Dr Zak's Chocolate Fudge Brownie High Protein Peanut Spread (Online)

I've reviewed one of Dr Zak's high protein peanut spreads before, last time it was the Banoffee Pie flavour and this time it's Chocolate fudge brownie's turn. You guys should know by now how much I love chocolate and peanut butter together, so It seemed like the logical next flavour to try. 

I was impressed by Dr Zak's Banoffee Pie peanut spread, so I was looking forward to this chocolate fudge brownie flavour. As with all quality nut butters the jar needed a good stir once open to rectify the natural separation of oils that occurs.

The spread smelt enticingly of chocolate and was a rich dark colour. Once mixed, the consistency became how I like it: spreadable and not sloppy or too stiff. As with every protein enhanced peanut butter I've tried thus far there was a slight grainy grittiness from the whey protein that some may find off putting. I personally don't mind it though, after all it's the nutty flavour that I love, and with 7g of protein per 20g serving it's a great treat to enjoy pre or post workout.

The chocolate and peanut worked in harmony together, although the cocoa was the slightly more dominant flavour. It's a moreish spread, especially for chocolate & peanut butter lovers, and it certainly tastes like it contains much more sugar than it actually does (1.4g per 20g). My favourite ways to enjoy this spread include slathering it on apple slices, or popping it into a toastie with sliced banana! Dr Zak's spreads are available at most reputable Sports Nutrition retailers.

Who makes your favourite protein nut butters? Any suggestions for my next jar of Dr Zak's? I keep hearing how great the salted caramel flavour is...

7/10

Macros per 100g: 537 kcal/ P:35/ C:15/ F 36.3

JimJams Healthier Jams & Spreads (Tesco)

You can't open the papers or turn on the news without hearing how bad sugar is for our health. It's being squarely blamed for the obesity epidemic and we're all regularly told how we're addicted to the stuff. I'll openly admit it, I certainly am a sugar addict. One look at my instagram feed will attest to that.

I love most sweet foods, and whilst I'm aware of the health problems such as Diabetes (hi Dad!) that too much sugar can cause, I'm not quite ready to give it up yet. I am however prepared to try to make healthier swaps for lower sugar products, and that's where JimJams come in...

JimJams is the brainchild of Kellie and Kevin Bath, who decided to create their own lower sugar jams and spreads after spotting a gap in the market. They say:

"My family wanted delicious Jams without all the sugar, so we made them…
One morning at breakfast we were enjoying a few slices of toast & jam, like many other families every day. Whilst looking at the packaging of well-known brands we were shocked at the amount of hidden sugar in such a small jar.

Our kids deserved better for their breakfast, so we set about making our own to see if we could make the same tasting Jam and Fruit content without all the sugar.

JimJams was born and we know that there has never been a better time to eat less sugar…"

In the dying months of 2016 I kept seeing their products pop up all over instagram, and so when JimJams offered to send me a jam and spread to review, I jumped at the opportunity. Less than a week later a jar of strawberry jam and chocolate hazelnut spread arrived -thanks JimJams!

Strawberry Jam
JimJams jams contain 35% less sugar than standard jam, and contain 55g of fruit per 100g. Flavours include blackcurrant, orange marmalade, raspberry and strawberry, but I opted for the UK's favourite flavour jam -strawberry*! 

Now I'm not sure what I was expecting from JimJams, but I have to admit that I was suitably impressed! The jar's contents looked and tasted like a good strawberry jam. I mean, it doesn't taste as good as my homemade rhubarb & vanilla jam, but then I am biased, and I'm absolutely sure that JimJams' jam is kinder to my teeth. 

Thumbs up for the jam!

8/10

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 
Now this was the jar that I was super excited about. If you know anything about me you'll know how much I love nutella (almost as much as peanut butter). I even carry an emergency spoon on my house keyring -you know, just in case it's one of those days. 



Containing 83% less sugar than Nutella, could this really even compare on taste? Surely something had to be compromised. The hype on instagram suggested otherwise, but then I've also seen many people rave on there about the utterly disappointing Reese's Rounds, so I needed to make my own mind up.

Yikes. The instacrowd aren't wrong. Although it has a slightly grittier appearance than Nutella, it certainly doesn't taste any different. In fact I'm sure most people would be baffled that they were sampling two different spreads if offered a blind taste test of both. The JimJams spread melts well too, making it the perfect topping for toast or your morning porridge. Otherwise make my favourite: a banana and JimJams toastie. If you're not a hazelnut fan, no worries, they also make a milk chocolate version too! 

I can't see why I would buy Nutella anymore, I'm a JimJams convert! 

10/10

JimJams are available to buy from Tesco, Morrisons, Whole Food Markets, Ocado, Dobbies, Holland & Barrett, The Protein Pick & Mix, and Elveden. P.S their chocolate spreads are currently on offer in Morrisons for £2 per 350g jar, I'll certainly be stocking up!

Thanks for the samples JimJams!

*The very best flavour for making PB&Js ;). 

NEW! Favorina Spiced Biscuit Spread (LIDL)

I don't know about you but I definitely go through phases. Biscoff is often subject to such phases; I become addicted to the stuff and then don't have it for a few days and before I know it it's relegated to the back of the spread cupboard (yes I have three shelves and an entire cupboard solely dedicated to toast toppings). Then when I rediscover it, I fall back in love and the cycle begins once more. Honestly, if you've never bought it and have addictive tendancies stay clear of Biscoff, the stuff is ridiculously hard to put down.

Anyway the subject of today's review is LIDL's Spiced Biscuit Spread, which I presumed to be their knock-off version of Biscoff. They've released it as part of their Christmas range, something I found strange because Biscoff doesn't even enter my mind as being a seasonal product. However Speculoos biscuits do tend to make an appearance at this time of year, so I guess from that point of view it is. 

LIDL are selling two versions just as Biscoff do: Crunchy and Smooth. Whilst I'm almost always a smooth peanut butter kind of gal, crunchy Biscoff always gets my vote -so that's what I went for. The 350g jars are on a 2 for £2 deal though (I think they were £1.29 each) so if you can't make up your mind then you could always pick up both.

"Spiced biscuit spread with biscuit pieces." 

I had a jar of Biscoff Crunchy at home, so I'll directly compare the two for those of you who are also obsessed with the spread.

The colour of both was identical, and even the keenest eye would be hard pressed to tell them apart. There was a noticeable difference in consistency though, with the LIDL version appearing slightly shinier and a lot smoother. 

I first tried the spread on M&S' Gingerbread Teacakes -which I now realise is the perfect topping for said treat. Whilst the spread complimented the bread perfectly, the warming flavours from the teacake prevented me from really being able to tell the difference between LIDL and Biscoff. The following evening I tried both on the same *Christmas Tree* crumpet for optimum comparison, and found that there was very little difference in the flavour between them -both delivered on the extreme cinnamon biscuit yummy scrummy-ness. The singular difference came from the texture: Biscoff's spread was grainier and stayed put whereas LIDL's spread melted wonderfully, oozing into the crumpet's pockets and still provided a little crunch from the biscuit pieces. Delicious. 

Top 1/2 of the tree is LIDL, bottom 1/2 is Biscoff.

There's slight variations between the ingredients, more than I expected given the similarity of the flavours. Nutritionally the LIDL is slightly higher in calories and fat, but is lower in sugars (see below for the breakdown). Really there's not a lot in it though, and I love that the consistency of LIDL's crunchy Spiced Biscuit Spread is more like a mixture of Biscoff's smooth and crunchy. The price is also a bonus -at 36.8p per 100g it's a lot cheaper than the branded version (currently on offer at Tesco and still 46.1g per 100g). I'll certainly be stocking up before Christmas anyway, and I suggest you do too!

9/10

Nutritional Info Per 100g
LIDL: 594Kcal/ P:3.2/ C52.0/ F41.2
Biscoff: 571 Kcal/ P:32.3/C58.8/ F: 35.7

NEW! Dr Zak's Banoffee High Protein Peanut Spread (Musclefood)

I'm happily in the 'peanut butter should be enjoyed as a sweet delicacy', and I've mentioned many a time on this blog about my love of pb and banana toasties. I'm not a stranger to banana flavoured peanut butters, and I loved the last (PB Crave Coco Bananas). I often eat peanut butter at lunchtime, pre-afternoon gym session, so I've been recently delving into the world of high protein nut butters. But who is Dr Zak, and can you trust what he's selling?

"Dr Zak Pallikaros has dedicated his life to fitness and muscle-building. He studied Medicinal Chemistry, Bio Technology and Bio Chemistry at City University (London), then went on to obtain a Doctorate degree from the Royal Free Medical School."

Dr Zak's launched their range of high protein peanut spreads last year; with flavours including the delicious sounding Apple & Cinnamon, Cherry Bakewell and White Chocolate & Coconut. My bestest bud is a fellow peanut butter addict (perhaps that's why we've been friends for 17 years) and her absolute favourite is Dr Zak's Salted Caramel. Over the months her love has gradually persuaded me to buy a jar, but then I discovered that the company were releasing new flavours...

The new range comprises of: Chocolate Orange, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Smooth, Crunchy and the Sweet Banoffee Pie. Each 450g jar has an RRP of £8.49, although Musclefood is selling them for £4.95 each. 

As to be expected, there was a slight amount of separation (although nowhere near as bad as the PB Crave). A swift swirl with a butter knife enabled an even consistency throughout the jar. Even before 
tasting I could smell the artificial banana flavour. 

If you've ever had a high protein nut butter, you'll know that the partially hydrolysed whey adds a grainy texture -and Dr Zak's is no different. The banana flavour was every bit as artificial as the aroma, but to be honest I'm a fan of even the most fake bananary foods (foam sweets for example). 

As far as high protein spreads go, this Dr Zak's is the best I've tried yet. It's full of flavour, and has a consistency loose enough to spread, but firm enough to cover apple slices. It also contains no palm 
oil and offers 7g of protein with only 1.4g of sugar per 20g serving. 

7/10

NEW! Caramel Flavour Marshmallow Fluff (B&M Bargains)

Masrhmallow Fluff: the sweetest substance on earth? 

My mum claims that I loved it as a child, and would quite happily munch through jars of the stuff, slathering it over multiple slices of raisin bread, before cramming it greedily into my mouth. Sound similar to Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka? I'm ashamed to admit that I probably could've been his sister.  

Anyway, I digress, I hadn't seen the sugary spread for years, until a couple of years ago when it started popping up in specialist import stores. Fluff then became available in certain supermarkets' American section, and now it's pretty widely available, yay! The Grocer announced back in November that Fluff's manufacturer -Empire Bespoke Foods- was launching a new caramel flavour to join the existing original and strawberry flavours, but it's taken me this long to find it. 

B&M Bargains of all places was where I eventually located the new Fluff, priced at £1.29 for the 213g jar. It was a horrid taupe colour -hardly appetising- but then its never been known for its stonking good looks. 

The Fluff was as aerated as expected, wilting slightly upon impact with my knife. It spread like a dream, transgressing from light marshmallow to gooey, sticky confection. The spread melted into the pockets of my crumpets, and I got stuck in.

*please excuse the smudge of peanut butter, I had inadvertently created a mouthful of 'Fluffernutter'.

The caramel flavour was pleasant, if a little on the mild side. The sugary sweetness that Fluff is famous for was by far the most prominent flavour, but it was backed up with a butter-toffee-like undertone. 

The new Caramel flavour is a welcome addition to Fluff's range. It's not ground-breakingly different, but its a nice change if you're (also) addicted to the marshmallow spread. 

7/10

Tesco Millionaire's Shortbread Spread

At long last, it's here! Tesco have finally released their Millionaire's Shortbread Spread, following an opinion poll of Tesco's Orchard Members last year.

This product is described as a 'Caramel flavoured and chocolate flavoured biscuit swirl spread.' I LOVE the lotus biscuit spreads, and Tesco's custard cream spread is pretty epic too. I recently bought the Tesco cookie spread but I was a smidgen disappointed by that in comparison. As far as biscuits go, Millionaire's Shortbread has to be king.. So although I already have a pretty well stocked Toast topping cupboard, I couldn't resist this newbie on the market!

The serving suggestion is to top warm waffles or brioche but I don't have any, so I decided to top my crumpets with the Millionaire's Shortbread spread. For anyone who has tried Tesco's Custard cream spread, this is a similar consistency. It's solid at room temperature but the moment it's slathered onto anything warm, it melts pretty swiftly. 

This makes crumpets a particularly good vehicle for this product as all the chocolate caramelly naughtiness oozes into the crumpet's pores.

Mmmmmm... Is all I can really say. It's my favourite of Tesco's spreads to date ( I have a very sweet tooth) and its got to be up there with the Lotus spreads.

9/10.