NEW! Creative Nature Protein Flapjacks (Online)

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to receive some of Creative Nature's new protein flapjacks, you know, the ones I mentioned in my review of their superfoods bars? The flapjack flavours sounded spectacularly good too, and seeing as their superfoods bars reminded me of nakd, I thought these might pose similarities to Trek protein flapjacks bars.

Like Trek flapjacks they're made from cold-pressed fruit, are vegan, gluten and dairy free. In contrast they're smaller (40g compared to 50g) contain a mixture of vegan proteins (soya and pea instead of just soya) and contain about a third less calories, whilst delivering only about a gram less protein. 

Apple pie

Is there anything more comforting than warm apple pie (or crumble) with custard? Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that a raw protein bar is in danger of replacing the classic dessert, but surely it can't hurt to have a healthy snack with similar flavours to tickle your tastebuds when hunger strikes between meals. 

Can you see how packed full of seeds and protein crisps the bar was? It smelt incredible too with both the Apple and cinnamon emanating from the bar. It was soft, and the aromas translated into the taste. For me there wasn't enough oats to quantify it being called a flapjack, but it was certainly tasty! 

Macros per 40g bar: 152kcal P8.1/C:20.0/F:3.5

8/10

Salted Caramel 

The flavour is everywhere isn't it? So it makes sense that Creative Nature bring out their new bars in salted caramel too. 

Unfortunately whilst the texture was good, the flavour wasn't as fabulous as I'd hoped.Granted the fruity bar was sweet and had a welcome salinity to it that worked well, it just didn't scream of gooey, buttery caramel. Perhaps that's unsurprising given that it's vegan and raw. 

Macros per 40g bar: 152Kcal/P:8.4/C:19.0/F3.7

6/10 

Cacao orange

Of course I saved the chocolate flavour until last, and used it to top some chocolate flavoured skyr and served it with raspberries as part of a pre-bed treat. 

The flavour in the bar comes from a combination of cocoa fibre, cocoa butter, cacao beans and natural flavourings. It was tasty too; there was a kind of rustic feel-good quality to the chocolate which was complimented by the tangy orange. It wasn't overly sweet, but it was far from bitter either. 

Macros per 40g bar: 151Kcal/P:8.0/C:18.0/Fat3.9

9/10

If you fancy trying these protein flapjacks them please pop on over to Creative Nature's website where you can find your nearest stockist and/or place an order! As ever, a huge thank you to Creative Nature for the samples!  

NEW! Summer Inspired Apple & Elderflower Muller Light (ASDA)

Hurrah, it's Good Friday! I hope you're stuffing yourself silly with hot cross buns today, and have plenty of chocolate ready for Sunday! Don't forget, I've reviewed many of the most innovative 2017 hot x buns, all of which can be found here. 

As we can all appreciate, life is about the balance, and so in contrast to the aforementioned seasonal treats, today's review is of a limited edition, fat free, low calorie yogurt. Let's forget for a moment that I swore off Müller yogurts, after all I bought this pot at the same time as the new 'Goes Nuts' corner, and Apple & Elderflower is a combination I adore. 

Apple tends to be an under-used flavour when it comes to yogurts. Müller is the one exception to this however, having brought out the Apple Strudel pots in late 2015, which were rather good (for a Müller light). 

The yogurt was a pale green colour, and was just as runny as expected. Tucking in I discovered the apple flavour to be well executed, delivering the same refreshing fruitiness that I remember experiencing with the Strudel flavour. However, instead of the cinnamon in the Strudel edition, the apple in this new version was backed by notes of elderflower, which came through pleasantly. The resulting flavour combination was lovely, and different to any other yogurt currently available. I approved of the soft apple chunks too.

If it wasn't for the awfully thin nature of the Müller Lights I'd be inclined to give this yogurt a higher mark. As far as the range goes though, this is a brilliant new flavour that's pretty perfect for the summer months, and it's tastier than the Treacle Tart & Cherry Bakewell Cake Shop flavours. 

7/10

Happy Easter all, enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend! 

NEW! Green Apple Moose Juice (Online)

I was just leaving my house the other day for the gym when I spotted a note through my letterbox from a courier, who had assumed I was out and had left a parcel in our safe place. Goddamnit Bert, I asked you if you were expecting something and you said no! I quickly had to retract my nagging thoughts though when I found a box with my name on, bound together by Muscle Moose tape. What could it be? I didn’t know that they were sending me anything. The weights would have to wait. I needed to know what the mystery parcel contained…

A case of Moose Juice Extreme Energy, and their new green apple flavour at that! Now I’ve seen their energy drinks on many Instagram feeds but haven’t tried any before. I was excited by them though, especially given that my weekly Friday morning treat is a can of Monster Ultra to kick-start my lecture.

For those of you who also haven’t tried Moose Juice, I’ll let Muscle Moose fill you in:

“Moose Juice Extreme Energy is a sparkling energy drink with added BCAAs and B-Vitamins. Low calorie, zero fat and zero sugar – Moose Juice is your new best friend for an energy boost without the crash.”

Each can contains 200mg of caffeine, 8mg of vitamin B6, and just 15kcal.

I’m not fond of having fizzy drinks before working out, and I’m trying to cut down my caffeine consumption in the afternoon, so I decided to wait until the following morning before opening a Moose Juice. I cracked open the first cold can just when I needed the extra energy after walking the dog and settling down to do uni work.

I expected the liquid to be green, but instead it was clear. Flavour-wise the apple was a balanced mixture between sour and sweet (despite the lack of aspartame).  I could taste the taurine in the background though, so imagine a Red Bull-Apple Tango hybrid and you’ll have a fair idea of what to imagine.

I didn’t expect my face to tingle though, which it did. At the time I wondered if I was imagining it, but whilst writing this up I read the warning: ‘Long term intake of 10mg of vitamin B6 may lead to mild tingling and numbness’. I don’t take any additional vitamins (anymore) but it happened again when I had my second can yesterday morning -alongside my Peanut Butter Cup Muscle Mousse proats. It didn’t last long so I don’t imagine it’s anything to worry about, but for those of you who are on extra vitamins or are sensitive to vitamin B6, it might be something worth bearing in mind.

As an energy drink it’s rather good, and the extra BCAAs are welcome too (especially the day after leg day 😉). Moose Juice is also available in Blue Raspberry & Berry, and is available in cases from their website as well as in single can format from reputable retailers such as CNSport.

8/10

Thank you Muscle Moose for the samples!

NEW! Reflex Amino Fusion® (CNSport)

Have you seen Reflex's new packaging yet? The company announced last year that they were overhauling their exhausting branding, and it's "look for the future" is starting to roll out. Reflex have restructured their product categories from 5 to 3, making it easier to choose products depending on your goals. All existing products are staying but will come under either: strength & performance, high protein or vitality (previously weight management).

It's not just the labels that are experiencing change either, there's a few new products on their way too. The first of which is Reflex's Amino Fusion - an extension of their successful BCAA intra fusion. Now I don't claim to be a body building expert, but I certainly enjoy lifting and so I didn't really know what to expect when offered the chance to try the new Aminos. Apparently my other half did though: "eurgh, BCAAs are disgusting, they'll make you sick" I think we're his exact words. That was before I reminded him that the last ones he tried weren't made by Reflex, and he was talking 10 years ago. Given how much protein products have come along in the last few years I took his thoughts with a pinch of salt. More importantly I wanted to know what BCCAs were, and what they could or would do for me.

Well, according to research:

"BCAAs (branched- chain Amino acids) are made up of three essential amino acids that the body is unable to produce on its own: leucine, isoleucine and valine. These three amino acids have a branched side chain of carbon molecules that simplifies the energy conversion during intense exercise. Muscle tissues in the body are about 35 percent BCAAs and—here’s the key—the more BCAAs present in the muscle tissue, the more they will be used for energy; thus, slowing the breakdown of muscle cells and preventing muscle loss.
BCAA supplementation provides two avenues aimed towards improving endurance performance—both by providing our bodies with additional energy source and by altering the mental perception of fatigue." 

-active.com

So the key is, if you're working out, they help you prevent muscle loss. Sounds good to me. But what's Reflex's Amino Fusion all about?

"Amino Fusion® is formulated to be the market leading amino energy formula; it provides up to 40% more amino acids than some other formulas, tastes amazing, contains zero sugars and provides great caffeine kick.
Amino Fusion® only contains research supported amino acids along with science based dosages of citrulline malate, beta alanine and l-carnitine tartrate."

It's available in four flavours: green apple, pink lemonade, fruit punch and watermelon. I received the green apple to try, and boy did it smell strong. I felt like I'd walked into an old fashioned sweet shop -it was that potent!

The serving suggestion is 3 mini scoops (9g) of Amino Fusion with 300ml of water. The drink is designed to be taken before or during exercise so I decided to take it to the gym with me instead of my usual squash.

Ha! In your face Bert! I knew I could trust Reflex to deliver the goods. The Amino Fusion blended easily in my state-of-the-art water bottle 😉 and tasted incredible! Like, seriously good and much better than Robinson's fruit and barley. I drunk it yesterday alongside my first training in a week (I've had a chest infection, boo) and don't even ache too badly today (day after leg day, you know what I mean). Perhaps I didn't work hard enough, or perhaps it's the Amino Fusion, who knows? In any case I'm not risking it and it will become my new gym staple - every bit as important as headphones!

9/10

Amino Fusion is available to buy direct from Reflex's website, or through reputable sports retailers such as CNSport. Don't forget to enter my instagram competition before midnight tomorrow (21st March) to be in with a chance of winning 12 cans of Reflex's Protein coffee too!

Thank you to Reflex Nutrition for the samples.

FlapJacked Mighty Muffins: Maple Pumpkin, S'mores and Apple & Cinnamon (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about FlapJacked's Buttermilk Protein Pancake & Baking Mix and also promised to review their Mighty Muffin range. Today I'm reviewing 3 of the 6 flavours -so you'll have to come back again to find out how the peanut butter, chocolate, and peanut butter & chocolate flavours fare. But first, let's get to grips about what Mighty Muffins are all about...

"FlapJacked Mighty Muffins are a delicious, certified gluten free, protein packed and high fibre muffin developed with scrumptious flavour, balanced nutrition and convenience in mind. Bursting with pockets of flavour in every bite, Mighty Muffins pack 20 grams of protein and 240 calories in each serving (1 container). The patented probiotic GanedenBC30 has been added to help you support immune health as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Simply add water, microwave for up to 1 minute (time will vary depending on the power of your microwave) and you have a delicious meal or snack on the go."

Gluten free, high in protein and scrummy to boot? Surely not. 

Maple Pumpkin
As usual I opted for the flavour that I thought I'd like least (although they all sounded good to me). I peeled back the lid to find a fair amount of powder, before adding 60ml of water using the provided container as suggested. 

As I stirred the mixture my nostrils were greeted with an array of spices which instantly made me even hungrier; it's a good job I didn't have to wait for this cake to bake in the oven! My microwave took a little longer than the advised 60 seconds to make the muffin peak out the top of the tub (but it is only low watt).

I was still too eager to eat my muffin and soon found that it was still gooey in the middle - but I pretended it was supposed to be a fondant. The flavours were really delicious though, maple and pumpkin are underutilised in the UK, and I loved the combination of spice and sweet. I wasn't expecting the little crunchy maple bits in the muffin either, but enjoyed the contrast in textures.
Maple Pumpkin Mighty Muffin was every bit as scrumptious as FlapJacked promised, and it's certainly a treat I'll happily enjoy over and over again.

9/10

S'mores 
This time I knew the drill: I added my water and mixed, before attempting to give my muffin a sufficient amount of time in the microwave.

The S'mores muffin was packed full of chocolate chips and marshmallow pieces. The cake had a fluffy texture this time (thanks to my patience), but I found that without the spice that the protein flavour was much more prominent. I primarily use whey protein to bake with and haven't ever tried Pea protein before. All of FlapJacked's products are made using a combination of both. It didn't taste bad, but it certainly wasn't your usual sponge cake flavour. 

6/10

Apple & Cinnamon

I was in need of some comfort food after a long day yesterday, so opted for cake and ice cream for pudding. This was much healthier than it sounds though, thanks to the Mighty Muffin's low sugar and fat content and OPPO's low sugar content. Is my healthy halo glowing yet? I think not.

The heavy dose of cinnamon in this cake was scrummy, although now I'd detected the protein taste in the S'mores muffin I couldn't ignore it in the background of this flavour too. The combination of warm cinnamon cake with ample apple pieces and salted caramel ice cream was wonderful though, and I felt like I was eating a hug in a bowl. Serious noms.

8/10

Flapjacked's Mighty Muffins are available to purchase from their website, where you will receive 10% off by using the code AMY10.

If you want to be in with the chance of WINNING 6 Mighty Muffins AND a Protein Pancake Mix amongst many other goodies, please enter my instagram competition.

Thank you to FlapJacked for the samples!

NEW! Weetabix Additions: Apple & Raisin Review (ASDA)

Whilst I can't live without my daily dose of porridge in the mornings, my other half struggles to start his day without a bowl of trusty Weetabix. Or at least that was the case until the Golden Syrup flavour disappeared from supermarket shelves towards the latter end of last year. He was so gutted that we couldn't find his favourite cereal anymore that I contacted the company back in November to ask if they were coming back. They said:

"Recent high demand has meant that we have had an increase in orders and we hope are hoping to be back to full capacity in the next few months. Please accept our sincere apologies, we do hope that you will continue to enjoy our products and are assured of our best intentions to get this back on the shelves."

With Bert's hopes intact, we eagerly awaited the return of the Golden Syrup Weetabix and were therefore somewhat surprised to see the two new Weetabix 'additions' lines that launched last month. I guess the company told porkies. Humf.

I tried to see the bright side in all of this and reminded Bert that although he doesn't like coconut (so the coconut and raisin flavour are out of the question) he does like apple and raisin. Maybe this new variety of Weetabix could serve as a valid replacement?

"Delight your senses...
with a nutritious breakfast that's packed with delicious apple, juicy raisins & warming cinnamon ensuring temptingly tasty goodness in every bite."

Whilst I'm not a huge Weetabix fan, I do love apple and raisin and was therefore intrigued to discover how their new flavour fared so purchased the box of 24 biscuits from ASDA for £2.

Whilst their banana and golden syrup (RIP) flavours are strongly scented, I couldn't particularly smell anything other than wheat when popping my biscuits in the bowl before drowning them in cold milk.

Oh. Was that it? Where was the flavour? Cinnamon is a pretty pungent spice -and my favourite one at that- but I couldn't detect it at all amongst the wheaty mush. The apple flavour too was non-existent and I was grateful that I'd had the foresight to top my cereal with cubed apple so that I could at least pretend I was eating flavoured Weetabix.

The only promise that Weetabix delivered on was the inclusion of raisins, but unfortunately I can't say this was a welcome addition. I really love dried fruit, but not like this. Have you ever eaten shrivelled, bullet-hard raisins before? Well that's what is lurking in amongst these biscuits. Rather than the moist, squidgy, flavoursome fruits, these were little dry rascals that stuck between my teeth in a frustrating fashion. Not good.

It wasn't just me either, Bert wasn't a fan either. If we weren't so reluctant to waste food they'd have ended up in the bin by now, but instead I've promised to buy him a couple of boxes of his new favourite cereal (Golden Syrup Wheats) from Sainsbury's when he's got through the Weetabix. You should never have to "get through" food though, should you?

2/10

Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts (M&S)

There's not many things more satisfying in life than finding a good bargain, particularly if said bargain is found in M&S! One afternoon last week I popped into our local branch and spotted duo packs of their Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts reduced to just 35p! Now I'm not normally a fruity dessert kind of person, opting for chocolate every time, but these looked rather good and I just couldn't turn them down at such a steal -especially as they could be frozen too! 

"Apples with sultanas and cinnamon in an all butter luxury pastry case topped with butter enriched filo."

They didn't pay a lengthy visit to my freezer because I thought that the tarts would make a perfect post-roast Sunday pud. They appeared to be the wonderful love child of a strudel and an apple pie. Could these possibly be the most homely desserts known to man?

The tarts come in individual tin foils, and M&S suggest popping them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Whilst they were heating up I contemplated serving them with custard, then ice cream, before remembering I'd got the rest of the Aunt Bessie's custard ice cream left to use -perfect. 

The tarts were hot to touch after quarter of an hour, and were easy to remove from their casings. One had a slightly soggy bottom so I guess it could've done with a few minutes longer, but I was too impatient to wait! 

There was a good mixture of apples and sultanas in the centre of my tart, which were wonderfully sweet and well spiced. The apples were soft but not mushy, retaining just enough texture to provide bite. Talking of texture, the combination of pastries worked wonderfully well together. I can't remember ever having filo and shortcrust pastry together before, but they complimented each other remarkably well.

As they did with their Frangipane Mince Pies (which I so hope will return this year) Marks and Spencer have created perfect buttery shortcrust pastry once again. It's sweet and crumbly, melting in the mouth in the most delicious way. I'm sure I heard Bert groan with pleasure at the simple but ultimately scrummy dessert -I know I did!

I only wish I'd stocked up on these tarts; they're delightful.

9/10

Apple Crumble Doughnuts (The Co-op)

Yesterday was one of those soul crushingly awful days. You know the ones I mean? When nothing seems to go your way? I managed to mess up my referencing on my assignment that was due in (queue panic), develop impetigo on the inside of my nose (TMI I know), explode a can of Pepsi in a newsagent (massive apologies to the staff members left with that mess), burst into tears for no apparent reason in my night lecture (how embarrassing), and then faced extensive train delays at 9pm (no surprise there with the British rail network). The one redeeming factor, the light at the end of my tunnel in all of this drama was, of course, food: an apple crumble doughnut I'd got stashed in my handbag for the journey home.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how long these apple crumble doughnuts are going to be sold for as they were reduced to clear (despite being well in date) at just 37p for the double pack -but I thought I'd review them anyway. 

"Doughnuts filled with apple sauce and topped with a custard flavoured icing and butter crumble pieces."

Sounds good right? Apple crumble is the ultimate British dessert; a classic that can't be beaten-especially if it's made by my mum-in-law-to-be. How well could it be recreated in doughnut form ?  I thought back to the traditional dessert inspired Rhubarb & Custard doughnut that Greggs sold this summer which I enjoyed -but complained that the only flavour came from the icing. This version was filled though, resulting in my high doughy hopes.

The doughnut had an ample covering of icing, and a fair amount of crumble on top too. Slicing it in half however left me utterly baffled. Where was the apple? Seriously, had the Co-Op forgotten to fill this one entirely? I could just about see the tiniest smidgen of sauce, hiding between the dough. Hopefully it was just off centre...

Nope. With no exaggeration, there could only be a teaspoonful of apple in the entire doughnut. What was there was sweet and pleasant, but it's scarcity meant that the sauce was completely overshadowed by the fairly dense dough. Pah, at least Greggs didn't promise to fill their doughnut. 

The custard icing was sweet, but to be honest I was so disgruntled by the lack of fruit that I didn't notice whether it tasted of custard or not. The best part came from the crumble topping, which was crisp and biscuity, but again I only really acknowledged it when I'd finished the doughnut and was greedily hoovering up the crumbs with my fingers.

A pants (almost*) end to a pants day. Thankfully today was much better. Have a good weekend you lovely lot!

4/10

*luckily the peanut butter twix and choco-nut malt wheats somewhat helped at 11pm.

NEW! Carte D'or Gelateria Apple Tarte Ice Cream

There's not many puddings more comforting than a bowl of apple crumble (or tar) with custard (or ice cream or a combination of both which my father in-law swears by) on an Autumnal evening. The weather at the moment however is very mild for late October so I thought I'd get my fix of the seasonal flavours from Carte D'Or's new Apple Tarte flavoured ice cream. 

I spotted it in ASDA at £2 for 900ml, which I didn't think was too unreasonable. Admittedly I didn't read the product description until after I retrieved the tub from the freezer at home, opened the lid and was taken aback by the aroma that presented itself to me...

"Biscuit flavour ice cream with apple sauce (15%), semi candied apple pieces (5%) and topped with biscuit pieces (1%)."

I can't be the only person in the world to expect apple, pastry, cinnamon and possibly custard in an ice cream marketed as Apple Tarte flavour! I've certainly never had biscuit in my apple tart. The initial confusion started as soon as the lid was off, when the remarkably sweet toffee-esque scent hit my nostrils. What would this odd tarty-biscuit-toffee-apple hybrid taste like? 

Toffee apple, that's what. It was strange, but not unpleasant, just more confusing. In fact I gave my other half his ice cream cone as I always do, and then he came back into the kitchen to ask me what flavour it was meant to be -and he never questions his food.

I could certainly taste the apple and a hint of cinnamon, but the predominant flavour was reminiscent of the icing of Greggs' seasonal doughnut and indeed Iceland's cones from the summer -instead of the Apple Tarte I was promised. There were plenty of foamy apple pieces about which added an unusual but pleasing texture. As for the biscuit pieces, they were completely lost-unsurprising really given that they only accounted for 1%. 

Hmm. This Apple Tarte ice cream is somewhat of a mixed bag, and I probably won't buy it again. Just call it toffee apple Carte D'Or for goodness sake! 

7/10

NEW! Toffee Apple Muffins (Tesco)

I feel like I'm being stalked. Is it you?

As soon as I start moaning about the lack of seasonal products in the UK, the new Haribo come out, followed by these new Toffee Apple Muffins from Tesco -thanks for spotting them Kev! I was actually on my way to Gregg's to try another (different) doughnut yesterday, when I decided to pop into my local store and check if they had any; Hereford is normally very slow on the uptake of new bakery releases. My luck was in, for the store had some in stock and -at £1 for four- they represented good value for money, so my doughnut went on hold for another day and into my basket they went.  

"A toffee flavour infused sponge with a Brample apple sauce centre, finished with a dusting of biscuit crumble."

They looked rather large and fluffy too, and there's something wonderfully seasonal about a crumble topping. I was a bit dubious about how well a toffee muffin would work with an apple sauce, considering that the traditional Bonfire Treat is more fruit than sweet, but I was prepared to find out -all in the name of a review of course ;).

I was delighted to find that the sponge was as moist as could be, generously filled with apple sauce, and emanated a delicious Autumnal smell

As mentioned above, I expected the muffin to taste predominantly of toffee, so I was surprised to find that the apple flavouring had seeped into the sponge, even reaching the outermost edges. This was nothing to complain about, as it meant that the entire cake tasted of toffee apple -scrummy. The texture was so soft that it was almost doughy which, to be honest, is the way I prefer it -sorry Mary Bezzer.

I delighted in the apple sauce filling, which reminded me of Mr Kipling's apple pies (albeit slightly less chunky in consistency) and although it was very sweet, it was perfectly comforting. The biscuit topping was more crumble than biscuit, but it was a welcome addition all the same -adding a third texture to the muffin. 

It's needless to say that I really enjoyed this muffin. My preference in flavours means that it doesn't pip ASDA's Toffee Fudge or new Mississippi Mud Pie muffins to the top spot, but I'm glad I picked up a pack -and you should too!

9/10

NEW! Haribo Scaremix (ASDA)

It's October and finally cold enough to stick on my parka and pull up the big fluffy hood before leaving the house in the mornings, which means that it's perfectly acceptable to publish a Halloween themed review! Hurrah!

Do you get into the spirit of the festivities and look forward to the dressing up and trick or treating? Or are you of the opinion that it's a gawdy, dangerous American holiday that facilitates begging and makes children greedy? To be honest, Halloween doesn't really bother me. I quite look forward to seeing the little'uns dressed up as witches, or putting a bed sheet over their heads pretending to be ghosts (the pesky teenagers don't have the same effect, and just cause me to roll my eyes and ignore them). Perhaps my ambiguity is because I live in a rural city where there's not a huge deal of crime (or trick or treaters for that matter). Halloween does however bring a few seasonal products and releases, and that's what I do welcome with open arms.

Last year the only Halloween Haribo I spotted was the scary minions edition, which seemed a bit pointless, and I didn't even bother picking up a bag. This year the company have had the good sense to seize the opportunity and bring out two new 'Spooky Editions' -which are available in both Starmix and Tangfastics style selections and appear to have replaced the Frenzy Carnival bags of the summer.

The 'spooky flavours' are shown in the picture below:

As usual there seemed to be a lot more bears in the packet than anything else, which always annoys me! Surely everyone reaches for the foamy sweets first?

That's exactly what I did anyway. First up was the toffee apple 'Monsters Eyeball' (fried egg to you and me) which had a strong, pleasant apple flavour, but a rather odd and slightly synthetic toffee taste. I wasn't keen. It was a Good job there wasn't too many of them -although my other half disagreed and really liked them. Next I tried the 'Vampire Hearts' which were also rather peculiar thanks to the inclusion of bubblegum and blackcurrant. Also not my cup of tea. Bubble gum should be kept to gum not sweets OR ice cream for that matter. Fortunately, I liked most of the gummy sweets; especially the cherry bears (although not as good as the banana bears), and blood orange 'witches brew' (aka cola bottles). The other sweets left me feeling a bit meh. The apple and blackcurrant rings tasted like squash, and the blackcurrant & blueberry rings and lime bears weren't anything special either.

All in all, I'm not prepared to begrudge the option of new Haribo. It's lovely to see a new concoction of flavours, even if they aren't particularly 'spooky'. The Little Cupcakes were far more ingenious, and I much preferred the summer edition of Starmix.

6/10

Toffee Apple Ring Doughnut (Greggs)

Do you ever find that once you've had a particular kind of treat you're left craving it again? I mean, I'm always craving chocolate, but once I've had a muffin or a slice of cake I'm left wanting to try all of the others on the market -almost like I forgot how good they are. This has certainly been the case with doughnuts this week (post maple crunch Krispy Kreme). The sweet, doughy treat left my taste buds demanding more, yet as I mentioned before, there's no KK for miles! Luckily for me, there's a couple of Greggs in the city centre, and they've recently updated their menu. This means that the rhubarb & custard doughnut is no more, having been replaced with a rather more autumnal flavour: toffee apple.

I giggled a little the other day when reading Junk Banter's review of the Hershey’s Caramel Apple Filled Milk Chocolate, complaining that there's pumpkin everything in the States (Candy Hunting's Instagram Stories attest to that) but seemingly no toffee apple. At least they've got one seasonal flavour that's having its heyday at the moment! There's no pumpkin here (unless you're after Starbucks' PSL or Bailey's new pumpkin spice flavour liqueur!) and there's minimal toffee apple either. In fact, this offering from Greggs is the first toffee apple product I've seen this year!

I requested a box to carry my doughnut in this time to prevent all of the icing running away (or glueing itself to the bag as per what usually happens). It worked too! Don't you think it's rather attractive? It wouldn't even look out of place on the shelves in KK.

"A ring doughnut topped with toffee apple flavour icing, hand decorated with white spin decoration and apple fudge pieces." 

The doughnut was light, and bore large air pockets once sliced in half. The texture was pretty good, tasting fresh, but nowhere near as fluffy or sweet as the aforementioned Maple Crunch. I'd describe it as more bread or bun like, but it was still yummy.

The icing was tasty. A stronger flavour came from the toffee, but the apple was evident, lingering in the background as it should. I just wish that there was more of the icing, and I would be better yet if there was a sauce running through the centre of the dough (a point I've raised before.) I was pleased that there were plenty of fudge cubes, which had all remained squidgy, thereby adding a lovely contrast in texture to the soft dough.

This seasonal Greggs doughnut is a pleasant, affordable treat for afternoons when those carb cravings kick in and there's no KK nearby. It's nothing overly special, but it fills the gap! 

7/10

R Bar Flapjack Protein Bars: Cherry Almond, Apple & Blackberry Crumble & Maple Syrup (Cardiff Sports Nutrition)

A couple of months ago I received a lovely parcel full of goodies from the team at Reflex Nutrition. Inside the box was the protein coffee (which I loved and am now addicted to, check out my review if you want to find out more) and a box of each flavour of the new R Bar Flapjacks. I have to admit that I was super excited by the flavours, all of which appealed to me. 

I was informed at the time that Reflex's primary drive with the flapjacks was to produce a quality product in terms of being nutritionally sound. It was never intended to be a confectionary type bar, instead Reflex say that their "protein flapjacks offer unrivalled quality, incorporating nutritionally uncompromised ingredients. Each bar contains 18g protein, 7g fibre, 21g low GI carbohydrates, and just 2g sugar to keep you sustained before and after your training." If you want any more information on the thought process behind the flapjack bars, please pop over to their blog.

The first thing I noticed when I unwrapped the bars, was just how little they looked like traditional flapjacks. I had a horrible flashback to the PhD peanut butter bar at the beginning of the year, and hoped I could stomach them better.

Fortunately, all of the bars are soft, although they taste much more like traditional protein bars than traditional flapjacks. I much prefer them once warmed through in the microwave for 20 seconds -the same way I like my Quests & Carb Killas. My biggest issue is that the flavours in the Cherry Almond and Apple & Blackberry bars aren't very strong at all, meaning that they disappear somewhat against the more prominent taste of the milk protein. I appreciated that the fruit flavour comes from real freeze dried fruit, but it accounts for only 1% of the ingredients, so it's unsurprising that it lags behind. The Cherry Almond bar is also slightly oily to the touch, but it didn't taste greasy in the slightest. 

My absolute favourite bar by a country mile is the maple syrup, which was far bolder in taste. I love this bar warm, and it's one that I really look forward to. As far as macros go, the R Bar Protein Flapjacks are a winner, and as a bonus they're 'clean' and very filling after a good work out. You can buy them from any reputable sports retailer, my favourite being Cardiff Sports Nutrition (where you can buy them for just £1.49 per bar). 

Maple Syrup: 8/10
Cherry Almond: 6/10
Apple & Blackberry Crumble: 5/10

*A huge thank you to Reflex for sending me the samples to review. 

Graze Megapost: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Summer Berry Flapjack, Banana Bread, Apple & Cinnamon Flapjack, Belgian Speculoos and Banoffee Dippers

I was always one of those girls in the office who sniggered at the suckers who'd been duped into subscribing to Graze. The trouble is, I wasn't aware of what I was missing out on, and as they say "ignorance is bliss." I would have quite happily remained in my naïve state if it wasn't for Graze's recent-ish inclusion as part of the Boots Meal Deal. The lemon drizzle flapjack called to me, followed by the newer Cocoa & Vanilla protein flapjack. By the time I was nabbing my sister's peanut butter pretzel punnet from her I realised that I needed to sign up.

I was savvy though, and made full use of Graze's selection process to 'bin' all the healthy and/or savoury treats in favour of the naughtier punnets that I've jealously spotted popping up on Instagram. My first Graze box was a winner! Six heavenly looking treats that begged to me munched -or Grazed- upon pronto.

In normal weirdo Amy fashion I opted for the punnet that I thought I'd enjoy the least first, saving the best pack until last.

Banana Bread

I knew how good my Graze box was when the first box open contained one of my favourite flavours of cake. The miniature square was not much more than a mouthful, but at only 55cals would be the perfect solution for cake deprived slimmers.

I can't pretend that this was the best banana cake I've ever had, after all nothing beats fresh banana bread still warm from the oven. As a mass-manufactured treat it was pretty good however, and the inclusion of chopped hazelnuts and dates did ensure enough moistness.

7/10

Apple & Cinnamon Flapjack

I had actually meant to retrieve the summer berry flapjack instead, but in my dozy late evening state I opened this flavour before I realised what I was doing.

This treat didn't disappoint. As with the lemon drizzle flapjack the texture was perfect -soft, squidgy and sticky enough to hold it together without leaving a mess on my fingers. The cinnamon and apple came through in equal measures, mimicking the taste of my mum-in-laws homemade apple crumble. Oaty perfection.

9/10

Sticky Toffee Pudding

As suggested I warmed this up in the microwave, and as un-suggested I enjoyed it for dessert drowned in a giant pool of Ambrosia's new Deluxe Salted Caramel Custard. Just like the banana bread it was a dieter's portion, and it tasted like a 'light' version too. The gooey cake texture was lacking, but the toffee sauce was delicious. A so-so punnet, one that'll probably be 'binned' from future Graze boxes.

6/10

Summer Berry Flapjack

I don't think you can beat Graze's flapjacks. My fourth flapjack from them to date, and a lovely flavour too. The berry infused cranberries were packed with flavour, injecting fruity bursts into every mouthful. As I've come to expect the texture was on point too.

8/10

Banoffee Dippers

I've gone on and on about my love for all things banoffee, so it is perhaps unsurprising that I'd saved this punnet until almost last. It was worth the wait too: the shortbread was beautifully buttery and crumbly, but it held together enough to survive a good dunking in the toffee side. The dip was in fact so good that I ended up scooping out every last ml with my finger. Very unladylike I know.

9/10

Belgian Speculoos

I had to hoard this one, partly because I'd heard such great things about it, and also because Nibs (Nibbles 'N' Scribbles) didn't think I'd be able to resist it. I must admit that it was trying at times, ignoring my urges to rip open the pack of cinnamon pretzels and cookie dip, but I did it! Do I get a medal? No? Oh well. There was ample supply of dippers, which I excitedly stuck into the dip. I was welcomed with a beautifully crisp pretzel and naughtily scrummy speculoos. If you've ever tried Biscoff spread you'll get the gist... and if you haven't, why on earth not? It's incredible stuff.

The only trouble I found was that the ration of dip:dippers was way off. Normally with these style pots I run out of the former before the latter, but by the time I was finishing the punnet I was having to put up with meagre spread scrapings on the pretzels. More sir. Please sir.

8/10

Summary

Well, if you're even considering signing up to Graze I suggest you do so to avoid missing out for any longer -just make sure you edit your likes to ensure you end up with punnets you're likely to enjoy! If you're still not sure whether you want to commit, then you simply must try their Lemon Drizzle Flapjack (which is now available in most major supermarkets) I think it's still my favourite.