Coco Caravan Caramel Vegan Easter Eggs

A big thankyou to Coco Caravan for today's review. They kindly sent me some of their Raw Vegan Chocolate Caramel Eggs recently so I was super excited indeed - it's rare to get a vegan caramel! These are available from Coco Caravans website and consist of 8 raw dark chocolate eggs, containing a runny caramel made with coconut blossom sugar, coconut cream and oil and cashew nut paste. A caramel made without dairy - yay!

I like the simple and non pretentious packaging - they're wrapped in simply brown paper which feels rather rustic, plus makes it easy to recycle.

When trying to take a pic of the innards I accidentally squashed it - oops! As you can hopefully see above the caramel is super sticky and runny.

The eggs are two halves stuck together rather than a whole shell completely filled with caramel. I took a bite, and it wasn't quite what I expected. The flavour is earthy and punchy, and definitely that of a raw chocolate. It was nice and flavoursome and definitely made a change from regular dark chocolate. The caramel had that distinctive coconut sugar flavour, quite earthy and it tasted nice and sweet but I did feel the texture was just a little bit too runny to be a proper caramel.

Overall, these are very nice and a real treat if you're avoiding dairy, although personally I would prefer a chewier caramel. (I'm a sucker for chewy caramel, admittedly!)

Find them on cococaravan.co.uk

8 out of 10. 

Ingredients: Raw cacao butter, cacao powder (cacao mass 72%), coconut blossom nectar, ground vanilla pod. Soft Center Caramel: Coconut blossom sugar, virgin coconut oil, cashew nut paste, coconut cream.

Ombar Centres Raspberry & Coconut Raw Bar

I do love Ombar chocolates, if you can’t tell by now from my previous reviews of their bars! Not only are they dairy free and vegan they’re also made with “raw” cacao which is quite a rarity amongst chocolates. This gives them a sharper more authentic cocoa flavour, although it may not be to all tastes I personally rather enjoy it.

I’ve been keen to try this Ombar Centres Raspberry for ages now, I've seen it in shops locally but kept umming and ahhing over whether to buy it. Luckily I was offered some of the range along with the new Karma Bites snacks to review recently so I couldn't say no to that!

Weighing 35g this usually costs around £1.99. It’s a lot, but bear in mind this is high quality organic raw cacao made by a small company. It’s worth the price, and nicer than other raw chocolate bars on the market. The bar contains a centre of coconut cream and raspberry powder and is coated in 60% cocoa chocolate.

I cut a piece off the bar so you can see the centre - look, it’s pink! It reminded me of a Raspberry Ruffle bar. I took a bite, and at first I could taste the punchy flavour of the raw chocolate - kind of earthy and very flavoursome. The coconut sugar used in place of white sugar further adds to this flavour. The centre is where it’s taken to a new level - it’s creamy thanks to the coconut, but with that characteristic tart edge of raspberry. It’s the perfect pairing; not so strong that it's overpowering, but just enough to get a good fruity hit.

All in all, this bar is delightful and I’m so glad to see Ombar going from strength to strength since I first reviewed them several years back. I hope to see more varieties in this Centres range and dare I say a large bar version too?!

Are you a fan of Ombar? Which is your favourite dairy free/vegan chocolate? Let me know in the comments!

Nutritional Information (Per 35g Bar): Energy 837kj (202kcal), Fat 15g, of which saturates 9.9g, Carbohydrates 16g, of which sugars 11g, Protein 2.9g, Salt 0g.

Organic ingredients: creamed coconut*, coconut sugar*, raw cacao*, coconut oil*, cocoa butter*, raspberry powder*, ground vanilla pods*. *certified organic. Cocoa solids 60% minimum.

9 out of 10.

Chocolate Tree Coconut Milk Dairy Free Chocolate (#Veganuary)

After the disappointing Loving Earth Coconut Mylk Bar, I thought I'd review something a bit tastier for #veganuary, this time it's Chocolate Tree's Coconut Milk & Sugar 55% cocoa bar. I found this in the same vegan store as Loving Earth Coconut Mylk, and it's priced higher at £4.65 for 80g, but boy is it worth the extra money.

I've tried a few coconut milk chocolate bars now in the search for something tasty, the best one so far being the Waitrose 1 Indian Ocean Coconut Dark Chocolate (which isn't really dark chocolate - it's far too creamy!). If you're vegan or dairy free I would recommend seeking that one out for sure.

Back to today's bar, the chocolate is actually split into two plastic foil wrapped bars within the main box, each containing 40g. They have a patterned design and interesting shaped blocks.

The pack description reads "An alternative to milk chocolate made with coconut milk and coconut blossom sugar. The cacao we use for the chocolate is from the community of Chililique in Piura, Northern Peru". The chocolate is made in Scotland.

Snapping the bar in half, it has quite a soft snap which I wasn't expecting. Taking a bite, it's definitely soft and smooth in texture, very melt in the mouth. And I really enjoyed it! It's creamy thanks to the coconut and coconut sugar but with a rich cocoa aftertaste, somewhat acidic and very flavoursome. I really enjoyed this, and am happy to pay the higher price for it. You can tell it's much better quality than cheaper chocolates.

Compared to the Waitrose 1 Indian Ocean Coconut Chocolate I wouldn't say this is superior, but it certainly gives it a run for its money. The Waitrose 1 bar will always be my favourite coconutty chocolate; such a shame they are always out of stock!

8 out of 10. 

Tiana CocoTop Coconut Snacks Sweet & Savoury

A big thankyou to Tiana Fairtrade Organics for today's post, who kindly offered me some of their new CocoTop "Organic Coconut Snacks" to review, an offer I couldn't refuse! There's two varieties in the range, which is available from Amazon in 50g pots. You can buy both varities together or the Savoury and Sweet versions by themselves. Both contain only natural ingredients, are suitable for vegans, organic and gluten-free. They're lightly toasted to reduce fat content.

Tiana CocoTop Savoury:

I tried the Savoury variety first, which are coconut chips "lightly salted with unrefined sea salt". I do like the little tubs these come in, they're super handy, and unlike other coconut chips on the market you can re-seal them and save some for later. No messy bits falling out into your bag!

The coconut chips are nicely toasted and taste very fresh and good quality. They would certainly make for a nice salty cinema snack in place of popcorn, with a lot more nutrition in. I could imagine these being even better with some pepper or spices added.

7.5 out of 10.

Tiana CocoTop Sweet:

Now these were the ones I was most excited about. Because, sugar! Coconut nectar to be exact, which is a lot healthier and lower glycemic than white sugar, meaning you don't get the sugar crash later on. They had a lovely golden appearance and tasted seriously, seriously gorgeous; the coconut nectar gives a moreish caramel edge which is perfect blended with the toasted coconut chips. The perfect combination! As tasty as they were, I didn't feel the need to eat the whole tub because they felt very satisfying (also, no sugar crash, yay!).

8.5 out of 10.

Overall, I have to say Tiana are winning with these new CocoTop snacks! Not only are they super tasty they're perfectly portable and make for satisfying, nutritious and tasty eats. If these appear in any local shops I would definitely buy them regularly, they're actually much better than other brands of Coconut Chips I've tried thus far!

The Primal Pantry Mixed Berries Paleo Protein Bar

The primal pantry have unleashed another Paleo and Vegan approved bar on the snacking market...this time with the addition of some plant protein in the mix. I spotted this bar looking for a "healthy" snack in Tesco Express and found it in the Free From section. It cost just over £2 which ain't cheap for a small bar...so is it worth it?

Thankfully it is. If you like Nakd bars or other similar healthier snacks bars you'll probably love this. It contains hemp protein, as well as coconut nectar as the sweetener (probably why these cost so much), goji berries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, raspberry, dates and apricots. There's 12g protein per 55g bar.

So how does it taste? Well it's actually quite yummy for a healthy snack bar! Usually my complaint with bars like his is that they're too sticky and based on dried fruit, but this has the right balance of seeds and nuts to sweeteness...the hemp protein gives it a slightly more substantial texture and is actually filling, compared to a regular fruit and nut bar. The pumpkin seeds add a nice bit of crunch and the berries bring some nice fruity bursts to keep things interesting.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised by this bar...I'm not usually one to bother with protein bars, but this one doesn't taste like any regular protein bar, rather it tastes like a real food bar. I would buy one again, despite the high price point. 

8.5 out of 10.