New Instore: Ben & Jerry's Speculoos Ice Cream, Easter Cakes & More!

A round up of new products spotted instore - let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these!

Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-love Cookie Core: Any regular readers will know how much I love Speculoos as a flavour. I'm barely over the excitement of the Krispy Kreme Biscoff doughnut and along comes another awesome speculoos biscuit inspired product. There are two other new varieties available in this Cookie Core range; What-a-Lotta Chocolate Cookie Core and Utter Peanut Butter Clutter Cookie Core. I'm sure I'll try those last two eventually but look out for my review of the Speculoos variety soon! £3.00p at Sainsbury's.

Limited Edition Fab Tropical: I didn't get the best picture of the box - it shows lots of tropical fruits along the bottom. I'm a fan of the Fab range, especially during the summer, as it's a relatively low calorie choice for an ice cream/lolly and I'm looking forward to trying this new Tropical variety.  Review coming soon! £2.00p at Sainsbury's.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Ice Creams: For some reason I'm not that excited about these ice creams from Cadbury, and I wasn't really tempted to buy them at £4.00p a tub. The flavours above are; Zingy Raspberry Choc Brownie and Jelly Popping Candy. The first one doesn't sound too bad but I think I'll pass on the second one. £4.00p each at Sainsbury's.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Ice Creams: There was also this yellow tub which is a bizarre Salted Caramel & Sour Cherry concoction. I was disappointed that this wasn't a banana ice cream instead! If you try any of these varieties then I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. £4.00p at Sainsbury's.

Magnum Pink Raspberry: I've posted about the new Magnum Pink and Magnum Black before. I had heard that they were available at Tesco but I haven't been able to find them in a Tesco near me. I finally spotted them today in Sainsbury's at £3.40p.

Magnum Mini Pink & Black: I was hoping that the new Magnum Pink & Black would be available as Mini version but I didn't expect to find them both in a Multipack too. I much prefer the mini sized Magnums, as I find the large ones a bit too much to eat in one go, but the smaller sizes are perfect. I picked up a pack of these too - my freezer is now well stocked with ice creams! £2.00p at Sainsbury's.

Walls After School Family Favourites: Not new, but an interesting new rebranding as "after school" snacks for this selection of classic Walls ice creams. £3.00p at Sainsbury's.

Walls Push Up with Haribo Gold Bears; I think these have been available individually in freezer cabinets and from ice cream vans but I don't remember seeing them for sale in a multipack before. I wonder if they are replacing the Walls Haribo Dino Candy Ice Lollies? £2.50p at Sainsbury's.

Walker's Limited Edition Linda's Chicken & Chorizo: I can't find any information about these but they don't seem to be part of any new Walker's flavour competition. I tried these today and they're very tasty with a distinctive smoky chorizo flavour, I'll have a full review soon. £1.50 at Sainsbury's.

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz White: These are white chocolate covered cocoa biscuits. I've tried the Choco Liebniz Milk Chocolate and Caramel varieties before but never this White chocolate version. I picked up a pack while they're on special offer. £1.00p at Sainsbury's.

McVities Marie Biscuits: I was quite surprised to see McVities branded Marie biscuits in the UK. Marie Biscuits (also known as Maria in Spain/Portugal) are the European version of Rich  Tea biscuits. They have a slightly different taste and I always used to pick up a few packs on holiday. At least McVities didn't release their Finger Marie version here in the UK! £1.20 at Sainsbury's.

Mr Kipling Lemon Fancies: Once again there are lots of lemon and orange flavoured cakes for Easter. I'll refer you my post last year "New Instore: Easter Cakes" as I spotted most of the same products - just with different packaging. Also back are the Mr. Kipling Lemon Whirls and Mr Kipling St. Clements Slices. £1.00p at Sainsbury's.

Shape Pineapple & Coconut Special Edition: A tropical inspired 0% fat yogurt with 63 calories per pot. £1.00p at Sainsbury's. 

Müller Light Inspired by Barbados Piña Coloda: This is quite similar to the Müller Light Inspired by Bali yogurt from last year, except with added Rum flavour! £0.70p each at Sainsbury's.

Lidl Jolly Choc Spreads: I'm not sure if these are exactly new but it's certainly the first time I've seen them. These are chocolate spreads with added chocolate drops - basically mini Smarties - in either Chocolate Spread or Milk Spread. They're available this week as part of the Lidl "Taste of the USA" promotion. £1.29 at Lidl. £0.99p each at Lidl.

Don't forget if you spot any new products in store please let me know via email - grocerygems@gmail.com. Thank you!

Review: Peanut Hottie - a Peanut Butter Hot Drink!

Peanut butter as a flavour has become something of a phenomenon in the UK in recent times, there's not many food products that it hasn't been added to from biscuits to ice cream. But one version of peanut butter I hadn't expected to see, is a peanut butter hot drink! Still, it sounds like a brilliant idea to me and luckily the lovely people at Peanut Hottie sent me a jar to try. 

This instant hot beverage is made in the UK using American peanuts, and contains no artificial additives or colours, is caffeine free, and is suitable for vegetarians - plus it has only 83 calories per cup.

As soon as I opened up the jar I knew I was in for a real peanut buttery treat! The scent is immediately of a rich peanut butter, and I couldn't wait to experience how this would taste as a hot beverage.

The instructions suggest using 4-5 lovingly heaped teaspoons per mug - or even more depending on the peanut butter craving - and then simply adding boiled water. I added four teaspoons at first, but then added a couple more for extra intensity. I wasn't sure what to expect from the Peanut Hottie, but I really did enjoy this drink. It's very sweet, with an almost caramel flavour at first, which then builds to a smooth peanut flavour. Even though I made mine with water it still has a creamy and satisfying taste. I've been mostly enjoying Peanut Hottie as an evening drink, but the sweetness means it also works perfectly as an afternoon pick-me-up.

The jar states, "you'll wonder how you ever managed without me", and I would completely agree with that sentiment - I'm hooked!

UPDATE - Just made this drink using half hot chocolate powder and half Peanut Hottie = heaven!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Peanut Hottie

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes
Nutrition per pot: 83 calories per cup.
Purchased: Available at Sainsbury's. 
Price: £2.99.

Sainsbury's Red Nose Day Doughnuts

I picked up these Red Nose Day themed doughnuts at Sainsbury's. They cost a very reasonable £1 for four doughnuts with 15p donated to Comic Relief.

The doughnuts are covered in a red (well really it's a pinkish colour) icing and crunchy white sprinkles. 

Even though they don't look much like a red nose, they still have a fun bright look which is perfectly in keeping with the Red Nose Day theme. 

Supermarket bakery doughnuts can be a bit hit and miss in terms of taste, it often depends on what time of day you buy them as to whether you get a delicious treat or a stale/soggy mess. As I bought these in the morning and they had just been baked, they were very tasty, the doughy part was very soft and light, with a lovely golden colouring. The icing on top was quite firm with a nice crunchy texture from the sprinkles. They're cheap and cheerful and made a lovely half-term treat.

The last time I did a Red Nose Day review (for the Limited Edition Red Nose Day Pez) I felt it fitting to end the review with a joke. This time I'll leave the jokes to the doughnut addict that is Garfield:

Image: Garfield.com

Grocery Gems Verdict: Red Nose Day Doughnuts

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Worth a buy.
Nutrition : None given.
Purchased: Sainsbury's.
Price: £1.00p.

Sainsbury's Snowflake Milk Chocolate & Caramel Bites

I love the look of these Milk Chocolate & Caramel bites with their delicate snowflake design.

There is nothing new about the Milk Chocolate & Caramel bites themselves apart from the snowy patterns stamped on top. They remind me of these London 2012 Caramel Shortcakes which had a similar effect on them. I think they look very pretty - the white stamping is wonderfully contrasted against the chocolate background.

The bites consist of three layers; biscuit, caramel and a chocolate topping. The biscuit base is made from digestives, it's essentially a cheesecake type base. The Caramel layer is quite thick for such a small bite and has a smooth, almost fudge like, texture. The chocolate layer is very sweet and tops the whole thing off nicely. 

There is nothing really groundbreaking or innovative about the flavours here, even though they are very delicious and moreish, but it doesn't matter anyway as these Snowflake Bites are all about their great looks. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Milk Chocolate & Caramel Bites (Snowflake)

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?:  Nice as a one time treat.
Nutrition per bite: 59 calories, 0.69g protein, 6.9g carbohydrate (4.4g sugars), 3.2g fat.
Purchased: Sainsburys.
Price: 2 packs for £1.00p.

Sainsbury's New Wholegrain Cinnamon Malties

I was never a big cereal eater or buyer when I was younger but with two ravenous young children that has all changed. I often find myself loitering in the cereal aisles of the supermarket desperately trying to find some new cereal that will keep their taste buds happy. Luckily for me there have been a lot of new and interesting cereals released recently.

Sainsbury's and Tesco have both overhauled their range of children's cereals. The supermarket own-brands are no longer just copies of the basic rice-krispies and cornflakes. They now have some more original flavours and copies of the more expensive cereals. Tesco's cereals have been revamped with a cast of cute animal characters whilst Sainsbury's children cereal features super hero type images. They are both bright and different.

My children have always been big fans of cinnamon flavoured cereal, but the choice of these has been limited to Curiously Cinnamon. I always lamented the fact that there were not more Cinnamon cereals about. (I need to get my hands on this US Cinnabon Cereal!). But I'm pleased to say that I have recently found three new cinnamon cereals in UK supermarkets, all made by supermarket own-brands: Sainsbury's Wholegrain Cinnamon Malties, Tesco Cinnamon Squares and Aldi American Style Cinnamon Chips.

First up are the new Sainsbury's Wholegrain Cinnamon Malties.

They look exactly like Nestle Shreddies in shape and size, and even have the same criss-cross pattern. I was expecting them to be covered in cinnamon sugar as that seems to be the main feature of cinnamon cereals. However these don't have any sugar coating at all. The cinnamon flavour has been included into the cereal itself which means the cinnamon flavour won't get washed away by the milk. The flavour is strong and really holds it's own. It's not as sweet as other cereals, and the whole thing just tastes healthier.

My kids enjoyed these and I will be buying them again. They are high in fibre and contain added vitamins and minerals. There is also a voucher on the back of the box for 50p off any Sainsbury's Reading Scheme book.

Other interesting NEW cereals in the Sainsbury's kids range that I have seen are:
Strawberry Squares
Choco Caramel Duo
Mini Crunch Cookies (similar to Cookie Crisp)
Choco-Hazelnut Squares (similar to Krave)

Let me know if you have tried any of these. I'll be blogging about the other cinnamon cereals soon, so please check back!