Rhythm 108 Banana Muffin Good-For-You Dessert Bar (Amazon)

It's time for the final instalment in my series of Rhythm 108's good-for-you dessert bar reviews. I saved the Banana Muffin until last because it was the flavour that piqued my interest enough to find out about the company in the first place. Hopefully you'll have already read my reviews for the delicious Choco-Walnut Brownie, Apple Pie and Coconut Macaroon (lets forget about the Lemon Cake) bars, but if not please do give them a quick scout.

As you can see from the wrapper the Banana Muffin Dessert Bar consists of organic dates, almonds milk, amaranth and cider vinegar -in keeping with Rhythm 108's philosophy to create wholesome, gluten free products high in protein & fibre with no refined sugars.

I decided to enjoy the bar with warm custard this week, as I hope you'll agree that there's something quite magical about banana & custard. The bar had a similar consistency to the rest of the range -firm and moist with crunchy nuts dotted throughout. 

There was a fruity flavour that was apparent throughout the bar, although it was difficult to detect the banana by itself. I was quite disappointed by this considering how well Rhythm 108 have nailed the flavours in their other products, but its not entirely surprising considering that there's only 1/2 a banana per bar, and they contain no artificial flavourings. I don't want to complain too much though, as it was still scrummy and made for a warming afternoon pick-me-up treat, especially with custard!

8/10

If you've enjoyed reading about the Rhythm 108's healthy dessert bars, and now want to get hold of some for yourself to enjoy, please pop on over to their website/Amazon Shop.

For the very last time, thank you Rhythm 108 for kindly sending me your bars to review, they've been delightful!

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

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.

Rhythym 108 Lemon Cake Dessert Bar (Amazon)

Today marks the second instalment in Rhythm 108 Dessert Bar reviews. As I mentioned last year when reviewing Portlebay's popcorn, I tend to eat my foods in the order of least to most favourite, so I was really looking forward to trying this bar (last week the Apple Pie bar scored a whopping 9/10). 

;-

Lemon Drizzle cake has to be up there with the best of British cakes -a true classic that balances sweet and tartness to perfection. So fond are we of the afternoon treat that it has held the  position of highest rated recipe on BBC Good Food's website for as long as I can remember. The best part of a good lemon drizzle cake for is the delightful crunch of it's sugary topping, and so I wondered how it would translate into a healthy bar (that contains no added sugar). 

As with the Apple Pie version, this bar is rich in calcium, high in fibre & protein, and is suitable for coeliacs thanks to its absence of gluten. I heated it up in the microwave for twenty seconds which helped the bar to release its citussy scent. The texture was perfectly moist, with a good crunch coming from the chunky cashews and almonds. Unfortunately however, the taste was all wrong. Instead of achieving the sweet/tart balance that the drizzle cake is renowned for, all I could taste was the sour pith of the lemon which rendered it rather unpleasant. Now, I know I've got a sweet tooth so perhaps this is one for those who like super sour sweets, but it really wasn't for me. Sorry Rhythm 108!

2/10

Rhythm 108 Apple Pie Dessert Bar (Amazon)

Have you heard of Rhythm 108? If you haven't, then not to worry, neither had I until December. I was reading a magazine article comparing various energy bars, which lauded the benefits of Rhythm 108, a company who produce delicious sounding, good-for-you dessert style bars. All of their products are made entirely of high quality natural ingredients, contain no added sugars or syrups, are naturally gluten free and count as one of your five a day. I've since been in contact with the company who kindly offered to send me a sample of their entire range to review, and so each week I'll be reviewing one of their five flavours. First up is Apple Pie...

The Apple Pie bar consists of: two dates, four almonds, a whole apple, 1/2 glass of milk, 1/2 teaspoon amaranth, pinch of cinnamon and three drops of apple cider vinegar. It is designed to be heated up, and so once unwrapped, I popped it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It was firm to the touch, but it wasn't dry, and had a far moister texture than any other health bar I've ever tried. It also had a good crunch coming from the chunky nuts dotted throughout, which provided a lovely contrast against the otherwise smooth bar. 

The taste was convincingly similar to the centre of a home-made apple pie, the apple and cinnamon worked in perfect harmony, with a natural flavour that I simply wouldn't expect from a healthy, long-life energy product. I enjoyed mine with greek yogurt, resulting in a delicious dessert treat that tasted much naughtier than it was.

If you like the sound of this bar and would like to try it for yourself, you can buy them from 'The Natural Kitchen' or Heartcore Fitness in London, otherwise they are available for order from the Rhythm 108 Amazon Shop. I certainly can't wait to dig in to their other flavours! Thanks Rhythm 108!

9/10