Tuesday 22 October 2013

Mega Review! Brain Blasterz Sour Sweets


I thought I'd start my review today with the amazing tagline for these 'Brain Blasterz' sweets above!

'Warning! Not for Babies, Wimps, Adults' 

Suffice to say, after trying this range of sweets I have decided that I may be a wimp!
 However, the concept of these super sour sweets is a great one, and absolutely amazing for children! I can definitely vouch for my little cousins when I say that they absolutely adored them!

"Brain Blasterz is the mega sour confectionery brand from Europes leading licensed confectionery manufacturer Bon Bon Buddies Ltd.
Following the successful launch of Brain Blasterz mega sour confectionery range in 2011 the brand has gone from strength to strength, sending taste buds tingling across key markets including Europe, UK and the Middle East as the growth in demand for sour confectionery continues!
With the majority of products ranging from RRP £0.25p to £0.99p, this range of pocket-money priced mega sour novelty confectionery has proved to be very popular with the kids, who love the mega sour nature of the brand, and the fact that the brand is not for Babies, Wimps or Adults". 

-Taken from; www.brainblasterz.com 


Now onto the review! I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by the lovely people at Brain Blasterz and asked if I would like to review some of they're products! Of course I said yes and not even 48 hours later the postman was knocking at my door with a big parcel filled with deliciously sour goodies!
Upon opening my parcel, I was delightfully surprised with the bright, bold and fun packaging of these sweets! Now if there are any other wimpy people out there similar to me, don't worry these sweets aren't all super sour, they have a 'sourness' rating, which means some of these sweets are insanely sour and some are really sweet! So i'll do my reviews today like a sliding scale of sourness starting with the nice and sweet ones for us wimps...leading up to the insanely sour for the unruly children!

So first up we have the Brain Blasterz 'Candy Blitz' (RRP £0.69)

Apple & Strawberry Flavour Candy Blitz

'Apple and Strawberry Flavour Candy Blitz'
I really enjoyed these 'Candy Blitz' sweets! They are very similar to the Wonka Nerds, but I found myself enjoying these flavours much more as they tasted much more defined than the Wonka alternative!
I found myself hesitant at first tasting the apple flavour, and spent most of my time emptying out the strawberry flavoured compartment, but as soon as I tasted the apple I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet it was! I was expecting it to have a really sour apple taste, but it was surprisingly sweet!

Lemon & Raspberry Flavour Candy Blitz

'Lemon and Raspberry Flavour Candy Blitz'
I much preferred the Apple and Strawberry flavour to this Lemon and Raspberry flavour, but I still did enjoy them! I found the raspberry flavour very similar to the strawberry flavour but with a slight more sourness to it, and the lemon flavour tasted a bit too sweet and sickly for my liking!

Strawberry Sour Straps


Next we have these Brain Blasterz 'Sour Straps' (RRP £1.49)
These are definitely my favourite sweets of the bunch! The strawberry flavour is sweet and tangy, and the little sour crystals coating each strap give it that extra sugary sweet taste! They also come in apple flavour, but I'm so glad I was sent the Strawberry version! They are fab!

 Apple Sour Straws


These Apple sour straws are definitely some of the best sweets Brain Blasterz do! (RRP £1.49).
Once again, looking at these apple sour straws I was hesitant about tasting them, I thought they were going to be extremely sour, especially since they were apple flavoured, and apple is renowned for being particularly sour in sweets!
However, once again I was proved wrong and I found that I loved them! The apple flavour helped give these sweets a little 'tang' but didn't make them taste too sour....which is exactly how I like my sweets! So this is a definite thumbs up for us wimps! These 'sour straws' also come in a strawberry flavour which I look forward to tasting!

Brain Blasterz 'Oozing Brain Gum'



 Now this is where we start moving up the sourness scale of the Brain Blasterz range of sweets....so be warned!


Each pack contains around 13 individually sealed chewing gums!


RRP (£0.99)
 Before we start on the taste I just need to point out how amazing the packaging for these sweets are! I love how all the chewing gum is packed into a massive brain shaped box! It really symbolises they're name 'oozing brain gum'.
 Onto the taste! These chewing gums definitely live up to their 'oozing' name! The chewing gums are very sticky once taken out of their little packets, and the gooey filling is extremely sour! Sour enough to make you cringe! However, after a few moments the sour taste gives way to the sweetness of the surrounding chewing gum. And for the fantastic price of £0.99p you can't go wrong!

Brain Blasterz 'Candy Sprays'
'Raspberry, Apple & Strawberry flavour sprays'

These candy sprays are extremely fun.....and sour! They come in three different flavours; apple, strawberry and raspberry. On a sourness scale I would definitely say the raspberry flavour is the worst! I was shocked as I thought the apple or strawberry would have the strongest taste....so silly me snapped up the raspberry flavour and sprayed a few squirts in my mouth.....then nearly keeled over at the overload of tastes on my tongue!



My little cousins however were amazed over this product! They loved the sour tastes and came up with a competition over who could last the most number of sprays without pulling a face....safe to say I barely lasted three! These sprays are tongue tingly brilliant and an amazing little treat for children, all for a fantastic RRP £0.69p  per spray!

Now we reach the finale of these sour sweets....and these next sweets are definitely right at the top of the sourness scale!

Brain Blasterz 'Mega Sour Container'




Behold the sourness sweets of all sourness! These deadly sweets are Brain Blasterz best sellers and it's not hard to figure out why!
These deadly tubs contain approximately 13 individually wrapped hard candies in 4 different flavours -Raspberry, Watermelon, Apple and Lemon.
Now these sweets definitely surpass my tolerance for sour sweets, but for the sake of this review (and the constant begging from my little cousins) I gave in, manned up and tried the worst flavour of all: Lemon!


As soon as this little hard candy hit my tongue my taste buds were on fire with the sour coating and after popping it in and out of my mouth for a few minutes (because i am a giant wimp and can't handle it for the full time in my mouth) I was rewarded with a nice sweet, fruity lemon flavour. However, I wasn't completely out of the woods, as my little cousins failed to tell me in the middle of each sweet is a further sour filling! So after having my mouth set alight with sourness! I can safely say that although these sweets taste good, and are fun... I will not be trying them again! Which was a bonus for my cousins as they had cleaned out the container by the end of the day, and thoroughly enjoyed them!


So although these sweets are extremely sour, and not for wimps like me, my little cousins loved them and for a RRP £0.99 I will definitely be stocking up on some of these as stocking fillers for the family!
You can also check out the 'Straight Face Challenge' on Brain Blasterz YouTube channel, where fans send in clips of themselves attempting to keep a straight face whilst sucking one one (or more) of these mega sour candies! You can check that out here. 

Overall, I am a huge fan of these sweets! They are definitely the type of fun sweets you can enjoy and play games with all the family, and for my fellow wimps out there not all of them are sour! I will definitely be investing in some more of the strawberry sour straps in the near future!

If you guys want more information on these sweets and other sweets Brain Blasterz have to offer and where they are currently stocked, you can check out their awesome website here.

And follow them on Facebook here and Twitter here, for more information, games, quizzes and exciting competitions where the prizes are extremely sour!


I recieved this product in order to produce an honest review, and all views/opinions expressed are completely my own.


Would I buy these again? YES...the Brain Blasterz Brain Gunk looks particularly tempting!






Monday 21 October 2013

Milka Choco Minis

Walking through the biscuit aisle of Asda the other day, my eyes were drawn to these new unusual looking Milka biscuits on the shelf!
Normally, Milka branded products are displayed in the chocolate aisle, but due to these being biscuit based they were placed in the biscuit aisle.....and for £2 I certainly wasn't going home without trying these beauties!


'Biscuits filled with milk cream and a layer of Alpine Milk Chocolate'

This pack of Milka chocolate biscuits contains 5 individual mini packs perfect for school lunch boxes, or a cheeky treat at work! (you can only see 4 packs in the picture below since I have already scoffed the fifth pack!).


Described simply as; 'Biscuits filled with milk cream and a layer of Alpine Milk chocolate'. These treat size biscuits certainly look delicious!
And I must say, I don't believe they're terribly unhealthy either! Each small pack contains 6 mini biscuits, and each biscuit contains 32 calories. That's only 192 calories per pack....not too bad if I do say so myself!....It certainly helps make me feel less guilty having a pack of these!
 Furthermore, I think splitting these mini biscuits up into six individual packs, definitely helps control how many biscuits you eat!


32Kcal per mini choco biscuit

I have to say I love the design and shape of these biscuits! I think the star design looks amazing, and  I bet children would love having a little pack of these as a treat or in they're lunch boxes at school....to be honest even as an adult I'm still drawn to these adorable biscuits!
Taste wise, the shortbread biscuit tastes perfect! Nice and crumbly and the perfect base for the layer of Alpine chocolate...I have to admit I was greatly disappointed at the supposed 'milk cream' that was meant to be the filling in between the biscuit and Alpine chocolate layer. In actual fact, there was only a tiny line of white cream on every biscuit in my pack, so it wasn't just a one off.....

Overall, I am a huge fan of these Milka choco minis! I love Milka chocolate and the combination of the chocolate with a biscuit is delicious! I would however recommend that Milka actually add in some more of the 'milk cream' so that we can actually get a proper taste of it! Nevertheless, this is a lovely product and definitely does the job as a perfect snack!

Would I buy this product again? Yes



Sunday 20 October 2013

'Almondy' Authentic Swedish Tarta with Daim

So as a follow up to my previous post in which I reviewed Almondy's Toblerone tarta here, I promised I would review the Daim tarta as soon as I was able to get my hands on it! And luckily Asda had one box left in the frozen aisle! So of course I snapped it up and here's my review!



Firstly, I must say I love the packaging Almondy have for their frozen dessert range! They definitely stand out when on the shelf and the design is amazing too! Just looking at a slice of the tarta on the front already has my mouth watering!
Almondy are Swedish confectioners and have (luckily for us) brought they're range of frozen desserts over to the UK from Germany! They have a full range of delicious looking Tarta's ranging from the fabulous Almondy Toblerone tarta to their best seller: Almondy Daim tarta! Which I will be reviewing today!

Almondy started baking and producing their Daim tarta in 2001 and it quickly became they're bestseller with Swedes consuming each year, around 1,000,000 Daim cakes! Which equates to roughly 115 cakes every hour! How amazing is that?

460Kcal per 100g serving 

Described as "A cake lover's favourite! Almondy with Daim combines our irresistible almond base with a golden cream and crunchy almond caramel, all deliciously coated with in a smooth milk chocolate" 
And further more; At least 30% of the cocoa originates from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms, conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for workers and farmers.

This 400g Daim tarta is made to be cut into 6-8 slices, and if my readers are anything like me they're wondering how long this takes to defrost before they can dig in? Well, I'm happy to say for one slice, it should take 10 minutes at room temperature and for the full cake a measly 30 minutes!


Now onto the taste! 
First things first! I can definitely see why this tarta is they're best seller! It is absolutely gorgeous!
For anyone who read my review of Almondy's Toblerone tarta, they will know that I mentioned how the biscuit base 'wasn't anything special'....well the biscuit base for this tarta is amazing, especially since this dessert has been frozen! The biscuit is nice and soft, but not dry it's perfectly moist....you wouldn't be able to tell that this has come out of the freezer!
The best part of this tarta for me has to be the golden cream and crunchy almond caramel, it taste delicious! It's not to sweet and overwhelming that it makes the cake sickly, it creates the perfect balance with the biscuit and then the addition of the crunchy Daim pieces on top of everything just adds to the perfection!

Overall, I think this has got to be one of my favourite frozen desserts ever! All the elements of this tarta blend together perfectly to create absolute perfection in the mouth! I would recommend this dessert to anyone reading my review right now! It's well worth the £2.99 it costs in Asda!
Plus, one of my favourite things about these desserts is not only that the cocoa originates from Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms, but that these tarta's (and all of Almondy's frozen desserts) are naturally free from Gluten, thus can be enjoyed by people with coeliac disease and those with a gluten allergy!

If you guys want any more information on this delicious Daim tarta, or any of Almondy's other frozen dessert they have a fantastic website here, so check it out!

Would I buy this again? 100% YES.


Tuesday 8 October 2013

*Double Review* 'New' Maltesers Hot Chocolate & Rocky Mountain 'Mega Marshmallows'


As we start descending into Winter and the cold days are coming quick and fast, I thought I'd do a double review of some nice hot chocolate and marshmallows to warm us all up!

Firstly, there's the relatively 'new' Maltesers Malty chocolate drink which promises a nice frothy top to sweeten the deal. I have to admit when it comes to hot chocolate I can be particularly fussy! I tend to go for the 'branded' products because I feel there's a higher chance that they'll taste good and that I will like them more!
 As such, on my recent trip to Asda I found I didn't mind paying the £2.39 for this hot chocolate, as it looks and will most likely taste gorgeous!


The packaging for this new Maltesers hot chocolate comes in a handy new, less plastic 'eco-pack', described as better for the environment by helping to reduce the amount of packaging waste thrown away every day. Furthermore, this packet is not just economical, this packaging also comes with a handy resealable top, which I have said in previous posts how much I love!
This hot chocolate can be made up using either milk or water. Since I have an incredible sweet tooth and like my hot chocolate nice and creamy...of course I went for the milk option! So I scooped up the required 4 teaspoons of Maltesers powder and warmed my milk up in the microwave.
 In terms of nutrition each 25g serving (4 teaspoons) when mixed with 200ml of water is 99 calories. If 200ml of semi-skimmed milk is used the calories increase to 194....naughty!


When adding my 4 teaspoons of hot chocolate I quickly realised I would need more than 4 to get that nice chocolatey flavour, so I added one more heaped spoonful and that did the trick!


The Maltesers hot chocolate tasted delicious! It wasn't overbearingly sweet and chocolatey, it was just enough to tickle the taste buds and give you that warm feeling! The 'malty' taste wasn't as strong as I expected and was quite mellow but I found that incredibly appealing and will definitely be buying some more of this Maltesers hot chocolate soon!

Alongside, the Maltesers hot chocolate I will also be reviewing 'Rocky Mountain Mega Marshmallows'. These are an American product recently brought over and introduced into the UK market. They are currently priced at £2 in Asda....which is a really good price since they cost £3+ on Amazon for one bag!

 330kcal per 100g.

I'm not 100% sure why I decided to splurge out on these marshmallows...maybe the fact that hot chocolate isn't quite the same without a gooey marshmallow in it and these marshmallows looked absolutely fabulous! This 340g bag of marshmallows is definitely mega like it says! They are unbelievably huge! Here are a few scale comparisons;

Mega Marshmallow in comparison to my hand!

Mega Marshmallow in comparison to a tea bag!
Mega Marshmallow in comparison to a tin of mints!

Mega Marshmallow in comparison to my teaspoon!

They are huge. Fact.

In terms of taste, eating one by itself starts to taste sickly and doesn't have the same flavour as normal marshmallows...maybe due to their size? I think these are meant to be eaten toasted or as a component in 'smores'....so that might be quite an interesting review to take on in the future?
 However, one of these marshmallows dipped and floating in my hot chocolate tasted amazing. The marshmallow initially started to melt and become gooey, which gave it an extra creamy taste and blended in well with my Maltesers hot chocolate!

Overall, I really enjoyed both products and would definitely buy them again as they are value for money and taste great, I'd like to maybe try smores or toasting the marshmallows next time so look for some upcoming 'sticky' marshmallow reviews!

'Perfect hot chocolate experience'


Would I buy these again? YES

Maltesers hot chocolate: 


Rocky Mountain 'Mega Marshmallows':

Sunday 6 October 2013

'Almondy' Authentic Swedish Tarta with Toblerone

On my most recent trip to Asda I decided to treat myself to something special for the evening and walked all throughout the store looking for something delicious to catch my attention.....by the end of my shop I decided it just wasn't happening so made my way down the very last frozen aisle and then right at the end freezer this Almondy Toblerone Tarta practically started singing for me to put it in my trolley! So of course I did....and i didn't feel guilty one bit!...okay maybe a smidge! But it looks absolutely divine;


The Swedish confectioners 'Almondy' have brought this dessert over all the way from Germany, and have brought other frozen desserts including Almondy Daim, Almondy Meringue and Almondy Caramel & Peanut. The only other Almondy product I could see in the frozen section of Asda was the Almondy Daim....which I may have to splurge on during my next Asda trip!

440 calories per 100g

How gorgeous and delectable does that look?

Described on the pack as;
 "Almondy almond tarta with pieces of Toblerone combines an irresistible almond base with rich chocolate cream and smooth milk chocolate mousse. Topped with a generous sprinkle of Toblerone pieces, all deliciously smothered with milk chocolate."

There are also some defrosting directions on the back of the packet and I was pleasantly surprised at quickness of the times! To defrost one slice, it should be left out for twenty minutes and for the whole tarta it should be left out for a measly forty five minutes....that's not too long a wait is it?...unless you're a chocoholic and starving!
...Now onto the guilty part! There is 440 calories per 100g.....and this tarta is 400g, so this is definitely not a healthy treat! 

'Gluten free!'
After some of the longest forty five minutes of my life, finally the tarta was defrosted!
I decided to just have a slice on it's own, without any cream or ice cream to accompany it which I usually would have with some cake, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this dessert wasn't dry! Especially since this was one of my main concerns considering it's frozen.
On the first mouthful, there is the wonderful chocolate taste of the cream, which helps stop this dessert from being dry and gives it a smooth and fluffy taste. The biscuit base at the bottom was alright...nothing special! But with all the added chocolate cream and crunchy Toblerone pieces this dessert becomes deliciously awesome! 
Overall, this dessert tasted really good and for £2.99 I would definitely buy it again to share with the family....or even test out the Almondy Daim flavour....watch (or should I say read) this space!

For more information, or some fantastic recipe ideas you can visit Almondy's newly revamped website here.

Would I buy this again? YES


Saturday 5 October 2013

Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme

Recently I acquired this Hershey's cookies 'n' creme flavoured chocolate bar from a friend and haven't had a chance to review it till now.


I was really quite excited to try this bar because as much as I say that I am a chocoholic...sometimes even chocoholics need some variation in their chocolate bars! So this cookie infused white chocolate bar really appealed to me yesterday!
Described quite simply on the pack as 'white chocolate with cookie bits' this bar seemed like the perfect option to appease my niggling sweet tooth!

'208 calories per 40g bar'

Opening the packet the bar looked darker than I expected. This was probably due to the amount of cookie pieces crammed inside! Split into three rows, each little chunk has the brand name 'Hershey' on it and overall this 40g bar looks very appetising! Turning it over face down, we can see just how many cookie pieces are squeezed  into this bar;


Look at all that!!

The taste of the bar however was much different from what I expected! The white chocolate was certainly very different from the Cadbury white chocolate that we're all normally used to! The taste seemed less rich and smooth than our version, and overall just seemed like a lower quality chocolate. The cookie pieces however I really enjoyed! I'm not quite sure what cookie was used but whatever type of cookie it was I would certainly buy a pack of them on their own! They reminded me of a crumblier version of Oreo's! 
 Overall, I really enjoyed this chocolate bar and upon eating it all in one sitting, scoured the internet to see where I could find one in a local supermarket and found that they can apparently be purchased in Tesco for 65p so if they are I will definitely be buying some more!
Would I buy this again? YES


Friday 4 October 2013

Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Crisp (Irish)

So recently I was doing a quick shop around my local Tesco and came across a new 'world foods' section in the store! Immediately my eyes were drawn to the American section and I began fawning over all the imported cereals and chocolate bars etc... But in a bold move decided to purchase something from elsewhere in the world! Now being half Irish myself, immediately after looking at the American section I looked straight to the Irish section and came across this Dairy Milk Mint Crisp bar of chocolate.

"Mint flavoured milk chocolate with honeycomb granules"
At 95p I couldn't say no so I popped it in my trolley and sped through the rest of the shop so I could get home and enjoy my little treat with a nice cup of tea!
Size wise, at 54g the bar isn't very big and doesn't really compare to our chocolate bars, but it was the perfect size for a mid afternoon treat or something light in the evening! And at 275 calories I didn't feel too guilty indulging myself in this Cadbury bar!

54g bar contains 275 calories

Split into two small rows and made of eight chunks I really like the concept of these miniature bars! As loads of times I have opened a large bar of chocolate snapped off two lines and then had to put it back away in the cupboard partly open, this bar solves this problem as it's only made of two rows!
Described by Cadbury on the packet as 'Mint flavoured Milk chocolate with honeycombed granules' ....I couldn't wait to get stuck in.


Upon opening the packet I was hit with an extremely strong smell of mint...which I expected but as strong! The chocolate did taste extremely minty too, it tasted much more mintier than I expected it too but I'm a lover of mint chocolate so this definitely appealed to me! The chocolate was smooth and the added crunch of the honeycomb granules gave the bar that extra texture and crunch it needed to be fabulous! As seen in the picture above, you can clearly see the honeycombed granules and the decent amount that comes in the bar....well worth the 95p paid for it!
 Overall, I really enjoyed this bar and for 95p will definitely be purchasing many more in the future! These small Irish Cadbury bars also come in two other flavours Dairy Milk Tiffin and Dairy Milk Golden Crisp.

Would I buy this again? YES


Thursday 3 October 2013

Limited Edition: Maltesers McFlurry

So when making my way through town the other day I passed a McDonald's and stopped to check which McFlurry they were specialising in at the moment, and I was delighted to find that it was a Maltesers flavour! Of course I couldn't walk away with the knowledge that McDonald's were doing a Maltesers McFlurry and not buy one....so I dug around in my purse for the £1.39 required and happily made my way home!


'Drift away in a swirl of soft dairy ice cream, mini Malteser clusters and malted chocolate sauce'
-McDonalds

At a hefty 410 calories per Pot these limited edition Maltesers McFlurries should definitely be classed as a treat every once in a while.


Removing the lid, on first appearances the McFlurry looks quite messy! There seems to be a fair serving of the Malteser clusters and a big dollop of the malted chocolate sauce. 
In reality, the further I made my way through the ice cream, the more disappointed I began to feel! The ice cream was the typical soft serve that we come to expect when buying McDonald's McFlurries, so this was smooth and creamy with that classic milky taste. 
 The Maltesers clusters were gorgeous, essentially they were little clumps of Maltesers mashed together spread throughout the ice cream. However, there wasn't nearly enough for the whole ice cream! So once I'd made my way through about a third of the ice cream the clusters were all gone!
 Lastly, I will admit I wasn't a fan of the malted chocolate sauce....and in some ways was glad that there was only the slight dollop on top and that it wasn't mixed throughout the ice cream! There was just something that tasted 'off' about the sauce that didn't sit well with me....it didn't taste sweet or add to the ice creams flavour, and unfortunately it really let this limited edition McFlurry down.



Overall, I wasn't impressed with the taste of this ice cream. I loved the Maltesers concept but I think the flavourings need to be seriously rethought for next time! 

P.s. If anyone's bored or has any time to spare I found this really cool link that shows'28 unusual and wonderful International McFlurry flavours'  And I've got to admit some countries have brought out some amazing (and confusing) McFlurry flavours that I would die to try! I think I'd most like to try the Blueberry Oreo flavour from Japan....which would you like to try most? Leave a comment below! 

Thanks! xo

Would I buy this again? NO