Snack attack review roundup

With a house full of kids, one of my most important roles as a mum (according to them anyway !) is keeping the cupboards stocked with snacks that they can devour when they get in from school, hours from dinner and totally ravenous. I think teenagers must suddenly get hollow legs when they hit puberty - they certainly seem to pack away a lot more food all of a sudden ! We've recently been trying out lots of different snack options that are healthier than the usual crisps, cookies and chocolate that the Madhouse kids always tend to gravitate towards in the supermarket. First up were these new Salted Caramel Munchy Seeds, which were a huge hit.

They are an irresistible blend of roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a pinch of coconut and a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. These addictive new nibbles come in two snack-ready sizes for on-the-go eating and are perfect for health-conscious consumers looking for a sweet treat that's both delicious and bursting with goodness. Seeds are the ultimate snack as they are packed with natural protein, vitamins and minerals, as well as natural energy that will help fill you up until your next meal. They are delicious sprinkled over yogurt or just eaten by the handful straight from the pack, but you could also add them to muesli or baking.

They are suitable for vegans and are gluten free, dairy free and contain no artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives. The new Salted Caramel Seeds are available in 120g tall pots, RRP £2.49 and 25g handy snack packs, RRP 70p from Waitrose. There are other snack packs available in the range - we tried Choccy Ginger, Omega Sprinkles and Choccy Apricot - and they are apparently equally tasty, but we'll have to take Juliette's word for it because she put them in her school bag and polished them off at break time !

Next we tried Pure Bite Popped Rice Clusters, which, at just 80 calories a bag, follow the recent guidelines from Public Health England and their Change4Life campaign that recommend that children eat snacks with less than 100 calories.

These tasty, moreish snacks in Blueberry and Cranberry flavour are bite-sized clusters of popped rice, combined with roasted almonds, dried cranberries and blueberries. They are gluten free, transfat free, cholesterol free, additive free, preservative free, vegan, dairy free, low in calories and fat and perfect for Coeliac sufferers, vegans, and those looking for a guilt free treat. That all sounded a bit too healthy to me, but I was pleasantly surprised - they taste great too. We nibbled them straight from the pack but they can also be eaten with milk and honey for a healthy breakfast apparently. They are great for kid’s lunchboxes or as a healthy snack on the go. RRP £1.69 for 20g, also available in Strawberry and Gojiberry, as well as Nut Clusters (almond or hot & spicy) and Crunchy Coconut Clusters (in Strawberry flavour).

Snact is a brand that we were familiar with, because we've already tried out their Banana Bars, which use up over-ripe or otherwise ugly bananas that would have gone to waste. This time, we tried Snact Fruit Jerky, which is just as eco-friendly as the banana bars and, in fact, featured in a recent Food Unwrapped show. Whilst all of the fruits used have been saved from an unsavoury end, the blueberries that Snact use particularly caught the attention of the TV crew as they are often discarded for being too small or not having the right flavour profile. In following the journey of a blueberry, the Food Unwrapped team were shown how much fruit, of all types, is wasted unnecessarily.

The result of Snact’s hard work are super tasty, vegan and gluten free snacks hat are as at home in a children’s lunch box as an office snack cupboard. The jerky is available in three flavours (Apple & Raspberry, Apple & Mango, Apple, Blueberry & Banana) and by cleverly blending and drying the fruit, there’s no need to add any additional ingredients or preservatives. Not only is a tasty fruit snack created, but there’s enough goodness in each 20g pack for them to count towards your five-a-day. The kids thought they tasted like sweets and loved the tart, fruity flavours and the chewy texture. Not only are Snact’s products good for you and your taste buds, but their eco-credentials go beyond the ingredients they use, coming bagged in plastic-free home compostable packaging. Now available from health stores, Ocado, Planet Organic, As Nature Intended, Simply Fresh & lots of independent stores, schools and universities across the country. Visit www.snact.co.uk for more details.

If you prefer savoury snacks, Fairfields Farm have a lovely option that taste just as nice as regular potato crisps and come in at under 100 calories a bag : Lentil Bites. The kids weren't keen on the Jalapeño & Lime ones, which they found too spicy (all the more for me !), but Juliette declared that the Tomato & Herb ones were the best crisps ever because they taste like pizza !

Top marks for the light crunchy texture and the strong flavours. Both options are vegan and are available from Asda, Co-Op & Tesco, with an RRP of 75p.

Another twist on the classic crisps option from Fairfields Farm is Heat & Eat, a sharing bag of crisps that can be eaten cold straight from the pack like regular crisps or heated up in the microwave for 30 seconds for a deliciously different, hot snack.

Each pack comes with a dip (don't forget to remove it from the bag before putting it in the microwave !) and they come in two delicious flavours: Sea Salted with Tomato Salsa Dip and Cheese & Chive with Caramelised Onion Dip. Perfect to enjoy with family or friends while watching a DVD or having drinks and heating them up really brings out the flavours, providing delicious, hot and fresh crisps that taste just like they’ve been hand-cooked at home. RRP £2.49 for 175g bag (which includes a 50g dip). Available from Tesco, Co-Op & Asda

Disclosure : We received the products in order to write an honest review.