Product Review Thread - what do they taste like?

[BordersGirl]

This thread has been suggested by Gunpowd3r to review and rate each of the S&S products to help people see what others think about them when they're starting out. Rather than letting the thread get cluttered up with hundreds of individual posts it's probably better if we all have 1 post each for our reviews and then edit that post if we want to update it (there's an edit button on the bottom right of the post).

 

[BordersGirl]

My Slim and Save product review

Shakes

I make all of the shakes with more liquid than it says. Apart from the crispy shakes I add 700ml of liquid to the shakes. I make the crispy shakes up to 400ml of liquid.

Banana - My favourite cold shake - 9/10
Strawberry - My second favourite cold shake - 8/10
Chocolate - OK hot or cold but not my favourite - 6/10
Vanilla - I enjoy this hot mixed with coffee. I've had it cold but not a patch on hot in my opinion - 8/10
Cafe Late - Nice hot and I usually add another spoonful of coffee - 8/10
Caramel - lovely hot or cold. Also nice hot with a spoonful of coffee - 9/10
Hazlenut - Just had this the once, cold - 7/10
Red Fruits - Yet to try
Crispy Chocolate - Made this with 400ml water and no milk - 7/10
Cripy Vanilla - Also made with 400ml and no milk - 7/10
Vanilla Caramel - Was just like a mix of the caramel and vanilla shakes 8/10

Soups

I'm not a lover of the soups and have them very rarely.

Chicken - ok, not a lover of soups - 4/10
Mushroom - ok, not a lover of soups - 5/10
Veg - ok, probably my favourite soup - 6/10
Tomato - not been brave enough to try!!

Meals

I make all of the meals with a little more water than it says but not so much that they end up soup like.

Original (white packet) Spag bol - low - medium spicy but I like this - 7/10
New (silver packet) spag bol - a bit more spicy than the original and the texture was different. 8/10
Original Chilli (white packet) - more spicy than the spag bol. Leave to soak a bit longer than it says as otherwise the kidney beans are crunchy - 8/10
New (silver packet) Chilli - not tried yet
Cottage Pie - Bland and I didn't like the taste or texture - 4/10
Macaroni Cheese - this tasted good but was a very small portion. It was lovely poured over cauli and broccoli though and made nice change from the other meals 7/10
Mushroom Pasta - this was lush, although like the mac cheese made a smallish portion. Was wonderful with extra mushrooms and other veg 8/10


Porridge / Oatmeal

Original (white packet) - I like this and use 200ml of water. I microwave it until it starts to 'rise' (stirring once halfway through), then leave to stand for 3 minutes before eating. I also like it with a little cinnamon - 8/10
New (silver packet) - this has a different flavour and texture compared to the original one. It is more like the texture of real porridge than the other one but wasn't sweet enough for me so I added sweetener 7/10

Bars

Honey - Tastes too much of honey for me - 6/10
Choc Truffa - Lush! Dark chocolate heaven - 9/10
Lemon and Yoghurt - White Chocolate and lovely lemony taste - 8/10
Muesli - Choc covered muesli bar, ok but not my favourite - 6/10

Wafers

Chocolate and strawberry - 2 wafers in a packet around 100 calories each. Very sweet and not like diet food at all. I avoid as they trigger cravings. Plus they are not full meals replacements - 5/10

Water Flavourings

Never tried as I quite like plain water

 

[lorraineA]

OK here goes my contribution:
Shakes:
Banana and strawberry shakes - I am not a lover of milk shakes but these are actually nice - sweet and tasty - I blend these with a hand blender and add ice to make them lovely and cold.
Cafe latte, caramel shakes - have these hot, they are a bit sweet to my taste but then I have coffee and tea black without sugar normally. They are worth persevering with though as they are a bit of an acquired taste
Vanilla, choc shakes - have had these hot with added coffee or mint tea bag (respectively) and they were ok but no more than that
Crispy vanilla and choc shakes - like the vanilla one more - these are not my favourite - ok as an occasional meal - think they are more like a dessert. I make them as per the packet with skimmed milk and just shake in the shaker - bit messy!

Soups:
I like all of the soups (even the tomato) although I prefer the chicken and the mushroom - I generally add lots of pepper, some salt, and usually some chilli flakes for flavour. I blend them with boiling water - usually add c. 200 mls of water.

Porridge - tried this once and didn't like the consistency - found it a bit like wallpaper paste

Bars:
Adore choc truffa and lemon and white choc! Loved the banana too. Not so keen on honey & nougat although it was not vile.
Choc wafers - had these once - very sweet and very nice - high in calorie and only meant to have one of the packet of 2 so bit much of a temptation really so never ordered again.

Meals:
Adore spag bol, chilli and cottage pie - tend to make with c 200mls of water. Also add lots of pepper, salt and usually chilli flakes / dried garlic for extra spice and flavour.

Cannot wait for macaroni cheese!!!!!!

Hope this is helpful x

 

[Linda5111]

I only like 5 of the pks that Ive tried so far.
shakes. choc & strawberry
Bars...lemon & white choc.
Meals..spag bol & Shepard's pie, & that's it.

 

[trisha]

How do they compare taste wise to cambridge?

 

[gunpowd3r]

My Slim& Save reviews
This is both my reviews and my OH’s

Shakes
We make both shakes with roughly 300ml of water so they are a little thicker than double cream consistency.
All shakes we make with water.

Chocolate- I like this a lot nice malty choc taste—9/10
Strawberry- Lovely fresh strawberry flavour no nasty aftertaste- 9/10
Banana- Starts of great like a banana chewy sweet but leaves a chemical aftertaste and banana burps for the rest of the day 5/10
Vanilla- Not tried yet have 2 samples
Hazelnut- This is lovely not too sweet and the hazelnut is a very mild taste, creamy and moreish, am going to try with coffee to make hazelnut latte 10/10
Caramel- Gorgeous shake!!! Hot, cold with coffee without all tastes amazing, I liken the taste to custard powder and sweet evap milk 10/10
Latte- Have a sample am yet to try
Red fruit- Another lovely shake, tastes very like the strawberry but has a different aftertaste you can taste like a red berry flavour, reminds me of strawberry angel delight, I think this would be fab as a mousse 10/10
Crispy choc- Super breakfast shake the crispy bits are like a handful of coco pops with choc milk lovely taste not too sweet and hit the spot 9/10
Crispy vanilla- Creamy slightly sweet vanilla flavour again has a handful of rice Krispy and nut pieces lovely smooth shake. 10/10

Soups

Chicken- Yummy soup, savoury, chicken, herby….nice and thick tastes almost like creamy chicken cuppa soup mixed with chicken super noodles, fills you up well 8/10
Mushroom- Have a sample to try
Vegetable- Don’t really want to try after ppl’s reactions to it already lol
Tomato- No thank you I do not wish to try this

Meals

Spag bol- Slightly spicy, not lip tingling or anything, has noodles/pasta in and soya mince, very flavoursome and savoury, tasty meal can pep it up or have it as it is…goes well with broccoli 10/10
Chilli- Another fab meal, this one is spicy and hotter. Tastes like real chilli and has some beans in, I add more chilli powder to pep it up. 10/10
Cottage pie- My fave by far---this reminds me of sage &onion stuffing, it has a smooth cottage pie texture and very savoury taste, I add soya sauce and bouillon for extra zing, goes lovely with cabbage 10/10
Porridge- I only had this made into a biscuit, but has a taste and was nice, as a biscuit no didn’t like the texture so would prefer to have it as porridge......Ok had it yesterday as it was intended :-S i didn't get on with it, added a load of cinnamon to hide the taste, and boy oh boy is it sweet far too sweet, i like my porridge plain or a hint of sugar....wish it came plain and i could add sweetner instead of as sweet as it is!!! 6/10

Bars

Choc trufa- Best bar for chocoholics!!! This taste lovely and more like a guilty treat than a diet meal!!! It has a thick fudgy consistency and a choccy flavour…hits the spot!! 10/10
Honey, nougat- Not had always been out of stock
White choc & lemon- Hmm I am not keen on this I don’t like the lemon flavour I would like it stronger, but my OH likes this so will give it 6/10
Muesli- We both love this bar!!! It is like a cross between a muesli bar and rich fruit cake, filling, and delicious…for something different this is good 10/10

Other items

Wahoo water flavourings- We have tried both flavourings, the berry is the best it gives the water a very mild berry taste, the citrus is a real mouth refresher, it almost feels like you have sucked a lime, has a lime type taste, both are good. 7/10

 

[norwegian girl]

I love them - the meals are great and the shakes (crispy ones) are wonderful, I even make them with water. I will not fail on this programme as I actually thoroughly enjoy it

 

[slinky1131]

I couldn't drink the strawb or red fruits. Straight down the sink :-(
Choc truffle was simply GORGEOUS!
Awaiting samples......

 

[Pheonix2010]

Shakes

Vanilla 7/10 , its ok but not amazing , however add a spoon of coffee and have it hot and its a lush 9/10

Caramel , my absolute fave shake 8/10 cold 9/10 hot

Caffee Latte , lovely , but again prefer it hot 8/10

Red Fruits , makes a nice change to have something fruity and this is lovely , I particularly like to half freeze then stir to create a slush puppy type texture , makes a great desert 9/10

Hazelnut had a slightly odd flavour so not sure about this one , however its not entirely nasty 6/10

Chocolate is ok , again not great 6/10

Choc banana , was a bit of a let down , might try this hot in future 6/10

Meals

Porridge ,I love love love this , have it every day, I pop in a couple of teaspoons of bran to keep me regular and it also thickens the consistency which i like , i make it with water , it doesnt taste any better with milk , so why add the calories?. It is a bit of a nightmare to make at first , you do get the hang of it and it is worth persevering 9/10


Spag bol , absolutely lovely , I have this with more water than it says so that it goes a bit further , and usually pour it over a raw salad of baby spinach leaves , rocket , courgettes , celery and mushrooms 9/10

Chilli , also very nice , makes a great lunch with mushrooms stirred in or a main meal treated the same as the spag bol 8.5/10

Cottage pie , I used to really like this but went off it , I found it difficult to find vegetables to mix in with it without it looking gross , which put me off , its also a bit bland , I would add some worcester or soy sauce to it to give it a bit of a kick , im going to try it again as taste does change while on this diet , but at the moment 6/10

Bars

Choc truffa , very delicious , my fave bar but a bit small 9/10

maple , ok , 7/10

banana bars , I really miss these they were bigger and I really liked the flavour but I think they are not making them anymore 9/10

white choc ok , had a slight after taste I wasnt keen on , 7/10

With all the bars I would cut lengthways down the middle then cut fine slithers making approx 30 small pieces , it makes it last longer if you eat it one piece at a time , otherwise its gone in 3 bites

Only problem for me is that stopping at one bar is a struggle , I always want another one , whereas I dont get that with the meals and shakes , I guess thats a throw back to one of my old food habits , not the bars fault

 

[NicolaB]

Hi all

I have just started slim and save today and have had the following shakes:

Crispy choc - this is more like chocolate pudding and very nice too it reminded me of the heinz baby desserts I used to feed my kids
Chocolate shake - again very nice and chocolatey
Strawberry - this was the one I was most nervous about as previous strawberry shakes from other VLCD have been rank with a very false strawberry taste, this one however was nice with a pretty authentic strawberry taste that wasn't overpowering.

I'm pretty impressed - definately nicer than cambridge and alot cheaper too!

Well done Slim and Save - I will be trying some meals in my next order and hoping they are as good

 

[weasey]

OK - here are mine...

Shakes
I'm not keen on shakes and don't have a sweet tooth so please bear that in mind! I haven't tried many of them.

Chocolate- Only tried once with hot water 5/10
Banana- A bit chemically 5/10
Vanilla- Tried with hot coffee - too thin for me 3/10
Crispy choc- Tried first with 125ml of milk and horribly rich and made me feel sick (don't have a sweet tooth though). OK when same amount of water added too. 4/10
Crispy vanilla- ok when made with extra water 5/10

Soups
Have only tried one soup!

Tomato- Horrid strange pink colour with no relation to a tomato that I could tell 0/10

Meals

Spag bol- Love it! 10/10
Chilli- Really nice - I sometimes add tabasco - but I like hot food! 9/10
Cottage pie- I like this as the texture reminds me of mashed potato. I tend to add bullion. 8/10
Porridge- Tends to vary a bit in texture. I like it when it's really thick! Currently experimenting with making it into a cookie - not successful yet. 7/10

Bars

Choc trufa- Love this! 10/10
Honey, nougat- Only OK 5/10
White choc & lemon- Love, love, love it! 10/10
Muesli- I always choose this one if I'm going to eat it with a black coffee - yum! 8/10

Other items

Haven't tried any of the extras.

 

[crazylilblondie]

I bought a whole box of chocolate, thinking it was a safe option. I was so wrong. It tasted like cardboard with a bad aftertaste. Now having to throw the remainder away

 

[alison55]

Meals
Spag bol - love it esp with extra herbs and garlic and mixed with mushrooms and broccoli/cauli
Chilli - as above! Really surprised me as it isnt something I would usually choose to eat!
Cottage pie - needs extra flavouring (lee and perrins and herbs/garlic) strange consistancy but quite a good comfort food!
Oatmeal - ok, better with cinnamon and milk and when whisked at frequent intervals during the cooking. Does feel more like breakfast than having a shake!

New packs
New porridge - lovely, better than the oatmeal one, nicer consistancy and taste and seems more filling. Still will add cinamon and a sweetener but defo my new breakfast!
New spag bol - slightly more tomatoey and spicier seems to have more pasta and I prefer it to the older one!
New Chilli - I am not so keen on kidney beans so it was a pleasant surprise that this seemed to be missing them! Prefer this pack to the older one too
Mac/cheese - needs a bit less water and seems a smaller quantity than the other meals but it was really tasty over cauliflower and mushrooms! Nice change.
Mushroom pasta - will let you know when I have ordered and tried that one!

Soups - tried a few but not so keen as would rather feel I have eaten! mixed the chicken one over some chicken strips and mushrooms which was quite nice! Tried veg now and not too bad, would have again!

Shakes - only tried the crispy ones, choc is lovely and used extra liquid as was soooo thick but not as keen on the vanilla!

Bars
Have tried muesli - ok
Truffa - lovely but I try not to buy as one is not enough! I dont seem to be able to count when I eat them so assume there is something in them that affects my brain power!!
There in lies my problem!!!!!

 

[squindles]

Day 3......

Day 3 nearly over and done with & 100% committment Just had the veg soup for my tea.....:yuk: tasted rank!!! Going to stick to the shakes from now on. Have had banana, crispy choc/vanilla, hazelnut and the red berries one.......:bliss: scrumdiddilyumptious
Jackie xx

 

[mobsy]

day 1

hi everyone,
i just started the diet today
ive had the porridge and the truffa so far.
i just couldnt handle the porridge.. i'll give it a 3/10... it had an aftertaste and was way too sweet...
the truffa was quite nice though.. i liked that one although not at first taste..\
im looking foward to trying the shakes and the spag bol..

 

[trisha]

Hi I started today, so far I've had the vanilla shake hot with a teaspoon of coffee in and the chocolate hot both were very nice. A also tried lemon/yogurt bar yesterday which was lovely. I'm going to try a soup later.

 

[Kiika]

Hello everyone,

I have been working my way through my sample packs and wanted to share what I thought of everything so far, and rather than only tell you whether I liked or disliked something, I will try and describe the taste and texture of each item so you have more of an idea of what to expect.

Chocolate Trufa bar - Very small, but quite a heavy (to eat) bar, a texture like a thick brownie with the odd crispy bit inside. Very chocolatey but surprisingly not overly sweet for my tastes. I didnt think based on the size of it that it would keep my hunger away, but it took nearly an hour to eat and the hunger kept away for around 3 hours, which is good seeing as I am not actually following the plan yet. I liked this bar, but I would prefer it as an occasional evening snack on a 4 pack a day plan.

Porridge/Oatmeal - I made this with water as this is how I make my normal porridge. I found the texture powdery with the odd fleck of oat in there (imagine that you made a shake but with not enough water, then ate it with a spoon). The smell and taste of this reminded me a little of packet soup (so much so I had to double check that I had actually used the oatmeal and not the soup!!) It was very slightly sweet and even after adding two tsp of splenda it still was not very sweet. I ended up putting bits in my mouth and trying to swallow it without tasting it or feeling the texture. I will not be ordering this in my proper monthly supply.

Strawberry Shake - I must admit I was worried about this as I love the slimfast strawberry shake and have had disgusting strawberry protein shakes in the past. But this was lovely, with 300ml water and ice, made in a blender, the taste is very fresh and sweet (but not too sweet) and strawberry-like, it even has visible evidence of strawberries in it like the odd seed which I was not expecting. The consistency is like nesquik and it kind of reminded me of strawberry angel delight in flavour. I will be ordering this and I am no longer scared to order some of the other shakes now!

Chilli Con Carne - I was petrified that this would be like a chilli flavour porridge HAHA! but I was really very happy with this. It smelled like "real" chilli, and when made up as instructed, it tasted very nice, mildly spicy and very much like chilli con carne (and I LOVE chilli, it is one of my favourite meals so I am fussy). The texture was like the soya pieces in a pot noodle in a thick sauce and there were a very few kidney beans in there which in my opinion they could leave out and it wouldnt affect the meal as they were kind of crunchy even after leaving the chilli sit for a few minutes after cooking. I will be ordering this and the spag bol as I imagine that this will be of a similar quality.

Vegetable Soup - This smells good, kind of like a broccoli & cauliflower cup-a-soup . I added a whole mug of water so about 200-250ml and the consistency was still quite thick. It was kind of gritty feeling to drink, a bit like mashed potato dissolved in water (if you can imagine that) and didnt really taste of too much, certainly nothing offensive about it. I added salt and pepper, which made it tastier. Although if I could have been bothered to get up off the sofa, I would have added even more salt. I will be ordering this one and the chicken and the mushroom soups after trying this.

 

[Angel_Cake]

Ooooo, products I like

I’ve been on Slim & Save for almost a month but just joined MiniMins today (HELLO!!).

Here’s my review of all I’ve tried:

Meals:
Spicy Spaghetti: Absolutely delicious. A very slight kick but I love spicy food so will always add red flakes to it.

Chilli: Very good. It has a little kick to it made more appealing by the addition of red top Tabasco. Mine have on average about 3 kidney beans in them. As someone who loves kidney beans normally, these I loathe. They are quite hard and can shock your teeth if you accidently bite into them. I tell you what, I am glad there are only 2 to pick out.

Cottage Pie: Hmmm, not sure about this one. Flavour wise, it tastes like soya powder in an organic stock powder that I use to flavour homemade casseroles. It does however keep me very full indeed, hence the reason why I shall continue to eat it.

Soups: I have samples some of the soups but as it was a while ago, I don’t really remember the taste of them. I didn’t re-order them so you can make your own assumptions about that!

Porridge: Oh dear. What a huge disappointment. I’ve always enjoyed porridge or muesli for breakfast but this was wrong on so many levels. It tasted of flour mixed with cold water (even when cooked) and the consistency reminded me of wallpaper paste. Needless to say, I didn’t re-order.

Bars:
Muesli: Bit too sweet for me but it does give me that cereal bar taste which I crave as I used to eat porridge or Muesli for breakfast a lot.

Chocolate Truffa: Mmm Mmmmmmm! Very nice. Reminds me of a hardened version of devils food cake. Oh so chocolately, and rich with little crispy bits. Quite a small bar but its so heavy that I felt full. However, maybe it’s just me but just after I had my last bite I wanted to eat another one but just about refrained. Oh I am greedy.

Lemon, Yoghurt and White Chocolate: Very fresh and zingy and for someone who places just as much importance on lemons as she does chocolate, I thoroughly enjoyed these. They are light, chewy and with a lovely coating and little crispy bits that crackle when you bite into it.

Chocolate Wafers: Too too sweet and gave me a headache. However, I think (as I’ve only had them once) that they helped to relieve my, ahem, constipation a bit. As I’ve not had them again I can’t be sure.

Shakes:
Caramel: This was ok. I’d heard people love this. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it just tasted bland to me. Maybe I watered it down too much. It didn’t do it for me like the full fat home-made version does! TeeHee!

Crispy Chocolate: This hits the spot. It has a blended ferrero rocher/nutella thing going on which works.

Crispy Vanilla: Nice vanilla drink with rice crispy like things. Tasty but only if you like vanilla (I do).

Chocolate: I ordered a sample expecting to love it yet I hated it. It was the worst shake of the lot. I’m not sure if it’s because I may have gotten an old one (non-shiny pack) but it tasted of metal. I thought maybe its my diet mouth so I had a bit of my bar which tasted like yummy chocolate and when I tried the choc shake it was as bad as ever. I tried warming it up but made no difference. Massive disappointment. I had the crispy chocolate afterwards and it was lovely.

Hazelnut: Was not sure what to expect with this and was concerned it may be nasty and have a fake chemical type taste. Oh how happily wrong I was! It was yummy and tasted so similar to starbucks warm skinny milk with hazelnut syrup. Comforting, both cold and warmed up slightly with a splash of milk added to it.

 

[*lesley*]

My first four...
Crispy Choc shake - actually tasted like a nice normal choc milkshake. Made it with water instead of milk and it was lovely and thick. Will use about 50ml more water next time as it is quite a small drink and thick enough to do so.

Hazelnut shake - quite creamy, reminded me of vanilla a bit. Not by any means horrible, it was nice, but not enough flavour for me.

Choc truffle bar - cut in into small slices as recommended and had as a late afternoon treat. It has a lovely rich choc flavour and to me tasted slightly almond like in places?! Definitely does not taste like a slimming bar.

Porridge - nearly binned it after making it based on smell alone. Reminded me of hot drinks that i made with Lipotrim which were always awful. Took a couple of mouthfuls and it tasted a lot of artificial sweetener so popped some fresh nutmeg in and it changed it completely. By the end of the bowl i was wishing i had ordered more than one so i could try it with cinnamon. It warmed me up a treat and would be good in the evening or the morning. I'm looking forward to trying the new porridge.

 

[bridie]

Just started on my 3rd day now and maybe its beause i love food so much but so far everything ive tried is super yummyyy!!
saturday i had: porridge, it wasnt as thick as id have liked but i guess ill have to experiment with water amounts. lunch i had chilli which was soooo yummy and so filing then afternoon snack i had mushroom soup. i love mushrooms so this was really good... not quite so filling though. i had chicken and broccoli for dinner but i may put this into the soup next time.

yeaterday i had the choc bar dripped in my tea whilst my lovely OH had tea and biscuits!! worked a treat to stop the biscuit cravings and the OH even kept saying sorry for eating them in front of me bless. then i had spag boll definately a favourite and like the chilli so filling! bit upset i hadnt ordered any cottage pie now! i had some more porridge and then before bed i had the choc shake as a hot choc to get me snugged!

i feel great and have loadssss of energy woo on with today