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!

Oreo Mini Reese's (American Fizz)

I was curled up on the sofa last weekend coughing, spluttering, and generally feeling sorry for myself, when I had that lightbulb moment, and realised exactly what would cheer me up. Half an hour later, I'd placed a large order with American Fizz for all sorts of Imported goodies that I never even knew I needed. Delivery was quick, and I was pleased to find that my treats were neatly packaged, so they arrived in perfect condition.

One of the items that I purchased were these Mini Oreos filled with Reese's peanut butter. As I was fortunate enough to receive 40 bags of my favourite Nutter Butter Bites for Christmas, I thought I'd never need to buy any more peanut butter biscuits ever again. Of course, I've munched through my supply pretty rapidly, and I never grow old of peanut butter (or biscuits) so I thought I'd take the opportunity to try the Reese's Oreos.

I was hugely disappointed by the British peanut butter Oreos when they were released last year -to me they tasted artificial and lacked the real taste of roasted peanuts that I expected. I have heard numerous rumours that they are nowhere near as good as their American counterparts, and I really hoped that the grapevine hadn't let me down.

The 'big-bag' contained approximately 30 biscuits, which was meant to be the equivalent of roughly three servings. The Oreos were somewhere between the size of a penny and tuppence, with a thin peanut butter disc in the middle of each.

The biscuits were the same as British Oreos; beautifully rich and dark with a good crunch that also held up well after dunking. Of course, it's not really the biscuits that's of interest here -it's the peanut butter. Fortunately Reese's hadn't let me down and I revelled in the familiar, true-to-form, sweet-salty nuttiness. If I was to be picky, I'd say that the peanut butter wasn't as thick as I'd have liked, the biscuits could've benefited from a more generous central creme disc, but they're a far cry from the pitiful British nonsensical Oreos. 

The chocolate and peanut butter combination is a match made in heaven, and they were so good that I polished off the whole bag in one sitting. Oops.

It's glorious to see that two of the best manufacturers in their fields (Reese's and Oreo) have amalgamated their resources to create such a delightful product.  So Oreo, please stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes, remove the fraudulent UK peanut butter flavoured Oreos, and replace them with the real deal -we deserve them too!

10/10

NEW! Honey Blossom Macchiato at Starbucks

I don't regularly review drinks, but I thought I'd make an exception for the new Starbucks Honey Blossom Macchiato. It's not often that I visit Starbucks (purely for monetary reasons) but when I fancy a treat (or I'm in dire need of caffeine and sugar at Uni) then their Caramel Macchiato is my coffee of choice.

Starbucks have recently added two new Macchiato flavours to their menu: Honey Blossom & Vanilla Bean. Both sounded right up my alley, but as I'm finally seeing off the lingering remnants of flu, I decided that the Honey version would do my throat more good.

'Starbucks® is now offering another edition of the signature Macchiato: inspired by natural ingredients the Honey Blossom Macchiato combines the sweet honey flavor with vanilla and coffee.'

Luckily the Barista must've heard my feeble coughing, because he slathered my drink in Honey Sauce. I say it was lucky, because the moment the froth reached my lips I was met with the rich comforting sweetness. The foam top was fluffy and sweet, which worked well with the bitter coffee beneath. I couldn't taste much honey in the drink itself, until I reached the bottom -where I discovered a pool of distinctly flavoured coffee. 

(Check out that drizzle!)

I enjoyed the new Honey Blossom Macchiato, and it makes a welcome change to the original Caramel version. Some may find the taste too sweet, but it's no more so than the Caramel Macchiato, and I appreciated the honey's more natural flavour. 

I'll look forward to my next Starbucks treat, when no doubt I'll try the new Vanilla Bean Macchiato!

8/10

Red Velvet Cake (Boots)

Today's my birthday and so it feels only right to write a cake review of one of my favourite cake flavours, the American classic Red Velvet.

You'd have thought that I would have given up on Boots' own-brand snack range by now. All of my finds so far have looked and sounded delicious, but have in fact tasted pretty rubbish. Remember their awful Cinnamon & Vanilla Popcorn, even worse Coconut & Pineapple Popcorn and disappointing Banoffee Flapjack? Well I hate giving up on anyone/anything, and seem to live in constant hope that they'll redeem themselves one day, so bought Boots' 'Delicious' Red Velvet Cake Slice (albeit with my fingers crossed).

The cake looked pretty with its creamy icing and red sprinkles. It wasn't the bright colour that I'd have liked it to be, but I felt I could forgive Boots as it's so much harder to get that vivid shade nowadays thanks to the stringent laws on the use of artificial colours. 

The knife cut through the cake easily thanks to its fluffy texture and soft icing. The cake was moister than expected, with a good even crumb structure... But, that's where the positives stopped.

Once again, Boots clearly haven't given enough thought to the flavours. The cake had a faint cocoa flavour, but it was so bland that it tasted more like it might have absorbed any lingering fridge smells. It really was that bad. 

The icing on top didn't improve matters either; surely a key characteristic of 'Red Velvet' is the tart cream cheese layer? Well, Boots forewent it altogether, instead opting for a 'white chocolate' buttercream. I'm a huge fan of white chocolate, so this shouldn't be a huge problem, but I couldn't remotely taste its inclusion... so I checked the packet and read that it only accounts for 1% of the ingredients! How pointless. 

3/10

Now, despite a FOURTH bad Boots review, I'm still tempted by their 'Cookie Dough Brownie' and Carrot Cake (yes, I'm a mug). 

Please get in touch if you've had any of Boots' cakes or snacks that actually taste as good as they sound! 

PB Crave Coco Bananas (Cardiff Sports Nutrition)

If you regularly read my blog and have a good memory, you might recall that I picked up something other than the Lenny & Larry's Peanut Butter Cookie when I popped into Cardiff Sports Nutrition. Indeed the whole purpose of my visit was to buy a jar of the PB Crave Coco Bananas. I think I must have read about the product somewhere at some point (yes, very vague!) but all I so know is that I've wanted to try it for -what seems like- years.

What comes to mind when you think of Elvis? His films or music? His drug addiction or death? For me, it's his peanut butter and banana toastie (although I don't agree with the addition of bacon -too far Elvis.) I regularly make bacon-less Elvis toasties, and If I'm feeling particulaly decadent, I'll even spread one slice of  bread with nutella -trust me it's heavenly. Now you've heard that chocolate-peanut butter-banana toasties are my ultimate lunchtime treat, you'll understand why I wanted to get my hands on PB Crave's Coco Bananas peanut butter so badly!

PB Crave is an American company who also make three other unusual flavoured flavoured peanut butters:

• Razzle Dazzle (White Chocolate & Raspberry)
• Cookie Nookie (Cookie Dough & Chocolate Chips
• Choco Choco (Dark Chocolate Chips)

Cardiff Sports Nutrition sell the whole range of 454g jars for £5.49 each, which is more than I'd usually spend on a pot of peanut butter. I did the maths, and it actually only works out at 39p per 32g serving, so it's actually much cheaper than most sandwich fillings! 

The Coco Bananas had a good inch of oil on top, which I'd noticed when I bought it. I appreciate that the oils tend to separate in high-quality peanut butters, so I'd been regularly turning the jar for a couple of weeks to try and integrate the fats back in. I hadn't had any luck, so once I removed the lid I found a huge spoon and tried to stir it back in instead. That still didn't do the trick, the peanut butter was gloopy with massive lumps in -so I bit the bullet, tipped it into a bowl and got my hand blender out!

That's better! The peanut butter turned a glossy golden colour, although I was aware that in my haste I might have also blended the chocolate chips. Oh well, this girl couldn't wait for her lunch! The peanut butter had a lovely consistency, it wasn't as runny as the Pip & Nut stuff, but it wasn't as firm as Whole Earth or Sun Pat. The spread-ability was spot on, and it oozed into the pores of my hot crumpet perfectly. 

Coco Bananas is definitely reserved for those who like their peanut butter sweet. The addition of honey, chocolate and bananas resulted in a lovely salty sweet concoction that satisfied my cravings (although there's only 3g of sugar per portion). The banana tasted natural, and it came through really well, offering a fruity backdrop against the nuttiness. I couldn't find any chocolate chunks, but that may well be me (and my blender's) fault. I could just about taste faint notes of cocoa, but to be honest I wasn't disappointed as there was so much yumminess to get my head around!

I loved this truly scrumptious peanut butter by PB crave, and I can't wait to try the others in the range as soon as I've finished this jar!

10/10 

NEW! Go Ahead Cookie Bites (Sainsbury's)

I've been trying to work through my snack-cupboard backlog before Go Ahead released these new Cookie Bites this week, as they sounded pretty darn tasty -but only come in a pack of six mini-bags. 

There's two flavours: White Chocolate & Raspberry, and Chocolate & Orange. I found them in Sainsbury's priced at £1.99 or 2 for £3, so it seemed rude to not make the most of the offer and buy both!

White Chocolate & Raspberry 

I love the combination of sweet white chocolate and sharp raspberry, but I wondered how well it would translate into Go Ahead's new low calorie snack. At only 99 calories, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the bag contained nine tuppence-sized cookies. The biscuits had been given a pretty rippled effect, and each one promisingly displayed an even scattering of red flecks.

The cookies had a good snap and held up well during the dunk-test. They were super sweet (but that can be explained by the 7.8g of sugar in each pack) so they're probably not a good idea if you're watching your sugar intake. They had a smooth, plain vanilla flavour, which was broken up nicely thanks to the addition of the raspberry. 

Go Ahead thankfully haven't been stingy with the fruity pieces, and so they added a welcome chewy texture to the otherwise crunchy biscuits in almost every nibble. I was a bit disappointed that they weren't real raspberry bits (they're made from raspberry & apple fruit puree) so lost the tartness I was hoping for. I kept hunting for the white chocolate to no avail -although it's perhaps unsurprising given that according to the ingredients list it only accounts for only a measly 5%. What a shame! 

Despite my incessant moaning, I really did enjoy the White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookie Bites, especially the combination of crunchy & chewy textures.

7/10

Chocolate & Orange

As before, the pack contain 9 rippled biscuits, this time a mid brown-colour. The comforting cocoa and citrus aroma met my nostrils the moment the bag was opened, so far so good.

These biscuits are a similar density to the white chocolate version, and also crunched (and dunked) well, although of course there was none of the chewy fruit pieces. 

The chocolate flavouring was gentle but enjoyable, think more along the lines of milky cocoa than bourbon-biscuit and you'll get the picture. The Orange was a pleasant touch, although it was overwhelmed slightly by the chocolate, and I can't help but think that the addition of some zest would have given the biscuits the extra edge.

8/10

I think that the new Go Ahead Cookie Bites are an excellent addition to their range. The Chocolate Orange flavour was my favourite, and had the added bonus of containing slightly less sugar too (still 6.9g). These biscuits might not be the 'healthiest' snack choice, but they are a cute little mid-morning pick-me-up for less than 100cals, especially if (like me) you need the sugar rush at 11am!

Go Ahead have also released a yummy sounding 'Pud Bake' in Cherry Bakewell, I haven't been able to locate them yet, but I'm a bit dubious as to how different they'll be to their standard 'Fruity Bakes'.

Peanut Butter M&Ms (B&M Bargains)

How it has taken me this long to try peanut butter M&Ms I shall never know! Well that's a fib. It's just that I've been Reese's loyal until recently, when I tried the Wawel Polish Peanut butter chocolate bar and discovered that there *might* be other manufacturers who can be trusted to combine my two favourite foodstuffs!

B&M Bargains sell these standard sized packs of imported peanut butter M&Ms for 79p, and also larger sharing boxes (which I can't recall the price of sorry!). I was pleased to discover that the bag was generously filled with approximately 30 large, irregularly shaped, brightly coloured candies.
Two of the things that our American cousins tend to do better than us Brits is ample portion sizes and peanut butter, so with one out of the two boxes ticked so far, I was eager to get stuck in.

As to be expected, the outer coating was crispy, and cracked pleasingly once bitten into -revealing its golden peanut butter nucleus. The combination of chocolate and sugar was as sickly as I remember (something that prevents me from buying British M&MS more regularly).

 Fortunately, the introduction of smooth peanut butter offset the sweetness with its characteristic saltiness, resulting in a much better balance of flavours. It was a genuine, firm peanut butter -none of the fake 'peanut flavouring' nonsense often sneaked into British products.

I think I'll always be a Reese's girl, but these made a pleasant change to the peanut butter cups that I seem to live off. If you're a fellow peanut butter fanatic, then I suggest you head down to B&M and pick yourself up a bag of these American Peanut Butter M&Ms!

8/10