NEW! Trek Chunks: Cranberry Kick & Toffee Triumph

Last week I received a box of treats from Natural Balance Foods including all of their new Trek chunk range as well as the new lemon drizzle nakd bar (which I'll review another day). Thanks NBF! I was quite impressed with the cocoa peanut peaks so was looking forward to trying the other new chunks. 

As with the cocoa & peanut flavour, each bag contains at least 12g of protein, and one of your five a day. the chunks are also gluten free and vegan friendly.

Cranberry Kick

In all honesty this was the flavour that appealed least, and I probably wouldn't have bought a bag.

"TREK Cranberry Kick Protein Energy Chunks are aptly named due to their immense and intense fruity flavour which leaps out in the company of soft moreish almond."

NBF's products never look that pretty do they? Looks aren't everything though, especially if they taste good.

...And they really do! I'm not sure that they're particularly Cranberry-y but they do taste of almond with a fruity edge. As an avid Bakewell lover the flavour really appealed, and I also liked the softer chewiness to the chunks. I'd happily buy them again.

9/10

Toffee Triumph

"TREK Toffee Triumph Protein Energy Chunks wave the flag for the traditional sweet shop flavour using simple, wholesome ingredients."

Hmm. This flavour was nice enough, but I couldn't really tell that it was meant to be toffee. It's more apple and raisin than sticky toffee, and its purely for that reason these chunks didn't hit the mark for me. They're enjoyable, but the worst of a great bunch.

7/10

Thank you Natural Balance Foods for the samples!

Mulled Wine Fruit Loaf (M&S)

I was my normal scroogy, scrimpy, student self and bided my time when buying this fruit loaf from M&S. At £2 it seemed a little on the steep side, and if I was going to treat myself to full-priced goods from their bakery section you can bet your bottom dollar that it was going to be their boobie buns (sorry Christmas Pudding Buns). Yesterday afternoon though I popped back into my local branch -second attempt at buying another bottle of Chocolate Opal -this time successful- and detoured via the bakery on the way out where I spotted a single loaf reduced to just 70p. The packaging informed me that it was freezable, so I hastily nabbed the pack and added it to my basket. 

"Spiced fruit loaf with port soaked dried vine fruts, sour cherries, citrus peel and ginger."

The first thing I noticed about the bread was its density. For a fruit loaf it wasn't very risen or fluffy -but then I told myself that perhaps it was meant to be more like a stollen. The pale dusting on top marked a further stollen similarity, and I kept everything crossed that it would be as tasty as Lidl's luxury chocolate version. 

The bread was shockingly tough to slice into, revealing a very compacted interior with a plethora of fruits -the only plus point thus far. The packet suggested toasting the slices, so I popped both of mine in for a minute so that it just begun to tan. I slathered both slices in butter, and got stuck in.

Eurgh. All I could taste was burnt fruit. If you've ever made raisin flapjack or rock buns at home and caught them in a fierce oven then you'll know how awful burnt dried fruit tastes. The thick crust round the edge of the bread made it very chewy too, so much so that I almost gave up eating it. I'm very determined however, and hate wasting food, so I gave the second slice a generous coating of apricot jam -which I hoped would inject some much needed sweetness and counteract the acrid burnt raisin taste.

Nope. The second slice also felt like a punishment, and the rest of the loaf went in the bins -even the poor birds shouldn't suffer this.

I'm really hoping that I got the worst of a bad batch, so I'm extremely eager to know if any of you have tried M&S' Mulled Wine Fruit Loaf this Christmas, and if you're experience was similar or vastly different! Be a dear, and leave me a comment to let me know...

2/10 

NEW! Orange & Cranberry Danish (Waitrose)

What do you eat on Christmas morning? As a child, I remember having croissants and Bucks Fizz after hurriedly opening the stockings, but since leaving home I haven't bothered to make the effort with breakfast and have stuck to cereal or porridge before starting to cook the turkey. Maybe times are about to change... 

I'll be honest, when perusing the bakery section in the supermarket, my eyes tend to automatically land on one or more of three categories: muffins, doughnuts and cookies. Of course I've already reviewed a number of festive versions of these treats*, but when in Waitrose the other day buying the mega marzipan mince pie, I caught sight of their very appetising looking pastries. I instantly noticed my urgent need to try an orange and cranberry Danish at my next given opportunity.

 I wasn't sure exactly what they comprised of given the categorical style of the signage in front of the whirls, but they certainly looked damn tasty! 

Please can you just appreciate my successful effort to get this home intact for a moment? I think I did rather well for once. I hope you'll agree as to how beautiful this particular pastry was; covered with little cranberry gems and orange zest atop a profuse layer of snowy icing.  

It's been a very long time since I last had a Danish, but I was surprised to discover the dough to be more resilient than I remember. Pulling the whirl apart however exposed the golden laminations in all their glory, nestling the occasional ruby coloured cranberry. 

I think I expected the dough to taste of orange. but instead it was a simple and delicious buttery flavour that shone through. The texture melted in the mouth too, and it wasn't half as tough to eat as I had initially feared when handling it. Why oh why don't I have pastries more often? The citrus flavour wasn't forgotten though, for it came from the icing, reminding me of the zingy pockets of flavour imparted into a delicious lemon drizzle cake. The cranberries were squidgy and sweet, harmonising with the other elements to create a true festive flavour that was simply delectable. 

I'm left feeling very tempted to return to Waitrose and pick up another pastry (and some Bucks Fizz) for Sunday morning! 

9/10

*

• Festive muffin reviews: Greggs Christmas Muffin & Morrisons Gingerbread Muffins
• Festive doughnut reviews: Krispy Kreme Melting Snowman & Santa Belly
• Festive cookie review: Morrisons bakery stollen cookies

Shapers Turkey, Stuffing & Redcurrant Sandwich (Boots)

Today I thought I'd take the opportunity to share with you the weekly highlight of my lunches. For a long time now I've looked forward to my Monday Boots Meal Deal, courtesy of o2's priority scheme. As a student I rarely buy sandwiches, instead I make and take my own in to uni with me as a far cheaper option. Normally I mix up the mains part of the meal deal between the various sandwiches, wraps, salads and sushi (of which there are a fabulous selection) but for the past 6-7 weeks I have been ruthlessly sticking to their Limited Edition Turkey,Stuffing & Redcurrant sarnie. Nothing beats a festive sammie. Well maybe a fish finger or sausage butty does, but as far as cold sarnies go Christmas is King.

"Cooked Turkey breast, pork, sage and onion stuffing mayonnnaise with cranberry and redcurrant sauce and spinach on malted bread."

Every Monday the bread has been soft with a welcome earthiness thanks to the malted nature of it. There's always a plentiful supply of spinach too which is perhaps an odd choice for a festive sandwich (I sure as hell don't have spinach on Xmas day anyway) but I'm grateful for the nod to some kind of veg -and lettuce just wouldn't work here either. 

Week-on-week the turkey is good too; it's moist and retains about as much flavour as you're going to get from the traditional Christmas bird. The cranberry and redcurrant sauce is tart enough to err on the right side of sweet, and complements the meat well. The reason why I'm addicted to this sammie however is the pork, sage and onion stuffing mayonnaise. I love a good stuffing (oo-er), and Boots have been very smart to incorporate it into the sauce rather than keep it as a separate layer. For me the biggest selling point of this sandwich is so often its downfall too. The amount of mayo is very hit and miss, some days it's smothering the turkey (just how I like it) and others it's like Boots' sarnie makers are running out of fillings (see today's pathetic covering below). Boo. 

The disappointment is just about bearable and I'll keep opting for the Turkey, Stuffing & Redcurrant Sandwich every week -and it'll be sorely missed come New Year. It's not as decadent or as filling as M&S' Pigs & Blankets sarnie, but it is a damn site cheaper (even at full price) and kinder on the waistline -I've got to make room for all the snacks to review after all! 

8/10 

NEW! Turkey & Pigs In Blankets Festive Sandwich (M&S)

Happy advent all! Have you opened the first window of your advent calendar yet?

It's fair to say that I've got into the festive Sammie spirit this year. Well on Mondays I have at least; it's the one day I'll stump up the money for a meal deal thanks to O2's £1 Boots offer. Every week I make sure that I get into my local branch early enough to grab their Turkey, stuffing and redcurrant sauce Sammie -and it's just about the only thing that gets me through a 3 hour session with the world's worst lecturer that afternoon.

There's another festive sarnie that I keep hearing about however, in fact my best friend Nat and fellow foodie Zoe both messaged me on the same day and told me that I just had to try Marks & Sparks Turkey & Pigs In Blankets sandwich. It certainly sounded tempting, after all pigs in blankets are the very best part of Christmas Dinner (I'm not even entertaining anyone who disagrees). The trouble is, it's just so damn expensive, and I'm reticent to spend the equivalent of 12 full size bars of Galaxy on two bits of bread and some filling -especially as I know which I'd enjoy more!  Fortunately I left lectures on Tuesday at M&S reducing time and spotted the famous sarnie for £1.05. At that price I just had to try it, if not only to just know whether it lived up to the high praises it had earned from my amigos.

"British pork sausages and smoked British bacon, roast British turkey breast, cranberry chutney, spices mayonnaise and spinach on sage and onion bread."

The first thing I noticed was just how thick the bread was. I'm used to medium cut bread with Boots, and Warburtons Protein Bread at home, so I wondered how I'd get my severely clicky jaw around the Sammie. Luckily, I managed it somehow.

The bread was soft, and I found that the sage and onion flavour was a wonderful nod to the traditional Christmas stuffing. I expected cocktail sized sausages in the filling given that it's a pigs in blankets sandwich, but instead they were full size bangers. I'm not moaning here, as a sausage lover (oo-er) I was more than happy to get more meat for my money. They were succulent and well flavoured too, working in harmony with the many pieces of streaky bacon.  There wasn't much of the turkey in comparison, but I didn't mind too much -I really would've had to dissect the sandwich to eat it if it had been even thicker.

The cranberry chutney was lingering somewhere in the background, a good job really because the flavour can often be overpowering, and the meat was (quite rightly) very much the star of the Sammie show. As for the other sauce -the 'spiced' mayonnaise- I could barely notice it, which was a slight shame considering the stuffing mayo in Boots' Sammie is my favourite element.

All in all, this was a pretty damn good festive Sammie, and it was very filling too -which I would've especially appreciated if I forked out the full whack at £3. It's worth noting that part of the profits do go to the homeless charity Shelter -but it's only a measly 5%- surely you can do better than 15p Marks & Sparks, it is Christmas after all!

9/10

The Grown Up Chocolate Company Hunky Dory (WHSmith)

My luck was in for the second time when I spied another one of The Grown Up Chocolate Company's bars in WHSmith's reduced section the other day. It was therefore a given, following the delicious success of the White Chocolate Wonder Bar, that I eagerly snapped up their Fruit and Nut Hunky Dory. I realise that I only moaned about my general disdain towards chopped nuts in chocolate less than a week ago, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to try another one of The Grown Up Chocolate Company's bars.

 "A decadent muddle of nuts and fruit on a bed of milk chocolate Gianduja enrobed in luxury milk chocolate."

Embarrassingly, I must admit that I didn't have the foggiest what 'Gianduja' was, so I summoned the help of Google and discovered that it's an Italian delicacy, originating from Turin, comprising of a sweet paste made from hazelnuts and cocoa -and that was me sold.

As per the White Chocolate Wonder Bar, the Fruit and Nut Hunky Dory came in two individual bars. I'd love to be able to say that I ate one and saved the other for later, but I'm afraid that my chocolate resistance skills simply aren't that advanced.

I sliced one bar in two and quickly discovered just how jam packed the filling was. This wasn't a Cadbury job of whacking a few almonds and raisins in (or sultanas now, ooh the controversy). Oh no, that just wouldn't do now! The Grown Up Chocolate Company instead opted to fill their bar with roasted hazelnuts, almonds, citrus peel and cranberries.

All of these components made for a super crunchy, crispy bar with the occasional moistness coming from the cranberries. Unfortunately I found that all of this texture actually detracted from the most incredible flavour from both the Gianduja and Milk chocolate. I remember thinking how superb The Grown Up Chocolate Company's white chocolate was but the milk chocolate was equally (if not even more) sublime. The melt and creaminess of the coating was unquestionably delicious and I'd have more than happily munched an entire bar of it on its own.

Whilst The Grown Up Chocolate Company might not have turned me into an avid chopped-nuts-in-my-chocolate-lover, they certainly have earned an even bigger fan. I'm desperate to try their incredible sounding Christmas bars now, and will be on a desperate hunt for them when I visit my sister in Cardiff at the weekend. Flavours include: Mince pie, spiced ginger biscuit and festive fig & port. Just look at them, oof, YES please!

9/10

Shreddies Max Protein Cranberry & Oat Granola

I think I might've mentioned before that I've been patiently biding my time with this new cereal; eagerly waiting for it to come on offer. As always, I was lured in by the promise of 'high protein' but also was attracted to it because it's granola too. Granola is something I haven't bought I'm years, which is a bit strange really given how much I love oats -and of course flapjack. I tend to forget about the granola areas of the cereal aisle I think, normally making a bee line for the chocolate and/or sugar laden boxes instead. At £2.49-£2.79 per 400g box, I knew I could survive waiting a little while. Ok, well admittedly that and we had a bit of a glut of cereal in our house -I counted 16 boxes a couple of weeks ago and there's just two of us. Now we're down to *just* 9, and Shreddies Max is half price in Tesco I felt that I could buy a box  (thanks for the heads up on instagram @productsinstore). 

"Whole grain wheat & oat granola with malted cereal pieces & chopped cranberries."

I must first comment on the box design which -like many others- is resealable, but it tucks away neatly with no faffing required. 

A super sweet, syrupy aroma greeted my nostrils as soon as the bag was open, and I took my first peak at the granola within. The first thing I picked up on was the tiny clusters! I was expecting whopping great hunks of oats, but instead only spotted little nuggets. The second thought was regarding the Shreddies, which were dotted about between the oats. This was in line with expectations, and I looked forward to the mixture of textures and flavours. I then started to wonder where the dried cranberries were hiding, beginning to doubt their presence entirely. I shook myself a bowl, and still didn't find any, so took the childlike approach and stuck my hand deep into the bag to see what I could retrieve. Luckily I found a couple of fruity bits hiding towards the bottom, so I'm hoping that they've all sunk in transit and the last few bowls will herald a plethora of ruby treasures. Please note that the inner young Amy was disappointed that I didn't find a magic spoon in the box (currently in some promotional Kellogg's cereals). 

Given my addiction to sugar and oats, it's easy to understand why I enjoyed the flavour of the Shreddies Max Protein. A good soaking in milk turned the Shreddies soggy (just how I like them) whilst the clusters remained satisfyingly crunchy. The combination of malt and oat flavours worked in harmony, providing a slightly different taste with every spoonful.

I have to admit that a bug bear came from the high protein claim however, as 13g per 100g isn't the huge amount that its 'max' name alludes too. Shreddies Max Protein in fact contains far less protein than the 20g per 100g in Weetabix's chocolate protein crunch and 22g per 100g in the Mornflake chocolate porridge for example! Still, it's a tasty little granola and I'll continue to enjoy it.

7/10

Macros per 100g for those interested*: P13 C68 F7

*45g recommended serving size

NEW! Perk!er Goji & Cranberry Quinoa Bar (ASDA)

Whilst perusing Nakd Bars (currently on offer) in ASDA's gluten free section, I spotted a couple of new -unusual sounding- bars from Perk!er. Now, whilst I find the use of an exclamation mark as part of their name quite irritating, I was intrigued by their use of a grain I've not much experience of -Quinoa. Quinoa seems to be experiencing something of a craze recently amongst the clean eating brigade, and in similar vein to Chia/Flax seeds I've given it a bit of a wide berth. 

BBC good food however, informs me that it has been a staple food for the Incas and their descendants for thousands of years, and that its now being seen as a great wheat free alternative to starchy grains. Apparently it contains "twice the protein content of rice or barley, and is also a very good source of calcium, magnesium and manganese. Quinoa also possesses good levels of several B vitamins, vitamin E and dietary fibre." So there you have it!

Perk!er have created three different quinoa bars (Cashew, Chia & Pumpkin Seed, 
Goji & Cranberry, and Cacao & Cashew) but our ASDA only had the Goji variety in stock. For those who are interested, they are: gluten, wheat and dairy free, low GI, high protein and vegan friendly!

The bar was quite sticky, and I was pleased to see lots of glossy red cranberries and seeds dotted throughout. The quinoa was crunchier than expected, resulting in a satisfyingly munchy texture. The bar was also much sweeter than expected, which was a pleasant surprise for my tastebuds*. I really enjoyed the combination of flavours and textures, and I'll buy both this one and try the Cacao one in future. 

8/10

*I later read that the bars contain 15.3g of sugar, which (more than) explains the sweetness! 

NEW! Cranberry & Raspberry Oaty Bakes (M&S)

I popped into M&S the other day to pick up some lunch and spotted a range of new 'Eat Well' snacks, including this little grab-bag of 3 Cranberry & Raspberry Oaty breaks. I regularly buy oaty style breakfast biscuits (especially the divine peanut butter granola bars from ASDA!) and so I thought I'd give M&S' versions a go. 

They pack contained 3 Oaty bakes, which resembled Shrewbury biscuits with their little fluted edges. Their colour gave a hint to their healthier nature however, as they appeared a similar tone to oatcakes. 

The biscuits had a decent snap, and were plentifully adorned with dried cranberries -although I couldn't detect any raspberry.

That was were the positives ended though I'm afraid. The bakes lacked sweetness, despite containing 5g of sugar. I also felt that were also very dry and claggy (even following a good coffee dunking) which I guess is due to their 'low saturated fat' content.

For anyone looking for a lower-fat biscuit to the standard office biscuits I guess they're a good swap... but for me, I'd much rather have a granola bar. 

3/10

Nature Valley Cranberry & Yogurt Popcorn Bar

This morning I tried one of the new Nature Valley Popcorn bars, which I bought from Morrisons for £1.50 for a box of 5. There are two flavours: 'Cranberry & Yogurt' or 'Peanut & Sunflower Seeds' but my local Morrisons only had the Cranberry Variety. 

The box describes them as 'Chewy popcorn bar with cranberry pieces and sunflower seeds dipped in a smooth yogurt flavour coating.'

 I expected them to taste like a hybrid between the yogurt Alpen bars and popcorn.. Both of which I really enjoy.

To be fair, they were exactly that! The taste of cranberries and yogurt came through strongly, combined with the familiar chewiness of popcorn. As a hybrid, however, I'm not sure I enjoyed it. I wolfed it down in only a couple of bites but was left pretty empty after. It was almost Like I'd been offered a mouthful of someone else's popcorn and now wanted my own bag. They felt more of an appetiser than a snack, and for that reason I'd stick to either a cereal bar or popcorn but not a combination of the two

Sorry Nature Valley, I think your Oat bars are fab.. But these are nowhere near as good! 

4/10