Win a Christmas Gourmet Box

My Gourmet Guide, the food and drinks review blog, wants to thank its readers for their support and this Christmas is going to offer to one of them, a box with some of the goods that were reviewed.To win this gourmet box you only have to acomplish two simple tasks :

a) Be a follower of this blog

b) Write an article on your blog (with a link to this post) mentioning this promotion and make a comment here with a link to your post.

The post doesn't need to be about this promotion, you can just mention it together with other subjects, just don't forget the link.

The deadline to participate ends on November 30th, 2009.

Everyone can enter and the shipping expenses are fully supported by My Gourmet Guide.

image taken from Gift-Boxes.us

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Fox's Chunkie Fruit & Nut Extremely Chocolatey

The Fox's brand of biscuit exists since 1853 and is part of Northern Foods plc since 1977.

Based in UK, they have three factories, one of them located at Batley in West Yorshire, which is also the head office.

Today I bought the Fox's Chunkie Fruit & Nut Extremely Chocolatey cookies and will tell you that they deserve a positive review.

In the market there are many brands that offer chocolate chip cookies and biscuits, some of them are quite good and others have a long way to go.

Fox's cookies have a good balance between the dark chocolate chips, hazelnuts and raisins, resulting in pleasant taste. They don't have that strong chocolate taste found in some good brands of chocolate chip cookies, but if you are not looking for that and want to try something different, this can be a safe bet.

image found at womanandhome

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Jacques Callebaut - Panaché

Using a knight as its visual key, the belgian Jacques Chocolaterie was founded by Antoine Jacques in 1896.

Later in 1982, Stollwerck acquired Jacques Chocolaterie and in 2002 Stollwerck was acquired by Barry Callebaut.

Finally in 2005 the brands Callebaut and Jacques were merged, originating the Jacques Callebaut brand.

Yes, it does seem complicated, but lets talk about what really matters: chocolate.

Now, the first thing that got my attention was the box showing chocolate bars with raisins and some orange peal by the side, it seemed a good combination.

I picked up the chocolate box, turned it around, read the ingredients and that it was made in Belgium, which for me is a plus, of course.

The orange flavoured chocolate covering the bars is good and the rumflavoured filling with its raisins is of a very pleasant consistency and a really well achieved taste.

Maybe a bit too sweet for some, I found this Panaché version to be a really good surprise.

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Emmi Swiss Yogurt (Mango Flavour)

When I was a kid I didn't like yogurts that much because they were quite sour and I guess that many kids didn't either.

Then manufacturers started adding more sugar (too much in my opinion) and other "strange Exxx things". Now kids like them better and yogurts have a more prolonged shelf life.

Nevertheless I suppose that we lost in terms of quality.

I've always preferred yogurt in jars, namely because it gives a healthier impression (ok, it's psychological) and well, because usually they're really better.

This Emmi brand seems to have some care with its products and I could confirm it with this yogurt.

The Emmi Swiss Yogurt is available in several flavours, depending upon the country where is sold, like for insteance UK and Germany.

I usually buy yogurts with bits of fruit, but this time I've decided differently and picked the mango flavour one.

With a creamy aspect and a very pleasant taste, this yogurt was a pleasant surprise.

If you like yogurt and haven't tried this one, give it a try and then tell me.

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Andros Pressed Pineapple Juice

With all these soft drinks available for the consumer to choose from and marketing campaigns supported by relatively high budgets, the niche of natural juices may have some difficulties to achieve a noticeable position.

Nevertheless in the later years there has been a more conscious approach of the consumer and natural products have conquered some territory.

Of course that I also buy soft drinks, but I do prefer the natural juices.

When looking at the price tag, usually the consumer's first reaction is : this is much more expensive than a soft drink. However if one thinks that when buying a soft drink you are buying something like 10 to 20 per cent of concentrated juice and the rest is water and chemicals, considering the health benefits of drinking a natural juice, which one is more expensive ?Although I don't buy their juices that often, namely because I know a more affordable brand here in Portugal, yesterday I've decided to try the Andros Pressed Pineapple Juice ( Andros Jus d'Ananas Pressés).

This is an almost 100% natural pasteurized juice (I say almost because it contains pectin and gellan gum) made from pressed pineapples.

You can expect a very pleasant taste, almost identical as if you had pressed the pineapples yourself.

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Magnum Mini (Double Chocolate & Double Caramel)

This weekend I bought a six units pack of Magnum Mini with double chocolate and double caramel.

Both flavours feature an exterior coat of chocolate and a thinner one separated by a layer of the mentioned flavour.

As the name implies, chocolate is the core element of the double chocolate version, while the caramel one has a vanilla inside (it's white so I suppose it's vanilla).

With a creamy interior, one of the main characteristics of the Magnum line of ice creams is the quality of its chocolate, confirmed by Magnum Mini.

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TUC Crackers - Bacon Flavour

It's been a while since I last bought these biscuits from LU.

Thin crackers with a bacon flavour inside layer and the correct salty taste, these biscuits are a pleasant surprise for those who never tasted them.

After trying the first one, it's difficult to stop.

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LU PiM's - Orange Flavour

We all know that the combination of chocolate and orange is one of the most appreciated ones.
Knowing this fact, LU (a Kraft Foods subsidiary) has come up a few years ago with a line of soft biscuits covered with a top layer of dark chocolate and a tangy orange fillng.
I've known these for years and I can tell you that they are one of my favourite choices in terms of cookies, or biscuits if you prefer to call.
The most worth mentioning fact is the well achieved balanced between all the ingredients, making of Lu PiM's a pleasant degustation experience.
Soon I will review the raspberry flavour, which I bought yesterday.

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Toblerone Fruit & Nut

Known for its smoothness and the bits of almond nougat with honey, the Toblerone chocolates are appreciated worldwide.

I've known the classic version for years, but today I tasted the Fruit & Nut one for the first time.

The consistency of the chocolate seemed almost imperceptibly smoother than the classic one (maybe it was because of the temperature) and the raisins add a nice touch.

Although not revolutionary, I found the composition well achieved, making the degustation of this chocolate a pleasant moment and a secure bet for Krat Foods Switzerland.

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Virtual Cuisine

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Jordans Organic Muesli

Made with wholegrain organic cereals, meaning high fibre, Jordans Organic Muesli has no added sugar or salt.

In its ingredients one can find wheat flakes, hazelnuts, vine fruit and coconut.

Although I'm not a fan of breakfast cereals, I eat them once in a while, namely because it's healthy.

These get my approval for their natural taste and pleasant texture.

According to the brand, these are suitable for vegetarians.

I believe that the images are of the same product, depending upon the country.

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McVitie's Fruit & Form

This last Saturday I went to the supermarket and saw these packs of McVitie's Fruit & Form.

Usually I don't buy these kind of products, namely because I don't need to diet.

Nonetheless I like to eat healthy food and so I've decided to give them a try.

Since I'm thin, calories and sugar are not a problem, so what I really appreciate is flavour.

This recent line from United Biscuits may even be good in terms of nutritive quality, but the taste ( I tried the Forest Fruits ) was somewhat disappointing, since I found it weak in terms of intensity.

The crunchy characteristic of the cereal bars ( or cereal biscuits, if you prefer) is a pleasant one though.

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Anna's Thins and Biscuits

I picked the box from the shelf, observed the cookies, read the ingredients and the info about the company.

I liked what I read and bought a flavour which I can't remember now.

After eating a couple of Anna's Thins, I've come to the conclusion that it was somewhat difficult to stop and that I would have to try the other flavours.

The cookies have a natural flavour and are very pleasant to byte.

Gingerbread is quite probably my favourite, but there are others such as lemon, orange and cappuccino.

Anna's was founded in Stockolm ( Sweden) by the sisters Emma and Anna Karlsson in 1929.

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Molenaartje Syrup Waffles

Having tried a couple of brands, some of them dutch, I was positively surprised by these ones.

Usually I don't go to the bio section of the supermarket, but when passing through it, this package draw my attention, namely because I like these kind of waffles.

Well, since they are based on natural ingredients, contain whole wheat, malt syrup and honey, I've decided to give them a try.

Ok, I confess.... I openned the package and ate half of it on my way home.

If you still haven't tried the organic Molenaartje Syrup Waffles, give them a try, you may like them.

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Russell Stover - Fine Chocolates

I don't know if they are sold here in Portugal, but fortunately I have eaten them a couple of times.

Russell Stover chocolates "talk" to me about sincerity. That's how I feel about them.

If you haven't tasted yet, you should give them a try.

Their name may not be among the top "chocolatiers" in the world, but it's one of those brands featuring a line of chocolates that will please almost anyone. And the price is right.

Russel Stover began as a home-based candy business in 1923, started by Russell and Clara Stover.

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