Bananatastic! (Asda Great Stuff Banana Delight)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Asda Great Stuff Banana Delight
Date:	21/05/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes real good

Disadvantages: Not as 'nutritious' as Asda like to make out, chocolate is still my favourite

Asda Great Stuff Banana Delight actually differs to the picture provided by Dooyoo, it's actually a green 50g sachet with the Asda Great Stuff logo at the top (with the two little smiley faces inbetween the two words), with 'blissful banana flavour delight' underneath, followed by a cartoon banana with a plate of yellow stuff being thrown at him!

The pack is obviously aimed at children or parents with children. I however brought it for the whole family to share.

It states that it has no preservatives and is taste tested by kids and endorsed by Asda nutritionists. It also has the 'great stuff' guarantee which means:

- Strict limits on fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar.
- No artificial colours or flavours.
- No hydrogenated fat.

So far so good!

On the front it states 'with real fruit powder', so I checked the back and in the list of ingredients it says 'Banana Powder (1.0%)' which really isn't that much at all. I then went on to read the ingredients which went into a long list and ended with 'Sweetener' so I don't suppose it's half as nutritious as Adsa like to make out.

The banana delight contains milk and could contain traces of nuts and seeds (although they're not actually listed as ingredients). It is also suitable for vegetarians as the gelling agent is not gelatine.

The packet should be kept in a cool, dry place and has almost a years 'best before' date - April 2010 (Though things don't last that long in my house!).

Is all you need to make the banana delight is milk. You need to rip of the top of the sachet and pour all of the powder into a bowl, then add half a pint (300ml) of cold semi-skimmed or whole milk to it. You then need to whisk it or give it a good stir for about a minute until it's smooth. This is really important because if you don't mix it up enough, it will set lumpy (or won't set at all) and taste rank - trust me! By this point it will look and smell just like banana milkshake. You then need to divide the mixture into dessert dishes and put in the fridge to set. Although it says leave in the fridge for 5 minutes, I'd give it 10 just to be sure - there's nothing worse than getting to the bottom and finding it's all runny.

The packet states that each 50g sachet serves 4 people but I'd say it's better for 3 (greedy) unless you are going to serve it with something like cake or another dessert.

I personally eat this on it's own but the next time I buy it I think I am going to do a 'banana delight fondue' as recommended on the back of the packet, which involves dipping a selection of fresh fruit into it, mmm!

You can see when the banana delight has properly set as it looks just like moose, has little bubbles in and is firmish and bouncy to touch. It has the same consistency of Angel Delight if you have ever tried that. The first time I tried it I was very impressed by the taste, it tastes of real banana and not really artificial like I thought it would. It goes without saying that if you don't like banana I'm quite sure you wont like this! It's very light, creamy and just melts away in your mouth - no need for all that chewing lark! The only problem is it leaves you wanting more. Beware if you decide to eat a whole sachet of banana delight, you will feel extremley fat and sick by the end.

Although I like banana and most banana flavoured things I was unsure how I would feel about this product as I like my moosey desserts to be chocolate flavoured. Although I still think chocolate is the best flavour (can't beat it) I still really enjoyed the banana flavour and will be buying it again.

Now let's talk about the dreaded C word - calories. Well one fourth of a pack with semi-skimmed milk is 89 calories (3.4g fat), which isn't too bad I suppose but which also means a whole pack is 356 calories (13.6g fat) which isn't great. Okay for a treat every now and again I'd say.

I personally really enjoy this product but if you buy it, try it and don't like it you can always take it back to Asda and they will happily refund the price of the banana delight. Everyone's a winner baby!

Summary: thumbs up for this one.