I can't deny my love of chocolate and peanut butter. My 2016 New Years' resolution is still going strong and I'm still having my two favourite foodstuffs every single day without exception. It's needless to say therefore that when Conor at CNSport offered me a jar of Dr Zak's chocolate powdered peanut butter to review I jumped at the chance -especially because I'd enjoyed their Banoffee Pie and Chocolate Fudge Brownie peanut spreads so much!
"High protein & defatted chocolate flavour powdered peanut butter. All the taste of chocolate spread with 70% less fat."
Could peanut butter taste as good with none of the fat? I enjoy some fat-free products such as Skyr and Quark, but surely pb tastes so good because of its natural fat content?
I poured some of the powder into a ramekin and added equal measures of water -as suggested- before stirring to make a paste. I was about to spread it on my fruit loaf when I thought I'd give it a quick sample first.
Bleurgh! What the? Sweet bejeezus that's no relative of peanut butter.
All I could taste was a bitter chemical flavour* that I just had to spit out.
*At this point I'll add that there's no chemicals: the tub simply contains peanut flour, cocoa and stevia -but boy it was vile.
Am I doing this whole peanut powder thing wrong? At the moment I can't even bring myself to try it again, but if you've had it and can make it work please do send me your suggestions.
0/10
A huge thank you to Conor for the sample! Unfortunately I can't love everything you stock, sorry ;).
I'm happily in the 'peanut butter should be enjoyed as a sweet delicacy', and I've mentioned many a time on this blog about my love of pb and banana toasties. I'm not a stranger to banana flavoured peanut butters, and I loved the last (PB Crave Coco Bananas). I often eat peanut butter at lunchtime, pre-afternoon gym session, so I've been recently delving into the world of high protein nut butters. But who is Dr Zak, and can you trust what he's selling?
"Dr Zak Pallikaros has dedicated his life to fitness and muscle-building. He studied Medicinal Chemistry, Bio Technology and Bio Chemistry at City University (London), then went on to obtain a Doctorate degree from the Royal Free Medical School."
Dr Zak's launched their range of high protein peanut spreads last year; with flavours including the delicious sounding Apple & Cinnamon, Cherry Bakewell and White Chocolate & Coconut. My bestest bud is a fellow peanut butter addict (perhaps that's why we've been friends for 17 years) and her absolute favourite is Dr Zak's Salted Caramel. Over the months her love has gradually persuaded me to buy a jar, but then I discovered that the company were releasing new flavours...
The new range comprises of: Chocolate Orange, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Smooth, Crunchy and the Sweet Banoffee Pie. Each 450g jar has an RRP of £8.49, although Musclefood is selling them for £4.95 each.
As to be expected, there was a slight amount of separation (although nowhere near as bad as the PB Crave). A swift swirl with a butter knife enabled an even consistency throughout the jar. Even before
tasting I could smell the artificial banana flavour.
If you've ever had a high protein nut butter, you'll know that the partially hydrolysed whey adds a grainy texture -and Dr Zak's is no different. The banana flavour was every bit as artificial as the aroma, but to be honest I'm a fan of even the most fake bananary foods (foam sweets for example).
As far as high protein spreads go, this Dr Zak's is the best I've tried yet. It's full of flavour, and has a consistency loose enough to spread, but firm enough to cover apple slices. It also contains no palm
oil and offers 7g of protein with only 1.4g of sugar per 20g serving.
7/10
