty" thing. How can I love coconut but dislike Bounty bars? It's mainly because of the gritty texture of the centre. I like coconut as a flavour in chocolate and cakes but that doesn't mean I want to eat a sugary mass of coconut on it's own (I'm ignoring the thin chocolate covering). I'm only mentioning that because my husband also bought me another coconut bar called Mounds. 

Again I wasn't sure what to expect but even though I like the packaging, and especially the coconut instead of an O, I was again suspicious that this would be too similar to a Bounty. 

 

Unfortunately for me it's basically an American version of a Bounty bar, so not something I could enjoy. However I thought it was worth a quick mention here and if you're a fan of sugary coconut then it's definitely worth a try!

Joe & Seph's Valentines White Chocolate & Strawberry Popcorn

My husband visited Whole Foods Market last weekend and spotted this limited edition Valentine's popcorn from Joe & Seph's. There are two varieties available; "For Him" there is a is Caramel, Macchiato & Whisky flavour, "For Her" there is this White Chocolate & Strawberry. 

The packaging has been updated to incorporate the Valentines theme, with a special heart shaped label.

I've reviewed several of Joe & Seph's flavours before and I have previously marvelled at the way the flavours seem to shift and build in exactly the way described on the packaging. The different ingredients have been added with to ensure the flavours are released at different stages whilst you are eating creating a layering. There are three main flavours here; caramel, white chocolate and strawberry. This Strawberry & White Chocolate popcorn has a slightly less obvious layering effect of flavours than the varieties I have tried before. The flavour here seems more consistent as a strawberry white chocolate taste rather than of white chocolate first and then strawberry.

That's not a criticism of the flavour itself as I found it absolutely delicious. There are dried strawberry pieces studded on the outside of the popcorn and seem to flavour the whole popcorn, it's fruity and fresh and just scrumptious. The white chocolate adds an initial sweetness and creaminess to this popcorn, and then, seemed to give way to the caramel flavour at the end. I seem to say this every time I review Joe & Seph's, but this White Chocolate & Strawberry has become my new favourite flavour from their range, it's so simple and moreish.

As ever the ingredients are 100% natural and high quality (there is 29% cocoa solids in the Belgian white chocolate used here). I know this flavour was released last year for Valentines Day and I hope they bring it back next year too!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Joe & Seph's Gingerbread Popcorn

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: None given.
Purchased: Whole Foods Market
Price: £2.99p