October is here. November isn't far away. The wind is blowing all the dead leaves out of the trees, the rain is pretty much constant and there's absolutely nothing I want to do more than to snuggle up under the duvet and watch something exciting on Netflix ! When the postie dropped off this month's Degustabox, I was delighted to see that they totally agreed with me. This month's theme is Movie Night and Halloween. Bring it on !
As I unpacked the goodies from the box, my smile got bigger and bigger ! This month's box is packed full of tasty treats, from chocolate and snack bars to hot drinks and instant meals. The perfect fuel for being a couch potato for a while ! Well, OK, that's the dream - in reality, the kids will undoubtedly scoff most of it ! Here's what was hiding inside this month's box.
Attack A Snak Nachos Snack Kit (RRP £1.50) is a product that we've already tried in a previous Degustabox and the kids love it. This is the first vegetarian product in the range, combining tortilla chips, a tangy tomato salsa and Mexican cheese sauce. Simply top 'em, dip 'em and snack 'em ! Be warned though, the pack contains 320 calories, so you might want to share if you're eating them as just a snack ! Don't buy too many in advance as the cheese content means they have a short expiry date. A resounding thumbs up from the kids ! An extra advantage at the moment is the on-pack promotion. Just enter the code on each pack into their website to be in with a chance of winning two free Cineworld tickets. The promotion runs from 1st September to 31st December and twenty winners are announced every day.
Costa Coffee (RRP £5.50) promises the perfect balance of delicate Arabica and strong Robusta beans, slow-roasted for a smooth and nutty flavour and rich aroma. It smells lovely but none of us drink coffee so I'll be passing this on to a friend.
Maltesers Hot Chocolate (RRP £2.59), on the other hand, has been dipped into repeatedly. The kids love it and it's perfect for warming up when temperatures drop. This is delicious as a drink, on its own or topped with mini marshmallows and squirty cream, but it can also be used as an ingredient for your favourite brownie, cookie and cake recipes. We thought it tasted the same as usual and, after checking out the info, it just has a new fancy look. Maltesers Instant Hot Chocolate is available in a 350g or 180g jar, 140g pouch, individual serving stick and pods, so there's something for everyone to enjoy!
Brynmor Chocolate Flapjack (RRP £1.29) is a delicious treat, lovingly baked in Wales and made with high quality natural ingredients. We received two other flavours - Caramel Fudge and Apple & Raspberry - in a previous Degustabox and this time we got to sample Chocolate. Chocoholics rejoice ! This bar is covered in delicious chocolate so it seems extra indulgent. Just a word of warning - each bar whacks in 370 calories so they're great fuel for your outdoor adventures but maybe a bit too much for chomping on the settee !
Staying on the theme of chocolate, Kit Kat Senses (RRP £5) are the perfect pass-around box of individually wrapped chocolates to share with your friends and family (or secretly scoff all by yourself, if you prefer !). Inside the box, you get three flavours to choose from : Hazelnut Praline, Salted Caramel and Double Chocolate. They're absolutely lovely and would make a great Christmas gift.
Naked Malaysian Style Rendang Curry Veg Pot (RRP £1.50) is great if you need a quick lunch on-the-go. Just add hot water, wait for a few minutes and you're good to go. This mushroom and broccoli pot, along with the other two flavours in the range (Korean BBQ Ramen and Chinese Green Vegetable Broth) are 100% plant based and count as one of your five-a-day. The exotic flavours are lovely but if you want to jazz things up, you could toss in some chopped up leftovers of meat, veggies and/or rice.
Olly's Pretzels Thins (RRP 2 x £1) are described as the perfect healthy alternative to crisps. Not only are they oven-baked, extra crispy and super "impretzive", they also have up to 80% less fat, 45% fewer calories than potato crisps and come in at less than 98 calories per pack. They're also vegan-friendly. We tried two flavours, Salted Original and Multi-Seed Sesame, which were both big hits with the kids.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Minis (RRP £1.50) were delightedly snapped up by Juliette. She loves the big Peanut Butter Cups, but I always find them a bit too sickly sweet, so these are a great alternative. You still get the lovely flavour of peanut butter and chocolate and the smaller sweets look very cute - perfect, in fact, for sticking on the top of a cupcake. (If Juliette hasn't eaten them all by the time I get around to making them !)
Pierre was delighted to see the name of the next product - St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns (RRP £2) ! Despite the name, these can be used for so many things - stuffed with beefburgers, sausages, veggie burgers or halloumi for a hot meal, eaten cold with cheese, ham and salad for lunch or even filled with something sweet like jam or Nutella when the kids are hungry. They have a lovely buttery taste that adds richness to whatever you're serving. They're pre-sliced which is nice and convenient and they're wonderfully soft with a lovely shiny glaze on top. Délicieux !
There was a voucher in the box to pick up a pack of Scarestrings Strawberry Yollies (RRP £2) - yogurt made so thick it will stay on the stick ! A source of calcium and vitamin D, I'm sure these will go down well with the kids !
As did the Whaoo! Chocolate Filled Crêpes (RRP £1.75) ! These are hugely popular in France, where they are served for breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack. They are individually wrapped so they're great as snacks-on-the-go too. They're made without any artificial preservatives, colours or flavours and no palm oil. They have a short expiry date but that's not a problem - they won't hang around for long !
Kookie Cat Wild Berries Cashew & Oat Cookie (RRP : gift) is a tasty organic and vegan snack. It combines tender cacao butter drops and sweet but slightly sour lingonberries. The kids weren't keen on this one but I happily munched away !
Finally, Yes! Plant Protein Bars (RRP 2 x £1.59), which were this month's Product of the Month. We got Cashew, Blueberry and Dark Choc (crunchy cashew and pumpkin seeds, tangy blueberries &and smooth dark chocolate - what's not to like?!) and Almond, Peanut and Double Dark Choc (as indulgent as it sounds). These are new flavours to the range and were both a big hit with us. Each bar contains 10g of plant based protein with nuts as the number one ingredient.
This box was hugely popular with the kids, who LOVED all the sweets and snack options. They will be looking out for some of the products the next time we go shopping, no doubt !
A subscription to Degustabox costs £12.99 per month including delivery, with each box having a value of much more than that, but the great news is, I have a discount coupon code for you which means you'll get the first box for just £9.99 - enter code PKUFE at the checkout.
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Disclosure : We received the box in order to write an honest review. As a Degustabox blogger, I receive all of the products that go into the monthly boxes, but subscribers may not get exactly the same selection.
