NEW! Yoo Moo Honey & Granola Frozen Yogurt (ASDA)

How do you feel about froyo? I distinctly remember the first time I tried it, I must've been about 7 or 8 and I was at a flower show (or shower flow as I called it) with my Daddio -he's a horticulturist. It was a blazing summers day and amidst the various stands was a tent selling froyo. As one of four children, it was often too expensive to treat us to ice creams when we were out (unless it was a mini milk) but I think it was just my brother and I that day. In any case I was bought a froyo and fell in love with the tangy frozen dessert. 

A few years ago it seemed like froyo was going to take off here, but it never really took hold (certainly not the way salted Caramel has anyway). There's still an ample selection about though if you keep your eyes peeled, but I must admit to buying ice cream instead 97% of the time. My only exception in recent years has been the Yoo Moo range, especially when Tesco sold the mini Angelmoo and Devilmoo pots. I've been deliberating over their new Honey & Granola pint tub since it came out a couple of months ago, but as always, the new ice creams took priority. Eventually I bought the tub for £2 from ASDA.

"Frozen yogurt with honey flavoured sauce and granola"

It's been so long since I last had froyo that I forgot how much more waterier it is. Of course this do make it easier to serve and underneath my first scoop I discovered a glistening pocket of treasure, aka honey. There was a good tablespoon of the sauce all bundled together, and I hoped that it wasn't the only honey in the tub. 

The flavour had the signature tang that I love so much, however the first portion I served contained all that honey, which did render it very sickly -especially as I served it atop a Muscle Moose Mug Cake. There was little-to-no Granola chunks either, and I was all but ready to give up on the Yoo Moo.

Fortunately my second experience was much better; the honey was more evenly distributed and worked wonderfully to offset the tang. As for the Granola pieces, they were far and few between (they only make up 6%) but offered something different to the usual biscuit pieces that you find in many of the luxury ice cream tubs. I still haven't made my mind up on them though. You see, I think that Granola should be crisp with a slight crunch but -as with many of the biscuits embedded within ice creams- they'd gone a little soft. 

The new honey & granola Yoo Moo is a refreshing alternative to ice cream and also low in calories and fat (118kcals & 1.9g fat per 100ml serving) so it's perfect for dieters, but I won't be rushing out to replace my tub when it's finished.

7/10

NEW! Spiced Carrot Muffins (M&S)

So we've established that the Tesco carrot cake muffins are a bit pathetic and that the M&S carrot cake hot cross buns are the biz*. The carrot cake trend looks set to continue (&/or Marks' bakery team are running out of ideas) as they've recently launched carrot cake muffins into their four pack range. Now their muffins have been hit and miss of late; the banana chocolate chip four packs were decidedly disappointing, as were the rhubarb, strawberry & custard filled affairs,  but let's not forget how good their chocolate oranges were -there's hope yet.

"Light and delicately spiced carrot muffin studded with plump sultanas, a cooling cream cheese centre topped wth granola and pumpkin seeds."

We can even pretend that they're healthy too, what with their fruit and vegetable content and granola & seed topping and all! At £1.50 per pack they're not likely to break the bank either.

Ok, so I might've squished them on the cycle home. I could've cried when I opened my backpack, what a clutz I am. I promise you they looked rustic to begin with, just maybe not this rustic. 

A corner broke off as I sliced the muffin in two, but as I'm not sure whose fault that was, I won't mark M&S down for that. I do remember that before I mistreated the muffins the topping was scattered everywhere though. Once bisected, the pale pocket of filling was visible, and it was a pleasing sight -central and adequately proportionate- just as it should be.

The warming notes of cinnamon were well balanced, not overshadowing the earthiness from the carrot, but instead complimenting it. An abundance of plump, juicy sultanas added extra little bursts of flavour. The cake was a little on the dry side, and more like a country cake, but strangely this didn't detract from the enjoyment given the wet filling within.

The topping was ingenious too. The crunchy seeds offered a joyous textural contrast against the cake combined with a welcome gentle nuttiness. If I was being pernickety I'd point out that the 'granola' was really just oats given its lack of cluster formation, but I enjoyed it so lets forget that.  

The make or break moment comes with the filling though surely. I found the cream cheese to be more akin to traditional frosting than the centre of M&S' carrot cake hot cross buns. That is to say that it's sweeter and fluffier. I'm not sure if the gooeier, sauce like innards used within the buns would've worked better against the sweetness of the cake, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Please don't bother buying Tesco's carrot cake muffins, pay the extra 50p and treat yourself to Marks & Sparks' spiced carrot muffins instead.

9/10

* I'm going to re-score the buns as a 10 given my 'currant' 😉 addiction to them and the amount of cream cheese I've had in every bun since writing the review.

NEW! Coco Pops Granola (Tesco)

Q: What's the laziest way to create a new product? 
A: Create a variation of an already successful line and copy your competitor of course!

Last year saw the release of Nestle's Shreddies Max Protein Granola, followed by a few fleeting boxes of Cheerios and Curiously Cinnamon Granola* in January. Kellogg's have obviously been keeping their eyes peeled, as they have recently followed suit and brought out a peanut butter granola (Crunchy Nut Clusters) as well as this new Coco Pops Granola. I'm not complaining really, I love cereal, adore oats and always welcome new choices. I did however wait for the bag to come on offer (currently £2 in Tesco).

"A combination of chocolatey-flavoured granola with wheat shapes and wholegrain oats! A source of B vitamins and iron which helps to release energy throughout the day. Made with no artificial colours!"

I'm not sure why that last sentence warrants an exclamation mark. Perhaps it's surprising. What they have failed to market is that the new granola contains almost half the sugar content per 100g than that of traditional cocoa pops (16g vs. 30g). Of course the serving size and calorie content is higher though.

I hope you don't mind me mentioning that I'm not a fan of the new bag design. Whilst it saves on excess packaging, the bag won't stand up properly, irritating my need for orderly cupboards.

Fortunes turned when I opened the resealable (that's one bonus) bag. Inside was a sight for any chocoholic's sore eyes. Every morsel was covered in chocolate! The bag contained a good mix of (relatively small) oaty chunks and Cocoa Pops' puffs, Moons and Stars.

It's a shame that the new granola didn't pass my milk soaking test. By the time I'd stopped faffing about taking photos the shapes were soggy and the granola had started to disintegrate. There wasn't really enough oats to call it a granola either really  seeing as they only make up 30% of the ingredients. On the plus side the flavour was good though, and the milk turned chocolatey! Have you ever had Graze's Cocoa & Vanilla flapjacks? Well the oat chunks reminded me of them -which I hope you'll agree is no bad thing.

All in all it's a good product from Kellogg's. It might not me the most inventive cereal, nor is it the best granola I've ever tasted, but I'll enjoy the bag, and will probably buy Coco Pops Granola again - but only when it's on offer.

7/10

*if anyone's spotted either recently please let me know, they seem to have disappeared.

NEW! Nature Valley Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars (Sainsbury's)

Every now and then a supermarket will bring out an own brand product that surpasses every comparative product currently on the market. Take Tesco's Banana Bliss Bars for example, or ALDI's Domio yogurts and HIKE bars. ASDA has produced corkers too, two of which were fabulous peanut butter products. Whilst I was disappointed when the supermarket stopped selling their ingenious chocolate chip peanut butter, I was devastated when they stopped selling their peanut butter granola bars. They were absolutely wonderful little packs, and I even wrote a review on them over a year ago, claiming that they were 'ASDA's best kept secret'. Of course I stocked up on the remaining boxes as soon as I saw that they were reduced to clear, but knew that my stash wouldn't last. I'd already emailed Nature Valley and requested that they produce a peanut butter granola bar, so I was at a loss as to what to do next.

Fortunately, a good 18 months after that email, Nature Valley came up trumps and released a Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar in the UK (the brand has been selling them in the USA for years). The only place I've spotted the boxes thus far is Sainsbury's, although I've patiently waited for them to come on offer (currently £1.50 per box).

"Packed with natural wholegrain oats, real peanuts, and a luscious peanut butter drizzle, Nature Valley Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars are the perfect on-the-go snack, which are there for you, whenever you need it most."

As always, each individually wrapped pack contains two biscuits. For info, the peanut butter flavour is lactose free and contains no colours or preservatives.

They looked prettier than the ASDA version with their topping drizzled on -as opposed to a slathering. Given the quality of Nature Valley's other flavours, I was looking forward to tucking in.

The beauty of Nature Valley's Crunchy bars is that whilst they're crispy like a biscuit, they're not hard enough to require the dentist's telephone number close to hand -as perhaps one would with Jordan's or NutriGrain's Oat bars. In fact they're like a lower fat Hobnob really aren't they?

I prepared myself for the incoming salty-sweet hit from my favourite spread, but it never really came. Whilst the bar promises of 'real peanuts', it actually only delivers a measly 2% within its ingredients. As for the peanut butter, it was unfortunately just too sweet. The primary flavour of the biscuits was the honey, which knocked the nutty balance off kilter so much that I was tempted to get my salt grinder from the cupboard to help matters.

The main reason why I love Reese's so much is that they've utterly mastered the harmony of salinity and manage to counteract the sweetness within their products wonderfully. Nature Valley haven't been quite so clever, and although they're new Crunchy Bars are admittedly delicious and moreish, they're not quite as good as ASDA's delisted versions. Boo.

7/10

NEW! Nestle Curiously Cinnamon Granola (B&M)

I recently rediscovered my love of granola thanks to the Max Protein Shreddies Granola released last year. Nestle's decision to transition it's traditional cereals into granola format must've proved fruitful for the corporation, because they've recently started manufacturing Curiously Cinnamon and Cheerios varieties too. The only trouble is, they're seemingly impossible to get hold of. The only reason I knew they exist was down to @productsinstore' photo of her find in Home Bargains last month.

The trouble is, our local Home Bargains taunts me. I often see evidence of their exciting new products on Instagram (looking at you again @productsinstore) and eagerly trek across the city on a mission to buy said treats, only to be left disappointed by their lack of availability in sleepy ol' Hereford. Nestle's new cereal hybrid caused an embarrassing amount of frustration -again and again I would search the aisles and come home empty handed.

On Sunday I persuaded Bert that we needed a trip to B&M for dog food, knowing full well that it's next to Home Bargains and that he'd let me pop in on my usual mission. Yet again it was unsuccessful and so I trundled into B&M miserably...

..Where I spotted a lone box of Curiously Cinnamon Granola and a load of Cheerios Granola for just £1 per box! Halle-flipping-lujah! Now the Cheerios granola didn't excite me all that much; it was the Curiously cinnamon that really tickled my fancy. Every U.K cinnamon lover can appreciate the deliciousness that is Curiously Cinnamon (although the Santé cinnamon stars are equally delicious). Add oats clusters into the equation and surely Nestle are onto a serious winner.

Yes, yes they are! There was a good even mixture of oats and cinnamon squares in the box and the warming scent was inviting. The granola isn't as heavy as some others either thanks to the rice flakes also gracing the mixture. As for the flavour, it's an intoxicating mixture of oats, wheat and spice that I absolutely loved. Ultimately the texture of this cereal gives it the edge, with the softer squares that go soft in milk whilst the clusters remain crispy.

The following evening I decided to top banoffee skyr (made using skyr, banana flavour drops and toffee sugar-free syrup) with the cinnamon granola and fresh sliced banana. Oof, it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on ASDA's White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola with yogurt, but strangely much preferred the Curiously Cinnamon served this way.

Cinnamon & oat lovers rejoice: Nestle have nailed this one!

9/10

Macros per 100g: P7.7/C:73/F9.5

White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola (ASDA)

It didn't occur to me to write this review when I finally got round to picking up this bag of White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola from ASDA (hence the open bag shot below) and the only reason why I am doing so is because of the various requests in response to my Instagram feed. This granola isn't new by any means, but I hadn't tried it before, and it seems that many of you are eager to know how it fared. I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place if it wasn't for my recent venture back into the granola world with the Shreddies Max Protein. Following my review, I had a conversation with fellow blogger Alex (Foodfinds GB) about how he didn't particularly rate the Shreddies granola. I asked him which is his favourite and he was recommended the White Chocolate & Raspberry version from ASDA. The naughty sounding cereal had piqued my interest on a number of occasions, and Alex's high praises gave me the push I needed to stump up the £2 for the 500g bag -not bad value really.

"Raspberry flavour wholegrain oat clusters with sunflower seeds and honey with milk and white chocolate chunks and freeze dried raspberry pieces."

I was stunned by the amount of freeze dried raspberries that poured out of the bag and into my first bowl. Apparently they only make up 2% of the ingredients, but there seemed to be much more. Maybe they'd all risen to the top, but it was fabulous to see such a generous supply of fruit. The second surprise to please me was the also generous nature of both white and milk chocolate chunks -a very different experience from the Kellogg's dark chocolate & coconut cereal.

I tried the first bowl with cold milk, and actually found the granola a little too tart for my taste buds. As you'll appreciate, freeze dried raspberries are very flavourful -but they are also quite sour. I hoped that the generous chocolate chunks would offer balance, but in reality they were all but lost against the overpowering raspberry. Humf. The oat clusters were nice and crunchy, but that was the sole redeeming factor.

A couple of nights later I gave the granola a second shot -this time with warm milk. My, what a difference the temperature made. When warmed up, the chunks melted and bled into the oats, raspberries & milk -resulting in a much more prominent and creamy chocolate flavour. It was absolutely delicious! This was the bowl of yum that I was hoping for in the first place.

Alex informs me that the granola is also rather good with yogurt, and I'll take his word on it, but for me it'll be enjoyed warm all the way!

8/10

Shreddies Max Protein Cranberry & Oat Granola

I think I might've mentioned before that I've been patiently biding my time with this new cereal; eagerly waiting for it to come on offer. As always, I was lured in by the promise of 'high protein' but also was attracted to it because it's granola too. Granola is something I haven't bought I'm years, which is a bit strange really given how much I love oats -and of course flapjack. I tend to forget about the granola areas of the cereal aisle I think, normally making a bee line for the chocolate and/or sugar laden boxes instead. At £2.49-£2.79 per 400g box, I knew I could survive waiting a little while. Ok, well admittedly that and we had a bit of a glut of cereal in our house -I counted 16 boxes a couple of weeks ago and there's just two of us. Now we're down to *just* 9, and Shreddies Max is half price in Tesco I felt that I could buy a box  (thanks for the heads up on instagram @productsinstore). 

"Whole grain wheat & oat granola with malted cereal pieces & chopped cranberries."

I must first comment on the box design which -like many others- is resealable, but it tucks away neatly with no faffing required. 

A super sweet, syrupy aroma greeted my nostrils as soon as the bag was open, and I took my first peak at the granola within. The first thing I picked up on was the tiny clusters! I was expecting whopping great hunks of oats, but instead only spotted little nuggets. The second thought was regarding the Shreddies, which were dotted about between the oats. This was in line with expectations, and I looked forward to the mixture of textures and flavours. I then started to wonder where the dried cranberries were hiding, beginning to doubt their presence entirely. I shook myself a bowl, and still didn't find any, so took the childlike approach and stuck my hand deep into the bag to see what I could retrieve. Luckily I found a couple of fruity bits hiding towards the bottom, so I'm hoping that they've all sunk in transit and the last few bowls will herald a plethora of ruby treasures. Please note that the inner young Amy was disappointed that I didn't find a magic spoon in the box (currently in some promotional Kellogg's cereals). 

Given my addiction to sugar and oats, it's easy to understand why I enjoyed the flavour of the Shreddies Max Protein. A good soaking in milk turned the Shreddies soggy (just how I like them) whilst the clusters remained satisfyingly crunchy. The combination of malt and oat flavours worked in harmony, providing a slightly different taste with every spoonful.

I have to admit that a bug bear came from the high protein claim however, as 13g per 100g isn't the huge amount that its 'max' name alludes too. Shreddies Max Protein in fact contains far less protein than the 20g per 100g in Weetabix's chocolate protein crunch and 22g per 100g in the Mornflake chocolate porridge for example! Still, it's a tasty little granola and I'll continue to enjoy it.

7/10

Macros per 100g for those interested*: P13 C68 F7

*45g recommended serving size

NEW Cocoa Filled Breakast Biscuits & Maple Syrup Granola Bars by Sainsbury's

I went on a rare shopping trip to Sainsbury's to find the Christmas Pud Nakd Bar that I reviewed yesterday, and couldn't resist browsing the aisles to see if they have anything interesting and/or different to what I normally find in Tesco or ASDA. I came across Sainsbury's 'new' own-brand cereal bar range which are currently on offer at £1 per box. Given how wonderful I think ASDA's peanut butter granola bars are, I thought I'd give a couple of their products a try.

Maple Syrup Granola Bars

If you look at the packet of Nature Valley's granola bars you'll notice that they are manufactured in Spain which also happen to be the place of origin for the Sainsbury's maple syrup bars; this led me to believe *hope* that the 'own-brand' was actually Nature Valley in disguise.

However, when I unwrapped the bars I realised that I'd made a silly mistake, because although they follow the same format -2 biscuits in one pack- and are a similar amount of calories, they are very different in consistency: the Sainsbury's bars are completely solid and lack the signature crumbliness of Nature Valley. This means that they're much tougher to munch on, and I was exceedingly grateful for the great big mug of coffee I had to dunk them in. Once dipped, they did soften, and the maple syrup flavour came through perfectly.

6/10

Cocoa Filled Breakfast Biscuits

Sainsbury's have also released two varieties of  'filled' Breakfast Biscuits: Cocoa and Coconut & Yogurt. Whilst the coconut would have been my preferred choice (particularly because it's much more unusual) it was unfortunately out of stock. Given my love of chocolate I picked up the Cocoa flavour anyway.

I've always wondered why Belvita haven't yet added a chocolate filled breakfast biscuit to their range. The cocoa biscuit sounds nice- but it's the cocoa filling that I like! When I bought this pack, I was of the impression that the chocolate filling would be enveloped by the biscuit outer. I've got to stop making preconceptions because I was utterly disappointed when I unwrapped the bars and found them to be just like the Belvita bars- with a chocolate layer sandwiched between two biscuits.

The biscuits are made from wheat, rye and barley and are suprisingly sturdy. They are quite tough to break and don't have a huge amount of flavour- reminding me of a particularly thick cheese cracker. In contrast, The cocoa layer was soft and gooey with ample chocolate flavour.

They tasted more healthy than the new PiCK UP bars I reviewed last week- but they're nowhere near as tasty. Perhaps they just need some caramel!

4/10

Peanut Butter Granola Bars: ASDA's best kept secret.

Now these are definitely not new. However, following plentiful conversations with fellow Bloggers about the joys of peanut butter, I've come to the conclusion that these Granola bars are a relatively well kept secret. They are sold in a box containing 6 packs which are priced at £1.85* and you can find them hiding amongst the branded products in the cereal bar aisle in ASDA- if you're lucky! 

They are an own brand product but are very similar to the Nature Valley Oat Granola Bars, and just like their branded cousin each individual pack contains two biscuits. They look very similar to Nature Valley's products- however I'm admittedly (and embarrassingly) so obsessed with PB that I emailed them a while back to suggest they produce a peanut buttery oat bar and they responded by saying that they would "let me know if they do" -which they haven't- so I'm still at odds as to who manufactures these bars for ASDA.

They're just as crumbly as the Nature Valley bars, and the peanut butter element comes from the spread across the top. The ratio is spot on, and the nuttiness comes through comfortingly once nibbled. They're actually the only British** peanut butter product I've tried to date that actually tastes of the real deal. They incorporate a good level of saltiness which compliments the sweet oat and honey combination beneath.They dunk really well too and hold together slightly better than a Hobnob... But don't quote me on that- there's nothing worse than losing a biscuit in your cuppa after all! 

If you're interested, they are also healthier than Hobnobs, as each pack contains 192 calories and only 1g saturated fat. The bars are also gluten and dairy free.

If you either haven't seen these bars, or haven't tried them for fear that they might not be as good as the branded alternative (and you're a peanut butter fan) I implore you to give these wondrous snacks a go.

9.5/10 

-The American Nutter Butter Bites still holds the No1 peanut buttery spot In my heart.-

*Price correct at the time of publishing.

** After I wrote this review, my interest was piqued which led me to check the packet- they're actually made in Canada.