Nothing But. snacks review

Now the kids are back at school it's time to think about what to put in their lunch boxes. The list of banned items can be very long these days. Crisps, biscuits or chocolate are usually top of the forbidden list. There's also the problem of making sure everyone gets their 5 a day quota of fruit and vegetables. Whether you're packing up a school lunch box or throwing some bits in your bag to munch on throughout the day keeping fruit and vegetables fresh and in good condition is tricky. This is where the Nothing But. range of snacks come in.

Nothing But. produce a range of fruit and vegetable snacks but in order to preserve the slices they are freeze dried. This means nothing is added to the snacks giving rise to the name Nothing But. I've tried the Sliced Beetroot and Parsnip variety and Mange Tout and Red Pepper Snack before but the fruit varieties were new to me.

One thing you have to realise with the Nothing But. snacks is that because they are freeze dried and no other flavourings are added the flavour of the snacks is very strong. If you don't like the fruit and vegetables in their fresh, whole form you are not going to like them as these snacks. I think the fruit versions work particularly well as they are more familiar as flavours you are used to. Both the Apple and Fig Snack and the Pineapple and Grape Snack are naturally sweet. The apple does look a bit like a prawn cracker but it is far from it! Some people many find the texture of the freeze dried fruit and vegetables slightly odd at first but it is something you get used to.

What is pictured in the bowls above is the entire contents of each of the packets. It doesn't look much but because the flavours are strong it does seem to make up for it as it allows you pick slowly at the slices.

Now for the technical details – With no added fat, salt, sugar, colour or preservatives they are all suitable for vegetarians and vegans and naturally gluten free. Of the varieties I tried none of them were more than 45 calories per pack. If you're interested in trying some yourselves Nothing But. is available through online stockists and a number of independent health food stores.

I was sent a selection of Nothing But. snacks for review purposes. The words, photographs and opinions are my own.