Kev's Snack Reviews

I'm not usually one for Protein bars, as I do find the taste off-putting at times, but one newbie that piqued my interest recently was this Grenade Carb Killa Salted Peanut White Chocolate Protein bar. People were going mad for it on Instagram and Grenade kindly offered me some to review so I couldn't say no to that! The bars contain 20g Protein and 2g Sugars per 60g bar. To reduce the sugar content a mix of sweeteners is used. I'm not usually a fan of such sweeteners but on this occasion I let it slide because these sounded so nice. The bars contain a protein blend of whey and beef gelatine, and to my surprise didn't have the off-putting taste that some protein bars do. Hurrah! This was actually delicious, chewy and soft with a lovely creamy taste. The mixture of caramel, chewy filling and peanuts all blends together perfectly to make a super tasty bar indeed. It reminded me of a White Snickers , but I actually enjoyed this more because it isn't quite...

One of the perks of being a food blogger is not just the naughty foods you get to eat, but doing unspeakable things like opening advent calendars before December...the horror! We've all done it before though, right? Luckily on this occasion the calendar in question was more guilt free than eating an entire chocolate filled calendar...that's because it's full of healthy-plant based protein, is gluten and refined sugar free and suitable for vegans. Hurrah! But doesn't that defeat the point of an advent calendar...aren't they meant to be a daily dose of naughtiness leading up to Christmas Day? I'm not sure the answer to that but calendars are certainly getting more fancy these days...you can get Gin, Wine and Beer calendars for around £40 from Iceland, or a large Wine Advent Calendar at Aldi for £50. Because why not spend the festive season sozzled?! Thankfully there's saner options for those of us looking after our health, such as the very dull soun...

A big thankyou to Pro2Go for sending me a variety of their protein snacks to review recently. There's the Liquid Filled High Protein Bars , as well as these Protein Bakes - high protein, gluten free snacks that contain 50% less fat than crisps and 6g of plant-based protein per pack. Ideal for anyone on a vegan or gluten-free diet needing a protein boost after the gym! I was sent two flavours: Salt & Balsamic and Chilli, each generously seasoned. The bakes have a wavy shape and smelled very flavoursome indeed. I started with the chilli flavour first. The ingredients are a mix of rice flour, rice protein, potato flakes, tapioca and chilli seasoning. They're made in a dedicated gluten free facility, which also handles milk products, so be wary if you have a milk allergy. The bakes were super crunchy and the generous seasoning made them very flavoursome. The spices are just right - they're not too hot, just a nice mild spiciness with more of a tomato and onio...

A big thankyou to Sci-Mx Nutrition for today's review; they recently sent me some interesting products from their new protein bar range to try. I'll be reviewing their Protein Bakes crisps shortly but today I'll focus on the bars. There's 4 different flavours, each with a soft liquid centre. The protein comes from whey crisps and hydrolyzed collagen, and the sweetness from maltitol and sucralose. I thought I'd start with one of the more unusual flavours, an Apple & Cinnamon bar with a white chocolate coating, sweetener and an apple and cinnamon flavour centre. Opening the wrapper it had a nice cinnamony sweet aroma, and there was a hint of apple there too. It smelled very inviting. The chocolate coating is thin, but does a nice job of recreating a milky white chocolate flavour. The centre is quite creamy, almost fudgey with a distinct apple and cinnamon taste that was quite yummy indeed. You can taste the protein in there and it's pretty inoffensiv...

A while back I reviewed The Protein Works Salted Caramel Protein Cookies and Crunky Bars, and since then they've been busy and developed a Salted Caramel Cookie Peanut Butter, which they kindly sent me to review. As well as that there's also a Deep Choc Dive Brownie variety. They are of course high in protein and perfect for any pre or post workout boost, combining indulgence with #macros! Suitable for vegetarians, but not vegans. Both are available from theproteinworks.com Starting with the Salted Caramel Cookie variety, this is described as "The finest roasted peanuts, luxurious caramel, cheeky cookie pieces and that TPW magic". It's free from palm oil and high in monounsaturated fats. Opening the lid, it has a nice strong peanutty aroma and smelled unmistakably moreish. I gave it a stir and wasn't sure where the cookie pieces were...turns out they were hiding! (I think some had sunk towards the bottom of the tub a little). The taste is of course, s...

Another Protein Works review today and this one is for their Protein Nutty Cashew Coconut squares, a snack containing 9.2g protein ideal for workouts or a little treat throughout the day. They're made with a mix of nuts, whey protein, coconut, coconut oil and sweeteners. If you haven't seen them yet do check out my reviews of Protein Works other products - Vegan Apple & Cinnamon Crunkie and Salted Caramel Protein Cookies . Opening the wrapper I was immediately hit with the smell of peanut...never mind cashew nuts these had a super strong peanut butter aroma! (peanuts are second on the ingredients list). They smelled very inviting indeed! I broke one in half and it looked quite stodgy, almost like a flapjack. There's a thin chocolate and coconut coating on top. They taste very, very nutty indeed and that is certainly no bad thing! The cashews give it that creamy smoothness whilst the peanuts add a more savoury crunch. Yum! The whey powder has that distinctive whe...

Another review of The Protein Works today, following on from the  Salted Caramel Protein Cookies  today it's the turn of their Protein "Crunkies", which are not only gluten free but vegan. Hurrah! They're made with a mix of oats, sucralose, corn fibre, apple, sultanas, rice crispies and soy protein. So why are they called Crunkies? Beats me - they're pretty much cereal bars! There's a dark chocolate flavour coating on one side and the other side has raisins clearly visible. And they taste pretty good! The apple and cinnamon flavour is unmistakable, and gave me that warm feeling of autumn when cinnamon flavours are more common. Of course it goes perfectly with the raisins, as well as the rice crispies and oats. The dark chocolate coating adds a nice touch although I didn't feel it was necessary - the bar is nice enough as is.  All in all, this is a sweet and satisfying bar and the perfect snack for after a workout (if that's your thing!). It'...

A huge thankyou to The Protein Works, who recently sent me some of their Protein Cookies to review! Protein Cookies are a new one on me, something I've never tried before so I was very intrigued. You can find these from www.theproteinworks.com , and they come in a wide variety of flavours. There's also Protein Brownies and all manner of protein based truffles to enjoy if you're of the #fitfam way of life! The protein comes from a whey powder, milk protein and collagen blend which forms the bulk of the cookie. There's also oat flour, corn fibre and the sweetener sucralose mixed in. Opening the wrapper, the cookie had a rather interesting looking appearance with a golden brown colour. I split it open, which was easy enough. There's cubes of fudge pieces embedded within the cookie. The smell was very different to a regular cookie, it has that "whey" powder aroma that I'm sure many are familiar with. It's not unpleasant at all but it's ...

It's been a while now since I first reviewed Real Handful snacks , and since then they have rebranded a little bit. They now produce "unruly" flavours, and are sick of snacks that are "good" or "bad", so instead their snacks are "better". This might sound confusing but I get what they're aiming for - the healthy snacks market can tend to be a bit black and white, but in reality people have so many differing dietary needs it's never that clear cut. They recently offered me some snacks from their new range to review and of course I couldn't say no to that! As well as bagged fruit and nut mixes they've diversified into snack bars, with flavours like Choc Orange and Sea Salt Caramello which I'm reviewing today. The bars are made with a mix of nuts, coconut sugar, rice syrup, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed protein and more. They're a little similar to Nine Bars and are gluten free and vegan, although produced in a factory t...

When I'm trying to eat healthy (#thestruggleisreal!) I do like a nice refined sugar, gluten and dairy free snack to munch on. There's always the trusty, tasty Nakd bars on hand in most shops, but a lesser-known brand is The Primal Pantry, who make Paleo and Vegan approved bars with ingredients like nuts, dried fruit, coconut sugar etc. I've tried their stuff before and really enjoyed it. So when I spotted this caffeine infused Espresso variety in the Co Op recently I got very excited indeed - probably too excited, must have been the thought of that shake-inducing caffeine! Described as simply a "Double Espresso Protein Bar" it contains real coffee beans and seemed to be promising an energy boost in bar form - protein AND coffee all at once?! Can't get more #fitfam than that ey? Unfortunately, the bar turned out to be a bit pants. Overlooking the fact it looked like something you'd find in your pants, the texture was my first point of contention: it ...

It's been a while since I reviewed The Primal Pantry range , but they're back again with some new "Paleo Protein Bars" that are not only Paleo Diet friendly, but vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and #fitfam & #macro friendly too! Yes, Primal Pantry are now doing bars made from plant-based hemp protein. I was excited when I saw these because I'm always looking for healthy snack bars with added protein; I'm not a fan of whey protein bars, but I've experimented with hemp and pea protein. These don't contain pea protein though, which is good as it also makes them suitable for the legume allergic amongst us. I found this Cocoa Orange Bar for over £2 - yes you read that right - over £2 for a 55g bar (!) in my local Tesco Express. There's also a Mixed Berries variety which I'll be reviewing later. Opening the wrapper, it looked similar to the regular Primal Pantry bars although with a stodgier, firmer texture. Taking a bite, it...