NEW! Kinder Bueno Coconut (Superdrug)

Do you buy Kinder Bueno's regularly? I don't. In fact I don't tend to buy any of the wafer style chocolate bars often. There's no particular reason why I don't, it's just that there's normally a different bar that appeals more. Indeed that was the case when this new coconut Bueno came out a couple of weeks ago. But then I started seeing great feedback about the bar on instagram, and then I couldn't find it, and BAM, suddenly I was desperate to try it. Why are we programmed to want the things we can't have? 

Eventually I found it in Superdrug. They weren't even out yet but I asked the baffled looking assistant and he found them on a stock trolley for me. 75p. 75p? For a single Kinder chocolate bar that I'm not normally fussed on? Oh, ok then. 

"White chocolate with coconut milk covered wafer with smooth and ,milky hazelnut filling."

Once again I found myself frustrated that the nutritional info is so misleading. One bar is one serving. One bar, to me, is one pack. To Nestle it is one finger - half the pack. It's absurd. Anyway, the wafers were coated on their bottom side and down the edges with desiccated coconut, but looked otherwise indifferent to the normal white bueno. 

With my first bite I experienced the veritable melange of textures and flavours. There was the crunchy wafer and smooth filling with an added bobble from the coconut pieces. There was the cardboard-like wafer flavour, milky hazelnut and white chocolate with a smidgen more than a hint of coconut. In fairness, the flavours and textures worked well together, it's just that I've been spoiled of late. Compared to The Grown Up Chocolate Company's or Côte D'Or's praline, the filling is less creamy and rich. That doesn't mean it wasn't tasty (because it was) it's just nowhere near as decadent.

I've read reports that the new coconut bar is 'so good that even people who don't like coconut will like it', and although I can see where they're coming from, I'm inclined to disagree. You see, the coconut flavour is fairly mild, and so I would say that if you like both Nice biscuits and Kinder Buenos, then it's likely that you'll be a fan of this new addition to the range. 

7/10

NEW! Barebells Protein Bars: Cookies & Cream, Caramel & Cashew and Coconut-Choco (CNSport)

Chances are that if you're into fitness and regularly use Instagram you'll have seen plenty of posts following BodyPower of the hottest new protein bars on the scene. Just about everyone is talking about Barebells, the Swedish company who graciously came into our lives less than a week ago. Barebells sell a range of protein products including puddings, crisps, desserts and even a hazelnut cream -but it's the bars that has got everyone talking. They're available in three flavours: cookies & cream, caramel & cashew and coconut-choco, and I was lucky enough to be given some samples to review, thanks Barebells. 

Barebells say that they believe in "eating happy and living healthy". Their bars are less than 200 calories and each contain 20g of protein whilst being low in sugar (1.7g or less).

I know you probably don't want to hear about the packaging, but I love it. It's clean, simple, feminine and screams of luxury. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but lets hope you can in this case. 

Coconut-Choco
I'm not a huge bounty fan, and so I opted for this flavour first -thinking I'd get it out of the way more than anything. 

It's certainly pretty once unwrapped too, and sliced easily -a good sign that it wasn't likely to cause jaw-ache. 

The bar was delicious! The inner nougat was a similar consistency to a mars bar with an authentic coconut flavour. I was pleased to see the real coconut flakes (6%) that graced the outside of the bar too. As for the chocolate, it's not about to replace the real deal due to the lack of cocoa solids, but it's as good -if not better- than the coating of a Carb Killa. The bar also microwaved well, check out the video below including a cameo from Anthony the ant who decided to pay a visit from his home in the flowers. 

Macros per 55g bar: 199Kcal P:20/C:15/F:7.7

9/10

Caramel Cashew

Another stunning looking bar. This time the innards actually looked very Mars-bar-esque with the nougat and caramel layers. If you've ever had a Mars protein bar you'll know that they're chewier than their non-protein counterparts. The Barebells however was wonderfully soft, and was far superior to the Mars protein bars in terms of both taste and texture. 

The nougat had a lovely chocolatey flavour to it (much like the now discontinued Mars Xtra Choc actually), whilst the cashews on the outside were crisp and added a natural crunch. The ingredients list mentions white chocolate, but to be honest I'm not sure where that came in -I couldn't see or taste it. This bar was also delicious warmed up, but it doesn't serve to improve it as the bar is so good at ambient temperature anyway. 

Macros per 55g bar: 199Kcal P:20/C:14/F:8.3

8/10

Cookies & Cream

I thought I'd saved the best flavour until last, but I wasn't sure if Barebells could top their other two bars. Cookies & Cream is a popular choice amongst manufacturers in this crowded market, so I was eager to find out how Barebells would rank amongst the protein bar giants such as Quest and Grenade.

Sweet bejeezus. It was a corker. The inner was milky sweet and every bit as soft as the other too bars. If I was to be pernickety I'd say that the cookie pieces in the centre were too small to be noteworthy. The best part however was the coating, which was covered in super crispy cocoa soy crunches and ended up tasting like coco pops. So imagine if you will: a soft, low-sugar protein bar with the texture of a Mars bar, but coated in chocolate covered Coco Pops. Need I say more? 

10/10

If you want to try these fantastic new bars then please do give Conor a call at CNSport, he's selling boxes of 12 for £21.99 but as a favour is offering an extra 10% off for you guys -simply quote AMY10 when you ring: 07967949984. I think that makes them the cheapest place to get them in the U.K right now!

Thank you to Barebells for the samples! 

Creative Nature Superfoods Bars (WHSmith)

Creative Nature got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I would mind reviewing some of their products. I didn't know much about the company but had seen (and been tempted by!) their bars in WHSmith. Of course I agreed and a few days later received a parcel containing one of each of their bars, as well as a bag of their award winning brownie mix -which will be reviewed in the coming weeks.

For those of you who aren't aware of Creative Nature, they're a brand who specialise in healthfoods. Their current range encompasses their raw flapjack bars as well as items such as goji berries, maca powder, cacao powder and muffin mixes to name just a few.

It's their bars that are the name of the game today though! They're all raw, gluten free, vegan, and (bar the peanut one) contain one of your five a day. Creative Nature only use natural and raw ingredients in their products too.

Ginger Teatox
Now I have to admit that the name of this bar grated on me a bit. I'm not a believer in the whole fad diet/clean eating approach, and certainly don't agree with teatoxes. I do, however, like ginger.

“I’m the ginger one, packed with natural detox ingredients like Organic Barley Grass, Yerba Mate Tea, Ginger and Coconut”

I decided to break up the bar and serve it on top of some Greek yogurt mixed with honey and topped with plums.

Crikey. I was surprised at the power behind the taste of this bar. The boldness is a brave mood by Creative Nature, but it's delicious too. The pineapple, coconut and papaya counteracted the zingy ginger with enough sweetness to bring the flavours into balance. It's soft and squidgy too,  meaning that it's comforting to eat.

The Ginger Teatox is also one of the few raw bars I've tried that doesn't contain dates, which enables the flavours to remain pure. A great tasting bar

9/10

Goji Goodness
I'm not sure I can tell you what the flavour of Goji is because I don't think I've ever eaten them on their own before! Still I love my berries so looked forward to this fruity bar in the middle of a dull afternoon lecture.

“I’m the fruity one, packed with raw superfood ingredients like Goji Berries, Cranberries and Gluten Free Oats”

Weirdly I thought this bar tasted of dates, which I must've imagined because there's none listed in the ingredients. I didn't find the flavour as punchy as the ginger teatox though; it just had a mild but sweet berry taste. I thought that the texture was as soft as the other bar until I came across something that I thought was a stone, but in reality was a reaglly hard bit of dried fruit.

I'd happily eat this bar again but didn't enjoy it as much as the Ginger Teatox.

6/10

Peanut Protein
I think it's hard to ignore how much I love peanut butter on this blog. It gives me life and I can't go a day without it, so this was the bar that excites me most. It contains 7g of protein from pea protein powder, as well as a mixture of dates, sunflower seeds, sultanas and vegetable glycerine.

“I’m the protein one, giving you a vegan, dairy free alternative to whey protein snacks!”

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of chopped peanuts, it was literally chock full! They were crunchy too, adding texture to the otherwise smooth bar. Flavour-wise it was sweeter than I expected, and I felt like it could do with a touch of sea salt. I warmed the second half of my bar in the microwave and can definitely recommend doing so for an extra comforting, healthy, peanutty snack.

7/10

Raw Cacao
Chocolate anything? I'm all over it. But could a healthy cacao bar at 125kcals that counts as one fruit portion cut the mustard?

“I’m the chocolate one, packed with raw superfood ingredients like Cacao, Goji Berries and Maca“

Again despite the lack of dates I'm sure I could taste them! The bar had a sweet chocolate taste that reminded me of Trek's Cocoa Chaos bar (no bad thing). Texturally it's much softer than Trek though. I topped my Raw Cacao bar with M&S' Maple & Pecan peanut butter -the perfect match.

8/10.

The Creative Nature Superfoods bars are great lunchbox staples. They're full of goodness, and help towards hitting your 5 (or 10!) a day. They have also just launched a new line of high protein flapjacks that sound rather good...

Photo courtesy of Creative Nature's Instagram

Creative Nature is stocked in ASDA, WHSmith, Ocado, Revital and Lloyds Pharmacy, or alternatively check your nearest supplier here.

Thank you to Creative Nature for the samples!

MyMuscleMug: Peanut Butter, Coffee, Chocolate Coconut & Red Velvet Protein Cakes (Online)

For the past few months now I’ve been following the journey of MyMuscleMug, a new British company specialising in healthy, high protein mug cakes. Emily spent six months painstakingly perfecting each recipe (although I can think of worse jobs!) before setting up the business in July 2016. Remarkably each MyMuscleMug contains more than 25g of protein, whilst being low in carbs and containing less than 200kcal. It sounds far too good to be true! Could a healthy cake with excellent macros taste yummy too? The images I kept seeing on Instagram looked mouth-wateringly delicious, but we all know that photos can be extremely deceiving. I held off ordering, but continued to salivate over the decadent pictures of gooey mug cakes appearing on MyMuscleMug’s Instagram page.

That was until the beginning of January when Emily announced the launch of two new flavours, and asked Instagrammers to guess the flavours for the opportunity to win them, so of course I entered. Luckily my entry of red velvet and chocolate coconut was correct and I was one of 10 lucky winners to receive the new cakes - hurrah. My resistance had subsided though, and I took the opportunity to pay for a sachet of the peanut butter and coffee flavours to be sent at the same time too.

The cakes come in individual 50g sachets, which is a bonus because it means that they fit through the letterbox. All the consumer is required to do is to pop the mix in a mug, add 100ml of milk, mix, add any toppings and microwave for 80 seconds or so. Simples.

Chocolate Coconut

As far as flavours go, chocolate coconut is not one that I would normally opt for (it always makes me think of the bountys left lingering in the Celebrations tub after Christmas). With that in mind I decided to try it first. I love the idea that you can customise your mug cake and so spent an embarrassing amount of time dreaming up concoctions that might complement the various flavours. I remembered that I had some choc shot in the cupboard and raspberries in the freezer so decided to cook the cake and adorn it once cooked.

I decided to make my first MyMuscleMug in a latte glass so that I could see the texture in the middle. Once combined with the milk I found the strongly scented chocolate coconut mix to be drier than expected, especially having made many banoffee beltsander-inspired cakes over the past few months. I licked the fork I used to whisk it with and instantly knew I was in for a real treat.

What I stupidly hadn’t accounted for was how much the cake would rise, and that the glass almost reached the top of the inside of my microwave anyway. After just 60 seconds I ended up with a cake volcano, oops. I ended up removing the latte glass early, despite realising that the cake was still gooey in the middle, but I just couldn’t bear to waste any more of it by popping it back in for the final 20 seconds.

Oof. It tasted so. Damn. Good. Think warm coconut fondant.

How was this healthy? How was this delivering 25g of protein? How did it taste so decadent whilst being so low in fat and sugar? It’s then that I realised that Emily must be a wizard. Must be! The raspberries and choc shot gave the cake some additional texture and elevated it into such a special dessert. Even writing about it is making me drool. Yum.

9/10

Red Velvet

It wasn’t long until the temptation to try another MyMuscleMug became too much to bear and so this time I reached for the other new flavour. I had decided to make this mix up in a shallow dessert bowl instead, kind of brownie style, and top I with fresh strawberries and a MilkyBar bear – after all the cake was healthy so I figured it was necessary to add some naughtiness, right?

As before, I licked the fork after mixing, but this time was met with a coconut flavour (it was then that I realised that all of the MyMuscleMugs contain coconut flour) and a very strong beetroot flavour. Now beetroot is one of only a couple of foods I really can’t stand (the other being liquorice). The mixture was an admirable bright red colour, and I say admirable because red velvets have become somewhat less bright since the disappearance of the e-number packed dyes that were once abundant in supermarket shelves. The big problem was, in order to obtain such a beautiful colour, the mix must’ve contained quite a bit of beetroot powder. I only hoped the flavour would subside once cooked.

Unfortunately for me it didn’t, and I really couldn’t get along with the earthiness of the flavour. For me the coconut and beetroot totally overpowered the chocolate and I was left wondering how the cake could be called red velvet, save for its brightness.

2/10

Peanut Butter

At this point I had really mixed feelings about the cakes. Would the peanut butter flavour taste of coconut, or worse, would it taste like the disgusting peanut flour used in Dr Zak’s peanut butter powder? Was it worth using the last of my Co-Op PB&J ice cream to go alongside it? After some deliberation I decided to take the punt, this time making it in a normal mug and adding a large spoonful of JimJam’s low sugar strawberry jam to the raw mix before cooking.

This time I managed to cook the cake for the full 80 seconds, which was when I saw it starting to peep out of the top. I tipped it out into a bowl, although the bottom was still fondant-like and was a little reluctant to leave the mug, but I loved the chocolate coconut one served that way so refrained from cooking it further.

Hurrah! Emily was back to her usual magic with this mixture. The peanut butter was flavoursome and although there was a hint of coconut in the background I found that it complemented the nuttiness really well -who knew? I felt rather proud of my concoction too; the warm jam-filled cake paired with one of the best ice creams I discovered last year was sheer genius (even if I do say so myself). Serious noms.

9/10

Coffee

Now coffee cake is one of my absolute favourite cake flavours. The only trouble is, more often than not, people like to include walnuts into the mixture. Gah. I just want a smooth cake goddammit! Stop shoving walnuts into my cake please, and my ice cream too whilst you’re at it (yes I’m looking at you Ben & Jerry’s with your Chunky Monkey). Also, whilst I’m moaning, why can you never find coffee muffins? Humf. The nut issue is the main reason that I rarely buy coffee cake, and there’s not much point in making it at home when Bert can’t stand coffee. It’s therefore perhaps needless to explain how much I was looking forward to my final MyMuscleMug, and decided that it needed a suitable ice cream to nestle alongside it. Mud Pie! Mud Pieice cream would work wouldn’t it?

Perhaps the most surprising element of the coffee MyMuscleMug is just how brave the flavour is. It’s not a mild, latte kind of flavour, and instead delivers the kind of caffeine-y kick that could even wake you up on a cold January morning. I was glad that I’d paired it with the sweetness of the ice cream for I can be a bit of a coffee wuss, but the resulting flavour was mind-bogglingly delicious and reminded me of another of my favourite desserts- tiramisu.

10/10

All MyMuscleMugs are available to purchase for £1.99each from mymusclemug.com, and I highly suggest you take advantage of the current 6 for £9.95 mix and match offer. The other flavours sound equally delicious too -I’m now dying to try the chocolate brownie, pumpkin spice and cinnamon swirl!

IKORN Gourmet Popcorn (Online)

A few weeks ago I received an invite from British premium gourmet popcorn company IKORN to sample their new products. Given my love of the stuff (no cinema trip is complete without a bag of Propercorn's smooth peanut & almond) I didn't think twice about saying yes.

Not heard of IKORN yet? Not to worry, they're a brand spanking new company, aiming to revolutionise the popcorn market with their healthy snacks. Thought all popcorn was healthy? Well not according to IKORN who reject to use the standard canola/rapeseed oil used in most commercially available popcorn, instead opting for the superfood à la mode -coconut oil. IKORN also apparently trialled over 40 different types of corn before they were happy that they'd found the best of the best. All of this means that the company believes it has produced 'the King of Korn'. 

Currently IKORN produce three flavours: Salt, Sweet & Himalayan salted. From a shallow point of view the bags looked beautiful, and I loved the crisp, clean lines of the branding. 

I have to admit that I much prefer flavoured popcorn, and find it a little bland on it's own, so was intrigued to find out whether the premium ingredients in IKORN could change my mind. 

Unfortunately, whilst I could appreciate the light, fluffy quality of the corn (and the lack of unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bag) I couldn't really notice a huge amount of difference in the taste between this gourmet brand and the more commercial varieties. The seasoning in all three was a little inconsistent too, some popcorn was very sweet or salty whilst others were tasteless.

Seeing as IKORN had generously sent me so many bags of their products, I took some to work with me to find out what my non-blogging colleagues thought of the range. It turned out that there was a massive differing of opinions. Each flavour was favourite of roughly the same amount of people, and yet everyone found the popcorn moreish. The plain salted was too saline for one of the girls in my office (the poor thing started coughing and spluttering everywhere after one mouthful) but she loved the Himalayan salted and was convinced she could taste the backnotes of coconut -something my tastebuds had failed to pick up on. 

I'd love to see more flavours* come out in IKORN's range, and I know it's something the company is working on. If this premium gourmet popcorn made with coconut oil sounds right up your alley then please head on over to their website where you can order boxes of 12. 

Thank you IKORN for sending me the samples. 

6/10

*peanut butter if possible please! ;)

Hershey's Zagnut (American Fizz)

A while ago, in my review of Nestle's Butterfinger, I mentioned a comment that I'd received on Twitter about how I couldn't be a true peanut butter addict without trying a Zagnut. The bar has been surprisingly difficult to track down, but American Fizz have recently undertaken a huge restock and so the Zagnut was available to purchase at long last. 

"When you've got a hankering for crunchy peanut butter and delicious toasted coconut, you need a ZAGNUT Bar. The satisfying crunch of peanuts, along with the sweet, toasty goodness of coconut, will bring a smile on even the most challenging of days."

Uh oh. Crunchy peanut butter. That sounds remarkably similar to the Butterfinger. Once it arrived, I manhandled the packet and realised that it felt exactly the same too. Had I made a mistake?  

The Zagnut was extremely brittle, and so it had already split in two during transit. I could smell the nuttiness as soon as it was out of it's wrapper -but my heart sunk when I saw that it was texturally indistinguishable to the Butterfinger. 

I bit into it, and tasted a powerful peanut butter flavour. There was no mistaking that Hershey's had used proper pb in the centre of the bar, packing a huge amount of flavour into every mouthful. As for the coconut? Well I couldn't taste that whatsoever. There was no hiding from the sheer amount of sugar though. I swear my teeth were screaming at me not to eat it. The sweetness combined with the crunchiness resulted in a bar that felt like I was chewing on peanut butter flavoured sugar cubes, an experience that really wasn't enjoyable. 

Half way through  I realised that it was only my reluctance to waste money that was fuelling my Zagnut endurance... With that I threw the other half away and reached for a Hershey's product that I know I love: a white chocolate Reese's heart, ahhh, much better!

2/10

NEW! Kellogg's Special K Nourish Dark Chocolate & Coconut (Sainsbury's)

Not long after the Ancient Legends range came out at the beginning of the year, Kellogg's released a new variant in their Special K range. They say:

"Special K Nourish brings delicious joy to breakfast by giving you a bowl full of wonderful flavours and varied textures specially combined to give you a positive & healthy start to every morning. Our crisp flakes and clusters are made with a variety of wholesome grains like oats, wholewheat, rice and barley, with hearty linseed and sunflower seeds, adding a fibre packed crunch to every bite. And with luscious additions like delicate dark chocolate curls and crispy coconut you can spring into each day feeling upbeat."

To be honest, I was just attracted to the idea of a chocolate and coconut breakfast cereal. The Nourish range also comes in 'Dark Berries', and 'Nuts and Seeds' flavours too, but pishhh, pass me the unhealthiest version ta!

The first thing I noticed was the distinct lack of chocolate or dried coconut. All I could see were special K flakes, which -to me- taste like cardboard. 

And that's all I could taste really: bland flakes with the occasional little crunchy cluster thrown in for good measure. The linseed and sunflower seed nuggets admittedly added extra texture, but that's about it. There were a few coconut pieces dotted about, but seeing as they only make up 7.5% of the box, they were very far and few between. I don't even know how Kellogg's can even describe the curls as being dark chocolate, they just tasted like poor quality cooking chocolate, and also only account for 7.5% of the ingredients -probably a good job. 

I appreciate that Special K is a low calorie/healthy cereal, but it's so lacking in terms of flavour that it seems pretty pointless. If you're watching your intake there's much tastier alternatives, and I'd certainly much rather a bowl of porridge (or Krave!) anyday. 

3/10

NEW! Boostball Mega Review (Online)

Boostball. A company that I've seemingly been pouring over for months now, and I'm not sure know how or why I came to know about them. I think that Boostball popped up in my twitter feed sometime last year, and since then I've been watching the company's progress, and its creation of a new range of healthy protein balls. When I spotted the peanut butter cookie dough flavour, I must've jumped up and down in glee, I mean how glorious does that sound? So, when I got a message from the company requesting that I review all of the boostballs you can just imagine how excited I was!

Each Boostball contains only 7 ingredients and is:

• All Natural  
• Gluten Free
• Wheat Free
• Soya Free
• Refined sugar Free
• High in protein
• High in fibre

Raw Chocolate Brownie

In my normal weirdo fashion, I ate the balls (oo-er) in order of what I expected to be my least-to-most favourite. All the Boostballs flavours appealed, so I chose the flavour that sounded most boring: raw chocolate brownie.

The Boostball packs contain three balls, but the nutritional info is for only one ball. I've mentioned on many an occasion by hatred for companies providing such misleading information. I mean who eats only 1/3 of a pack? It's the same with Twirls... I'm never going to resist the other finger! Anyway, back to the topic in hand...

The balls looked rather unappealing. Kev (Kev's Snack Reviews) and Laura (A Daisy Chain Dream) both pointed out their likeness to something rather less edible, in fact Laura referred to them as "Giant Easter Bunny Poop", and I can see where she was coming from.

Undeterred, I took a knife to one and sliced it in half. It was soft and squidgy with a smooth consistency all the way through -I'm not making them sound any more appetising here am I?

I bit into the first ball, and I couldn't believe my tastebuds. They were seriously chocolatey, with a yummy chewiness that was very addictive. I tried to work out what they reminded me of, and suddenly it clicked: Mars Xtra Choc! The texture was dense and fudge-like, whilst the flavour had just the right amount of cocoa. I can't believe these are a healthy product -they taste so deliciously naughty. I thought that the Rhythm 108 choco-walnut-dessert bar, and the Trek Cocoa Chaos were good, but seriously, they have nothing on the Boostball raw chocolate brownie. Yum, yum, yum.

9/10

Chocolate Orange Mud Cake


Another set of three brown squidgy balls! This time they're supposed to bear resemblance to an orange mud cake. I have to be honest here and admit that I'm not entirely sure what a mud cake is -except that it's gooey and chocolatey- but that in itself has to be a winning combination.

The chocolate was by far the most prominent flavour, so much so that there's not a huge amount of difference in taste between these boostballs and the raw brownie ones. The orange was a subtle background, and I have to admit that I'd have liked it to have been a bit more punchy.

8/10

Coconut Fudge Cake

This threesome looked slightly more appetising, with their dusting of (what I presume was) dessicated coconut. 

The coconut fudge cakes' texture was a far cry from the previous two flavours of boostballs; they felt the same to touch, yet in the mouth they were completely different.. Instead of the smooth consistency I had become acquainted to, I was met with a very claggy texture that stuck itself awkwardly to every tooth.

The flavour however was pretty spot on, with a strong coconut flavour and subtle vanilla backnote. It was a shame about the texture, I really didn't enjoy having to try and peel the odd bits of boostball from the crevices in my mouth -but then I had a brainwave! What if I popped the remaining boostball into the microwave for 30 seconds? Would that improve the situation?

It did! Once the coconut oils had been released, the boostball was transformed. Gone was the tackiness, replaced with a creamy chewiness and I could savour the wonderful tropical flavour to its fullest.

3/10 cold 
but 7/10 warm. 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

As I've already mentioned, this was the flavour that got me really excited. Peanut butter + cookie dough? Whoever decided upon that flavour combination is a genius! 

The peanut butter cookie dough Boostballs also contain a whopping 13.2g of protein per bag, so they're a good choice for vegetarians and/or athletes alike. 

Uh oh. I had the same experience as with the coconut fudge cake, and the tackiness of these boostballs made them stick to my teeth again. Quick to react, I trusted my microwave to save the day for the second time. 

Once warm, they lost their magnetism towards my gappy teeth, and I could enjoy the chewy-gooeyness. The nut flavour was natural thanks to the inclusion of real peanut butter, but it was much sweeter than expected. A quick scout at the ingredients explained why -they also include maple syrup- and each bag contains 12g of (natural) sugars. I missed the saltiness required to bring the balance of savoury-sweet into equilibrium, and couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed.

3/10 cold 
6/10 warm.

Summary

So there you have it, my thoughts on every flavour of boostball. They are a handy and healthy snack if you're needing to up your protein intake, and I'm looking forward to their official launch and release into shops soon. Interestingly the flavour that appealed to me the least turned out to be my favourite and I'll certainly regularly purchase the Raw Chocolate Brownie Boostballs.

Whilst the boostballs I reviewed are suitable for vegetarians, they contain milk protein so aren't vegan friendly. Don't despair if you are Vegan however, as Boostball have informed me however that they will be launching a vegan range in the summer. They also tell me that the balls will also be slightly softer and completely round -although they looked pretty round to me!

If you like the sound of Boostballs, please pop on over to their website for more information or keep an eye on their twitter page for updates and details about their official launch.

I'd just like to say a huge thank you to Boostball for sending me their range to try!

Rhythm 108 Coconut Macaroon (Amazon)

After last week's pretty foul experience with Rhythm 108's bitter Lemon Cake, it's safe to assume that I wasn't too enthused to sample their Coconut Macaroon Dessert Bar. This wasn't helped either by the fact that coconut is far from my first choice when it comes to flavours, presumably because I drunk far too much Malibu in my teens. 

The coconut bar consists of dates, amaranth, coconut flakes, Swiss milk, coconut oil, cashews and apple vinegar, which means that -like all their other products- they are gluten free.

I popped the bar in the microwave for thirty seconds, until it had started to become slightly gooey. I braced myself for impact, but was utterly blown away by the flavour; it was rich and creamy with a robust tropical flavour. Coconut can often make cakes feel very dry, but that just wasn't so with this dessert bar -it was soft and moist which made for a very pleasant eating experience. It was so good that I think that if I had shut my eyes I could've easily imagined I was enjoying a warm jam & coconut sponge baked fresh by my grandma, instead of this "good for you" snack bar. 

Rhythm 108 you have truly redeemed yourself this week, bring on the chocolate brownie & banana muffin bars, yum!

9/10

*The coconut macaroon bar was kindly sent to me by Rhythm 108. They are available to purchase from their Amazon shop.

NEW! Coconut & Pineapple Flavour Popcorn (Boots)

Whilst picking up my meal deal from Boots, I spied this new Coconut & Pineapple flavour popcorn. I hesitated, wondering whether it would fare any better than their rather revolting Cinnamon & Vanilla flavour which I reviewed back in October, but as the bag cost just 70p I decided to take a punt on Boot's having improved their range. 

I opened it up, and saw lots of fluffy looking plain coloured kernels. I could detect a slight whiff of tropical flavour, which unfortunately wasn't as aromatic as the popcorn made my Propercorn or Portlebay. Biting into my corn, I realised that the flavour was just as lacking as the smell -there was the mildest hint of pineapple, with absolutely no coconut to be found. 

The kernels lacked the crunchiness of Portlebay's Kracklecorn, and without any flavour to back it up, I just felt like I was eating mouthful upon mouthful of polystyrene. To make things worse there was loads of unpopped corn, and at one point I actually thought I'd broken a tooth. Propercorn Peanut & Almond is an absolute taste sensation and utter joy to munch, but this popcorn from Boots just felt like a never-ending chore to eat. 

1/10

Coconut & Caramel Poshcorn by Tyrells

As a Herefordian, I know Tyrells pretty well. I remember getting excited as teenager when spotting our local Tyrells crisps in deli's across the UK as the company grew both in size and reputation (William Chase refused to let Tesco stock his products). However when he sold the business in 2008, the new owners made a lot of changes and I lost love for the company.It has since been sold again, and the brand has expanded into Nibbles, Tortillas and Popcorn too. 

As you may have gathered from my many reviews, I love popcorn. One of my favourite products is the Propercorn 'Sweet Coconut & Vanilla', so when I spotted Tyrells' 'Coconut & Caramel Poshcorn' in my local Co-op I decided to put my grudges aside and give it a go.  

The popcorn was very light and fluffy, and similar to both Propercorn & Portlebay's products there was a distinct lack of unpopped kernels. Biting into the corn, it was very soft. I could taste a hint of both the caramel and the coconut, but it was very subtle. Perhaps it would be a good snack to have alongside a glass of white wine?

To be honest, I was pretty underwhelmed by Tyrells attempt at popcorn. Propercorn can pride itself on the strength of its flavours, whilst Portlebay has a good depth of flavour and crunchy texture. With that in mind, I probably won't buy it again. 

5/10