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

Mister Choc Big Hit Milk Chocolate Peanuts

99p for 250g bag.

The colours don't look appealing and they come in quite a variety of lumpy sizes.  Fair enough, aesthetics aren't everything.
Sadly, they don't taste good and have a strange aftertaste.  M&M's are so superior that I will happily forego the saving than buy these Mister Choc versions not matter how cheap they become.  I think part of M&M's secret is that they put the whole peanut in.  You mostly get half a peanut with Mister Choc.

Big Hit?  More like Big Flop.

Note to self: Don't EVER buy these again!

Tower Gate Oaties

49p for 300g 80calories per biscuit
Contains gluten, oats and wheat. Ingredients do look Vegan but it may contain traces of milk and sesame. No artificial flavourings, preservatives or colours.

I'm a bit of a prolific biscuit muncher as of late.  I'm embarrassed to say, these went in 3 days.  What would make them better would be to half coat, or half dip? in chocolate; milk or dark. I digress...
Good taste and texture.  I recommend them but I can't promise you will only eat one so best not to buy at all if you can't control yourself.

I would class this product as leading brand equivalent rather than own brand.

Vitafit Lemon Juice

 

32p for 200ml

Lemon juice from concentrate made from Sicilian lemon juice concentrate.

Once opened, keep refrigerated and consume within 4 weeks.

Produced in Italy.

I used to be sceptical of these plastic lemons.  They're most popular come Shrove Tuesday but I softened to the idea as I had watched a cookery programme yonks ago where the locals say this was a good product.  It is concentrated lemon juice with potassium metabisulphite as the preservative.

I originally bought one as a lazy and cost effective substitute for fresh lemon (which I already subbed from lime) in a Thai salad marinade.  It worked really well.  I also like this in my lemon tea

One of my store cupboard/fridge staples.