NEW! Graze Merry Mince Pie Flapjack (Tesco)

Mid October I posted a review of Cadbury's new Winterful Layers of Joy pots, and received a comment from 'Eball TheWay' which concerned not using the 'C' word until "at THE VERY EARLIEST November." I imagined that Cadbury wasn't the C word and so I've been biding my time, trying to wait as long as humanly possible (for me anyway) before publishing my first CHRISTMAS themed post. There. It's done now. I've uttered the magic words. Not that you can ignore it anyway! My local Morrisons has been stocking mince pies since August bank holiday weekend -that's not an exaggeration. August is too early -even for me- but it's Bonfire Night today, and seeing as our ASDA has a 10ft Christmas Tree in its foyer proudly displaying the number of sleeps left until the big day -only 49 FYI- it's high time to embrace the festivities!

Graze's new Mince Pie flapjack got me in something of a tizzy this week. Emma is a brilliant (non blogging) snack hunter, and posted a story onto her Instagram account a few days ago of this new treat that she found in boots.

Mince pies? Love them! Flapjacks? Love them! Graze? Love them!

Winners all round. Except, could I find them anywhere? Could I heck. Cue the daily searches (and pestering) in the local Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury's, WHSmith, ASDA, and Tesco Express. I was on a mission. After three days of non-stop hunting, I gave in yesterday and asked my sister to buy and bring me one from Cardiff (we're meeting up for lunch today, I'm not quite that obsessed).

Lo and behold! I then spotted them only an hour later in the larger out-of-town Tesco whilst looking for the new Red Velvet filled Muffins to serve as a consolation prize. Hurrah! I might've squealed a little with excitement (much to my mince pie hating fiance's bemusement).

"Rustic rolled oat flapjack with dates and festive spice."

Dates are the only fruit in the Merry Mince Pie Flapjack, which I find a little odd considering that mince pies usually contain a plethora of dried fruit including sultanas, raisins and currants as well as Bramley Apple and candied peel. Still, I hoped the 2% 'festive spice mix' would be all the Christmas I needed.

As usual, the Graze flapjack comprised of three chunks. The texture was perfect: crumbly but with just enough moisture to hold the oats together. The spices were evident both from the colour of the flapjack and strong festive scent.

Biting into the flapjack I entered mixed spice heaven. The mixed spice Schwartz shaker in my rack is well used -I just love it on baked apples and in plum porridge. The abundance of the flavours permeated through the flapjack, giving a slight Mince Pie edge. There were also some sizeable date chunks embedded within the oats, which pleasantly broke up the texture every now and then.

Whilst I enjoyed every last morsel of Graze's Merry Mince Pie Flapjack, I'm not sure that it's the most accurate representation of the traditional Christmas Pastry. It has got my cogs going however and I'm left wondering whether I could recreate a better likeness by incorporating pastry chunks and real mincemeat into a classic flapjack recipe -I shall keep you updated!

As for Graze flapjacks, lemon drizzle is still my absolute favourite (a definite 10/10) and I implore you to try it if you haven't already. 

8/10. 

Nakd Christmas Pud Bar

Today's review is of another festive product first released last year that I didn't get round to trying. I didn't think it would be my cup of tea, and I feared the horrible brown rice syrup that seems to be present in a lot of healthier snack bars. The only reason I even contemplated buying them was due to Erin's blog post about the Christmas Pud bars (we seem to have similar tastes and she thinks that they are pretty damn tasty).

I tried a few different outlets but had no luck, so I ended up buying a couple of different bars instead. First I tried the Banana Crunch Bar... then the Banana Bread bar... and I really enjoyed them both! So, long story short, in the space of a week I've fallen slightly in love with the Nakd bar range. Yesterday I received a Twitter tip off that Sainsbury's might be a good bet, which was a good hint because I finally tracked them down, hurrah.

The bars are 35g each and are attractively packaged in a festive green wrapper, complete with Christmas hat. I love Nakd's attention to detail- especially the tiny little 'Hi Mum!' hidden under the seal. The Christmas Pud bars' only ingredients are dates, cashews, raisins and natural flavouring "smooshed together," which means they are Gluten, Wheat & Dairy Free, count towards one of your five a day, and are totally Vegan friendly.

Unwrapping the bar, I was greeted by a strong festive aroma. It was well spiced, and the tones of cinnamon and nutmeg were particularly pungent. Texture-wise the bar was dense and chewy, which meant that it's quite satisfying to eat for such a small snack. Admittedly I'm not a huge fan of Christmas Pudding because it's so heavy and cloying -particularly after a main meal-  but this little bar has all of the flavour without any of the stodge.

Well played Nakd!

8/10