BelVita Breakfast Soft Bakes Chocolate Filled (Sainsbury's)

It's not just Nature Valley who've brought out new 'breakfast' biscuits in the last couple of weeks.  On a side not I still don't know why they're called breakfast biscuits. Do any of you actually eat them or breakfast? Please drop me a comment and let me know. Anyway, the other key player in that market -Belvita- have surreptitiously released two new filled soft bakes in chocolate and strawberry flavours. The did, of course, release the soft bakes range two years ago, but Belvita have obviously decided it's time to give them an uplift. Admittedly I'm more of a Nature Valley girl - but then I'm addicted to oats- however it's Belvita that are bought more often in this house.

And that is because of Bert. He just loves biscuits. Where I can't resist the call of chocolate, he's more into sweets and biscuits. In fact he actively avoids the biscuit aisle in the supermarkets because he knows he won't be able to resist munching his way through an entire pack once it's open - which is why the pre-portioned 'breakfast' biscuits are handy. That and the fact that he's either at work or working on the Landy - so is forever eating out of his lunchbox. So they're handy. For Bert, the Yogurt filled and original Belvitas weigh supreme. The yogurt ones because of the taste, the original because there's four in a pack and they therefore feel more substantial.

"Soft baked biscuits made with wholegrain cereals and a chocolate hazelnut flavour filling (15.6%) and added vitamins and minerals."

Anyway, it was him I picked up these new filled soft bakes for, however I ended up tucking into them first - probably because I bought the chocolate flavour. Sorry Bert. Just for info, I found them in Sainsbury's for £1.50, however I believe they're now in Morrisons too. 

The biscuit was every bit as soft as it promised to be, although not so much that it fell apart in the pack. The smattering of oats was a pleasant sight, as was the golden hue. Breaking it in half revealed a fair amount of spread-like filling. 

Omnomnom. It was cakier than a cookie -and far removed from your standard biscuit- but I really liked it. In fact the consistency reminded me of a nutrigrain, although it was moister than that. As hoped, the chocolate filling was reminiscent of Nutella, although weirdly there's not any nuts in the actual ingredients. That shouldn't really come as a surprise seeing as Belvita comes under the Mondelez banner, and they're notorious for not including nuts in their nut flavoured products (such as the peanut butter Oreo ice cream sandwiches, and atrocious peanut butter Dairy Milk Oreo). 

Despite the lack of actual hazelnuts, I was impressed with these biscuits and went back for the strawberry flavour, so stay tuned for a follow up review of them! But most importantly, what did Bert think?....

"They're nice, but they're not big enough."

There you have it. 

8/10

NEW! Coco Pops Granola (Tesco)

Q: What's the laziest way to create a new product? 
A: Create a variation of an already successful line and copy your competitor of course!

Last year saw the release of Nestle's Shreddies Max Protein Granola, followed by a few fleeting boxes of Cheerios and Curiously Cinnamon Granola* in January. Kellogg's have obviously been keeping their eyes peeled, as they have recently followed suit and brought out a peanut butter granola (Crunchy Nut Clusters) as well as this new Coco Pops Granola. I'm not complaining really, I love cereal, adore oats and always welcome new choices. I did however wait for the bag to come on offer (currently £2 in Tesco).

"A combination of chocolatey-flavoured granola with wheat shapes and wholegrain oats! A source of B vitamins and iron which helps to release energy throughout the day. Made with no artificial colours!"

I'm not sure why that last sentence warrants an exclamation mark. Perhaps it's surprising. What they have failed to market is that the new granola contains almost half the sugar content per 100g than that of traditional cocoa pops (16g vs. 30g). Of course the serving size and calorie content is higher though.

I hope you don't mind me mentioning that I'm not a fan of the new bag design. Whilst it saves on excess packaging, the bag won't stand up properly, irritating my need for orderly cupboards.

Fortunes turned when I opened the resealable (that's one bonus) bag. Inside was a sight for any chocoholic's sore eyes. Every morsel was covered in chocolate! The bag contained a good mix of (relatively small) oaty chunks and Cocoa Pops' puffs, Moons and Stars.

It's a shame that the new granola didn't pass my milk soaking test. By the time I'd stopped faffing about taking photos the shapes were soggy and the granola had started to disintegrate. There wasn't really enough oats to call it a granola either really  seeing as they only make up 30% of the ingredients. On the plus side the flavour was good though, and the milk turned chocolatey! Have you ever had Graze's Cocoa & Vanilla flapjacks? Well the oat chunks reminded me of them -which I hope you'll agree is no bad thing.

All in all it's a good product from Kellogg's. It might not me the most inventive cereal, nor is it the best granola I've ever tasted, but I'll enjoy the bag, and will probably buy Coco Pops Granola again - but only when it's on offer.

7/10

*if anyone's spotted either recently please let me know, they seem to have disappeared.

NEW! Weetabix Additions: Apple & Raisin Review (ASDA)

Whilst I can't live without my daily dose of porridge in the mornings, my other half struggles to start his day without a bowl of trusty Weetabix. Or at least that was the case until the Golden Syrup flavour disappeared from supermarket shelves towards the latter end of last year. He was so gutted that we couldn't find his favourite cereal anymore that I contacted the company back in November to ask if they were coming back. They said:

"Recent high demand has meant that we have had an increase in orders and we hope are hoping to be back to full capacity in the next few months. Please accept our sincere apologies, we do hope that you will continue to enjoy our products and are assured of our best intentions to get this back on the shelves."

With Bert's hopes intact, we eagerly awaited the return of the Golden Syrup Weetabix and were therefore somewhat surprised to see the two new Weetabix 'additions' lines that launched last month. I guess the company told porkies. Humf.

I tried to see the bright side in all of this and reminded Bert that although he doesn't like coconut (so the coconut and raisin flavour are out of the question) he does like apple and raisin. Maybe this new variety of Weetabix could serve as a valid replacement?

"Delight your senses...
with a nutritious breakfast that's packed with delicious apple, juicy raisins & warming cinnamon ensuring temptingly tasty goodness in every bite."

Whilst I'm not a huge Weetabix fan, I do love apple and raisin and was therefore intrigued to discover how their new flavour fared so purchased the box of 24 biscuits from ASDA for £2.

Whilst their banana and golden syrup (RIP) flavours are strongly scented, I couldn't particularly smell anything other than wheat when popping my biscuits in the bowl before drowning them in cold milk.

Oh. Was that it? Where was the flavour? Cinnamon is a pretty pungent spice -and my favourite one at that- but I couldn't detect it at all amongst the wheaty mush. The apple flavour too was non-existent and I was grateful that I'd had the foresight to top my cereal with cubed apple so that I could at least pretend I was eating flavoured Weetabix.

The only promise that Weetabix delivered on was the inclusion of raisins, but unfortunately I can't say this was a welcome addition. I really love dried fruit, but not like this. Have you ever eaten shrivelled, bullet-hard raisins before? Well that's what is lurking in amongst these biscuits. Rather than the moist, squidgy, flavoursome fruits, these were little dry rascals that stuck between my teeth in a frustrating fashion. Not good.

It wasn't just me either, Bert wasn't a fan either. If we weren't so reluctant to waste food they'd have ended up in the bin by now, but instead I've promised to buy him a couple of boxes of his new favourite cereal (Golden Syrup Wheats) from Sainsbury's when he's got through the Weetabix. You should never have to "get through" food though, should you?

2/10

NEW! Nestle Curiously Cinnamon Granola (B&M)

I recently rediscovered my love of granola thanks to the Max Protein Shreddies Granola released last year. Nestle's decision to transition it's traditional cereals into granola format must've proved fruitful for the corporation, because they've recently started manufacturing Curiously Cinnamon and Cheerios varieties too. The only trouble is, they're seemingly impossible to get hold of. The only reason I knew they exist was down to @productsinstore' photo of her find in Home Bargains last month.

The trouble is, our local Home Bargains taunts me. I often see evidence of their exciting new products on Instagram (looking at you again @productsinstore) and eagerly trek across the city on a mission to buy said treats, only to be left disappointed by their lack of availability in sleepy ol' Hereford. Nestle's new cereal hybrid caused an embarrassing amount of frustration -again and again I would search the aisles and come home empty handed.

On Sunday I persuaded Bert that we needed a trip to B&M for dog food, knowing full well that it's next to Home Bargains and that he'd let me pop in on my usual mission. Yet again it was unsuccessful and so I trundled into B&M miserably...

..Where I spotted a lone box of Curiously Cinnamon Granola and a load of Cheerios Granola for just £1 per box! Halle-flipping-lujah! Now the Cheerios granola didn't excite me all that much; it was the Curiously cinnamon that really tickled my fancy. Every U.K cinnamon lover can appreciate the deliciousness that is Curiously Cinnamon (although the Santé cinnamon stars are equally delicious). Add oats clusters into the equation and surely Nestle are onto a serious winner.

Yes, yes they are! There was a good even mixture of oats and cinnamon squares in the box and the warming scent was inviting. The granola isn't as heavy as some others either thanks to the rice flakes also gracing the mixture. As for the flavour, it's an intoxicating mixture of oats, wheat and spice that I absolutely loved. Ultimately the texture of this cereal gives it the edge, with the softer squares that go soft in milk whilst the clusters remain crispy.

The following evening I decided to top banoffee skyr (made using skyr, banana flavour drops and toffee sugar-free syrup) with the cinnamon granola and fresh sliced banana. Oof, it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on ASDA's White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola with yogurt, but strangely much preferred the Curiously Cinnamon served this way.

Cinnamon & oat lovers rejoice: Nestle have nailed this one!

9/10

Macros per 100g: P7.7/C:73/F9.5

Sante Cinnamon Star Cereal (Polski Sklep)

I don't know about you, but I certainly think that cinnamon cereal is distinctly lacking in the U.K. Sure we have curiously cinnamon and more recently the (distinctly under-spiced) Cinnamon Oat Crisp Cheerios, but that's about the extent of the matter. The only way I've known to get hold of other cinnamon cereals until now is to place an order from American import companies as the States have a vast array of the stuff including Cinnabon cereal, Apple Jacks and Cinnamon Toast Crunch -to name just a few.

It wasn't until my last chocolate mission in the Polish Delis that I decided to delve further into stores, and soon uncovered a plethora of interesting looking cereals that I've not seen before, one of which was this bag of 'Cynamonowe Gwiazdki' -which I (correctly!) guessed translates to 'cinnamon Stars'. At £1.09 for a 250g bag it wasn't bad value and I decided to discover what Sante's Smart Teens cereal is all about.

The little stars are made from a mixture of wheat, barley, oat and corn flours, whilst the remaining ingredients are sugar, honey, inulin (a watre soluble fibre), sunflower oil, cinnamon, molasses from cane sugar, sea salt and natural flavours -that's it. It was a welcome surprise to see a list devoid of strange chemicals and e-numbers that you can find on so many cereals, although there is 8.1g of sugar per 30g.

The combination of sweet, warming scent and golden coloured stars resulted in a bowl of rather festive cereal. My friend and fellow blogger Laura (of A Daisy Chain Dream) rightly pointed out last week that there's no christmassy cereals here in the U.K either, so perhaps this is the closest we'll get.

Texturally, the stars were crunchy, and passed the milk soaking test with flying colours. I could definitely taste the oat within the cereal mixture, but of course the main flavours were sugar and cinnamon -both of which were delicious.

I'm so pleased that I've found these cinnamon stars. Comparitively they're cheaper than Nestle's Curiously Cinnamon, yet equally delicious with less fat and salt (although as mentioned, they do have a slightly higher sugar content).

If you're a cinnamon cereal fiend then it's well worth a trio to your local Polski Sklep to pick up a bag or two!

8/10

*Comparative Nutritionals per 100g:
Sante Cinnamon Stars: 375kcal, fat 3.4g, sat fat 0.5g, carbs 75g, sugars 27g, fibre 7g, protein 8.1g, salt 0.23g
Nestle Curiously Cinnamon: 419kcal, fat 10.1g, sat fat 3.8g, carbs 74g, sugars 24.8g, fibre 5.2g, protein 5.4g, salt 1.11g

NEW! Choco-Nut Malt Wheats (Tesco)

A couple of months back* I reviewed one of Tesco's spanking new cereals, Golden Syrup Malt Wheats. I was so impressed with them that I gave them top marks, but I've now decided that it's high time to give their choc-nutty compadre a go. Their price remains at a rather bargain-ous £1.19 for a 500g box which I was more than happy to pay, although I wasn't yet convinced that they would taste all that special.

"We carefully select quality whole grain wheat to make this cereal, then cook it and lightly toast it for a lovely crisp texture and full flavour. To make it even more special, we coat each one with a chocolate flavour coating and ground roast hazelnuts to make sure they taste really nutty."

Well, Tesco, you had me sold on the description. Looks-wise the cereal appeared indifferent to Coco Shreddies (mmm Coco Shreddies) but it didn't have a particularly strong aroma and just emitted the slightest scent -reminiscent of Nutella. 

The Choco-Nut Malt Wheats were just as crispy as promised, and passed my milk soaking test with flying colours. I have to admit that I was slightly dubious as to how nutty they would taste, but my preconceptions were unfounded for each square delivered a powerful hazelnut flavour. In fact the nut element was perhaps a smidgen more dominant than the chocolate, but it was yummier for it and the resulting flavour tasted somehow more adult and less sweet. By all accounts the cereal should taste sickly considering that sugar is ranked number 2 on the list of ingredients, and each 40g portion contains 8.3g of the stuff (that's even more than the Golden Syrup version).

I'm impressed with both of the new flavours to Tesco's 'Malt Wheat' line, although the Golden Syrup flavour still reigns as my favourite. 

8/10 

Nutritionals per 40g serving: 151kcals P3.4/C30.2/F1.0

*I can't believe it was that long ago, where is the time going? Jeez. 

White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola (ASDA)

It didn't occur to me to write this review when I finally got round to picking up this bag of White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola from ASDA (hence the open bag shot below) and the only reason why I am doing so is because of the various requests in response to my Instagram feed. This granola isn't new by any means, but I hadn't tried it before, and it seems that many of you are eager to know how it fared. I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place if it wasn't for my recent venture back into the granola world with the Shreddies Max Protein. Following my review, I had a conversation with fellow blogger Alex (Foodfinds GB) about how he didn't particularly rate the Shreddies granola. I asked him which is his favourite and he was recommended the White Chocolate & Raspberry version from ASDA. The naughty sounding cereal had piqued my interest on a number of occasions, and Alex's high praises gave me the push I needed to stump up the £2 for the 500g bag -not bad value really.

"Raspberry flavour wholegrain oat clusters with sunflower seeds and honey with milk and white chocolate chunks and freeze dried raspberry pieces."

I was stunned by the amount of freeze dried raspberries that poured out of the bag and into my first bowl. Apparently they only make up 2% of the ingredients, but there seemed to be much more. Maybe they'd all risen to the top, but it was fabulous to see such a generous supply of fruit. The second surprise to please me was the also generous nature of both white and milk chocolate chunks -a very different experience from the Kellogg's dark chocolate & coconut cereal.

I tried the first bowl with cold milk, and actually found the granola a little too tart for my taste buds. As you'll appreciate, freeze dried raspberries are very flavourful -but they are also quite sour. I hoped that the generous chocolate chunks would offer balance, but in reality they were all but lost against the overpowering raspberry. Humf. The oat clusters were nice and crunchy, but that was the sole redeeming factor.

A couple of nights later I gave the granola a second shot -this time with warm milk. My, what a difference the temperature made. When warmed up, the chunks melted and bled into the oats, raspberries & milk -resulting in a much more prominent and creamy chocolate flavour. It was absolutely delicious! This was the bowl of yum that I was hoping for in the first place.

Alex informs me that the granola is also rather good with yogurt, and I'll take his word on it, but for me it'll be enjoyed warm all the way!

8/10

Chocolate Weetabix Protein Crunch (Poundland)

The Weetabix protein range launched right at the beginning of the year, but I wasn't particularly excited by it, and was far more interested in the new Ancient Legends, Cinnamon Oat Crisp and Avengers cereals. In fact if I hadn't spotted this mega box of the protein crunch in poundland, and -dare I say it-  the chocolate flavour wasn't in stock, I wouldn't have bothered with it at all. 

What is the benefit of the protein range anyway? Well according to Weetabix...

 "Weetabix Protein Crunch Chocolate flavour is the great tasting, nutritious, high-protein breakfast cereal that gives you the energy you need for busy mornings. Packed with protein and a satisfying combination of wholegrain wheat and oats, this is a delicious crunchy breakfast that helps keep you going all morning. 

We think it’s a simple way to enjoy a high protein breakfast and with all the goodness you’d expect of a Weetabix cereal; high in fibre, low in salt and fortified with Iron and Vitamin D. With a delicious chocolate flavour and irresistible crunchy texture Weetabix Protein Crunch is a fantastic breakfast option for active families."

The crunch cereal comes in little tubes, which I can't work out whether I approve of as a nice new shape, or if it just reminds me too much of pasta. 

Despite a lengthy milk soaking, the texture held up reasonably well. Whilst the cereal at the bottom of the bowl had started to soften slightly, the uppermost spoonfuls were as crunchy as promised. The chocolate flavour was so-so, the same as Weetos really. 

In fact there wasn't much difference in terms of either texture or flavour, between the protein crunch and Weetos cereal. For me this was a good thing, as high protein products often have an odd aftertaste, and these offer 2.4x more protein per gram than Weetos. If I was trying to increase my protein intake however, I would prefer to include more high protein yogurts such as the icelandic Skyr I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. 

6/10

NEW! Birds Eye Cinnamon Waffles (Morrisons)

Captain Birds Eye has turned all sweet on us. Well, breakfasty-sweet anyway. The Frozen Food manufacturer has launched a range of bakery items this spring -namely croissants, pancakes and (non-potato) waffles. I've read a couple of less-than-amorous reviews about the chocolate chip pancakes, but I spotted the 'Try Me Free!' banner across the top of the new packs and decided to give the cinnamon waffles a whirl. I figured that I had nothing to lose -save the price of a postage stamp to get my £1.79 refund!

The box contained 8 waffles, but I was slightly disappointed to discover that they didn't come individually wrapped. If you're an eco-warrior this might sound like good news, but I hate food going stale -although, saying that, they should keep well as they're frozen! 

The packaging tells me that they can be heated either in the toaster or under the grill, but suggests the former method for best results. Being the good girl I (sometimes am, I popped my waffle in the toaster for a couple of minutes until it started to brown, and poured on a good slug of maple syrup.

The waffle was lighter than expected, both in terms of weight and texture. It was very airy, with a punchy cinnamon flavour that was well balanced against the sweetness. I can't remember the last time I ate waffles, so I'm afraid I can't make a clear comparison to the fresh variety, but I enjoyed the soft, cakey treat and wondered how it would fair paired with ice cream, hmm...

I was hoping that the ice cream would melt slightly and ooze into the waffle's pores but the waffle went cold too quickly and I didn't get the outcome that I'd hoped for. It was still yummy though (especially with the addition of choc shot), and even my cinnamon-hating other half enjoyed his.

I don't think I'll regularly buy the new Birds Eye waffles, but they make a nice change to my normal desserts. If you're on the fence about their new range remember that you can 'try them for free' at the moment!

7/10

NEW! Banana Brunch Olly Bars (Online)

I recently discovered Olly Bars, a London based producer of handmade, healthy snack bars intended to keep you fuller for longer. Olly started the business with the aim of creating the 'best tasting energy bars' packed with plenty of healthy fruit and nuts. First the 'All Day Breakfast Bar' was created, and now building on its success, the company are releasing their brand new Banana Brunch Bar this week -yes, you heard it here first! 

Olly Bars sent me some samples to review, so I thought I'd give you the low-down on both bars.

All Day Breakfast
Is your breakfast gluten and dairy free? Is it high in fibre, fruit and nuts? Is it high in protein, additive-free and suitable for vegans?

If any of your responses were no, but you'd like to tick all those boxes then the 'All Day Breakfast Bar' might be your answer -but only if it tastes good! The bars are also good sources of protein, each containing 9g.

The Olly bar is sizeable, about the same width and length as a Nak'd bar, but probably 2 1/2 times the height. It's goodness was proudly on display in its naked glory, baring all of the various fruits and nuts meshed together and topped with pretty pink raspberry flecks.

Each All Day Breakfast bar is made simply from:
Oats, raisins, dates, peanuts, apricots, apple, chia seeds, cocoa butter, pumpkin seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, freeze dried raspberry and sesame seeds.

The bar had a chewy consistency, and I loved the fact that every bite was different. None of the nuts had been chopped to the point where they were barely recognisable, meaning that with some-mouthfuls there were satisfying Brazil nuts, whilst others offered hunks of date. The seeds gave the bar a lovely earthy crunch. It took a surprising amount of time to eat -more so thank my standard bowl of cereal- which meant that my brain had received the 'I've eaten' messages by the time I had finished and my body was satisfied by my breakfast.

I was hoping that the all-day breakfast would keep me full until lunchtime, but unfortunately by 11am I was hungry again. I do have a very healthy appetite though, so not much would stop me reaching my elevenses!

7/10

Banana Brunch

The Banana Brunch bar is in line with Olly's ethos, so ticks all of the same healthy boxes as the All Day Breakfast Bar, but it doesn't look quite as pretty!

This bar consists of: banana chunks, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dates, fruit extract, sour cherries, chia seeds, flax seeds, gluten free oats and cocoa butter.

The Banana Brunch is the same size as the All Day Breakfast bar, and it's equally as chewy. There's a considerable difference in flavours between the two bars though -thanks to the large banana chunks and sour cherries- which resulted in a good balance of sweet and tart. I missed the added crunch from the Brazil nuts and peanuts, but I preferred the taste of the Banana Brunch.

8/10

All in all, these are an excellent source of breakfast energy, particularly if you're gluten sensitive and/or vegan.

Olly bars are available to buy online from Olly's shop: http://ollybars.com/shop/ 

Thanks Olly for the samples!

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

Belvita Soft Bakes Chocolate Chip

Belvita released these soft bakes back in August, but given how saturated the biscuit/cookie market is, I wasn't too excited by them and haven't bought them until now. They come in a box of five biscuits and Tesco stock three different flavours: golden grain, red berries and chocolate chip.

Of course I chose the chocolate chip, and when I unwrapped it, the biscuit was thicker than I was expecting. It was oval in shape and was abundantly adorned with miniature dark chocolate nibs which permeated the entire bake. 

It's soft and chewy like a fresh bakery cookie, with little puffs of cereal which add an extra textural dimension. The chocolate is rich, and complements the sweet biscuit wonderfully. It's quite satisfying to eat, and although I wouldn't eat it instead of breakfast, It's a perfect mid-morning/afternoon energy boost.

Belvita, you've pleasantly surprised me with this line- I'll certainly be buying them again!

8/10

NEW Cocoa Filled Breakast Biscuits & Maple Syrup Granola Bars by Sainsbury's

I went on a rare shopping trip to Sainsbury's to find the Christmas Pud Nakd Bar that I reviewed yesterday, and couldn't resist browsing the aisles to see if they have anything interesting and/or different to what I normally find in Tesco or ASDA. I came across Sainsbury's 'new' own-brand cereal bar range which are currently on offer at £1 per box. Given how wonderful I think ASDA's peanut butter granola bars are, I thought I'd give a couple of their products a try.

Maple Syrup Granola Bars

If you look at the packet of Nature Valley's granola bars you'll notice that they are manufactured in Spain which also happen to be the place of origin for the Sainsbury's maple syrup bars; this led me to believe *hope* that the 'own-brand' was actually Nature Valley in disguise.

However, when I unwrapped the bars I realised that I'd made a silly mistake, because although they follow the same format -2 biscuits in one pack- and are a similar amount of calories, they are very different in consistency: the Sainsbury's bars are completely solid and lack the signature crumbliness of Nature Valley. This means that they're much tougher to munch on, and I was exceedingly grateful for the great big mug of coffee I had to dunk them in. Once dipped, they did soften, and the maple syrup flavour came through perfectly.

6/10

Cocoa Filled Breakfast Biscuits

Sainsbury's have also released two varieties of  'filled' Breakfast Biscuits: Cocoa and Coconut & Yogurt. Whilst the coconut would have been my preferred choice (particularly because it's much more unusual) it was unfortunately out of stock. Given my love of chocolate I picked up the Cocoa flavour anyway.

I've always wondered why Belvita haven't yet added a chocolate filled breakfast biscuit to their range. The cocoa biscuit sounds nice- but it's the cocoa filling that I like! When I bought this pack, I was of the impression that the chocolate filling would be enveloped by the biscuit outer. I've got to stop making preconceptions because I was utterly disappointed when I unwrapped the bars and found them to be just like the Belvita bars- with a chocolate layer sandwiched between two biscuits.

The biscuits are made from wheat, rye and barley and are suprisingly sturdy. They are quite tough to break and don't have a huge amount of flavour- reminding me of a particularly thick cheese cracker. In contrast, The cocoa layer was soft and gooey with ample chocolate flavour.

They tasted more healthy than the new PiCK UP bars I reviewed last week- but they're nowhere near as tasty. Perhaps they just need some caramel!

4/10

New Warburtons Giant Crumpets

I love a good crumpet because I think it's about as acceptably close as you can get to eating Yorkshire Pudding for breakfast. I don't know if that makes any sense to you, but I'm comparing the satisfying doughiness that you just can't get with bread. Anyway, Warburtons have just bought out giant crumpets and I couldn't be happier about it.

I bought the pack of two from ASDA for the reasonable price of 50p. They were packaged well with a protective plastic case to prevent them from getting smushed in transit. I decided that I couldn't wait until breakfast and so threw the boat out and had them for dinner with some cheese, beans and sliced frankfurter sausage.. Well actually, that's a lie, that's not the reason I didn't wait until breakfast- I just couldn't be faffed to cook and this was a super quick supper solution.

The crumpets, though large, fitted nicely into the toaster. They took a couple of minutes longer than their smaller counterparts, but my whole dinner was ready in less than 5 minutes. Jamie Oliver could learn a thing or two about speedy meals from me, haha!

Fans of Warburtons crumpets, don't be scared, these Giant Crumpets are just as good as the smaller ones. They're soft, and fluffy, and.. well.. just heavenly! I didn't think crumpets could be improved upon- but Warburtons have proven me wrong. I can't wait to have my next one smothered in peanut butter!

9/10

New Maple Syrup flavour Quaker Oat So Simple

It's getting rather nippy overnight now- there's the familiar tussle in our house over the central heating thermostat, and the shops are filled with festive goodies. That means it's porridge season (I eat it year round though, shh) and time for Quaker to release a new addition to their extensive range of porridge sachets. 

This year it's Maple syrup, a flavour I adore. Müller rice's new limited edition flavour is also maple syrup (although it's not really new because it used to be part of their range in a six pack with apple strudel - which I'm praying they also bring back). I'm hoping this is a new trend and that other retailers will branch into maple syrup.

I opened my sachet and poured my milk using the handy guide on the packet which removes all the faff. I whacked it in the microwave for the stated two minutes and awaited my warm breakfast. The first thing I noticed was the lack of smell. I know that sounds a bit odd, but there's a lovely aroma of sweet syrup that fills the house enticingly when cooking their golden syrup porridge.

The porridge had thickened up nicely when the two minutes were up, and I was pleased to see it hadn't bubbled up and over the bowl either. Again, I couldn't smell any maple syrup.

I tucked in, and felt the familiar warmth and comfort that porridge provides, with a lovely sweetness.. But no caramel undertones- none of the lovely richness that comes from a good old glug of Canadian syrup. I continued through, hoping that maybe the flavouring just wasn't mixed in enough, and that at some point I'd hit a pocket of Maple, but I didn't. The occasional spoonful tasted slightly more sweet than others, but nothing to get excited about.

The porridge did the trick and warmed me up nicely ready for a long day of studying, but I  couldn't help feeling more than a little let down by Quaker. I'm hoping that it was just a bad packet, and that my next attempt will be more successful. I'd be really interested to hear if anyone else has had the same experience as me?

3/10

New Soreen Apple & Cinnamon Breakfast Bakes

I became acquainted with Soreen's new products: their 'Breakfast Bar Bakes' via a very inspiring Instagram feed (Abbie's journey forward) and today went on a trek to to find some for myself.

Soreen have released two flavours of the Breakfast Bakes:

- Original Malt & Toasted Oats (made with raisins and malt & topped with honey coated oat flakes).

- Apple, Cinnamon & Toasted Oats (made with sweetened Apple flavoured pieces, cinnamon & topped with honey coated oat flakes).

There's seems to be an influx of 'breakfast on the go' products. Am I the only one who never eats them instead of breakfast? The 'breakfast' labelling only serves to highlight them as a healthier treat in my opinion. I'd be interested to get other people's opinion on this.

I found them in Morrisons at £1.50 for a five pack. I chose the Apple Bars, and imagined  (hoped) that they'd taste like an apple flavoured Kelloggs Elevenses bar. I opened the packaging and realised that they actually looked more like king-size Soreen lunchbox loaves topped with oats. They smelt  strongly of Apple & cinnamon aroma which was very pleasant.

I soon realised that the consistency was much more akin to the lunchbox loaves and not the Elevenses bars. When I took my first nibble I was very much underwhelmed. It tasted like raw dough... Mary Berry might've even made a  "Soggy Bottom" comment.

I'm sure fans of the banana loaves may be much more used to the consistency and would enjoy it, but I'm not that keen. The original Malt Loaf flavour might well be better, but I'm certainly not rushing out to buy it any time soon.

4310