FOOD REVIEW: Trek bars

So from my first bite of the berry brush trek I thought that these bars were a bit unusual, they seems very hard, dense and chewy with a somewhat weak berry flavour. 

Not the nicest. Honestly, I would rather eat a nākd bar or something similar simply because there was no interesting variety in texture to break up the flavour. 

But then... I tried heating it up. I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it actually began to smoke up! I thought it would have been burnt, but it wasn't and once it was a little cooler I loved it; crispy on the outside, soft on the inside it tasted like a brownie. I would 100% recommend heating it up. 

Then came the Cocoa chaos. And I like this one a lot better, not because of the chocolate, because there wasn't really much in the actual bar. But because when microwaved it's crunchier with the soya protein 

But still soft and foamy. 

They seem pretty easy to find too, health food places, Amazon, Morrison's, etc. Either singular or in 4 packs (or on the internet full boxes) 

And as for price these guys are a little more expensive at £1.45 so I only really buy them while on offer but if you like them I recommend buying bulk as it's cheaper in the long run. 

Another thing to note is they are a lot bigger and sturdier than little nākd bars meaning they are higher calorie but also stuffed with protein and other healthy ingredients, both the bars are under 200 calories but some are above. 

Taste-***3/4

Price and accessibility-****

Health rank****

Overall score-****

FOOD REVIEW- Alpro 'go on' mango yogurt

At first sight it seems as though this is just a normal yogurt that has just been mango flavoured but it actually has a hidden bottom layer which I thought was pretty cool as a nice bit of texture with some mango chunks and the different moisture level in the purée, this contrasts very well with the thick and creamy soya plain yoghurt. 

The layers don't actually  mix very well together so you get a little bit of plain yogurt and mango in each mouthful instead of a mango flavoured yogurt which could either be a good or bad thing depending on what you're going for. I liked it and would probably recommend a different yogurt if you prefer the latter. 

I found my yogurt by pure luck, just in the fridge section among other yogurts, it wasn't in a 'free from' or 'vegan' section or anything like that so make sure you're keeping an eye out for them but as for where you can buy them they're pretty acceseble, I've seen them at tescos, Morrison, etc and they'll most likely be everywhere on the internet too. 

The price at tesco is £0.85 (the same price as skyr) so if you're going to buy a yogurt anyway.. Why not make it vegan!

The initial yoghurt is actually fairly dense in comparison to most yogurts and actually quite tangy or sour, due to its very natural and low sweetener recipe. 

It's also pretty high in plant proteins while still being low fat and sat fat. Although do read the label as  the biggest initial calorie box is only for 100g 

Taste- ****

Price and accessibility-****
Health rank-****
Overall rating-****

FOOD REVIEW- Perkier cacao and cashew bar

Straight away this bar reminded me a  little of a 9 bar with all its seeds, however it is really sticky and syrupy. I actually liked the part, it wasn't too much to be unenjoyable and even reminded me of a fresh warm flapjack even though it was cold. The raisins are also lovely and soft and cacao was definitely a strong flavour throughout. 

I love how many different flavours are incorporated, 10 different nuts, seeds and other raw ingredients, squished together with brown rice cassava syrup. I think it's a bold step to use something like this as most vegan bars try to steer clear of any such thing but I think adding it was a great idea for the bar.

However I didn't think that the Cashews were all as prominent as I would've liked them to be and personally I could taste more Brazil nut. 

Even though these bars are fairly new they still seem to be sold in a good verity of different places; large UK supermarkets, Health food stores, and online as stated on their website.

The price too is pretty average at £0.99 give or take just like most bars, although i think these have a lot more depth than a nākd bar wich would be the same price 

Nutrition wise they aren't that bad, especially if you treat it as a flapjack. It has less that 3g sat fat per 100g and they're full of protein too. It's not the best for sugar (13% of the bar) but it's still a lot better than a chcolate bar, plus you get all the sweetness For only 144cals too!

Taste-****

Price and accessibility-*****

Health rank-***1/2

Overall rating-****

FOOD REVIEW: Crispy coconut curls

Coconut is one of my favourite things, so when I saw these at the shops I had to buy some. They came in lightly salted (pictured) or peppered, and since I'm not a pepper fan I went for these ones. 

Salted coconut sounded really interesting to me and I thought that would be a good thing to try as it seemed like the weirdest combination  ever. At first It had such an usual taste and texture but I did actually really enjoy it. They were very, very salty and what I thinks nice is that you get the salt coming through first and then after that flavour is the coconut. The flavours contrast each other so much yet somehow they still go together nicely in the crisps. 

I really like the shape of them, also the fact that the coconut is crispy, like a potato chip, because I think if it was soft consistency the salt wouldn't work but with dried coconut the crispiness and salt go great together. 

These 'crisps' are only about £1 depending on where you buy them and pretty easy to find as they even have their own website here. 

Surprisingly these aren't too high in salt from the flavouring but instead pretty high in fat (at 7.2g satfat!!!) but at only 109 calories and vegan I can't stay too mad I suppose. 

Taste-****

Price and accessibility-***1/2

Health rank-**1/2

Overall rating-***1/4

Enjoy your day my vegan friends xxx

FOOD REVIEW: Tesco 3 bean, sweet corn and roasted red pepper burger

I really enjoyed having this burger; the gentle spice, crispy edges and barely any greese. All good qualities for a burger, and this one has them all. 

Another thing I love is how it's so packed full of veggies and beans. There are loads of different tastes and textures throughout the burger, which all go together to make a lovely mixed taste. 

I've never been a fan of spicy things. I even find milder curries usually too spicy, however this burger seems to have just the right amount of spice to give a bit of a kick but not so much as to make me not want to eat it. The strange thing is that other people who have tried it often say that they find it very spicy, this might be because of it being a dry spice rather than a spicy sauce, so as long as your not worse than me with spice, which would be difficult to beat, you should be fine. 

Since these burgers are a tescos own brand they can only be found there but a tesco supermarket isn't hard to find in the UK and I'm sure you could find a similar one somewhere else or even make your own version. As for the price they're pretty good too, you get 2 burgers for £1.50 in a pack or currently 2 for £2.50. 

Health wise these burgers are pretty good too with low satfat and sugar as well as decently low kcal mark at 197. And the only possible dietery problem is that wheat is labeled as one of the allergens. 

Taste-****1/2

Price and accesebility-***1/2

Health rank-****1/2

Overall rank-****

FOOD REVIEW: Linda McCartney red onion and rosemary sausages

So I some of these sausages for the first time and I was absolutely taken aback by how much they taste like real sausages, I could probably feed these to any non veg(ateri)an and they might not even realise. 

I've got to say it did make me a bit uncomfortable as it felt so much like real meat (to someone who hasn't had any in months) however obviously they aren't as you can clearly tell by the sausages look: e.g- no skin, greese, etc

From the first bite you could straight away taste the Rosemary, it was quite strong, in a good way, I believe the herbs really added to the flavour. They also have a lovely crispy texture, not too soft, a little bittty but very enjoyable and juicy. 

I found these at my local tesco, so I'm sure that they can be found in most shops like that, along with the Linda McCartney website Here and my beloved H&B as always. 

They're also pretty cheap, at only £2.00 for 6 sausages; 50p cheaper than the piggy versions. 

Health wise the sausages are pretty good too:

So eat your greens and your sausages too!!

Taste-****

Price and accesebility- ****1/2

Health rank-****

Overall-****

Hope you like the new layout, overall I find it more fun to write with this layout, feel free to make any comments down below 

FOOD REVIEW: Rude health, the beetroot

After trying this bar for the first time today, I have have to say I am very presently surprised. Honestly I was a bit worried of the bar being too venerable-y, which I wouldn't have been a fan of. Hoeever I found it to be really nice and am looking forward to trying the other flavours too.

Taste

I'll be first to say that I absolutely love the vibrant pink colour of the bar. I also loved the texture, at first it kind of reminded my of a nākd bar, just squishier and with a bit extra crunch making the rude health bar, in texture, actually better than nākd in my opinion!

For the taste itself I think it's quite nice; very strong, but also sweet. The bar actually has a sort of tang-like after taste which isn't a problem, it just took me by surprise. The nuts in this bar (cashews) add that little extra crunch and flavour. 

Rating-*****

Price and accesebility 

The price is pretty comparable to any other similar bars. Being between 90-99p on average. (H&B-99p morrisons (where I bought mine) only 95p 

As for accesebility they are also much like anything else, health food stores and supermarket ate the most likely places you will find them. 

Rating- ****

Health rank

The first thing that stood out when reading the nutrition online was that there is vertically no sodium! (Less than 0.1g)
They're also very healthy ingredient wise, the bars including no GM, refined sugars or dairy, which to me definitely increase my personal rating of the bar. They're a good fibre source and are only 130kcals to so an excellent snack, I suppose they could be less but when all the ingredients are healthy there should never really be any worry.

Rating- ****

Overall rating- ****1/2

"You're in Rude Health when... you tie dye your t-shirt with beetroot juice" 
Click here  to take you right to the rude health website.