At the end of January I received a message from the owner of UFIT drinks, asking if I'd like to try a sample box of their products to review. Having seen their humorous "a great tasting protein drink for active-ish people" marketing campaign*, I was already intrigued and so gladly accepted. A day or so later, said parcel arrived containing three standard sized ready to drink protein shakes, and one of their PRO50 mega shake.
So who are UFIT? They say:
"We are a team of protein enthusiasts and industry experts with over 20 years of nutrition industry experience. After building multiple successful brands and products we decided to assemble our own team of passionate and knowledgeable protein lovers and launch a range of our own, delicious protein drinks. UFIT was the result!"
Chocolate
As it turned out, the chocolate shake's best before date was the day after I received the parcel (although the other flavours had much longer). The 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein and no added sugar. The drink looked rather similar to the For Goodness Shakes version that I reviewed at the beginning of last year, although there was a few lumps lurking at the bottom of this one -not great.
Lumps aside, the taste and thickness was pretty standard. It's a reasonable shake, and if you're on the go and stuck for a chocolate hit without the fat or calories, you can't go wrong with a UFIT chocolate shake
Macros: kCal: 170: P22/C11/F3.2
6/10
Iced Latte
UFIT have got some stiff competition on the protein market. Not only have protein giants Grenade launched their own coffee (which I haven't heard great things about), but SCIMX have just released a 30g protein carton and Reflex also have a brilliant protein coffee (which contains 25g or protein).
Now I do enjoy a good milky sweet iced coffee, so I was looking forward to trying UFIT's version. Again, the 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein, but this time it was lump free. Happy days. Taste wise it's almost as good as Reflex, but it does contain more fat and less protein. It's a tasty drink though, and it's sweet despite the lack of added sugar. Tesco stock it and it's cheaper than the other protein brands, so it's handy to grab on the go. I also found that it made decent proats too!
Macros: kCal: 173 P:22/C10/F2.1
8/10
Banana
Now I love a good banana milkshake, in fact it's my favourite flavour. Is it awful that a McDonald's banana milkshake still fills me with joy? Banana is oddly far and few between when it comes to pre-made protein shakes though.
Oh, that's disappointing. The flavour was lacking. I was hoping for a full on whack of real banana or foam banana, I don't really mind which, but found that instead UFIT have produced a wishy-washy flavour that well, didn't wash with me. Unfortunately it's not one I'd buy again.
Macros: kCal 176/P: 22/C:10.7/F3.2
6/10
Vanilla PRO50
This product was the one that baffled me the most was this vanilla 500ml bottle. There's plenty of debate about how much protein your body can utilise in one go, with this Men's Health Article suggesting that between 25-30g is the optimum amount per mealtime. With this in mind I decided to half the bottle and drink it over two days.
Crikey, the flavour was damn good. The vanilla was my favourite UFIT by far, reminding me of runny Ambrosia custard -yum! It tasted just as good warmed up for 2 mins in the microwave too. The macros were good too, with each half bottle 250ml serving coming in at: Kcal:164/P:25/C:8.6/F2.6. The trouble is, if I'm drinking only half in one serving, then I'm keeping it at home, in which case it's cheaper to make my own shake with my protein powder.
However... UFIT have recently brought out a 310ml vanilla flavour bottle, which I certainly will buy when needing a protein fix on the go!
9/10
A huge thank you to UFIT for sending me the samples!
I'd just about given up on Müller Corners after the pants Oreo Corner and equally disappointing Gold Edition this summer, when they released their most exciting sounding yogurt to date: Pumpkin Spice Latte. It wasn't that long ago that I was moaning about the lack of Autumnal products in the UK, and I've since realised that I simply spoke too soon! Of course we have Starbucks to thank for bringing pumpkin spice popularity to the UK; PSLs have been a regular seasonal addition here since 2012 (a good 9 years after it was launched in the USA I might add).
Could and would Müller pull off the famous drink in yogurt form?
"Smooth pumpkin spice sauce with creamy coffee flavoured yogurt."
My honest opinion? No. Sorry to disappoint you...
I really wish that Müller would return to their older method/recipes to make their yogurts in the corners. The liquidity of it was much more similar to their Müller lights than the corners of old. There was also an odd synthetic aftertaste which curdled with the coffee flavour somewhat -it was simply quite bizarre.
It's a shame really, especially because the pumpkin sauce was really quite tasty -although completely different to what I expected: much runnier and sweeter. I'd have thought it was apple rather than pumpkin, but maybe that's just because it's a similar spice mix that I use in my crumbles. I imagine that the pumpkin sauce would make a wonderful base layer for Müller rices actually. Müller are you reading this?
Meh. Not one for me, and I won't bother again. Kev had a more favourable opinion of the new Corner however, so please do go and check out his review too. Also, here's a tip off if you are a Müller fan: all their single pots (lights, corners and rices) are currently all on a 12 for £3 offer at ASDA!
4/10
Last week I was queuing up to pay for the peanut & chocolate croissant in the Polish deli, when a chocolate bar I hadn't spotted before caught my eye. It grabbed my attention for three reasons:
1. It was cheap (just 40p)
2. It was caffe latte flavoured (I love anything mocha)
3. It was made my E.Wedel...
...Why would the slightly obscure brand appeal to me you may ask? Well, I've seen their larger (and equally interesting sounding) bars in supermarkets, as well as reading a few favourable reviews* of their products, but have never taken the plunge and bought myself a bar. In the name of impulse, I grabbed the Pawełek and quickly bought it before I could remind myself of he numerous bars of chocolate already sat in my fridge.
Please can we just take a moment to take in the Google translation of E.Wedel's description of the bar on their website (where I also found out that it's new)!
"Pawełek flavored Caffe Latte in milk chocolate bar designed for lovers of coffee with milk and refers to the ritual of drinking this beverage in combination with sweet chocolate pleasure."
My heart sunk when I unwrapped the bar and spotted the White curse of spoilage lingering on the corners. Still, appearances can be deceptive, and I snapped the bar in half. I think I was expecting a truffle-esque centre enrobed in chocolate, but instead I discovered a gooey, fondant core (which smelt very alcoholic!).
Unfortunately in this case, the book should have been judged by its cover. The chocolate was waxy, and tasted cheap, reminiscent of Kinnerton's Christmas calendars. I'm a fan of liqueur chocolates, but I couldn't even detect the slightest hint of coffee, as it was totally overwhelmed by the throat burning alcohol. So potent was it, that I was left wondering how many bars you would need to eat before feeling woozy**.
It's such a shame really, considering the success I had with both of the last Polish chocolate bars I've tried (The Wawel Peanut Butter review here, and advocaat bar review here if you're interested) and the success other bloggers have had with E. Wedel. Maybe I'll give them another shot soon. Have you had any of their bars? If so, which is the best?
3/10
* Such as:
Kev's Karmel-love! Caramel White Chocolate Bar review
Nibs' Crème Brûlée Bar review
and One Treat's Dark Tiramisu review
** At 2.1% of the bar's ingredients I guess it might be more than the taste led me to imagine!
I prefer to work out in the mornings, and don't often fancy a protein bar afterwards. Given that I'm focusing on weight training and now work for a company who manage 18 leisure centres, I realise how important it is to ensure I consume enough protein to repair and aid my growing muscles. Protein milk/shakes are often my go-to snack of choice, particularly as they're cold and refreshing after a sweaty gym session. The trouble is, they can often taste heavily of whey, with a synthetic, metallic aftertaste. Even worse, they can be really lumpy -yes, I've even had to get my blender out on occasion to sort out a supposedly ready to drink shake. So when Reflex Nutrition contacted me to ask if I would like to try their new protein coffee, of course I said yes.
"Protein Coffee is the latest innovation from Reflex Nutrition which is the perfect combination of real Arabica Coffee and the finest milk protein in a can. Each 250ml ready to drink can provides 25 grams of pure milk protein with 75mg of naturally occurring caffeine from the rich flavoured Arabica coffee."
The caramel coloured coffee poured smoothly into my latte glass, without even the slightest lump to be found. I immediately recognised the rich, robust aroma -this was clearly the real deal and not some pathetic nod to coffee.
Wow, the flavour was impeccable. Like seriously good. If you drink -or have drunk- Starbucks' iced lattes, you'll have an idea of what to expect from Reflex's protein coffee. It wasn't as sweet as expected either, meaning that the robust Arabica beans could shine through. Don't get me wrong, I'm the kind of girl who'll opt for a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks, and I wasn't reaching for the sugar/sweetener -it was that well balanced.
Sat in my sunny garden, sipping from my latte glass I completely forgot that I was drinking a protein milk -it tasted so convincingly creamy and delicious. Reflex, are you sure that these contain 25g of protein and are low in fat? They are absolutely the best protein enhanced milk drinks I have ever tasted.
Reflex Protein coffee is available to buy in cases of 24 cans direct from their website, or individually from most good sports nutrition retailers. I highly recommend Cardiff Sports Nutrition -their prices are good and service is impeccable.
10/10
Thank you Reflex for my samples -I'm now hooked!
