Bellarom Fruit & Nut Milk Chocolate

99p for 200g
10 massive pieces of chocolate.  BBE 15/09/16

The raisins are juicy, the hazelnuts are crunchy.  The chocolate is thick and has a satisfying bite to it.
I think the chocolate is on the slightly sickly side with sour undertones.  Overall it is good as the fruit and nut balances it out.

I would buy this again.

Good.

W5 Glasses Wipes

Usage

£1.59 for 54 single use wipes! Just under 3p per wipe.

Packaged in handy twinpacks in a box.  These are great for putting in your bag or pocket. 
They are slightly moist (not too wet) and have a light fragrance.

After I have cleaned my glasses, I tend to give whatever is nearest a wipe as well (computer screen, television screen, mobile or mirror)

Good product!

Goat's Cheese and Pesto Focaccia

69p

 

Tasty!

I bought the left one in June and the right in July and ate on the same day of purchase.

The cherry tomatoes were very flavoursome.  Good cheese and pesto flavours.
It makes a good simple meal when you have something else with it.

Eridanous Halloumi

The squeaky cheese that blisters!

I bought this during Greek Week. 225g of medium fat semi-hard cheese from Cyprus for £1.39
The cheese comes in a vacuum pouch within the packaging box.  The box is just for show!  Best before 30/04/16 (that's about a year from purchase date) but eat within 5 days of opening.

Best served grilled/fried/barbecued as it gets more flavoursome with heat.  It can be a bit salty.

It is tradition for Halloumi to have some mint (I usually see this in the centre layer)  This didn't have any so I added mint sauce to my serving suggestion.  I looked at the packet and it does say in the ingredients: Halloumi Cheese, Mint!

I served on toasted Pitta Bread, Pickled Red Peppers and Mint Sauce (all bought from Lidl) Good flavour and texture combinations. Crispy, moist, rubbery, salty, sour and refreshing.

When Greek week comes again, I'll be sure to buy 2 packs minimum!

OceanSea Seafood Sticks

 

65p for 10:
"Individually wrapped crab flavour surimi fish protein sticks with water and starch"

Produced in Lithuania.

Contains 35% surimi.
Surimi originated in Japan and translates as "ground meat".  It is minced up fish that is then washed to get rid of any undesirable odours.  It is then beaten and pulverised to form a gelatinous paste.  Then it is mixed with flavourings and additives and formed into shapes.
It was made to use up lesser fish to mimic higher end fish like crabs and lobsters.

Now that we got the lesson out of the way.  How does it taste?

These sticks have a texture I would not associate with anything seafood.  They have a nice flavour.
If you can get over the fact you're eating a highly processed food, they aren't so bad.  I don't eat these very often (I think these are the first ones I've eaten this year!)
You can snack on them as they are (remove plastic first!), chop them up into cubes or treat them like "cheese strings" and peel them.

I like to peel them into strings, mix with either salad cream or mayonnaise (if mayo, add some lemon).
Serve with crusty bread and something green.

Aleo Aloe Vera

79p for this premium aloe vera drink 500ml
Less calories (ml for ml) than a well known cola brand and more refreshing in my opinion.
If you haven't had this before, you might think it's strange to drink this.  Usually associated with pot plants or in toiletries!

Best served cold.  Yummy jelly-like bits in the drink.  This drink is vegetarian.
The liquid is slightly too sweet but it is nice and refreshing with nice textures.

Made in Taiwan. Produced for Lithuania.

I think these are ad hoc products.  I think I'll go back and buy a few bottles.  I can always dilute if too sweet.  I see these as an odd treat rather than a way of life.

There was a strawberry flavour but I didn't like some of the ingredients so stuck with this.

Rustic Baguette

75p

I was on the lookout for a crusty baguette but they had sold out by 5.40pm and it didn't look like they were baking any more.  No worries, time to try something else!
They had plenty of sweet bakery products and enough bread to warrant no more baking.

This rustic baguette had a more rectangular shape.  It was nice.
They were already individually wrapped so a good "pick up and go" factor.  It made a great sleeve for putting my filled baguette in.

Compared to the standard baguette, this is good if you prefer less soft white bread inside and more crust.  This stops the soggy bread factor so ideal for transporting places and eating later.

Meadowfresh Coronation Chicken Deli Filler

79p normal price. 69p offer price.

200g of chicken, mango chutney, dried apricots and sultanas.
Bought on 25th June with an expiry of 3rd July which is a good unopened fridge life (once opened, eat in 2 days) Produced in the UK using Thai chicken.
No dairy listed in allergens.

 

I don't normally buy sandwich fillers but thought I'd give this a try.  I was surprised how many sultanas were in this!  I found it rather sweet for my liking but still not bad.  I would probably buy this again but not too often.  I am however, inspired to make my own Coronation chicken filling to my taste!

 

Served in a rustic baguette with green salad and tomato slices.

 

 

Oaklands Italian Style Salad

89p normal price. Serves 2-3.
No Little Gem lettuces left so went with a bag of old faithful.

150g of washed and ready to eat mixed leaves.
A combination of: Lollo Rosso, Red Multileaf, Apollo, Baby Leaf Spinach, Endive and Lamb's Lettuce.

Once opened, consume within 24hrs. I like to dress with sweet chilli sauce.  Goes well with omelettes.

Multigrain Loaf

In the freshly baked bread section. Self service. 75p for a multigrain loaf.

Lots of lovely sesame seeds and poppy seeds on the outside. I am not sure what is in the inside but it tastes good.  The bread is lovely and soft in the middle.

This product was confirmed to me 18/05/14 that it does not contain dairy.

Mister Choc Caramel & Biscuit

81p for 5x twin bars. (>8p per bar!)

140 calories per bar (finger)

I was a bit sceptical buying this due to my previous Mister Choc experience with the "M&Ms".
Now and again, I pop to the shop (which is really close) and buy a bar of Twix.  My brother asked me to buy this as it's cheaper.

These are very good!  The caramel is soft.  A good size and texture.  Unfortunately they do not last very long so may stick to popping to the shop to spend a bit more to save a few pounds on me!

White Split Roll

In the freshly baked bread section. Self service. 19p for a white split roll.
I love how crusty it is.  Only buy what you can eat on the day (it's still edible the following day but loses its crustiness).  You can easily tear apart or cut in the split to put your filling in.

This product was confirmed to me 18/05/14 that it does not contain dairy.

Eridanous Butter Beans in Tomato Sauce

I first tried butter beans in a tomato and olive oil dressing at a Farmers Market at the olive stand.  I thought I would try these in Lidl and bought and ate them last year.  They were really good!

It is Greek week again and I bought a tin with the intention of stocking up if they were good.
I am so glad I tried before I bought anymore...

The butter beans are massive and have a lovely soft texture. The sauce this time was so disappointing. I don't have the ingredients from last year to compare to so I don't know if the recipe has changed or my taste buds. The recent one has soya oil if that's any help.

Here is a tin from last year:

Rivercote: Sesame Wholegrain Rye Crispbread

 

Wholegrain rye crispbread with sesame seeds.
They were part of Lidl's HalfPriceWeekend offer 25th/26th April 2015
Normal price 69p offer price 34p
26 pieces = < 2p a crispbread
Just under 35 calories per crispbread

Produced in Germany

Ingredients:
Wholegrain rye flour (84%)
Sesame seeds (10%)
Salt
Is the missing 6% meant to include salt and water (which is not listed)
Very strange!

Suitable for vegetarians but may contain traces of milk
The other flavour (Wholegrain) contained skimmed milk so I chose sesame flavour.

They look like corrugated cardboard!
Tastes like Weetabix. Crunchy with a sesame and salt flavour.
Not bad.

You're meant to put stuff on them so here is what I did:

Smoked salmon with soft cheese and herb (NOT from Lidl)

Crownfield Mini Wheats

Mini shredded wholegrain wheat biscuits.
£1.29 for 500g (approx. 12 servings x 40g)
Just over 10p per serving

My Mum bought these to nibble on now and again.  When it had been in our kitchen for months unopened, I decided to open them.  One of my favourite cereals is Kellogg's Raisin Wheats and I was worried these would be too plain.

These are lovely and crunchy and have a mild savoury and sweet flavour.  It is 100% wholegrain wheat with no added ingredients therefore it is not fortified with vitamins and minerals like Kellogg's which adds value to their product.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good these little morsels tasted. I add some sultanas to give it the Raisin Wheat flavour.

Good buy!

Gelatelli Almond Ice Cream Lollies

Bourbon vanilla flavoured ice cream lollies topped with chopped almonds (6%) and coated in milk chocolate (28%)

£1.98 for 6x 120ml (6x 90g)
303 calories
3.8   Protein
28.1 Carbs
19.2 Fat

33p an ice cream. 
The best bit is the crunchy chocolate and almond coating.  I can't remember what a Magnum tastes/feels like but there is no need to eat them as these are really good!  Definitely more decadent than your bog standard choc ice.

I could not find out where these were made in English. It looks like they're made in Belgium from the other languages from the box.

A good buy!

Vitasia Thai Noodles: Pad Thai

 

Thai takeout

£1.49 for 330g (200g noodles, 130g sauce)
(Gave me 100g prepared as per instructions so multiplied by 3.3 for 330g)
528 calories
17.8 Protein
80.5 Carbs
13.5 Fat
Contains Seafood.

The container is also the serving dish!  What a novelty!  Reminds me of American takeout.
I did rinse the inside of the box as there was debris (probably paper crumbs).

Wheat noodles from plastic vacuum pack

Hot & Sour sauce from foil pouch

Voila!

When I opened the sauce pouch, posh dog food crossed my mind.  I didn't mean it in a malicious way, just thought it was funny.  It tasted disappointing.  It had spicy sweet and sour sauce really. It stops the hunger but you're not satisfied taste-wise. I was surprised as this product is made in Thailand and contains peanuts, tamarind, dried shrimps, chilli and fish sauce.  When I say spicy, it was actually mild despite the chilli sign depicting 1 chilli "medium".
I didn't notice the tofu or straw mushrooms, only the big slices of baby corn.

I'm sorry but this product is ugly for me as it is not Pad Thai! Maybe if you like sweet and spicy noodles it is not bad but I will NOT buy again!

J.D. Gross Ecuador: Dark Chocolate with Orange

A square of orange?

£1.15 for a 125g bar of chocolate.
10 pieces (12.5g per piece)
Nutritional Information per piece: (I did the maths so you don't have to!)
67.6 Calories
0.88 Protein
4.26 Carbohydrates
4.94 Fat
Produced in Germany
Suitable for vegetarians
Looks Vegan but stipulates: May contain traces of milk and nuts.

This is a really nice chocolate.  I have been eating it since last year.  It's not too bitter but satisfying enough to not overindulge. It does smell nicer than it tastes.  A lovely bite to it with small chewy orangey bits (candied peel).

Birchwood British Chicken Thighs

£1.32/kg Weekend Offer

These fresh chicken thighs were part of Lidl's HalfPriceWeekend offer.
Normal price £2.65/kg offer price £1.32.

I don't buy much fresh meat in general but I wanted some raw chicken to make fajitas.
I normally use chicken breast meat for fajitas but thought I'd use the thigh as it was on offer and I don't mind trimming off skin, fat, sinew, tendon and bones.  Thigh meat is more fatty compared to breast meat but is meant to be more flavoursome and tender.

Skin/Bones/Flesh yielded 645g

It took me 35mins to turn 1kg of chicken thighs into 645g of chicken thigh meat.
I did some maths. Lidl chicken breast (£2.65 for 540g = £4.91/kg)
Chicken thigh £1.32 for 645g = £2.05/kg

It would take only 5mins to shred the chicken so I calculate the time of removing skin and bones as 30mins.
I don't want to overcomplicate the maths due the flesh difference of 105g. Is my time worth more than £1.32 per 30mins?

Conclusion:

The packets in the offer were all 1kg but I chose the one with bigger pieces as I equated that to less labour.
I would buy these chicken thighs again but would cook them in the oven on the bone
(rather than make fajitas).  I don't mind trimming the skin, it was taking them off the bones that was the troublesome part.

Chicken Fajita