Bounce Protein Energy Bites Review Coconut and Cranberry

Although I wasn't as impressed by the Cacao and Almond Bounce bites I first tried compared to their Bounce balls, I went back to try the coconut and cranberry version. My problem with the first bounce bites I tried wa that they lacked that really dense, fudgy, chewy texture that give you a real jaw workout. However, I did enjoy them as well and as I love coconut thought I couldn't go to wrong with these.

Bounce bites are little flat squat discs made up of natural ingredients and a good mix of carbs, fats and protein without refined sugars. In this case the ingredients are:

Cranberries (Pineapple Juice Syrup, Cranberries, Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Oil) (22%),
Whey Protein Concentrate (from Milk) (13%), Cashews (Nuts) (13%), Coconut (12%), Sunflower Seeds (11%), Gluten Free Grain Dextrins (from Brown Rice), Currants, Whey Protein Isolate (from Milk) (6%), Rice Flour, Water, Soya Lecithin (Emulsifier), Vegetable Oil

They smelt quite fruity and coconutty as soon as I opened the packet. Having got used to the texture of bounce bites versus bounce balls, I didn't get that initial disappointment this time around. I do still definitely prefer the texture of bounce balls, they just feel so substantial and indulgent. These are a lot firmer with a slightly odd offmilky aftertaste. But it's not altogether unpleasant just a little odd.

What I have found these incredibly useful for is quick out the door energy burst on the way to the gym first thing in the morning. I can just have four of these and I feel I have the energy to hit the gym without being weighed down. As such the mini bite format and portionability of these with a resealable bag is really useful. Looking back I think I prefer the cacao almond ones but I have enjoyed these as well.

Price: £2.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 30g: 127 calories, 6.3g fat, 2.4g sat fat, 7.8g sugars. 6.3 protein, 0.03g salt

Score: 7/10

Bounce Protein Energy Bites Cacao and Orange

I've reviewed plenty of the bounce balls before and I am a big fan of them even if they are expensive. I just find them a really convenient post or pre exercise calorie dense ball and I love their ridiculously chewy, heavy and close texture. They're feel satisfying and a good source of protein. They've now expanded into a range of snacking bags called bounce bites - available in three flavours: coconut and cranberry, sweet and salty almond and these cacao and orange ones.

The principle is sound -take an existing product and make mini bites of it in a sharing bag - it's something that seems to work for Cadbury and chocolate and cakes so why not for healthier snacks too. This 90g sharing bag has a recommended 3 x 30g servings and nutritionally they're pretty good with each serving giving you 6.6g protein, 7.4g sugars and 129 calories and apparently a good mix of fat, protein and carbs. There's no refined sugar and is made up of your usual cashews, whey protein, dried fruit and seeds etc.

I was expecting little mini versions of bounce balls so was surprised by the flat disc shapes of the bites, which were uniform in shape rather than the squashed irregular shape of Bounce Balls. Biting into my first one I have to admit these are a bit of a disappointment and not as good as bounce balls. The taste is right and I get the cacao and orange - although worth noting this is a healthier wholefoods chocolatey orangey taste rather than a treat version. The taste is actually pretty good but the texture is all wrong.

Rather than the dense fudginess and chewiness of Bounce balls these are dry and kind of dusty tasting and a little tough. I'm also a little confused by the size of the bag, 90g is too much but then the serving sizes are quite small and 129 calories and 6.6g protein is less than a standard bounce  balls so not as good after exercise. A sharing bag also seems odd for a food I associate with after the gym. I think I'd just rather have a bounce ball.

Price: £2.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 30g: 129 calories, 6.3g fat, 2g sat fat, 7.4g sugars, 6.6g protein

Bounce Cacao Mint Protein Ball Review

I'm well and truly obsessed with bounce balls these days despite their extortionate price. It's not even because they're convenient or because they pack a good hit of nutrition and protein in an energy packet that's great post gym, I just love the texture of them. It is definitely polarising and either you love they're chewy, extremely dense and almost solid fudginess or it's completely unpalatable for you. I'm definitely in the former - I love it's just as much an exercise for your jaw to eat as it is to fuel your actual exercise.

Almond is probably still my favourite one at the moment as it's marzipan-esque tastes just complements the density so well but I decided to branch out and give the cacao and mint one a whirl. Again, it's a nutritious snack with 10g of protein coming from whey and pea proteins and rice bran and it's also high in unsaturated fats, fibre and vitamin E with a good whack of sunflower seeds blended in too. At 9g sugar per ball, it's definitely a lot less sugary than most snacks and you are getting a good dose of other nutrients as well.

Opening it up, like all other bounce ballsm it's squat, small and dense and you intially think this won't be fillling. How wrong you are to think that. With a super high density and chewiness not only do they take a good while to munch your way, they feel filling too. Chocolate and mint is obviously a classic combination so I was interested to see how this would translate into a healthy snack especially with the attractive cacao nibs studded around the ball.

It's definitely delicious but more on the minty side. Not overpoweringly or tooth paste minty but because of the reduced sweetness it's not as chocolatey as say an after eight. It also uses cocoa for the chocolate hit which is much more understated and earthy than actual chocolate. It still tastes delicious and whilst almond is still my favourite bounce ball, I would happily eat this again.

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per ball: 176 calories, 7g fat, 2.1g sat fat, 9g sugars, 2.7g fibre, 10g protein, 0.43g salt

Score: 8/10

Bounce Energy Ball - Cacao Orange Protein Burst

I'm pretty much utterly obsessed with bounce balls at the moment. On the one hand I feel they make a great pre or post work out snack or even just a filling healthy option if I'm out and about and need a hit of good energy or feel my blood sugar levels dropping. More importantly I just love the texture of them - so compressed and dense and extremely tough and chewy they just feel so satisfying.

The almond one is probably my current fave but decided to give the cacao orange a go for a change. Like all the bounce balls, nutritionally it's pretty solid. High in protein at 9g, high fibre with over 4g per ball and a great source of vitamin E - over 100% of the RDA per ball which helps combat oxidative stress. This one is made from sunflower seeds as well, which are a great source of copper, maganese and magnesium.

Opening it up it's another squat, pretty solid compact ball of energy. Don't let the small size fool you, they take a good time to eat with their density and almost date and fudge like chewiness, which makes them incredibly satisfying and filling. It looks attractive with all all the little bits of seeds and cacao nibs studded to the outside. It all stays together exceedingly well and nothing crumbles or falls off as you eat it.

Both the raw rich bitterness of the cacao and the zestiness of orange come out to play along with the typical maltiness of bounce balls. I won't lie and say this has that classic Terry's chocolate orange flavour because it's not overly sweet and cacao is less sweet than chocolate and less creamy. But it is really delicious and feels wholesome and nourishing. It's another winner from Bounce.

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Health Food Store
Nutrition per ball: 181 calories, 8.6g fat, 2.4g sat fat, 10.7g sugar, 9g protein

Score: 8.5/10

Bounce Energy Ball Sprirulina and Ginseng Review

After really, really enjoying my first ever Bounce Ball when I tried the almond protein ball, I snapped up this Spirulina and Ginseng version for a new twist on my post run snacks. This ball doesn't have as much protein as the almond with just 5g per ball but instead features the superfoods spirulina and ginseng. It's also high fibre, high in vitamin B12 and in antioxidant vitamin, which contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Each ball actually has 117% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin E.

When I first tried my first bounce ball, I was taken aback by how small, squat and compact it was but after finding them quite a long eat and very satisfying this didn't phase me this time. This ball isn't quite as tough, chewy and dense as the almond bar, which I imagine makes it an easier way to try these balls but I did prefer the almond one just because I love my snacks to take ages to eat and be a bit of a workout to chew!

However, again it tasted really good and it just feels like a nice easy, digestible form of energy in a perfect little compact ball. I't's a chewy mix of almonds, oats and sesame seeds for a nice mix of textures. They're so compact, you could stick one in your pocket so really easy to transport and take on the go. Sprirulina and ginseng only make up 1.2% and 0.2% of the ingredients so frankly add no difference to the taste but it is still a nicely slightly sweetened eat with a good almond flavour from the 29% almonds which is the main ingredient. You can see how many there just from the photo all studded round the outside! There's some vanilla extract in this which gives a nice mild vanilla taste that works well with the oats and almonds.

The ingredients list is nice and clean with real whole foods and there's 10g sugar per ball - all from natural sugars like raisins, grape juice and brown rice syrup.

The texture isn't as good as the almond ball, which I loved but was still nice enough that I would buy this flavour again too. I'm a bit of a convert to Bounce at the moment!

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per ball: 191 calories, 9g fat, 0.9g sat fat, 10g sugars, 5g protein

Score: 8/10

Bounce Almond Protein Hit Ball Review

I realise I'm pretty late to the bounceball craze. I'm pretty into my health and fitness so see a lot of them appearing on instagram and in theory they're a great match for me. No refined sugar, high in protein, a good energy hit after exercise and raw. I buy so many other snack bars from the likes of Nakd, 9bar, Meridian, Rude Health etc that I should have tried one ages ago.

What has always put me off is partly the price (but most of the health bar brands I buy are pretty pricey anyway but mostly they just look so small and compact. I hate small snacks because you end up eating them so quickly and even if they are actually filling you feel unsatisfied.

Bounce have loads of different flavours but I went for almond as I adore anything almond related whether it be almond milk or almond butter all the way to marzipan. Opening it up it smelt invitingly almondy and whilst it was as small and compact as I feared, you could see the high levels of almond dotted around. It smelt very good.

I went to a break a bit off in a bid to make the snack last longer but to my surprise it didn't tear and I actually couldn't break a bit off. It is extremely dense and compact and thick and solid. Instead I went to take a nibble off and again as I was chewing it in my mouth found extremely dense and chewy and took ages to finish chewing a small bite.

For me this was brilliant and was a real revelation. Even though the snack is small, it lasts ages because it takes so long to eat and is extremely satisfying for it. The taste was utterly lovely, really clean tasting and extremely almondy with a thick, fudgey nuttiness. It felt very natural and healthy and was perfect after a good hour long run this morning.

The ball is over 200 calories so a great energy refuel after exercise and packs in 12g of protein so it kept me feeling full afterwards with slow release energy. It's also gluten free. With the high almond content it is also high in vitamin E which contributes to the protection of cells from ocidative stress.

I cannot believe I've waited this long to eat a bounce ball. I absolutely loved it. As they say it's 'satisfying, nutritious. Delicious'. Couldn't put it better myself.

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per 49g ball - 216 calories, 9g fat, 0.8g sat fat, 11g sugars, 12g protein, 0.32g salt