Nakd Lemon Drizzle Review

Always a fan of Nakd bars and they're pure wholefoods clean ingredients, I'm always excited to see a new flavour on the shelves. Now on the plus side lemon drizzle cake sounds delicious and it's good to see a more zesty flavour hit the shelves instead of more cocoa, berry or nutty versions but on the down side it replaces the previous limited edition carrot cake Nakd bar, which I loved. So it has a high bar to hit if it is to make me let go of one of my favourite flavours.

We all know the benefits of Nakd bars - no refined sugar, vegan, dairy free, gluten free, clean ingredients and this is no different, made up of 53% dates, 19% raisins, 11% almonds, 10% coconut, 6% cashews, 1% lemon and a hint of natural flavourings.

Opening it up, you instantly get a lovely fragrant zesty smell. I wouldn't say it was lemony and actually it reminded me more of vanilla sponge cake - especially those sharing ones for birthdays that come in big slabs cut into squares.

Initially biting in, it was lemony and sweet and very delicious but I wouldn't say it was lemon drizzle cake. It was just their usual nice soft texture with a lovely lemony twist that works well but the more I ate the more and more it morphed into lemon drizzle cake. It's scarily similar to the real deal, even texture wise. By the end I really couldn't tell the difference between this and the real deal. It's lovely and sweet and zesty and somehow for something made up of dates and raisins and nuts really feels and tastes like lemony sponge in texture. I swear I could even taste the icing of lemon drizzle cake.

Nakd have done it again, another fantastic healthier treat. I'm still really, really sad to see carrot cake (please Nakd bring this back too!) but this is another winner.

My only criticism is I think Nakd are starting to cut costs and bulking up their bars with more dates/raisins, instead of costly nuts. This means the sugar content of this is one of the higher bars with just under 18g (albeit natural sugars). However, considering their gingerbread bar is 11.6g sugars with 50% nut content and their are lots of new players like Squirrel Sisters, Bounce and Deliciously Ella with lower sugar content, I hope they don't keep reducing the nut content.

Price: £0.74
Bought at: Asda
Nutrition per bar: 133 calories, 5.4g fat, 2.3g sat fat, 17.7g sugars, <0.1g salt

Score: 9/10

Planet Organic Energise Raw 46 Bar - Goji, Pumpkin Seed and Hemp Protein

I love a raw bar so when I saw these Planet Organic bars in my local Boots I had to have them. I've never actually been to a Planet Organic as they are all in London so was eager to give these bars a go. Like most of these healthy bars in the market, these are vegan, raw, gluten free, paleo and organic. What makes this difference? Well firstly the ingredients list is a bit different -unlike Nakd bars which rely on natural flavours, this is made of dates like other bars but also contains cashew butter, almond butter, pumpkin seed paste and hemp protein.

This means the bar is lower in sugars than many of these raw bars at only 9.1g (natural) sugars per bar and it means it has more protein with 4.6g per bar. Flavour then comes through from goji berries and vanilla.

Opening it up, although smaller in weight at 30g vs a 35g Nakd bar, it looks bigger due to a flatter and wider surface. It smells appetising and there's lots of texture in it and pieces in it,

It's maybe not as flavoursome as a Nakd bar as it's not an exciting flavour like carrot cake or bakewell tart but I really enjoyed it. It's fruity but with more texture and little crunchy bits of seed in. The nut butters add a creaminess and thick mouthfeel that feels more substantial. It feels like you're getting more of a bar and with its better nutritionals, it's maybe a good choice for a pre gym bar (which is what I've been using them for) rather than a treat bar.

Nutrition per bar: 126 calories, 6.4g fat, 1g sat, 9.1g sugars, 2.9g fibre, 4.6g protein
Score: 8/10

Deliciously Ella Ginger and Cashew Energy Ball Review

I live off energy balls and healthy snacks nowadays - yes they contain sugar but they're generally natural sugars and definitely offer more nutrition than chocolate or biscuits. These Deliciously Ella energy balls are in a similar vein to the plethora of other healthier snacks being made from natural ingredients, no refined sugars, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free and vegan ..... but they're not free from taste.

First I will say these are ridiculously expensive. £2 when you can get a Nakd bar for 75p is quite a difference and I'm sure a lot of the money you are paying is for the Deliciously Ella name....but these are so delicious I can't help but enjoy them.

I'll admit the photo of the product looks a little....unappetising but it smells gorgeously gingery and tastes even more so. If you don't like ginger there's nothing for you here as these are extremely fiery with a earthy raw ginger taste that might not be for everyone but I loved it. The ball has the perfect texture, firm and sticky and dense and feels substantial. It's got a little sweetness from the dates with that spicy gingery potency and makes for a wholesome, feel good snack.

3 dates, 8 cashews, 1 tsp oats , 1/4 tsp ginger are the only ingredients so you can't knock their naturalness and I certainly couldn't knock the taste. Overpriced but very tasty.

Price: £2.00
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per ball: 152 calories, 6.8g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 16.1g sugars, 1.5g fibre, 3.5g protein, 0g salt

Pret Dairy Free Chocolatey Coconut Bite

Whenever I see a Pret I always tend to go for my lunch there as there's not one in my town and I love their on trend, healthy and fresh choices. Pret is also great for vegetarian and vegan food with ever more veggie choices. Along with one of the new coconut lattes (which I fully recommend) and a vegan salad, I bought this dairy free bar on impulse at the till.

Costing a slightly expensive but not ridiculous £1.20, this bar is vegan made only with creamed coconut, dessiccated coconut, dairy free dark chocolate, natural vanilla flavouring, carob syrup, coconut oil and salt so all very clean.

Initially what I expected was a more raw, earthy kind of bar but with my first bar, my expectations were severely overthrown - this tastes literally like a bounty bar!!! I thought it would be dry but it's so rich and creamy, really chocolatey and totally indulgent. No one would be able to tell it was vegan or dairy free, it's that tasty.

The inside is more crumbly than maybe a bounty and you do get in a slight mess with it but that's because this contains so may real coconut that is fudgy and creamy rather than fake syrups with coconut flavour. If you like coconut in any way, you'll love this. The dark chocolate is also very high quality. It's only a thin coating with the focus on the coconut inside but it adds a nice counter point and melts beautifully in the mouth with the coconut.

However, one small word of caution, this little 34g contains a whopping 15g sat fat and 200 calories so don't go thinking they're guilt free. However, it does have less sugar in that a standard chocolate bar with just 5.8g vs around 25g or more.

When vegan food this is tasty, I just wish such choices were more widely available. Nice one Pret.

Price: £1.20
Bought at: Pret
Nutrition per bar: 205 calories, 17.9g fat, 15.4 sat fat, 5.8g sugars, 0g salt

Foodloose SMU:DI Raw Smoothie Bar

Bit of a weird snack today. I actually got this bar from a health food in Portugal although it appears to be a German company and made in Germany. Germany has quite a big organic market and this raw smoothie bar is made from organic organic ingredients as well as being vegan and paleo.

What also make this a bit different is its flavour and ingredients. Spinach, mint and orange is a far cry from the flavours we get from Nakd and this is a fruit, vegetable and seed bar with some pretty out there ingredients like moringa and and hemp. Opening it up, it has a nice fruity smell that smells quite refreshing and uplifting - it's less of a sweet sticky date-like smell than the Nakd bars and it's also less squat with a larger surface area and less dense texture that is slightly chewier.

Made up of dates, sultanas, sunflower seeds, almonds, peeled hemp seeds, dried and ground spinach, cold press avocado oil, moringa leaf powder, dried and ground orange and dried and ground mint, it doesn't have the date flavour you get from a lot of cold pressed bars.

But it also doesn't have a green or overly vegetable flavour from spinach or avocado. Instead, it's the citrus freshness and zing of orange and uplifting mint that really shine through. It's definitely feels good for you with quality ingredients and all plant based but tastes really like light and tasty.

I'd love to see these available in the UK as they're just a bit different to other raw bars out there, less sweet but with a more complex flavour and less fudge texture.

Nutrition per bar: 139 calories, 6g fat, 0.6g sat fat, 14g sugars, 0.04g salt
Score: 8/10

Aldi Paleo Bar Review - The Foodie Market Macadamia and Coconut

Although there is a lot of excitement around Aldi's freefrom range, I have to admit I find it a little lacklustre compared to other supermarkets. Don't get me wrong, it's great they're doing affordable health foods but the range is so much less interesting than the other supermarkets - case in point these macadamia and coconut paleo bars. They also have a brazil nut and cherr paleo bar and a cashew crush bar very similar to the Nakd Cashew cookie bar. All very well and good and made with clean ingredients at an absolute steal (these are 39p vs a 75p Nakd bar) but you can't help admit that Bounce and Nakd etc have much more treaty and interesting flavours.

Nevertheless I thought it would be worth giving them a try, a 39p it's hardly going to break the bank. To be fair to Aldi, this is just as good quality as any other raw bar - it's just natural ingredients - dates (49%), cashews (21%) , macadamias (20%), coconut (10%) and almond oil. Macadamias aren't cheap nuts and it's good to see Aldi haven't skimped on the ingredients.

It's obviously refined sugar free, gluten free and it's cold pressed and although listed as suitable for vegetarians, looks to actually be suitable for vegans. Opening it up, it's a nice, chunky bar (45g vs a 35g Nakd bar) with a coconutty smell.

You get the taste of coconut very strongly but a real raw, earthy coconut rather than a sweet, creamy coconut. The dates keep things sweet and it's tasty but not exceptional. It more than fulfils the role of a healthy bar to fuel your day but it's functional rather than a taste extravaganza. I'd probably buy it again as I liked it but it's hard to feel like this is a treat.

Price: 39p
Bought at: Aldi

Score: 7/10

Deliciously Ella Ball Review - Deliciously Ella Cacao and Almond Ball

I'm a big fan of Deliciously Ella - I've made my diet a lot more plant based over the last year and I find her recipes really simple, easy, quick and come up with tasty results. I'm also a big fan of any kind of healthy snack or energy ball and my cupboards are full of Nakd bars, Bounce Balls, Trek etc so I finally got round to buying one of the deliciously ella balls from her cafe, the Mae Deli, when I was in London last week.

The range also includes raisin and hazelnut and cashew and ginger but I went for this one partly as I love anything cacao flavoured and also it had a lower (natural) sugar content than the others. It feels like a premium product with a good quality wrapper, nice design and I love how she gives the recipe for the ball on the pack so you can make them yourself at home if you want to. This is just 3 dates, 8 almonds, 1 tsp cacao, almond butter, coconut oil and a pinch of sea salt - all very clean ingredients, natural, plant based and suitable for vegans.

Opening it up I was slightly disappointed that the ball was smaller than the pack would lead me to believe (I was expecting something bounce ball sized) but nevertheless it looked lovely and smooth.

It has a deliciously rich, fudgy texture and you get both the sweetness of dates combined with earthy rich cacao flavour with a nice salty subtle backtone which complements and emphasises the roasted almonds. It feels filling and like it's giving you energy and it was really tasty. And although I felt it was a little small, it did fill me up nicely.

I was really impressed with this and it would be great to see the Deliciously Ella brand expand and move into other foods as well!

Price: £1.99
Available at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per ball: 173 calories, 11.1g fat, 2.2g sat fat, 12.7g sugars, 2.9g fibre, 5g protein, 0.11g salt

Score: 8.5/10

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

Whitworths Full of Super Coconut Raw Bars

I've picked up some of the Whitworths Full of Super range before (the cayenne flaxseed crisps were very moreish) and so decided to give the coconut raw bars a go as well. I've become a lot more conscious about what I eat and am increasingly picking vegan options for snacking made with natural, wholesome ingredients as frankly there's just as much choice nowadays and without dairy it just has to be better for the planet.

This is a mix of:

Coconut flakes (25%), sunflower seeds (22%), agave nectar, almonds (10%), cashews (10%), buckwheat, golden flax seeds (3%), chia seeds (0.6%), vanilla, quinoa, acai.

So all things I recognise and feel good about putting in my body. The bar is gluten free with no soy and suitable for vegetarians but also has no dairy or eggs in the ingredients so also okay for vegans (although there is risk of contamination). Sugar as we all know is not good and impressively this bar has less than 10g sugars in total all from unrefined sugars.

It's quite high in calories (245) and fat but you would expect that from nuts, seeds and coconuts but it does also mean you get nearly 7g of natural plant based protein, a really good source of fibre (almost 6g!) and it contains 34% of your vitamin B12 of the day, which is something those avoiding animal products can struggle to get enough of in their diets.

What I like about these raw bars is that Whitworths make two smaller bars in each pack so you can eat them in two sittings if you like, which makes it last longer. They're fairly filling and after lunch, I find one bar is enough to curb a sweet craving.

These are much more solid than say a Nakd bar with a sturdier, thicker texture and feel more substantial. It's a little sweet with a really strong coconut flavour, which you would expect. It does taste quite raw and wholefoods-esque rather than the more mainstream options like Nakd but nutritionally this probably holds up better and contains less sugar. The coconut flavour is very full on and might not be to everyone's taste, especially if you're used to sweetened fake coconut in things like Bounty or sugary coconut yogurts but I really enjoyed it.

The only thing that stops this being a regular to my snack bar box is the price. £1.50 is a lot for one bar and even on £1 is still much more expensive than a lot of other options out there. For a big well known company like Whitworths I would expect these to be more accessible - there are loads of bars in Holland and Barrett cheaper than this. Nakd Bars are also much cheaper and offer multipacks too so this is kind of where it falls down. It's a very nice bar and nutritionally good but also rather pricey.

Price: £1.50 (bought on £1 promo at Tesco)
Bought at: Tesco
Per Bar: 245 calories, 16.4g fat, 6.4g sat fat, 9.9g sugars, 5.7g fibre, 6.9g protein

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

Nakd Peanut Delight Review

The new apricot crunch and the carrot cake Nakd bars have both been winners with me (although I don't think any Nakd bar I've ever tried hasn't been delicious) and now it's time for the third and last of the new trio - peanut delight.

Peanut butter is a great flavour for snack bars anywhere but I was interested to see Nakd's take on peanut. This is actually only peanut delight rather than peanut butter and it has probably the simplest ingredients of any Nakd bar - dates, peanuts and a pinch of sea salt. And that is literally it so totally plant based, vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, gluten free, wheat free and with no added sugar. All in all a pretty healthy, wholesome snack in my opinion.

I've seen mixed reviews of these with some enjoying it and others who feel let down. I have to say I'm a really big fan of this bar. It is the one I put off until I finished all my other ones simply because the ingredients list is so short, it just didn't seem very exciting. But actually it's simplicity really works.

One big thing is just how chunky the peanuts are - these aren't your normal nuts smooshed down and dotted throughout the other Nakd bars. They are a lot more noticeable here with a chunkier texture, which I quite like as I prefer my snack bars to feel a bit more substantial. Taste wise it's not really peanut butter or even peanutty in taste as such. It's more of a peanut and date mish mash. This sounds a pretty obvious point but with no natural flavouring in this bar, the date taste is stronger than others where it is is masked to taste like coffee/ bakewell tart/ carrot cake. This is another reason for some of the negative reviews but I liked the simplicity.

The touch of sea salt adds a very, very, very faint savouriness which complements the natural date sweetness and just brings out the peanut taste a little more. It felt satisfying to eat and I think this could be a regular Nakd bar for me. It's not so much a treat as the carrot cake one which really is like eating carrot cake but what this offers is a much more crunchy, nuttier Nakd than any of the others.

It's another success by Nakd and whilst carrot cake is maybe the best of the three new flavours (such a shame it's limited edition) apricot crunch and peanut delight are both absolutely delicious as well. Get all three of them, variety is always a good thing!

Nutrition per bar: 149 calories, 7.5g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 13.6g sugars, 4.8g protein

Score: 8/10

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

Nakd Apricot Crunch Review

I’m really back into Nakd bars again now that they launched their three new flavours of peanut power, apricot crunch and carrot cake. I’ve reviewed the carrot cake one previously which was insanely good and today is time for the apricot crunch version. I don’t really buy the crunch variants of the Nakd bars as the flavours are generally quite tame – strawberry, cocoa, banana and when they do cherry bakewell, gingerbread and cashew cookie ones it’s a bit of  no brainer.

However, apricot promises something new and interesting and you don’t see many apricot cereal bars out there. Before even opening the bar I could tell it was going to deliver on the apricot front, the smell is so strong you can even detect it without opening the pack. Once opened it’s even more intense with a lovely, sweet, floral, juicy smell of apricot.

Having not had a protein crunch Nakd for a while, the texture was a nice surprise. It’s a much firmer texture than the others with a crispiness to it that comes from the soya crunchies, which I like. Like all Nakd bars, the ingredients list is short and sweet – dates, soya crunchies, raisins,  cashews, apricot, apple juice concentrate and a bit of natural flavouring and of course it’s gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and vegan.

The taste is really nice with all  the treaty dessert like Nakd bars out there, it’s great to have a really fruity one and this one is really fruity indeed. It’s refreshing, summery and fragrantly sweet and a great addition to the range. Carrot cake still has the edge due to its awesome likeness to the real deal but this is pretty good too.

Nutrition per bar: 105 calories, 2.2g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 14.3 sugars, 5.4g protein, 0.2g salt

Score: 8/10

Nature Valley Protein Salted Caramel Review

I used to really enjoy Nature Valley bars back in the day and bought them all the time. A nice, crunchy texture, pleasantly sweet and flavours I really like such as coconut, almond or maple syrup. However, with all the new bars and breakfast biscuits that came out, they fell off my radar completely and with over 10g sugar a bar, healthier alternatives also came out.

Since then they’ve launched new lighter popcorn bars and also protein bars, which I never tried. The protein bars seem to have undergone a rebranding with more protein per (10g) and are now gluten free and they have introduced a salted caramel version, which I decided to try.

Opening it up, it looked promising – it’s a big dense, heavy bar with a very high nut content (38% peanuts and 9% almonds) and an attractive yogurt type bottom layer. It tastes really good with a sweet, salty flavour although it doesn’t really taste of salted caramel per se and the caramel didn’t really come through for me. The texture was very firm and a bit of a jawbreaker, which wasn’t a deal breaker as it made the bar feel satisfying and substantial although it is quite a dry eat so a hot drink does help.

I have mixed feelings about its healthiness. Its gluten free, 10g protein and actually a really good fibre content too at over 5g a bar and actually it’s low in sugar too at just over5g bar so significantly less than other bars and with high protein, fibre, it feels like an all round better snack.

But then I look at the ingredients and it just uses too many things which seem a bit odd like fructose, palm fat, maltodextrin and put me off but then again they use a lot of nuts so I don’t understand why they would then compromise on quality here.

If I felt more reassured that these were healthier, I’d rate them a little higher. However, it is filling and tasty and certainly better than anything from the likes of Kelloggs or things like Alpen bars.

Price: £2.89

Bought at: Waitrose

Nutrition per bar: 200 calories, 12.3g fat, 3.1g  sat fat, 5.4g sugars, 5.1g fibre, 10.3g protein, 0.43g salt

Score: 7.5/10

Nakd Carrot Cake Review

I think it’s fair to say when Graze announced their new launches there was a lot of excitement and hype about it. I totally bought into the hype as well as Nakd bars are a particular favourite snack of mine. They’re tasty, healthy, natural and the perfect balance of being light but fairly satisfying for a perfect sweet treat. I straightaway went overboard and got all three of the new flavours  - Peanut Delight, Apricot Crunch and the limited edition Carrot Cake.

The carrot cake was obviously the one I had to start with. Usually I try and save what I think will be my favourite until last but I just couldn’t resist this. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Generally Nakd bars are pretty authentic with their flavours although rhubarb and custard let me down a bit. I’ve also been bitten numerous times by cereal bars and yogurts promising to taste of my favourite desserts and cakes and that not delivering. So would this give me a carrot cake hit?

Like all the Nakd bars, it’s a perfectly simple and natural ingredients list – simply dates (48%) , walnuts (20%), raisins (14%), almonds (10%), cashews (5%), carrots (3%) cinnamon and a bit of natural flavouring. It’s also dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, vegan and one of your five a day. So a pretty healthy choice all round. But of course it needs to be delicious as well.

Opening up and smelling it, my heart did sink a little bit. I couldn’t really detect anything like carrot cake and it just had that familiar date smell of Nakd bars. However, with the first bite my fears were reassured. It does actually taste like carrot cake!!!

I think having things like carrot and cinnamon in the recipe really as the taste is pretty authentic and you get all that lovely sweet, slightly spiced sponge taste of a genuine carrot cake. What makes this work extra well is the texture. It’s that lovely soft but slightly firm chewiness of a Nakd bar but combined with the lovely carrot cake taste it does actually feel like you are eating a carort cake once you start chewing and it breaks down as the bar has a slightly similar mouthfeel.

The high walnut percentage also massively helps in adding to the authenticity with a good amount of little bitesize pieces studded throughout the bar. You can taste and feel the walnut in each mouthful and again they just add to a genuine carrot taste. Myabe it was my imagination but I swear even a slightly sweetened iced topping was dancing around in the background.

In a nutshell, I loved these. Nakd have got the flavour spot on. It’s delicious, healthy and in my opinion has an authentic carrot cake taste. In all honesty, I can’t see these staying as limited edition. People are already going wild for them and I think they’ll sell well. I really hope it gets added to the range permanently!

Nutrition per bar: 148 calories, 7.6g fat, 0.7g sat, fat, 15.6g sugars, 2.8g protein, <0.1g salt

Score: 9/10

Meridian Cashew Bar Review

Meridian are the kings of nut butter - they're my staple brand as I love they are made with just 100% of any given nut with no added palm oil, salt or sugar and if it's almond or cashew butter for example, it is properly almonds and cashews and not bulked out with cheaper nuts. They also have a bar range and again a high nut content is the key focus. In this cashew bar for example it is 55% cashew nut so considerably more than mainstream brands that promise nut flavour and then are like 3% nuts.

This 40g bar contains 6g protein and there is no added refined sugar with the sweetness coming from brown rice malt, agave and some fruit juices. This ingredients is short and clean and its made with Meridian's cashew butter, which I love anyway so it all looked pretty promising.

It's a fairly decent sized bar and at around the 200 calorie mark, a more substantial snack as well. Opening it up it smelt like a nut butter and has a greasy film to it which was a good sign in my work suggesting the natural oils from the nuts. This bar has a soft, chewy texture with a reasonable density but it's pretty easy to eat and feels pretty energising.

The taste is pretty much cashew butter. It's really not a sweet bar in anyway and the cashew butter is very prominent. There is a little vanilla flavouring in there but it doesn't come through and overall lacks a little excitement. It's a very tasty bar, it's healthy and I would buy it again but it's not one I would go out of my way to search for as the taste is pretty one dimensional and they're pretty pricey. However, it is satisfying with a nice texture and filled me up nicely in a natural way so is perfect for an energy boost.

Price: £1.59
Bought at: Holland and Barrett
Nutrition per bar: 201 calories, 12.1g fat,2.4g sat fat, 8.7g sugars,2g fibre, 6.2g protein

Score: 7/10

Pulsin Kids Fruity Oats Bars Choc Chip Orange Review

Along with my all my Nakd and other healthy cereal bars, I've recently gotten into Pulsin - a small English company who make bars made from natural ingredients that are much better for you. They've recently launched a kids range. Essentially it's the same principle of natural sugars, dairy free and gluten free as the adults range but in a smaller pack and with some nice animal illustrations on the front for visual appeal.

Frankly they looked delicious so I don't see why they should be for kids only and actually they're perfect as they offer a small, less filling alternative to some of the other bars I eat like Bounce Balls which are pretty substantial. These choc chip orange bars come in a multipack of 6, each at 25g - so are a little smaller than a 35g Nakd bar but sometimes I just want a taste of something sweet and don't necessarily want a lot. It also means each bar only has 96 calories and 7.4g natural sugars.

The bars did look pretty smell when taken out of the box but opening up you could really smell this was going to be a choc orange bar with a really delicious orange aroma with hints of cocoa. Opening it up you can see lots of choc chips dotted throghout and it's worth noting that the choc chips do not contain sugar either but are sweetened with xylitol, a natural sweetener that's also used in sugar free chewing gum. In fact the whole ingredients deck is very pure and simple and full of good stuff.

Gluten Free Oats (28%), Dates, Chicory Fibre, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Chips (Cocoa Mass, Sweetener (Xylitol), Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier, (Sunflower Lecitihin) (8%), Date Syrup, Raisins, Pumpkin, Orange Oil (0.2%)

 Also very healthy and worthy but obviously it needs to taste good and it really does. First thing I have to say is I love the texture of these. With the main ingredients being oats it has a more solid texture than the squishiness of a Nakd bar and has an almost flapjack like quality. It's firm but also very soft and doesn't crumble.

The flavour is spot on and clearly chocolate orange. It's not Terry's Chocolate Orange in strength but it is definitely orangey with a nice mellow choc hit that complement each other perfectly and the chocolate chips add little extra bursts of chocolatiness.

It's not in any way over sweet, not artificial tasting and definitely not sickly. It makes a perfect little sweet treat that you can feel good about and tastes delicious. To be honest if you cut these bars up into little squares and put them in a sharing cake tub from M+S , I would definitely think these are just as good as cake mini bites thanks to the flavour and texture. Definitely one for adults as well as kids!

Price: £2.99
Bought at: Wholefoods Market
Nutrition per bar: 96 calories, 3.9g fat, 2.1g sat fat, 7.4g sugars, 2.9 fibre

Score: 8.5/10

Oskri Fiber Almonds Bar

Although America tends to have a stereotype of obesity, fast food and Oreos, they also have an amazing range of health foods and stores as well. This Oskri Almond Fibre (or as they spell it Fiber) bar is an American company who I have never seen sold in the UK but I picked this up on holiday in a health food shop in Portugal of all places.

The obvious big selling point of this is the fibre content - something the UK population is severely not consuming enough of and was highlighted in the recent SACN guidelines and report - too much sugar was also a focus but the media only ran with this but lack of fibre is a big weakness in the UK. This isn't something I'm worried about as I eat a tonne of veg, wholegrains and pulses so I was picking this purely for a healthy snack I could take on an airplane (airplanes having one of the worst selections of food possible.)

What really drew me to this wasn't the 12g serving per bar - for context a bowl of branflakes has just 4.5g - but the clean ingredients list. It's literally just 4 things - almonds, chicory root extract, cranberries and puffed rice. Chicory root extract or inulin is derived from the chicory plant and as well as providing the fibre also sweetens instead of sugar. The bar is 7% natural sugars in total.

Opening it up it looked different to what I expected. Puffed rice is listed last in te ingredients but this is the bulk of the apperance - I guess as it's ordered in weight and puffed rice is light vs heavy almonds. However, there are loads of cranberries and almonds in it and it's nice to see great big whole chunky almonds rather than chopped pieces.

It's also a nice substantial bar both in feeling and at 190 calories. The texture is firmish with some squidge. I guess most like a slightly firmer Jordans Frusli bar but more than Nakd example. It was a really satisfying to eat - nourishing, a bit of bite but also soft and the flavour was very nice too. Very slightly sweet and with a mellow cranberry flavour, it was really tasty. The cranberries are plentiful, soft and fruity and the almonds are really delicious  - firm and crunchy with a nice roasted taste.

I would absolutely love to buy these again - if only I knew somewhere in the UK that stocked them!

Price: 1.4 euros
Bought: Independent health food store
Nutrition per bar: 190 calories, 4g protein, 12g fibre, 7g sugars, 7g fat, 0.5 sat fat

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