Movie Night Degustabox

 Autumnal chill is heavy in the air. The clocks have gone back, and the weather is dreary. I've been postponing putting on the heating, but gave up a few days ago and switched it on. To counteract the cold and clagginess, channel cosiness with the hot meals and drinks. 

The evenings are dark, and just right for the family movie nights. During the midterm break we've been watching Locke & Key season 2, which was pretty good. Our Hallowe'een night choice of a film was a bit of a mistake, we opted to watch The Haunting (1999), and all I can say is: don't waste your time.

Movie Night was the theme of the latest Degustabox food box.

Degustabox is a monthly food and drink subscription box. It's an excellent way of discovering new products which have only just appeared in the shops, or those which have been around for a while, but you haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Thanks to Degustabox, I have found new favourites to add to our shopping list, including some products which I otherwise wouldn't have tried.

Each time a monthly box arrives, its contents are a total surprise. You get a good selection of foods and drinks.

If you haven't tried Degustabox subscription box yet, and would like to have a go, I have a £3off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time), just use code DKRLN when placing an order.

Let's have a look at what we got in the Movie Night box.

Mutti Passata (£1.55) is the Product of the Month. Mutti is Italy's no.1 brand of tomatoes. It "has been processing tomatoes for over 100 years. Its products are made exclusively of Italian tomatoes, with scrupulous supervision of the entire production chain: from selection of the most suitable variieities to inspection in the field, up to harvesting and canning, which is done just hours after the tomatoes arrive at the plant". Ingredients include tomatoes and salt, and nothing else.

This is an excellent product, and I can see why it has been selected as the Product of the month. It deserves all the plaudits. A great product to keep in the pantry.

Mutti Passata variants are listed in Waitrose, Sainsbury's, ASDA, on Ocado and Amazon. 

I used this bottle of passata to cook a Tuna and Potato stew in tomato sauce. It was delicious.

Pot Noodle Fusions (Katsu Curry, Thai Green Curry and Chilli Chicken, £1.39) are Asian-inspired flavours to fire up your taste buds. Great for quick and easy office lunches.

You should receive 2 of 3 items in your box.

Available at Sainsbury's and ASDA.

Pot Noodle Fusions Chilli Chicken Flavour - despite its name, it is a vegan meal.

Nutritional information: 444kcal and 7.9g of sugar per pot.

The usual Pot Noodle way of cooking - just add the boiling water to fill the line, re-cover the pot with a lid and leave for 2 minutes. 

I found it pretty fiery without the sachet of hot chilli sauce, I can't imagine eating it with extra heat, but then, of course, some like it hot. My mouth was burning as it is after I ate these noodles for lunch.

I haven't tried Thai Green Curry yet.

We've had Indie Bay snacks in the past Degustabox deliveries, and enjoyed them. There are two Pretzel Thins (£0.89)  in the box.

Indie Bay Pretzel Thins Ligthly Salted are tasty savoury snacks which have a satisfying crunch. They are thin and crispy and just lovely. Great for dunking, dipping and topping, enjoy them on the go or while watching a film. 

They are vegan, a source of fibre and protein, and are made with natural ingredients. Nutritional information: 97kcal and 1.4g of salt per bag.

Indie Bay Pretzel Thins Barbecue are delicious baked spelt and wheat pretzel thins with BBQ seasoning (99kcal per pack).

Available at Morrisons, on Ocado and Amazon.

Baker Street Drive Thru Originals - Classic Hot Dog Rolls (£1.50) are pre-sliced and ready for whatever tasty fillings you can choose. They are long-life, which means they are ready for you whenever you fancy a hot dog or a sandwich (for example, with a classic cheese and onion filling).

For the best taste, heat them up in the oven for three minutes.

Available at Tesco and selected convenience stores nationwide.

My younger son loves Subway's Meatball Marinara, so for one of our movie nights I made a fakeaway Meatball Marinara sandwich for him, with beef meatballs, cheese, crispy onions and BBQ sauce.

Sempio Bulgogi Sauce (£1.20) is an authentic Korean product. Use it to cook a Korean BBQ Bulgogi with sliced beef and vegetables.

Sempio is a Korean heritage brand that truly represents Korean culture and strives to make authentic Korean cuisine easy for all to enjoy.

Sempio Bulgogi Sauce is available at H-mart, and Oseyo supermarket.

We haven't tried the sauce yet, that's the plan for the Bonfire night. I want to cook a Bulgogi Tofu meal, as my guys love tofu. 

I should also mention that the Degustabox team deserves extra praise for sourcing the original authentic products to their food and drink boxes. If you might remember, we had Portuguese products last month, and more Korean products earlier this year (Kimchi), and lots of Italian goodies too. Bravo, Team Degustabox, you work hard on making your boxes varied and full of surprises.

Cheerios Vanilla Os (£2.65) is made with five crunchy whole grains, tasty vanilla flavour and less than 5% sugar, with no artificial colours or flavours. Optimal for a healthier breakfast, it is a good source of fibre.

This tasty flavour was a big success with my guys, by now the box is finished, and I'll have to get to Sainsbury's to buy it.

Available at Sainsbury's.

Maretti Oven Baked Bruschette Chips (£1.19 - £1.49) - Tomato, Olives and Oregano - are a delicious snack on their own, if you love savoury snacks. Great with dips and toppings too - try fresh tomato salsa or hummus.

All Maretti bruschette chips are made using only carefully selected ingredients. All ingredients are of natural origin. At Maretti they never use artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. The bruschette are baked in small batches and are suitable for vegetarians (but not vegans as skimmed milk powder is one of the ingredients).

Available at Iceland, Lidl, Ocado, Holland & Barrett, www.goodfood-company.co.uk and many local stores.

Want to get £1 off your next Maretti bag? Visit the Good Food Company, select a flavour of 150g Maretti of your choice and enter the discount code Movie1 at the checkout (valid until 31 December 2021). Order 5 or more to get free delivery.

Newman's Own Blue Cheese Dressing & Dip (£1.75) is made under license from Newman's Own Foundation, which continues Paul Newman's commitment to use 100% of royalties and after-tax profits that it receives from this product for charitable purposes. For example, it supports such worthy UK charities as Over the Wall (provides free and fun activity camps for children with serious health challenges).

Newman's Own Blue Cheese Dressing is made with Blue Cheese and Blue Cheese flavour, and is suitable for vegetarians. Add it to the salad or pasta dishes. Also lovely with roasted vegetables.

Typical values: 495kcal and 6g of sugar per 100ml.

Available at Sainsbury's.

A trip to the cinema is often accompanied by a sweet treat - be it sweet and salty popcorn, a mini tub of ice cream or a bag of Poppets.

Poppets Toffee 130g and Mix Ups 120g (£1) are fun chocolate treats for the whole family to enjoy.

Classic Toffee is the original chewy treat, while Mix Ups is an assortment of four tasty flavours including new Salted Caramel. 

Open a bag od Toffee Poppets for an indulgent treat of perfectly poppable little balls of chocolatey fun! They contain no artificial colours or flavours and are suitable for vegetarians. 

Nutritional values: 476kcal and 55.5g of sugar per 100g.

You should receive two items in your box.

Available in all major supermarkets.

Reeses Trio - 3 peanut butter cups (£0.99) is a classic product, an authentic American combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

Nutritional values: 516kcal and 51.6g of sugar per 100g. Produced from genetically modified sugar beets, and soya beans.

Available in all major supermarket chains and convenience stores.

Barebells Double Bite Caramel Crisp or Chocolate Crisp (£2.48) is a new irresistible protein bar from Barebells. It is high in protein (16g), has no added sugar. There are two halves in the packet, at 199kcal per bar. 

The Double Bite is wrapped in a creamy layer of milk chocolate. Great for snacking on the go, or after exercising as a protein top-up throughout the day.

You should recive 1 of 2 items in your box. 

Available at WHSmith, Boots, Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Morrisons and online at shop.barebells.co.uk.

And finally, V.I.Bs Indulgent Chocolate Cherry (£1.79) is the latest addition to the V.I.B's range. It is a beautiful combination of creamy smooth chocolate, chewy caramel and sweet fruity taste of cherry.

Nutritional information: 80kcal and 5.2g of sugar per biscuit, suitable for vegetarians.

I love cherry and chocolate combination, for me it's a win-win union of flavours. Lovely with a cup of tea or coffee.

Available in all major supermarkets.

You might be aware that Degustabox also offers an Advent Calendar filled with delicious treats. I received my advance box today. 

I will be revealing the contents in early December, but I had a quick peek at the little booklet of contents, and let me tell you, it looks amazing. So, I encourage you to treat yourselves and order it before all of the boxes are sold out.