Review: Kellogg's Disney Moana Cereal

A quick review of Kellogg's Disney Moana cereal. It's great to see Kellogg's making a cereal for the latest Disney movie Moana - it makes a change from all the Frozen/Star Wars themed products.

This cereal is described as a 'honey flavoured multigrain cereal'. It certainly looks appealing and my kids loved the whirly design. Initially they were quite excited as they thought the cereal looked like little cinnamon whirls and assumed it would be cinnamon flavoured. Unfortunately the flavour here is quite plain. It's quite similar to the flavour in Kellogg's Multigrain shapes but less sweet. The texture is very light and puffy with a light crunch. It's a nice enough cereal, and my kids did enjoy it, but I think the flavour could have been a little more adventurous.

Just like the Kellogg's Star Wars cereal, the Kellogg's Moana box has a great design with a fun double sided box.

Have you tried this cereal yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Grocery Gems Review: Kellogg's Disney Moana Cereal

RATING: 7 out of 10,
Nutrition:  113 calories (per 30g serving).

Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Co-Op.
Price: £2.00p (370g box).

PR Sample sent for an honest review but I also bought another box from Co-Op. 

New Instore: Shreddies Max Protein, New York Bakery Cheese Bagels & More

A round up of some more new items spotted instore - this time with a few added Mini Reviews! 

Shreddies Max Protein: This new oat granola cereal is available is also available in a Cranberry flavour. It contains 10g of protein per serving as well as being high in fibre. It's a tasty enough granola with a crunchy texture and sweet flavour, and I'd buy it again if it was on special offer. Spotted at: Asda - £2.49p (for 400g).

Tesco Choco-Nut Malt Wheats: I don't usually buy chocolate cereals but this Choco-Nut flavour appealed to me. Is it wrong that I was secretly hoping it would have a Nutella-y taste? Anyway, the good news is that the combination of chocolate and creamy hazelnut does give this cereal that hint of Nutella that I was hoping for. Don't worry, it's not as super sweet or cloying as a chocolate spread, but these Malt Wheats do have a lovely chocolate and nut flavour. I also want to try the new Golden Syrup Malt Wheats in the same range - the price is great too! Spotted at: Tesco - £1.19p (for 500g).

Soreen Squidgy Cake Bites: Available in Chocolate or Toffee flavours. Each tub has 12 mini bites of squidgy cake. I don't usually buy these types of tubs - I prefer individually wrapped minis. Spotted at: Asda - £1.50p. 

Cadbury Mini Rolls Mega Roll Cake: There were quite a few new celebration cakes at Asda. I love the look of this giant Mini Roll - such a fun and simple idea. Spotted at: Asda - £6.00p. 

Asda Donut Cake: Another cute and appealing cake. This one is shaped like a massive doughnut complete with pink icing and sprinkles. Spotted at: Asda - £8.00p. 

Ghostbusters Cake: This is one of those cakes that made me happy and annoyed at the same time. This would have been so useful for my husbands birthday last year which was Ghostbusters themed! Spotted at: Asda - £10.00p. 

Asda Extra Special Muffins: I spotted two interesting new flavours of these savoury muffins; Mild Red Cheddar and Ancient Grains. If you've tried these then I'd love to know what you thought in the comments below! Spotted at: Asda - £1.00p. 

New York Bakery Co Cheese Bagels: I buy bagels regularly so I'm always on the lookout for new flavours. These Cheese Bagels have been an instant hit with my kids and I'll definitely be buying them again. Each bagel has a cheddar cheese topping which is full of flavour and compliments an array of savoury fillings. Spotted at: Asda - £1.00p.

Warburtons Protein Range: Warburtons has a new range of products that are high in protein and fibre. I saw a Wholemeal Loaf with a blend of pulses, Wholemeal Thins and Wholemeal Soft Wraps in the range. Spotted at: Asda - £1.00p each. 

As always, if you spot anything new instore and fancy sending me a photo then let me know via email: grocerygems@gmail.com or Twitter: @grocerygems.

Review: Kinder Surprise My Little Pony & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Thanks to a reader who left a comment on my previous post - I was able to find the individual Kinder Surprise My Little Pony and TMNT eggs for sale today in Co-Op thanks to their tip. I really don't like buying those triple packs that only have one themed toy instead of three. Anyway, here's a quick peak at which toys we got.

Kinder Surprise My Little Pony: I GOT RAINBOW DASH! I GOT RAINBOW DASH! Ahem. So this grown-up woman was thrilled to find the rainbow My Little Pony in her Kinder Surprise. I might as well just stop this collection here because it's not going to get any better than this!

There are four My Little Pony and four Equestria Girls toys to collect in this series. Apparently these have been out in Germany since last year. 

Kinder Surprise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: In comparison the TMNT toys are not as impressive. The toys are similar to the Kinder Surprise Marvel Heroes collection, with the same twistable heads that can be used to create mini-battles between the figures. There six different characters to collect - I think the one above is meant to be Splinter? 

As always, if you've completed any of these Kinder Surprise collections then let me know in the comments. Send me a photo and I'll share it here too!

New York Snack & Shopping Haul!

The globetrotting adventures of Mr. Grocery Gems continued recently with a visit to New York City last month. It's all in the name of work, but luckily he managed to get some shopping done too (and of course I'd given him a ridiculously long list!). It goes without saying that he brought home a generous amount of candy bars such as Payday, 100 Grand and 5th Avenue to name just a few (see photo above!). These were all bought in places such as Duane Reade and Walgreen's as they seemed to be the easiest places to find chocolate and groceries in Manhattan.

Luckily he also made it in time to find lots of Christmas themed chocolates and candies. He bought two large bags of festive M&M's which are coloured red, green and white, two types of Christmas Peeps, and a large pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Trees.

Unfortunately he couldn't find any of the limited edition flavoured Oreos (he really wanted to get the new Cinnamon Buns flavour!) but he did get this awesome Winter Oreo pack. They have a red coloured creme and cute winter characters on each biscuit.

In the early days of this blog I used to review American cereals quite regularly. However we rarely buy them these days so it was fun to get some old favourites as a one-off treat. I especially liked the fun pack of mini Kellogg's cereals!

From the New York M&M's World he found this simply awesome apple shaped container filled with I♥NY printed M&M's. This was easily the most popular gift with the kids, they were absolutely enthralled with it!

Away from the world of chocolate, Mr. Grocery Gems also surprised me with an amazing haul from Bath & Body Works. Sadly we don't have this store in the UK but all it's products are just gorgeous - these foaming hand washes are phenomenal!

Just look at how cute their PocketBac hand sanitisers are! And they all smell fab too. My favourite is the Jolly Gingerbread Oh Snap.

The Bath & Body Works range of home fragrances is really worth a try too. These large three-wick candles have the most beautiful packaging (the silver lids have an embossed snowflake design) and have lovely festive fragrances; the two pictured are Vanilla Bean Noel and Marshmallow Fireside.

Last, but not least, was a much anticipated visit to the Nintendo World store in New York. Mr. Grocery Gems bought quite a lot here, most of which is top-secret until Christmas! One thing that was top of our shopping list were these cute 8-bit Mario plush cushions.

Even though our Christmas tree has a simple red, white and silver theme, it's now rocking these bright yellow Mario ornaments too. Thanks Mr. GG!

Review: Limited Edition Haribo Minions Gone Batty

After looking for these Haribo Minions Gone Batty for the past few weeks, I finally found them today. They're a fun looking Halloween edition of the popular Haribo Minions sweets. 

The back of the packaging lists three 'new spooky flavours'; Slimey Lime & Orange, Creepy Cherry & Apple and finally a Boo Blueberry & Lemon. Unfortunately the sweets are all the same colour so it's quite hard to differentiate all the flavours. Honestly, I think I have a dud packet with only Cherry & Apple flavour as that's all I can really taste in these. It's a nice flavour, with clearly flavoured cherry and apple sides but it's nothing special by itself. I have yet to find any that taste of lime, orange, blueberry or lemon and I don't really want to eat the whole packet by myself just to be able to try all three flavours! Ultimately these are disappointing and I wouldn't recommend them.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Haribo Minions Gone Batty

RATING: 4 out of 10.
Buy them again?: No.
Vegetarian: Not Suitable for Vegetarians.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.00p.

Review: Kellogg's Star Wars & Frozen Multi-Grain Biscuits

The recent Star Wars and Frozen cereals have obviously been a hit with kids and film fans alike, with September seeing the launch of another Disney themed product from Kellogg's. The new Kellogg's Frozen and Star Wars Multi-Grain Biscuits feature fun Disney designs and are high in fibre with no artificial colours, flavouring or preservatives.

Each box contains 6 individually sealed packets of 4 biscuits. The Star Wars Multi-Grain Biscuits are chocolate flavoured biscuits with added chocolate pieces.

The Kellogg's Star Wars Biscuits all feature either a TIE Fighter or X-Wing design (totally didn't need to look that up on google...). The flavour here was not the simple chocolate and oaty combination that I was expecting. The chocolate has more of a cocoa flavour that is quite milky. It's hard to describe but my son said it was like a creamy hot chocolate in a biscuit. The cereal base is not too sweet and the added chocolate pieces provide an extra pop of chocolatey flavour.

The Kellogg's Frozen Multi-Grain Biscuits are described as cereal and milk flavoured. The designs featured are Olaf the snowman and Sven the reindeer which are both really cute. The flavour here is sweeter than the chocolate version, with a lovely vanilla aroma and taste, against a wheaty and oaty background. This was my kids' favourite of the two biscuits, although I wasn't surprised as they usually favour vanilla flavour over chocolate.

I love how the boxes have images on both sides and can be displayed either way. The Star Wars boxes have Darth Vader/Yoda sides, whilst the Frozen boxes have Elsa & Anna/Olaf sides. I'm sure these Multi-Grain biscuits will be very popular with fans young and old, especially with the upcoming release of the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, in December.

Grocery Gems Review: Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal

RATING: 8 out of 10,
Buy them again?: Yes - especially the Frozen biscuits.
Nutrition:  96 calories (per 2 biscuits).

Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Available at most supermarkets.
Price: RRP - £2.49p (box of six packs x 4 biscuits).

Check out my previous reviews:

Kellogg's Disney Frozen Cereal Review

Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal Review

PR Samples.

Review: Minion Ice Cream Lollies

With the UK currently basking in a mini-heatwave I made a trip to the supermarket just to stock up on ice cream and ice lollies. Since I've reviewed quite a few Minions related products already I though it was about time to give the new Minion Ice Cream Lollies a try.

I was actually surprised by how cute the ice lollies are - sure their mouths look a bit weird but they're a lot more recognisable than previous character ice lollies I've reviewed (anyone remember the Star Wars Stormtrooper Ice Lollies?). They really do look like Minions and the eye being an actual hole in the ice cream is quite a cute touch. The texture of the ice cream is very light and fluffy, almost airy, so they do melt quite quickly. The flavours here are surprisingly good, I was expecting bland, but instead there is a strong vanilla flavour at the top and a clearly differentiated fruity flavour on the bottom. It's a fairly simple ice cream overall but the kids really enjoyed them (and so did I!). 

Grocery Gems Review: Minion Ice Cream Lollies

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 71 calories(per 60ml ice lolly). 
Purchased: Sainsbury's.
Price: £2.00 (box of 6).

Review: Limited Edition Tic Tac Minions - Banana Flavour

I feel like I've reviewed more than my fair share of Minions tie-ins on Grocery Gems - from CapriSun Banana &Apple juice to Haribos Minions sweets. However, I think latest limited edition from Tic Tac might be the cleverest yet. Tic Tac drops (or is it pills?) are just the perfect Minions shape, especially in yellow. The only thing missing from this release in the UK are Minions faces printed on each Tic Tac (which has actually happened for this product in other countries).

There are several different boxes to collect which feature their own Minions character - mine were Bob and Kevin. The banana flavour here is initially quite authentic and mellow but builds to a stronger candy banana taste. Unlike otherTic Tac varieties, this doesn't leave your mouth refreshed in any way, it's much more of a banana-flavour-hit than a cleansing one. You might need a regular minty Tic Tac after a few of these to get rid of banana breath! As a banana fan I really enjoyed the strong flavour here and I'll probably stock up on a few boxes before they disappear. 

Interestingly in the US a similar Limited Edition Minions Tic Tac that are not banana flavoured (see this review on The Impulsive Buy). The decoration on each Tic Tac is genius but the fact that they're not banana flavoured is just weird! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Limited Edition Tic Tac Minions - Banana Flavour

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes .
Purchased: WHSmith.
Price: £1.49p.

Review: Haribo Tangy Minions

A quick review of the Haribo Tangy Minions sweets. Last year I reviewed the Haribo Minions, which jelly sweets, so I was keen to also try this recent sour version too.

There are two main sweets in the pack; the classic blue and yellow Minions and a red and orange version that I assume is the evil Minions. Some of the blue and yellow candies were also foam backed, although there were hardly any of those in my pack (two in total). 

Both flavours in these Tangy Minions are quite generically fruity, it's hard to pin down the exact flavours at play. At a push I would say the blue and yellow sweets have a sweet and tangy apple and blackcurrant type of flavour, whilst the red and orange ones have more of a citrus/tropical edge to them. However, it's the tangy coating and sour combination which really makes these sweets extra tasty and superior to the original Haribo Minions (which were quite bland in comparison). 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Haribo Tangy Minions

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.00.

Review: Kellogg's Disney Frozen Cereal

Aswell as the recent Star Wars cereal, Kellogg's have also launched this cool looking Disney Frozen cereal. I bought both from Asda for only £2.00p each (they're also currently available on a 3 for £5 if you want to stock up). 

The Kellogg's Disney Frozen cereal is made with a blend of rice, maize, and wholegrain oats, in a mix of star and ball (snowball perhaps?) shapes. I was pleased when I heard that this cereal is a "sweetened vanilla" flavour as it's actually surprisingly hard to find a simple vanilla flavoured cereal for children. Most cereals of this type tend to be honey flavoured which my kids are not particularly keen on, but they both enjoyed the vanilla flavour here. It's nicely sweet, without being too overpowering and keeps it's flavour well in the milk. I have to admit that I've been enjoying this cereal as a snack too (just dry cereal in a bowl but it's really good!).

Just like the Kellogg's Star Wars cereal, the packaging is really well done and looks wonderful. There isn't a back or front to the box, with both sides featuring different characters in full - either Anna & Elsa or a cheeky Olaf. 

Overall we all really enjoyed this new Kellogg's Disney Frozen cereal, especially the sweet vanilla flavour. It's interesting to note that the US version of this cereal (also by Kellogg's) contains additional blue and white marshmallow pieces (see last photo here).

Have you tried this cereal yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Grocery Gems Review: Kellogg's Disney Frozen Cereal

RATING: 8 out of 10,
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition:  114 calories (per 30g serving).

Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £2.00p (350g box).

Review: New Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal

It's not often that we get movie tie-in cereals in the UK, in fact the last one I remember is the Nestlé Monsters Inc cereal. The good news is that this month sees the release of two new cereals from Kellogg's dedicated to popular films - Star Wars and Disney's Frozen. Although it could be argued that these particular movies have no need for additional promotional merchandise, I'm still excited to see these cereals launched in the UK.

The new Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal (Tagline: A New Force at Breakfast!) is a chocolate flavoured wheat, wholewheat and rice cereal shaped into stars and moons. The cereal itself has a good crunchy texture that keeps it's shape well in the milk - basically it doesn't go soggy too quickly. The flavour is sweet and chocolatey with a strong wheaty background taste. My kids both found this cereal tasty enough but they did comment that it tastes the same as Kellogg's Coco Pops Mini Crocs. I think they were expecting the flavour to be a bit more exciting but they both liked the stars and moons shapes. 

And don't worry, I don't use a star shaped bowl to serve cereal, I just thought it was fitting for the theme. I'm sure that any real Star Wars fan will have a full set of authentic 1970s Star Wars cereal bowls plus matching spoons lurking in the back of their cupboards to use with this cereal. 

The packaging is the real winner with this product. There isn't really a back or front to the box, both sides look equally as good. I really like the retro feel of these images, especially compared to some of the dire products from the most recent films. I expect this to be the start of many more Star Wars themed grocery product this year... watch this space.

Have you tried this cereal yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Grocery Gems Review: Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal

RATING: 7 out of 10,
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition:  113 calories (per 30g serving).

Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £2.00p (370g box).