Party & Feeling Festive Degustabox

 There is less than a month to go until Christmas, and the time will fly fast. The shops are already packed full with customers, and I imagine it will be carnage closer to the festive days. The town does look festive, now that the Christmas lights have been switched on, and many shops have colourful seasonal window displays. I might not be attending any parties, but I can certainly enjoy the festive mood, especially if I have some lovely treats to look forward to.

Party & Feeling Festive is the theme of the latest Degustabox.

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 Party & Feeling Festive box.

McVitie's Chocolate Digestives The Fully Coated One/Chocolate Hobnobs The Fully Coated One (£1.79) is the Product of the Month. Chocoholics rejoice, the classic McVitie's chocolate digestives and chocolate hobnobs will make you double happy, being completely coated in chocolate.  You get the iconic golden-baked biscuits, but with extra chocolate. That's a truly special experience.

You should receive 1 of 2 items in your box (as a reviewer I got both items). 

Available in all major supermarket stores.

Nutritional information: each McVitie's The Fully Coated One Hobnob biscuit contains 127kcal, 6.4g of fat and 9g of sugar, as opposed to 79kcal, 3.7g of fat, and 6.1g of sugar per one chocolate Hobnob (so quite an increase).

McVities The Fully Coated One Digestives: 130kcal, 6,9g of fat and 9,5g of sugar per biscuit.

Mr Filberts Sea Salt & Hern Mixed Nuts (£1.50) is an ultimate party snack. These mixed nuts - peanuts, almonds and cashews - are roasted to perfection, then tumbled in a sweet basil, oregano and sea salt mix to produce the delightful savoury snack.

Nutritional information: 589kcal and 1.4g of salt per 100g.

Available at https://mrfilberts.com, on Amazon, Ocado, in Independent Farm shops and delis.

We had this tasty snack as part of the cheeseboard, and let me tell you, these mixed nuts were gone in 60 seconds.

Nairn's Cheese Oatcakes (£1.50) are versatile delicious oatcakes, made with mature Cheddar cheese, wholegrain oats and very little else. Nairn's oatcakes are a real winner. As a big cheese fan, I often buy Nairn's oatcakes, they are great with any cheese really, hard, soft, blue. Very moreish.

Available in all major supermarkets.

For me a perfect cheeseboard must include oatcakes.

The English Provender Co. Caramelised Red Onion Chutney (£2) is made of sweet red onions, and is a fabulous addition to any cheeseboard or charcuterie. Also great on hot cheese toasties. It will elevate any sandwich, whether for meat eaters or vegetarians.

It's not a new product, and it's been around for a while, in fact I checked my blog, and found a post about this chutney, which I wrote in 2012. As mentioned then, I still make mini open tarts with the caramelised red onion chutney and brie.

Available at Waitrose and on Ocado.

Peppadew Sweet Piquante Peppers Hot Whole 400g (£3) is a great addition to a party table or buffet. Add them to the antispasti platters, top up pizza or salad, or add to a cheese sandwich. These bit sized peppers retain their firm and crunchy texture. They are a bit on the hot side, and will jazz up many dishes. Suitable for vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Nutritional values: 91kcal and 18.9g of sugar per 100g.

Available at Tesco, Waitrose, on Ocado and Amazon.

Knorr Chilli & Smoked Paprika/Mushroom & Italian Herbs seasoning (£1.80) will help you create a delicious, no added salt meals. Perfect for all those soups and stews in the cold weather. Knorr Seasoning Blends join the Knorr Veggie Cook's Essentials range with all the falvour.

Knorr Chilli & Smoked Paprika is a mix of chilli, paprika, green pepper, smoked paprika powder and sunflower seed oil. No added salt, 100% natural ingredients, no artificial colours or preservatives, no added MSG. Ideal for chillis, salsa, stir fried veg.

You should receive one of two items in your box.

Available at Tesco.

Hellmann's Sour Cream & Chive Squeeze 250 ml (£1.20) is the new addition to the range, great for a variety of dishes, from nachos to fajitas, from jacket potatoes to topping burgers, from chips to salads.

If you offer a selection of crisps and tortilla chips as part of the buffet, don't forget the Sour Cream & Chive sauce as one of the dips.

This is a gluten-free, vegetarian sauce, which comes in a fully recyclable bottle.

Nutritional values: 317kcal and 32g of fat in 100g.

Available at Waitroose, Iceland, and on Ocado.

Inés Rosales Orange Sweet Olive Oil Tortas (£2.50) is considered to be Spain's favourite pastry snack since 1910. Each torta is a unique, flakey tempting treat. 

All tortas are hand-made using all natural ingredients from the Mediterranean Diet. They are dairy-free, vegan, and contain no artificial colours or flavours. 

Nutritional values: 149kcal and 4.4g of sugar per torta.

Available in Waitrose, and selected gourmet stores.

Menier Swiss Milk Chocolate with Salted Caramel (£1.99) will please the chocolate fans. Menier have been producing the finest cooking chocolate since 1816. This Salted Caramel milk chocolate is a work of beauty. 

This gourmet chocolate is sweet and creamy smooth, with a definite salty note. It is rather sophisticated and glamorous.

Nutritional values: 85kcal and 9.4g of sugar per portion/row. The cocoa in this chocolate is Rainforest certified. It is also Vegetarian Society approved.

Available at WH Smith's and on Amazon.

Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur (£13 for the full size bottle, and £1.6 for the sample size bottle).

Passoa is the passion fruit liqueur, an essential ingredient for an exotic cocktail.

I am yet to try this tempting treat. We'll have it in cocktails closer to Christmas time.

Try at home: 40ml Passoa, 40ml vanilla vodka, 15ml lime juice. Shake and fine strain into a martini glass. Garnish with passion fruit and prosecco shot optional.

The full size bottle is available at Tecso, Waitrose, ASDA, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The sample size bottles are not currently available.

Radnor Infusions Raspberry and Black Cherry (£1.50) is an unsweetened flavoured Welsh sparkling spring water. It has zero sugar, sweeteners and almost zero calories (0.3kcal per 100ml). 

Infusions is crafted in the ancient county of Radnorshire using their own spring water with a gentle sparkle, delicately infused with all natural flavours and extracts.

Made with cherry and British raspberry extracts, preservative free, it's a beautiful refershing drink.

Available at Sainsbury's, on Ocado, Amazon, and RadnorHill.co.uk/shop.

All in all, another corker from Degustabox!