Orgran- Outback animal chocolate biscuits

I'm a sucker for animal shaped biscuits. The Cadbury chocolate animal biscuits occupy a special place in my childhood memory heart. When I saw these allergy free ones in my local Home Bargains store recently, I jumped at the chance to try them. Quite literally, actually, what with them being right on the top shelf. 

First impressions: what an impressive list of free-from ingredients! Free from gluten, wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts and yeast. They're also Vegan to boot. Hoorah! I then checked the calorie contents. I don't know why, but I just expected them to be sky high. Well, blow.me.down. 6 little biscuits come in at a minuscule 68 Kcal. Each pack has approx 10 servings. 

Look: Now, I *think* the biscuits are meant to be animal shaped. I'm no zoologist but I think even Darwin himself would struggle to identify what exactly these little cookie critters are meant to be. I think I can just make out the kangaroo and crocodile but the other little creature has left me a bit bewildered. Looking at the box I think he's meant to be a possum but I think it's safe to say he definitely got the short end of the cookie cutter straw. Regardless, for such a tall order as making something free from so many allergens and the problems that come with cookie consistency in free from products, I think they've done very well to get any sort of shape at all!

Taste: They're really lovely. They remind me of cereal like Wheetos, and we all know how easy they we to eat. Straight out of the box. By the handful. They taste quite cocoa-ish, have a nice bite and don't taste like they're free from so many components of a regular cookie. They're not going to set your tastebuds alight, but they are tasty enough to warrant repurchasing. They're also not overly sugary sweet in taste which is just right for me. 

I know these are ultimately aimed at kids, but they've certainly ticked all the right boxes with this big kid: low cal, allergen free and moorish to boot. They're certainly not healthy, but then they don't claim to be. I'd have no hesitation in buying them again for big or little kids, allergy kids or not.

FreeFrom: Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Egg, nuts, Soy, Yeast. Suitable for Vegans. 

Where: HomeBargains (UK) -I got them for a bargainalicious 49p! They do sell some products on Amazon. 

Score: 7/10

Lovemore-Chocolate Bourbons

Chocolate bourbons have always been my nemesis. Even in my happy biscuit munching childhood days of yore,chocolate bourbons were always a biscuit I'd side step. Not because the thought of a delicious chocolate cream gently nestled between two chocolatey biscuits didn't appeal to me, but because, for some reason, the little blighters always gave me stomach ache. It didn't matter the make, the country of purchase, what time of day I ate them or whether I ate them standing on my head: I just could not escape the dreaded stomach cramps. I'm still not entirely sure what caused them (although I do have a problem with butter icing, so...?) so when I found I needed to eat gluten free, chocolate bourbons didn't even enter my vortex of foods I'd miss. I also have to say that, as well as the pain factor, I found them a rather dry, crumbly and pointless addition to the biscuit tin, predisposed to softness and just generally a damp squib. 

When the chaps at Lovemore so kindly sent me some samples to try and amongst them I noticed a big box of chocolate bourbon's staring up at me, I could feel myself getting prickly. So, we meet again, my old foe. After realising just how ridiculous I must look talking to a biscuit, I decided to cut these guys some slack. Wheat free, gluten free, dairy free and egg free: the only thing these guys had in common with their brethren was the name and shape. Not all biscuits are created equal, so I decided to throw away my prejudices and give them a go. 

First impressions were good. The biscuits felt great, very sturdy with no threat of crumbling under pressure (ho ho). They smelt mildly chocolatey but not the coco deliciousness of the O'Choco. 

I split the biscuit in half and there was the filling. Or rather, where was the filling? As you can see, the actual content was rather sparse. Unfortunately, things didn't look up much from there. The flavour was, like the filling, lacking. It tasted mildly of coco but thee was a strong hint of rice flour rising through. This isn't surprising as it is the first ingredient on the list, but it just didn't have the nice rounded 'gluten free biscuit in disguise' flavour of the O'Choco. As such, I couldn't really taste the filling either. 

It's such a shame as I had high hopes for these biscuits after being completely blown away by the O'Choco and loving their Jammy Wheels (review to come). I'd like to see the product with more filling to see of that helps it along. As it stands, it's a biscuit that's so close to being there it just falls a little flat. Although my stomach didn't turn in pain, it didn't do jumps of happiness either. Sorry!

FreeFrom: Gluten, Wheat and Dairy and egg. 

Where: Lovemore website, Waitrose stores

Score: 4/10

Morrison's- FreeFrom Spaghetti

Ah, who could forget that romantic scene in Lady and the Tramp when the two young pup's noses meet over a delicious plate of good ol' spag bol. Ah <3 Actually, it's more 'argh' for me given that film will forever be marred by the memory of *those* Siamese cats. *Shudder*

Spaghetti was one of those foods I knew I'd sorely miss when eating Gluten Free. In the name of all things bloggable, I've taken it upon myself to try every brand I can find. The first to face my tastebud challenge is by Morrison's.

The packet weighs in at 500g which makes it comparable with most gluten filled counterparts. If you're used to eating GF then you'll be well aware that GF products tend to come in much smaller sizes. A serving is 75g dry which should work out at 150g when cooked. A serving comes in at 258 calories. 

The spaghetti is a lot yellower than most non GF spaghetti's, but this is very common amongst the GF spaghetti brethren due to the high cornflour content. A big tip when cooking GF spaghetti is to use the biggest pan you have. GF spaghetti really enjoys plenty of room for a good swim around. Too small a pan and you'll more than likely be left with a solid spaghetti wedge rather than nice individual strands. Another factor I've found is to give the spaghetti a little extra cooking time. I find 14 minutes allows the spaghetti to be cooked through and loses the slightly chewy edge that GF spaghetti can have. 

Morrison's offering certainly stepped up to the mark. It cooked well, didn't stick together, wasn't chewy and certainly tasted great when immersed in my tomato and bean sauce (recipe coming up!). It wasn't exactly like 'normal' spaghetti but I think that when eating gluten free, you have to refrain from comparing like for like and just appreciate the GF food in its own right. 

This offering was tasty and ticked the boxes, but, alas, I'm still waiting for a spaghetti to give me my Lady and the Tramp moment. 

FreeFrom: Gluten, Wheat and Dairy

May contain: Egg (although I didn't have any reaction)

Where: Morrison stores

Score: 6/10