Review: Bakeville Fibre Bar

I’d never heard of ‘Home Bargains’ until recently, when I made a journey a few towns over to make a purchase pickup and found said shop too. And if you’re a regular you’ll know I can’t let a possible bargain get away from me. Well, it appears they’re another ‘poundshop’ outfit, one which goes into their own brands in a big way; and this product is one of them.

As is traditional with these things, we start with the box, as it’s a multi-pack. No, let’s move back one step further; the first thing that struck me was this range has a rather wider selection of flavours than the usual suspects (lemon, chocolate and caramel) and so I picked ‘Blueberry Muffin’. But back to the box, yeah? I’ll say this; they don’t look cheap. Well, that cheap; the photoshopping of the blueberries and bar wasn’t great. Or more correctly, the background makes it look odd. Anything actually useful about this box worth mentioning? Not really, apart from the fact it’s vegetarian and it’s got one of those tear things which means you can use the box as a dispenser in your cupboard if you wish.

As ever, I don’t bother doing that, instead opening it from the top. Which means the general absence of product strikes me; the amount of air I’ve bought as got to be at least fifty percent. I pull out one of said packets; a repeat of the box. Plastic film feels sturdy enough to survive in say, a lunchbox or something. Also has the Best Before printed on it, which is handy if you lose the box way before eating the bars.

Said packet opens fine, as ever the first bite is with the nose. Smells like… kinda like a long-life blueberry muffin. The kind you’d find in say, one of those old-school cramped newsagents you sometimes find in random backwaters. Also can smell a bit of what could be mint; I’m not sure if this is due to me storing it wrong or something.

I open my eyes and… well, credit to the picture on the box; it does actually look like this. Though the ‘this’ is hardly appetising in the first place. Even when I tear the doughy square in half (easy enough, no real flakage) it continues mimics the picture. Home Bargains; you’ve won the first ‘completely accurate picture of product on box’ award on this blog (only taken 197 reviews…)

I bite in, and… well, it doesn’t have that rather cloying sweetness which can hurt the teeth. Oddly enough, I can taste a bit of apple, and the ‘drizzle’ on the top is lemon. The first one sorta works with the blueberry bits in the bar itself, but the latter frankly doesn’t. Not hugely dry in the aftertaste either. In all, a rather decent little product; good if you’re sick of the usual tastes.

Nutritionally… well, nothing to shout about here either way, but I’ve now reviewed seven of these ‘fibre squares’ and they’re all about the same on the macros. Perfectly average in all respects.

So in conclusion? A cheap and relatively easy manner to get a fibre top-up in your diet, in a manner which doesn’t lead you to consume much of anything else. If you’re already a consumer of this kind of product and there’s a stockist nearby, it’s worth a look to see if you prefer any of the flavours…

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	368 cal	90 cal
Fat	10g	2.4g
…which is saturates	5.5g	1.3g
Carbohydrate	54g	13g
…which is sugars	28g	6.7g
Fibre	23g	5.5g
Protein	4g	1g
Salt	0.97g	0.23g

Facts:

Full Name: Bakeville Fibre Bars

RRP: £0.20 (24g) – from a multipack of 4.

Available At: Home Bargains.

Ultimate Owner: TJM Ltd

Date of Testing: 29^th August 2022.

Version Tested: Blueberry Muffin

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Good Fibrations Fibre Bar

High-fibre bars have generally rather disappointed me; they’ve generally come in only three variants; the ‘stale cake’, the ‘chewy seed bar’ or the ‘date log’. And generally speaking, none of them have been overly appetising. Perhaps I’ve not a little nuts, but there’s a bit of me which hopes that this bar shall be different. Well, only one way to find that one out, eh?

The packet design vaguely reminds me of another product… which I for the life of me I can’t remember. But it’s a decent enough design. An announcement on the front that the bar is a third of a daily fibre requirement, which is true enough once I check out the nutritionals. Oh, and it’s also vegan and gluten-free. Otherwise, not much else to report on this front, partly due to the simple fact the packet is small and thus, not a hell of a lot you can do with it.

I finally manage to get the packet open and see… uh-oh. The date log. With several bits of nuts etc encased within. Smells like a date-log. And feels. And breaks like one. The taste… is of a date-log mixed with peanut butter. It comes close, but not totally successful in covering up the date-log taste; the effect I shall say is successful. Yes, it is the best date-log tested so far.

On looking at the macros, the bar is ‘true’ fibre bar and the most fibrous tested so far. The reason for this is simple enough; the makers took the two traditional high-fibre products – chicory root and date paste – and slapped them together. Seems such a simple idea to the point I wonder why on earth nobody had thought of doing it before. But isn’t the sign of a good product that you simply cannot imagine how it could have not existed before?

The main counter to this is simple; price. For the fibre rating you could chew through a couple of stale cakes and still be a decent margin in pence ahead of this product. But on the other side, it could be argued that this product is better value because it’s nutritional density is higher and the general consumption experience better. And this is a argument I’m going to accept… sorta. Now, I’m not going to run out and buy a load of these for my packed lunches – said price is honestly too rich for me – but I can see this product worth looking at if you do make packed lunches, or are a decent consumer of barred products in general.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	420 cal	147 cal
Fat	13g	4.6g
…which is saturates	1.6g	0.6g
Carbohydrate	54g	19g
…which is sugars	33g	12g
Fibre	29g	10g
Protein	7.5g	2.6g
Salt	0.24g	0.08g

Facts:

Full Name: Good Fibrations Bar

RRP: £1.29 (35g)

Available At: Boots, Superdrug, Holland & Barrett, Ocado.

Ultimate Owner: The Gut Stuff Ltd.

Date of Testing: 21^st May 2022

Version Tested: Peanut Butter

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Morrisons Fibre Bar

This choice of review happened for only one reason; price. Heavily discounted and expires tomorrow. Why does this matter? Well, you’ll see tomorrow. But you’re here for a review, not cryptic BS about something I doubt you’ll care about.

So, this is the supermarket Morrisons own attempt to produce a fibre bar / brownie. It’s kinda self-explanatory on what it is and what it’s for, and I’ll quit trying to fill space with inane chatter like they do when a person ‘explains’ how they know what a guitar looks like on a quiz show. You just know.

As it’s a boxed product, we start here. Incredibly minimalist, to the point of being austere. I rather like it, and it doesn’t look cheap. The only takeaway points are is that the traffic lights tell me this product is bad for sugar (depending on whether you consider sugar bad, that is), it’s got the perforated thing going on a the top for easy access and for some reason, it claims ’90 calories’ when the reality is in fact 85, which is a tough odd.

The packet design apes the box; minimalistic to hell. Only real peeve is that the Best Before date on the back is pretty poorly printed. Packet screws up a little on opening, but nothing serious.

The eating part of the review can honestly be skipped over. It’s a fibre bar, and as such the experience is almost identical to almost all the others in the range. It looks pretty like it’s picture on the box, it’s got the experience of eating a vaguely stale long-life ‘cake’ found in a petrol station forecourt or vending machine. Only things worth noticing is that a) the sponge felt a little ‘fresher’ in texture and b) the lemon drizzle sweetness was only slightly cloying. So decent enough experience on this front.

Nutritionally, this is quite obviously a fibre bar, and like the taste, is all but identical to the others of it’s group. Only real standout is the fact it’s got half the salt content of most of the others.

So, in conclusion; a good, cheaper alternative to the branded fibre bars/brownies. One which tastes better than say, the Lidl offering. Worth looking at if you are a habitual consumer of such items to perk your fibre levels up.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	353 cal	85 cal
Fat	10.9g	2.6g
…which is saturates	4.7g	1.1g
Carbohydrate	48.7g	11.7g
…which is sugars	23.8g	5.7g
Fibre	23.5g	5.6g
Protein	3.5g	0.9g
Salt	0.5g	0.12g

Facts:

Full Name: Morrisons Fibre Bars

RRP: £0.28 (24g) – from a multipack of 6.

Available At: Morrisons

Ultimate Owner: Wm Morrison Plc.

Date of Testing: 31^th March 2022

Version Tested: Lemon Drizzle.

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Pulsin High Fibre Brownie

I don’t get to try Pulsin products much; mainly on the basis they’re a) expensive and b) rarely discounted. And the latter may be a good sign of the quality of the products in the first place. Or not. Well, the only way to find out in this case is to test it…

Like most (if not all) Pulsin products, they’ve vegan; an announcement of such on front of the packet. Well, ‘plant-based’. Said packet has the standard ‘house style’ for this brand; they’ve now all-but finished changing from the designs seen in the late-teens. The similarities continue with the blurb in the back; claims about it being gluten/soya/dairy free and vegan. Once again, my pedantic nature points out the third bit is not necessary if it’s also the fourth. But hey, some people are stupid; I’ve heard folks say that chicken was a root crop, like potatoes. One thing which has long caused me to wonder; what’s so great about ‘cold pressing’ stuff (this product is)? Is this a sop to cater for the demented raw food crowd?

I open up said packet (easily, for the record) to be confronted by… ah crap, it’s another date-bar. I give it a noseful; yep, dates. Though I could also pick up hazelnut. Which I assume is all the crushed-up bits of nut within the log-bar. I pick a fragment out of the bar to give it a test; yes, hazelnut. I know, master of the obvious, this being a hazelnut bar, but you never know…

Pulling out the bar from the packet, the date-log continues all the way through (ie there isn’t any snazzy topping); it’s a bit on the greasy side, to eating directly out of the packet may be in order. The bar itself is firm, but breaks relatively easily with minimal fragmenting. Bites well too; it’s a bit on the dry side but nothing serious.

Taste-wise… I would say it works. Unless you positively hate dates and like cocoa and/or hazelnut, you’ll be able to get behind this. Okay, it doesn’t really taste like a brownie (that would be an impossible task) but does taste kinda nice. I do feel a touch conned, mind; hazelnuts are at 5%, but peanuts are at 22%. Hell, peanut butter outranks hazelnut. But then again, I would be calling this a ‘date and peanut bar’.

Nutritionally… ironically, at only 15% fibre content, it doesn’t come in as a true fibre bar by my reckoning (though it’s not that far off). It’s also got decent level of protein, low salt and the saturates are not that high so on that front it’s pretty decent. I’ve spent some time trying to find some comparative product in my records, but there isn’t any. Speaking personally, I could see this being a snack-replacement with a coffee or tea, or perhaps in a packed lunch. The kicker is, naturally the relatively high unit cost and the general lack of finding said products going cheap.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	447 cal	157 cal
Fat	26.7g	9.3g
…which is saturates	7.5g	2.6g
Carbohydrate	31.3g	11g
…which is sugars	22.9g	8g
Fibre	15.1g	5.3g
Protein	12.9g	4.5g
Salt	0.18g	0.06g

Facts:

Full Name: Pulsin High Fibre Brownie

RRP: £0.99 (35g)

Available At: Tesco, Ocado, www.dolphinfitness.co.uk, www.musclefood.com.

Ultimate Owner: Pulsin Ltd.

Date of Testing: 13^th March 2022

Version Tested: Chocolate Hazelnut.

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Graze Wow Bakes

It’s been some time I’ve reviewed a Graze product; and if I remember right both of those were decent enough. Plus, as part of that great octopus called Unilever, it’s rather widely available.

First off, this is Graze’s offering in the ‘fibre brownie/bake’ niche; though you wouldn’t really know it from the box – only giveaway being a mention about chicory on a side. On reflection, I think this is a decent move on their part; the folks who would be actively interested in a high-fibre bake would look at the nutritionals, but folks not interested may get put off purchasing if they see ‘fibre’ plastered all over it, associating it was mass toilet-time and so on. So… win-win?

Not much else to tell on this front, really; has the nutritional traffic light thing, the usual bit about lack of artificial things. Has some form of mark regarding ‘sustainable palm oil’, which to be honest could be utterly made-up for all I know. Another thing which puzzled me was the ‘Certified B Corporation’ below the chicory blurb; this apparently this means it’s a ‘less evil’ company or something. Something more to look at on some stage…

The individual packets within first ram home the truth; this product is small. In fact, only 24g. I like the fact they’ve gone to some length to put some details (best before, ingredients etc) on it, for if/when you lose the box. However, the plastic film is rather flimsy-feeling, so I wouldn’t trust it far under stress.

Said film opens well, the hit of lemon arrives immediately. Comparing the bar to the picture on the box, it’s rather close. It’s a bit difficult to tear, an experience continued on consumption. Tastes strongly of lemon, the sweet kind. Product a bit claggy, which is a slight improvement on the ‘staleness’ feeling that most fibre bars give. Personally, I’d say this bar is pleasant enough to consume, but not enough for you to desire to scoff the lot. Which is perhaps part of the design of this product.

Nutritionally… well, this product is clearly a fibre ‘bar’, and is pretty close to the stats of the Fibre One Brownie and it’s knock-offs. This product wins by a shade on fibre and saturates, but that’s it. Generally speaking, there’s not much difference between the various ones on offer, really.

In conclusion; it’s a toss-up. Are you willing to spend 35% more per bake for one a little nutritionally better and kinder on the taste-buds? If you are, well go for it. If not, well…

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	364 cal	87 cal
Fat	8.2g	2g
…which is saturates	4.3g	1g
Carbohydrate	63g	15g
…which is sugars	15g	3.6g
Fibre	26g	6.3g
Protein	4.7g	1.1g
Salt	1g	0.25g

Facts:

Full Name: Graze Wow Bakes

RRP: £0.54 (24g) – from a multipack of 5.

Available At: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Boots.

Ultimate Owner: Unilever Plc.

Date of Testing: 9^th January 2022.

Version Tested: Lemon Drizzle

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Special K Fibre Bar

It’s a bitch when plans don’t work out. Having diligently price-checked this product, detailed suppliers and sat down to test this thing… only do I realise that I’ve had this product before – it’s the ‘Delight Bar’ I had last year. The macros are identical. So is the weight of each bar. Quickly did a taste-test, conclusions are the same.

Therefore, much of this review is in fact ‘recycled content’. I’m simply posting this rehash for those folks who have got here via search engines and desire to learn about this product – though I will review and re-work where needed.

It’s multipack box is almost identical in design to the Protein and Cereal bar ones, though that’s not a bad thing as I somewhat like the looks of it. (Edit: it is however smaller than the other two; for they are 5-packs and this product is a 4-pack). They’ve gone further in trying to dispel my subconscious prejudice that this is a product for dieting fat women; I’ll officially declare this to be the first true ‘gender neutral’ design I’ve seen from this brand. Nothing else to mention here, save the fact I’m vaguely curious to why the only other language on the packaging is Greek…

The bar packaging itself is pretty basic; just some red swirls on white, the name and ingredients – like the box, re-using the designs etc from the other products in the range. Packet opens fine; see they’ve pulled the old trick of making it look around 2cm longer, but that seems to be the way of the world. Again, I open it with the product face-down; is this normal, or just the way I open everything? Interestingly, it does actually look kinda like the picture on the box.

Breaks well, stays together. Firm bite; tastes… pretty nice, actually; the nearest I can describe it to being is like those Rice Krispy chocolate cakes you used to get as a kid. That is, if you lived in a home where they were made. A bit of sticky residue remains; this product is the kind of one which would go well with a cup of tea or coffee.

Naturally, this nice taste doesn’t come free; despite it being a ‘fibre bar’ it doesn’t actually contain enough for me to classify it as such. So it’s a snack bar. Not a particularly bad one, mind; low in saturates, reasonably low in the sugars and with minimal salt.

Conclusion is; if you’re consuming it instead of a granola bar or something worse, worth a try. If you’re basically doing it ‘just for the fibre’ there are better products out there, and there are ones out there which a more versatile nutritionally too.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	404 cal	97 cal
Fat	14.1g	3.4g
…which is saturates	5.8g	1.4g
Carbohydrate	58.3g	14g
…which is sugars	20.8g	5g
Fibre	17g	4.1g
Protein	4.5g	1.1g
Salt	0.33g	0.08g

Facts:

Full Name: Special K Fibre Bar

RRP: £0.50 (24g) – from a multipack of 4.

Available At: Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons.

Ultimate Owner: Kellogg’s (United States).

Date of Testing: 15^th June 2021

Version Tested: Dark Chocolate Delight

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my ‘Product Reviews’ series.

Review: Crownfield Fibre Yum Bar

We had Aldi’s knock-off of the ‘Fibre One Brownie‘ last year, and now their competitor Lidl has started to produce their own under their ‘Crownfield’ pseudo-brand. So, it’s gotta be tested, right?

This review starts off as most do with the packaging. Well, ignoring the fact it’s doing the packaging kind of thing expected by all, it’s got the house style in design seen in other products; relatively limited colour palette, stylised picture on the front etc. Main take-home points; according to the nutritional traffic lights, this is a bad product (more on this later). Has a surprisingly long list of ingredients for a product that small. Oh, and it has some perforated thing so you can open the front as a kind of dispenser – though it doesn’t work well (advice using a blade too). Empty space con; perhaps 20%.

This being a multi-pack, the inner packet is film – thin film, but fairly sturdy (more than I was expecting, in fact). Repeat of packet design from box, is at least labelled and dated (some multi-packs are not).

Said packet opens easy enough, revealing the said bar. Usual drill; nose first. Smells of lemon. Which is a shock as I bought ‘lemon drizzle’. Next, the eyes; seeing the bar. Or brownie. Or square. Oh, who knows or cares. Internal empty space con: 35%. (Yes, between the two over half the total product area you bought was actual product. However, a quick check shows the others do similar too). The icing/frosting drizzle naturally looks more meagre than the picture on the front.

Bites fine. Dry, spongy. Like a frankly, cheapish long-life cake you sometimes find in petrol stations, newsagents etc. Takes okay; not as claggy or teeth-hurting ‘oversweet’ thing which you get at times – but I did buy the lemon flavour and thus may be more exempt to this than say, the chocolate flavour.

Nutritionally… well, naturally it does rank as a fibre bar. There’s not much in it between this and it’s direct competitors – though I will mention that the Aldi offering is a bit leaner on the saturates (though is a little lower in the fibre too).That while the saturates / sugars are in the ‘bad’ rating, it doesn’t matter much in this case as you’re not supposed to consume many of these. And the rather lacklustre taste means chances are you wouldn’t want to either.

In conclusion, it’s a cheap enough little way to sneak in a bit of extra fibre to your diet, if you need to. Though personally, there’s better and tastier methods of doing this (though not cheaper, mind).

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	300 cal	90 cal
Fat	9.3g	2.8g
…which is saturates	6g	1.8g
Carbohydrate	42.3g	12.7g
…which is sugars	22.3g	6.7g
Fibre	18g	5.4g
Protein	3.3g	1g
Salt	0.83g	0.25g

Facts:

Full Name: Crownfield Fibre Yum Squares

RRP: £0.22 (30g) – from a multipack of 5.

Available At: Lidl

Ultimate Owner: Lidl GmbH. (Germany)

Date of Testing: 13^th June 2021

Version Tested: Lemon Drizzle.

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my ‘Product Reviews’ series.

Review: Superdrug Slenderplan Fibre Brownie

It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a self-identified ‘fibre’ product; though it’s not due to any prejudice against them – most of us don’t eat enough fibre anyway and if you’re hungry, it’s best to eat something which actually helps you in some nutritional way.

This product, as the name makes clear is part of Superdrug’s weight-loss product line. This alone means taking a look at it is worthwhile; for sometimes said products can be re-purposed for other needs; in the case of this product, to up your fibre intake without having to make much of a change to your diet. What, like the Fibre One Brownies can? Well, yes.

First off, the packaging. There’s not a lot of it, as this is an individually-sold affair, unlike the boxes of the fibre brownies you can get elsewhere. Main take-out points are that there seems to be a lot of ingredients in such a small product and a little table on the back which lays out the bare-bones of (I assume) the ‘Slenderplan’ food-wise.

Product opens fine, revealing that the packaging has lied yet again and it’s perhaps 35% smaller. Looks okay, smells decent enough too; reminds me a bit of one of those long-life sponge cakes ‘wrapped for freshness’ you find in places like garages and newsagents. Tastes like it too. There’s not much to say here because the product is rather predictable and dull. But at least it does have a mildly pleasant taste and isn’t claggy.

Nutritionally, it surprisingly counts as a fibre bar. What was more surprising that it’s almost identical to said Fibre One – the only meaningful difference is that this product is half the salt.

So, in conclusion; a decent enough product. The best ‘fibre brownie’ I’ve come across so far. If you’re looking to up your fibre uptake, this product may suit your needs. Or not.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	367 cal	88 cal
Fat	12.5g	3g
…which is saturates	6.3g	1.5g
Carbohydrate	50g	12g
…which is sugars	27.1g	6.5g
Fibre	20.8g	5g
Protein	5g	1.2g
Salt	0.5g	0.12g

Facts:

Full Name: Superdrug Slenderplan Fibre Brownie Snack Bar

RRP: £0.49 (24g)

Available At: Superdrug

Ultimate Owner: CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd (Hong Kong)

Date of Testing: 15^th February 2021

Version Tested: Chocolate

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: SlimFast Meal Replacement Bar

While this may seem a somewhat odd product to review here, but there’s method in my madness; this is supposed to be a ‘meal replacement’, and a healthy meal would contain a decent slice of protein and fibre, no? While we all have different reasons to consume protein bars, one of them is as a NotBad mini-meal on the go; after all, I always keep one as a kind of ‘iron ration’ in my rucksack simply to remove the excuse of buying snacky crap while out. And in this case, this product might actually fulfil my needs (and by extension, yours).

First things first; I notice they’re re-done the packaging of this product; it’s a lot more jazzy than the vaguely-medicinal one I’ve got in front of me. However, I’m going on the premise that the chances that they’d drastically changed the innards was very small. For the record, said packed is covered with a load of information, such as ‘how to use’ and so on. ‘It’s all you need for a meal’ is an concept open to debate; we’ll talk about that in a bit.

Opens up well, revealing a block of chocolate which is pleasingly dark; as you might have guessed by now, I’m not a fan of milk chocolate. Smells… nutty and caramely. Flip it over, revealing the ‘nutty’ side; reminds me in design like an overgrown fibre bar. Though why they always pack them upside down is a mystery to me; unless it’s down to the fact that they haven’t invented a machine which can do it the other way yet.

Feels like it has a decent weight to it, only a touch greasy. Breaks with a bit of difficulty, though when it does at least it doesn’t shatter. Inside looks more ‘crispy’ than ‘nutty’; I’m reminded of the soya protein crisps that some protein bars have. Bites well, only a marginal amount of ‘fragment loss’. Main taste is of caramel, salt and chocolate, in that order. Rather too salty for my liking, but it is called ‘nutty salted caramel’ (though I don’t detect much nuts). But on the whole, a decent amount of showing – particularly for a ‘weight loss product’ which perhaps I’ve been conditioned to see as utterly bland and unappetising.

The nutritionals are where this product shines. It’s got sufficient protein to be classified as a ‘true’ protein bar, and rather close in becoming a fibre bar too. It’s saturates are reasonably low, as well as sugars. It’s 60 grams and 217 calories, which puts itself almost identically to the Kleen Protein Bar I had last month – it would seem here that ‘meal replacement’ is just a load of marketing guff (come on, who has a meal of 217 calories? At that level you’re either needing to snack lots or you’re on a starvation diet). Lastly, it’s been fortified with most, if not all vitamins and minerals needed for health to a level of 30%.

However, all of the above is neutralised by simply one aspect – salt. This is the saltiest bar I’ve come across to date. This one thing alone has 18% of your recommended daily level. Now, this is not a bad thing per se but it does mean you’ll need to pay close attention to your salt intake elsewhere.

And it’s this reason, and this reason alone I won’t be running to buy this product any time soon.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Bar
Energy	362 cal	217 cal
Fat	10.8g	6.5g
…which is saturates	3.8g	2.3g
Carbohydrate	33.1g	19.9g
…which is sugars	14.6g	8.8g
Fibre	16.8g	10.1g
Protein	25.2g	15.1g
Salt	1.83g	1.10g

Facts:

Full Name: Slimfast Meal Replacement Bar

RRP: £2.00 (60g)

Available At: Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug, Boots.

Ultimate Owner: Glanbia Plc (Ireland)

Date of Testing: 24^th December 2020

Version Tested: Nutty Salted Caramel

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.

Review: Heck Meat-Free Sausages

This is a review for the purple-packeted ‘Meat-Free Magic’ Heck sausages. If you’re looking for the newer, green-packeted ‘Meat Free’ sausages, I did review the chipolatas too.

Another unlikely suspect for review, but I have my reasons; not only did I write long ago about vegan alternatives but I’m also a bit annoyed by the loud vegan fan boys/girls who make claims that such ‘plant based’ no, pretend meat is great in every single way and everyone should consume it. Well, challenge accepted.

The packet looks the pretty much the same as the other Heck products, save there’s a logo of a plant of some kind on the front. I notice that they use the term ‘meat free’ rather than ‘vegan’; perhaps feeling that the latter term is a large turn-off to some of the population (not surprising, as I’ve had a few stinkers of vegan foods in my time). It also proclaims itself to be ‘high protein’, again perhaps in reaction to my noticing that many vegan meat alternatives are nutritionally akin to bread.

The sausage looks a bit odd to my carnivore’s eyes; greenish-grey than the pink-red of flesh. Has some dark flecks in it, like spices or something. Feels okay, though. The smell is oddest of all; I can’t put my finger on it past ‘some sort of vegetable matter’. I looked at the ingredients, and while I could say I could smell the pea and beetroot within, I suspect I could claim a half-dozen others.

I decided to cook them by grilling; to keep the taste / texture as close to ‘as intended’ as possible – after all, many things can taste nice when larded with, say a spicy sauce. Smelled rather nice while cooking; though that’s no real proof of good taste. Naturally, doesn’t spit from the fat while grilling, cooks a bit quicker than flesh too.

The first sign this is not a meat sausage is when you cut it in half. As in, it slices cleanly, a bit like when dealing with highly-processed meats like Spam or polony. Again, you have the greenish-grey innards looking at you – perhaps in a poor light you may mistake this as a Lincolnshire sausage.

Bite is easy; again, like if you were eating polony. Tastes okay, though not of much. Vaguely like mysterious ‘minced plant matter’. Okay, if you have a dish which requires a sausage, this would be a fair meat-free approximation but heck, this product is not appetising, at least not as something to be eaten by itself (which is a sign of a great product, in my opinion; even bread or milk can be delicious solo).

Nutritionally… is interesting. For comparison, I’ll compare it to the ‘normal’ Heck pork sausages, which I’ll testify are delicious. This version is a third of the calories, a twentieth of the fat, a fortieth of the saturates and is ten percent less salt. Unfortunately, this comes at a third of the protein and ten times the carbohydrate – yes, this sausage is more a bread-log than a tube of minced flesh. The only other thing notable is the fact it has decent amount of fibre; testament to the fact that pea protein is a major ingredient. In fact, almost as much fibre than protein.

In conclusion… I can see a use for this product, and not just for vegans. If you’re on a calorie-restricted and/or limited saturate diet, this would make a decent alternative sausage. It’s weird nutritionals mean that three of them consumed at once by themselves would count as a light meal – though the salt intake would need to be taken into account. But if you were consuming these regularly, you’d have to remember you’re not getting a lot of protein from each banger.

The main problem is, as you’d guess the absence of taste. Look, I’m not demanding that they taste exactly of meat, but I would like it to taste of something. Until they offer flavoured meat-free sausages, I think I won’t be buying this product any time soon.

Vegan fan boys/girls not that honest about the brilliance of alternatives, in this case.

Nutritionals:

	Per 100g	Per Sausage
Energy	96 cal	63 cal
Fat	1.2g	0.8g
…which is saturates	0.2g	0.1g
Carbohydrate	10g	6.6g
…which is sugars	0.6g	0.4g
Fibre	6.6g	4.4g
Protein	7.8g	5.1g
Salt	1.6g	0.5g

Facts:

Full Name: Heck Meat-Free Magic Sausages

RRP: £2.50 (400g – 66g x 6)

Available At: Waitrose, Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Tesco.

Ultimate Owner: Heck! Foods Ltd

Date of Testing: 15^th December 2020

As everything on this blog, merely my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve not received anything for this review. Facts correct at date of testing. Part of my Product Reviews series.