Too Good Kids Croque Monsieur

I didn't know what this packet of Croque Monsieur popped chips would normally look like. And I didn't imagine that it usually features Yoda... although, of course, you never know...

So I found this blog post about the Too Good Kids snacks. Sad that I missed the Dark Vader [sic] version. Yes, in case you didn't know, French for Darth Vader is Dark Vader. And while we are discussing French translations, the French for Bilbo and Frodo (Lord of the Rings) is Bilbon and Frodon.

Ahem, however, it seems that Too Good Kids snacks are always Star Wars themed. Interesting choice of flavours don't you think? Croque Monsieur (think ham and cheese toastie), Nature (French for ready salted) and Ketchup (French for ketchup).

When the bag is full of these popped chips Yoda's face looks fine (see the blog for this), but empty, and flattened out for ease of scanning, it looks a little odd with Yoda's ears apparently falling off the edge into the gusset. I suppose that's what happens when such big ears you have.

This popped crisp is surprisingly tasty, and the Croque Monsieur flavour is pretty well observed. Even though there is no ham involved here. And the Dutch taste tester, who is a major connoisseur of cheese toasties, was pleased to approve.

Too Good seems to be a French company but their chips are made in the UK.

M&S Guilt Free Snacking Cheese & Onion Popped Potato Chips

Specially designed tasty treats to help you count your calories says the packaging; not fried not baked the deliciously moreish alternative to potato crisps.

I'm really not sure I like popped chips much. They aren't proper crisps; they're made with dried potatoes and potato starch and coconut oil (what's that for?). They stick to your teeth. That is not a good attribute in a crispy snack.

And the cheese & onion favouring here is kind of.... well there's a bit too much flavouring. It's not a bad taste, it is kind of cheese & onion flavour, it's just a bit too strong.

Not bad, not nasty, possibly a bit better for you than an ordinary crisp. Only 94 calories per bag but then the bag is 23g small. I'm just not mad keen on this crispy snack.

And, let's go for the jugular here (and why not) I didn't like the bright yellow packaging.

M&S make lots of great crisps. I just didn't like this one.

Too Good Snack Poppé Saveur Paprika

OK, so this exciting offering was a present from the Chef's daughter and son-in-law and purchased, so they claimed, because son-in-law was very taken with this little 25g packet being labelled "version pocket".

This bag of crisps does of course come, as is traditional, from a French motorway service station.

What about version poche? I mean, since when was pocket French for pocket?

Personally I rather like snack poppé. Not obviously a French expression but presumably meaning a popped snack. And, er, Too Good? Sorry: Too Good as a French brand name?

Yes, yes, French is going to the franglais dogs just as fast as English is going to hell in a handbasket. And how very annoying: I had always thought that going to hell in a handbasket must be from Hamlet. But no. This expression first appeared in Samuel Sewall's Diary in 1714 (according to the internet). And you don't really care about that do you?

Philistine! (sorry).

Anyhow, Too Good is obviously a healthy brand of healthy snacks in France. Made in France with Love it says on the website. But on the packet it says fabriqué au Royaume-Uni. Make your mind up. They also do roasted seaweeds!

And if you look at the right place on their website you can find an explanation of "Le popping", and some information about how this crispy snack is sans friture ni tralala huileux. (Oh boy I am really struggling with the predictive text today).

Nice aroma on opening this small packet. Nice oniony taste - the paprika doesn't shine though. Not a bad crunch from this combination of soya and potato. It also includes tapioca, and milled flax. Interesting. Just not a massively exciting taste and unfortunately it has some celery in. Which of course I try to avoid.

The packet says PPK. I wonder if this stands for Post Punk Kitchen? I really don't know.

M&S Guilt Free Snacking Cracked Black Pepper & Salt Popped Chips

Noble friend at work who tries hard to eat a healthier snack for her crunch at lunch tried these popped crisps. And she really didn't like them at all. So like the generous person she is, she brought them in to work for me and the reluctant taste testers to try.

And frankly, we were baffled. These are really nice. What's not to like?

Nice texture. Made of potato flakes and extruded into the correct circular shape (so not your usual slice of potato), and flavoured with salt and pepper.

Nothing fancy, nothing fabulous or strange, just a really great taste of salt and pepper. Quite a big taste of pepper but I honestly thought these were really good.

Small 23g bag containing 95 calories of crispy snack. And a very smart dark grey packet with black trim. I think well done Marks & Spencer.

M&S Guilt Free Snacking Salted Popped Potato Chips

I wasn't very taken with the Popchips Barbeque flavour so I thought I'd try this M&S salted flavour from their guilt free snacking range.



Here's one held up to the light. It looks rather as though a handful of rice crispsies have been glued together to make a flat crispy snack. A bit weird. But tasty. I think this is rather a good crisp.

The crunch is a little bit soft but not too soft. The crisps are all very round as though they are extruded from a machine or something - who knows? I have no clue how they manufacture these things. Especially with the popping which is suddenly so fashionable. And the taste is pretty good. I'm impressed.

Just about the right amount of saltiness. Impressive.

And now the science bit:

• no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives
• Suitable for vegetarians
• Portion controlled. What? Is that like a bag of crisps from one of these companies that send you your entire diet for a whole week to make controlling your diet easier? 
• Designed to fit with my Count on Us menu planner. Again: what? I didn't know there was a Count on Us menu planner. I guess I haven't been paying attention.

Some of the crisps have a really weird look. Like brains.... don't let that put you off. I really like them. Top marks.