Tasty Little Numbers calorie-controlled snacks review

When I was asked if I'd like to try out some products from the Tasty Little Numbers range of calorie-controlled snacks, I instantly fell in love with the concept. Dubbed "the snacks that take the messin' outta guessin' ", the whole range of products - which includes chocolate bars, savoury snacks and heat & eat snack pots - clearly and proudly state their number of calories on the label : 100 calories for the chocolate bars and savoury snacks or 200 calories for the snack pots. Once you know that, you don't even have to look at the numbers on the front of the packs because you automatically know where you stand, but even if you'd never heard of the range and were quickly scanning the supermarket shelves for a low-calorie snack on the go, you couldn't fail to notice them and their nutritional qualities.

We received a big box full of the whole range of tasty-sounding and humorously-named products to discover.

The chocolate (called I Need White/Milk/DarkChocolate Now!) comes in three varieties and is described as a crunchy, crispy wafer dipped in chocolate. This evoked visions of Kit Kats so I was surprised at how flat the bar was when I opened it. I tried one of the dark chocolate bars and it actually reminded me of a fruity crunch Ryvita crispbread coated in chocolate. Not at all unpleasant and probably enough to quell your choccie cravings if you're on a diet but probably not something you'd choose as an indulgent treat if you weren't watching your waistline. Not bad for 100 calories though.

Next, we moved on to the savoury snacks or in other words, crisps. You have the choice of Cheese Not Leavin' Without The Onion (cheese and onion potato chips), Give Me The Salt Or The Vinegar Gets It! (Salty Malty Crispy Crunchy Corn Chips), Stop Tellin' Porky Fries! (Sizzlin' & Smokin' Bacon Rashers) and Hands Off My Maracas (Texy Mexy BBQy Corn Grills). Two new varieties - Cheese Mine, All Mine ! (light and fluffy cheese puffs) and Kiss My Tortillas Hot Lips! (hot and crunchy tortilla corn chips) - will be joining the line-up shortly.

Taste-wise, they are absolutely spot on. The bacon rashers are just like Frazzles, the cheese & onion are just like big brand crisps and I'm sure the two new products will be carbon copies (in all but the calorie count) of Wotsits and Doritos. They're crunchy, delicious and absolutely packed with flavour. My only niggle is the size of the bag. As you can see in the photo, the cheese & onion crisps only fill about a third of the bag so I would have preferred a more honest, smaller bag. Maybe part of the concept is to convince your brain that it's getting its usual unhealthy treat though and having a normal-sized bag is all part of the process. Again, for 100 calories, not bad at all.

Last but not least, I moved on to the snack pots. You have a choice of Curry Up, Let's Do It! (chicken tikka masala with basmati rice), Stop Mincin' About, I Bean It! (beef chilli con carne made with kidney beans and red rice), It's All Gone Gorky Park (mushroom stroganoff made with creamed mushrooms and black peppered rice) and They've Banged Up The Beans! (pork sausages and baked beans with bacon and tomatoes).

When I first saw the packs, they reminded me of baby food tray meals so I wasn't sure the portion size would be enough to fill me up. Surprisingly though, it was just right (although I don't know if that was the Slimpod working its magic again - see here if you have no idea what I'm on about !).

I picked the Chicken Tikka Masala to start with, which you can see above. It looks quite greasy in the photo but it doesn't taste greasy at all. It has a creamy, flavour-packed sauce and huge chunks of chicken but I would have liked a bit more rice as it all seemed a bit too liquid (which got me thinking baby food again !). It is an ultra-quick and convenient meal option - just a couple of minutes in the microwave and it even comes with a serviette and spork - and is incredibly satisfying for 200 calories. It's certainly a much lighter and tastier option than many of the ready-to-go options you can pick up if you need a quick lunch at work.

Founder Jo Beach comments: “I created the Tasty Little Numbers range because I wanted to lose weight and I wanted it to be the 'life and soul of the health-conscious party' to say 'I am real, I am healthy, I am fun and I care about how I look and feel'.  No matter how much fruit and veg I eat (and I do) I am never going to stop fancying some chocolate or a curry and eating Tasty Little Numbers allows me to manage the amount of calories I put in without having to think about it too much - for me managing my weight to stay healthy is all about portion control! I hope you enjoy eating them as much as I love creating them. Just remember that Tasty Little Numbers doesn't claim to make you slim, only you can lay claim to that triumph, but I do hope it helps you to enjoy doing it”.

As an occasional sweet treat and low-calorie ready meal alternative, they're fabulous. The idea of having "real food, perfectly portioned" instead of resigning yourself to eating nothing but salad and meal replacement shakes is definitely a winner. The portions are small though, so the prices seem quite high for the quantity you actually get. Your sense of virtuousness and the ability to fit into your favourite jeans will more than make up for this financial aspect though if you're trying to watch your weight !

star rating : 4/5

RRP : chocolate bars and crisps 55p each, one pot meals from £2.49 each.

for more information : http://www.tastylittlenumbers.com/

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