Dr Zak's Chocolate Powdered Peanut Butter (CNSport)

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 ;).

Protein bars to avoid: B'Jammin PB&J (CSN) and PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter (Lidl)

I've posted up a few reviews recently of high-protein products recently, such as: the wondrous peanut butter Lenny & Larry's complete cookie, the pretty average for goodness shakes chocolate milkshake, and the god damn awful protein active peanut chia blast bar, but I thought I'd write a few words about a couple of bars that I was less than impressed with. 

B'Jammin PB&J

I bought this at the same time as the Lenny's cookie, lured in by the thought of a healthy snack containing one of my favourite concoctions: peanut butter and jam. 

"B-Jammin’ goes where no bar has gone before. Each bar delivers advanced nutrition that includes high quality protein, real mouth-watering fruit carbs, and fiber that just simply tastes better. With 12-15 grams of net carbs, 12 grams of protein, 11-13 grams of fibre, you’ll be blown away by the taste and flavors in each bar."

The trouble began as soon as I unwrapped the bar. It's similarity to the Pedigree 'Jumbones' I feed my dog was astonishing. Looking completely like something chemically engineered, I can't say I was excited by it's appearance, but I persevered in the hope that it tasted better than it looked.

It didn't. It tasted as utterly false as it appeared, with a mind-bogglingly plasticine-like texture. The flavour was awful, I can't even begin to describe how artificial it tasted. I only endured one bite before it ended up in the bin. I can't believe I wasted £2.50 on this disgusting bar. 

0/10

PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter

Unlike the B'Jammin bar, I didn't buy this protein flapjack from a dedicated sports shop, instead it jumped out at me in Lidl (of all places!). As you may have read, I've fallen back in love with flapjacks of late, but I've never come across a peanut butter one before. Suffice to say it wasn't this bar's nutritional benefits that led to me buying it, just the idea of a nutty, comforting flapjack.

"PhD Protein Flapjack+ is an ideal snack for any athlete looking to increase muscle mass and help replenish the body with quality, healthy calories after a hard bout of intense exercise or throughout the day to support an athletic lifestyle. Providing 19 grams of protein and featuring the versatile benefits of premium quality whey protein and milk protein isolate."

Again, alarm bells started to ring as soon as the wrapper was off. Where were the layers upon layers of oats? It looked all wrong. There were a few visible oats, but mostly it was an alienesque brown mass of questionable substance. 

I bit into it, and immediately realised that it would suffer the same fate as the B'Jammin bar. All I could taste was the milk protein isolate, with no hint of peanut butter. Its chewiness was the only link to a flapjack, but it was intolerable, and I only managed two mouthfuls.

0/10

Summary

These were a bad couple of bars, and I'd be tempted to never buy any more (save for the occasional Lenny's cookie purchase) but I've been told that Quest bars are out of this world! Are there any bars that you would recommend? Am I the only one who can't stand the taste of the B'Jammin bar & the protein+ flapjack or have you had a similar experience? Please leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Protein Active Peanut Chia Blast Bar (Home Bargains)

I can't think of a more unusual shop than Home Bargains. It's the only place where you might find Emma Bridgewater wellies for less than a tenner, LED Gnomes, Matrix Hair Oils, and Heinz Worcester Sauce (which for info tastes like chinese!). On a recent store exploration, I spotted this Peanut Chia Blast bar. In the same way that Magpies are attracted to all things shiny, I'm drawn to anything with peanut in...

'Healthy Protein Snack made with Carob, Roasted Peanuts & Chia Seeds'.

The bar came in slab form, covered in what looked like chocolate, but was in fact Carob. Biting into the bar, the texture reminded me of a powdery Nougat. The sweetness greeted me with my first mouthful, and although it tasted unlike anything I'd had before, I thought I'd hit the flavour jackpot. I couldn't really detect the peanuts, which was disappointing, but I was enjoying it so I didn't really mind. By the time I'd made my way half way through, the bar became cloying, and I felt queasy. Not wanting to quit, I carried on -ignoring the alarm bells ringing in my head- but it was a mistake: a BIG mistake. The bar had turned my stomach to the point of no return... 

I'm not sure if it was due to the high levels of Whey protein in the bar, but my body couldn't handle it. It was the worst thing I've eaten in a long time (it was even worse than the Beetroot yoghurts). I've tried looking on their website for this product, but I couldn't find it; so I don't know if other people have felt the same and its since been discontinued. All I know is, I won't be buying this, or any of Protein Actives's other products ever again. 

0/10

Goodfellas Enchanted Chicken pizza

As I was cooking dinner for just me tonight I thought I'd try Goodfellas new offering to the Pizza Market, this 'Frozen' endorsed chicken pizza, priced at £1.50 from ASDA.

When I opened the box I was disappointed to discover this bland looking runt of a pizza:

I half debated not even cooking it. I know it's meant to be a healthy pizza as the box clearly states that the cheese is low fat, and that it contains 1 of your 5 a day (which I don't believe the topping is SO stingy. Even so I decided to stick with it, and it didn't look any better after cooking. 

The tomato taste is overwhelming.. But not in a good way, it just tastes like tomato purée on stale bread. I hate wasting money, and so felt pretty peeved that I'd wasted my money on this pretty inedible pizza.

I'd give this 0/10.. 

Stay clear!