Who doesn’t love a summer of picnics and barbecues? Well, when we have a warm summer, that is! I know we do, and now we have a garden it’s great to get the barbecue out and be able to eat outside. The boys & I love having a garden picnic too and now we have a beautiful view to appreciate it more.

We were lucky enough to receive a hamper of Costcutter own brand food & drink items to enjoy for a Costcutter summer of eating! We haven’t had the chance to go on many picnics this summer but we have had a couple of barbecues, and we have been enjoying the food selection in different instances over the last few weeks.

In the hamper

A selection of:

• meat products suitable for the barbecue
• crisps and tortilla chips
• dips and houmous
• sweets
• drinks
• cheese
• oven chips

My thoughts

I only had a vague idea of what we would receive in the hamper so I couldn’t wait to dive in the box. The boys took a definite interest in the sweets! They had a handful of both for their snack for a few days so they certainly enjoyed them.

We used the BBQ pork ribs and chicken thighs for a barbecue. The ribs didn’t have a lot of meat on them, but the flavour was delicious. We had the Chinese pork steaks as part of an everyday meal; they were very substantial and flavoursome. I would buy them again if only for the flavour. The oven chips were a good addition for a barbecue accompaniment too, as a change to wedges.

The dips were great to use with the tortilla chips; I used the plain ones and the cheese to make cheesy nachos and topped them with salsa and sour cream. The sour cream was deliciously creamy and the salsas were flavoursome. The spicy one wasn’t overly so but had a bit of a hit.

The Houmous was a good accompaniment to the tortilla chips and also with veg sticks for a garden picnic. I sometimes find the chickpea taste in Houmous a bit overpowering but this was a subtle flavour and I could have eaten the whole tub!

The hand-cooked crisps were beautiful, just as good as a leading brand. I loved the Thai sweet chilli flavour (my favourite flavour in general!) and the boys enjoyed the sea salt.

The lemonade, soda water and tonic water were as expected; they were all great for drinking on their own, and they would have also been perfect for alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails!

Overall, Costcutter’s own-brand range is an affordable and enjoyable option for summer eating, whether it be picnics, barbecues, or general snacks and meals. It’s worth consideration for a top-up or quick shop if you have one local to you.

RRP – various

Our rating – 4.5/5

Disclosure
I was sent this hamper of products free of charge to review. All thoughts and opinions are honest & my own.