UFIT Drinks (Most Supermarkets)

At the end of January I received a message from the owner of UFIT drinks, asking if I'd like to try a sample box of their products to review. Having seen their humorous "a great tasting protein drink for active-ish people" marketing campaign*, I was already intrigued and so gladly accepted. A day or so later, said parcel arrived containing three standard sized ready to drink protein shakes, and one of their PRO50 mega shake. 

So who are UFIT? They say:

"We are a team of protein enthusiasts and industry experts with over 20 years of nutrition industry experience. After building multiple successful brands and products we decided to assemble our own team of passionate and knowledgeable protein lovers and launch a range of our own, delicious protein drinks. UFIT was the result!"

Chocolate 
As it turned out, the chocolate shake's best before date was the day after I received the parcel (although the other flavours had much longer). The 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein and no added sugar. The drink looked rather similar to the For Goodness Shakes version that I reviewed  at the beginning of last year, although there was a few lumps lurking at the bottom of this one -not great.

Lumps aside, the taste and thickness was pretty standard. It's a reasonable shake, and if you're on the go and stuck for a chocolate hit without the fat or calories, you can't go wrong with a UFIT chocolate shake 

Macros: kCal: 170: P22/C11/F3.2

6/10

Iced Latte
UFIT have got some stiff competition on the protein market. Not only have protein giants Grenade launched their own coffee (which I haven't heard great things about),  but SCIMX have just released a 30g protein carton and Reflex also have a brilliant protein coffee (which contains 25g or protein).

Now I do enjoy a good milky sweet iced coffee, so I was looking forward to trying UFIT's version. Again, the 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein, but this time it was lump free. Happy days. Taste wise it's almost as good as Reflex, but it does contain more fat and less protein. It's a tasty drink though, and it's sweet despite the lack of added sugar. Tesco stock it and it's cheaper than the other protein brands, so it's handy to grab on the go. I also found that it made decent proats too!

Macros: kCal: 173 P:22/C10/F2.1

8/10

Banana
Now I love a good banana milkshake, in fact it's my favourite flavour. Is it awful that a McDonald's banana milkshake still fills me with joy? Banana is oddly far and few between when it comes to pre-made protein shakes though. 

Oh, that's disappointing. The flavour was lacking. I was hoping for a full on whack of real banana or foam banana, I don't really mind which, but found that instead UFIT have produced a wishy-washy flavour that well, didn't wash with me. Unfortunately it's not one I'd buy again.

Macros: kCal 176/P: 22/C:10.7/F3.2

6/10

Vanilla PRO50
This product was the one that baffled me the most was this vanilla 500ml bottle. There's plenty of debate about how much protein your body can utilise in one go, with this Men's Health Article suggesting that between 25-30g is the optimum amount per mealtime. With this in mind I decided to half the bottle and drink it over two days.

Crikey, the flavour was damn good. The vanilla was my favourite UFIT by far, reminding me of runny Ambrosia custard -yum! It tasted just as good warmed up for 2 mins in the microwave too. The macros were good too, with each half bottle 250ml serving coming in at: Kcal:164/P:25/C:8.6/F2.6. The trouble is, if I'm drinking only half in one serving, then I'm keeping it at home, in which case it's cheaper to make my own shake with my protein powder.

However... UFIT have recently brought out a 310ml vanilla flavour bottle, which I certainly will buy when needing a protein fix on the go!

9/10

A huge thank you to UFIT for sending me the samples!

MaxiNutrition Strawberry Protein Milk (Home Bargains)

I don't know why this Protein Milk appealed to me, perhaps it was because I'd never tried it before, but *somehow* it jumped off the shelf and into my basket. I think it was about £1 from Home Bargains, which I think is cheaper than you can buy them from in most Sports Stores, so it might be worth visiting your local branch if you buy them regularly!

'MaxiNutrition Protein Milk is a great tasting, refreshing shake that is packed with 20g of protein goodness to keep your muscles in tip top shape.'

The milk also contains no added sugars and is fat free. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised when I shook the drink and poured it into a glass to discover that it was a creamy colour instead of the pinky hue I was expecting.  It was also thicker than I thought it would be, meaning it had a similar consistency to a Frijj milkshake. 

Taste-wise the flavour was of a standard strawberry milkshake. It wasn't particularly natural tasting, but neither did I expect it to be. The protein milk didn't taste any different to a normal milkshake, which I considered to be an attribute -as I've mentioned before that I often find that protein products often have an odd chemically aftertaste.

As something of a non-athlete I won't be going out of my way to stock up on these MaxiNutrition Protein Milks, but I think that they're a tasty choice for anyone wishing to up their protein intake. 

7/10 

Belvita Tartine Milk & Honey (Poundland)

I love Poundland, the unpredictability of their range of stock pleases me, and you never know what you might find!

I discovered these Tartines by chance in our local branch the other day; they caught by eye because I buy a lot of the Belvita's breakfast biscuits, yet I'd never come across this product. The packaging looked similar to that of the Belvita Tops, except they came in a milk & honey flavour that us Brits aren't privy to.

 

 

As with the other Tops, the pack contained 5 packs of three biscuits. Visually they weren't any different to their British counterparts, except for the creamy coloured pools that adorned each Tartine.

 

 

If you haven't tried the range before, I'll briefly fill you in: wholegrain biscuits, roughly about as thick as a digestive that supposedly release carbohydrates over 4 hours to keep you feeling fuller for longer. These Tartines follow the same recipe, and I am pleased to report that they both snapped and dunked well.

 

The only difference to the UK version was the milk and honey flavoured topping, and boy it was good! It was soft and creamy, with a genuine natural honey flavour that was remarkably similar to the local honey I use to cover my hot cross buns with.

 

I enjoyed them so much that I'd even go as far to say that I preferred them over the choco-hazelnut Tops, and as a chocoholic that's a pretty big claim! I'm heading straight back to Poundland today with the hope that I can find them again before they disappear into the Worldly abyss.

 

Belvita PLEASE release them in the UK too!

 

8/10

Rhythm 108 Choco-Walnut Brownie Dessert Bar (Amazon)

It's Monday, time for another Rhythym 108 review, and this week it's the turn of the delicious sounding Choco-Walnut brownie. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know by now that Rhythm 108 make healthy & organic, dessert-style energy bars that are gluten free, and high in calcium and fibre.

Their Choco-Walnut brownies are made from all natural whole foods (dates, cashews, walnuts, milk, amaranth, cacao paste and apple cider vinegar) which meant I was a bit dubious as to how tasty it would be. As with the apple pie, lemon cake, and coconut macaroon bars, I gave it a quick blast in the microwave, and this time I served it with cherry yogurt.

The brownie had a robust, almost raw cocoa flavour with fruity undertones. The experience was something that I thought I'd find overwhelming (particularly seeing as I'm more of a milk chocolate kind of girl), but I truly enjoyed the sharpness of the flavours. I took delight in the squidgyness of the bar, combined with the satisfying crunch that came from the nuts. It felt almost unbelievable to imagine that the brownie wasn't full of fat or sugar -the taste was so convincingly naughty.

I really loved this Choco-Walnut dessert bar from Rhythm108, although I can't help but think that I would have enjoyed it more with a (very) large scoop of ice-cream -it's all about the balance after all!

Once again, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Rhythm 108 for sending me their range to sample.

If you like the sound of the brilliant good-for-you dessert bars, then please pay a visit to the website and/or online shop.

9/10