Saturday 19 March 2016

Protein bars to avoid: B'Jammin PB&J (CSN) and PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter (Lidl)

I've posted up a few reviews recently of high-protein products recently, such as: the wondrous peanut butter Lenny & Larry's complete cookie, the pretty average for goodness shakes chocolate milkshake, and the god damn awful protein active peanut chia blast bar, but I thought I'd write a few words about a couple of bars that I was less than impressed with. 

B'Jammin PB&J

I bought this at the same time as the Lenny's cookie, lured in by the thought of a healthy snack containing one of my favourite concoctions: peanut butter and jam. 

"B-Jammin’ goes where no bar has gone before. Each bar delivers advanced nutrition that includes high quality protein, real mouth-watering fruit carbs, and fiber that just simply tastes better. With 12-15 grams of net carbs, 12 grams of protein, 11-13 grams of fibre, you’ll be blown away by the taste and flavors in each bar."

The trouble began as soon as I unwrapped the bar. It's similarity to the Pedigree 'Jumbones' I feed my dog was astonishing. Looking completely like something chemically engineered, I can't say I was excited by it's appearance, but I persevered in the hope that it tasted better than it looked.



It didn't. It tasted as utterly false as it appeared, with a mind-bogglingly plasticine-like texture. The flavour was awful, I can't even begin to describe how artificial it tasted. I only endured one bite before it ended up in the bin. I can't believe I wasted £2.50 on this disgusting bar. 

0/10

PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter

Unlike the B'Jammin bar, I didn't buy this protein flapjack from a dedicated sports shop, instead it jumped out at me in Lidl (of all places!). As you may have read, I've fallen back in love with flapjacks of late, but I've never come across a peanut butter one before. Suffice to say it wasn't this bar's nutritional benefits that led to me buying it, just the idea of a nutty, comforting flapjack.



"PhD Protein Flapjack+ is an ideal snack for any athlete looking to increase muscle mass and help replenish the body with quality, healthy calories after a hard bout of intense exercise or throughout the day to support an athletic lifestyle. Providing 19 grams of protein and featuring the versatile benefits of premium quality whey protein and milk protein isolate."
Again, alarm bells started to ring as soon as the wrapper was off. Where were the layers upon layers of oats? It looked all wrong. There were a few visible oats, but mostly it was an alienesque brown mass of questionable substance. 



I bit into it, and immediately realised that it would suffer the same fate as the B'Jammin bar. All I could taste was the milk protein isolate, with no hint of peanut butter. Its chewiness was the only link to a flapjack, but it was intolerable, and I only managed two mouthfuls.

0/10

Summary

These were a bad couple of bars, and I'd be tempted to never buy any more (save for the occasional Lenny's cookie purchase) but I've been told that Quest bars are out of this world! Are there any bars that you would recommend? Am I the only one who can't stand the taste of the B'Jammin bar & the protein+ flapjack or have you had a similar experience? Please leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!




9 comments:

  1. Combat crunch cinnamon twist bars are utterly incredible! taste just like cinnamon toast crunch/curioulsy cinnamon... yeah quest bars are amazing, go for cookies and cream, white choc raspberry or mint choc

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    1. That does sound tempting! No horrible whey aftertaste? Have you tried either of the bars I reviewed? Cheers for the comment :)

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    2. absolutely none! I would 100% choose them over a regular chocolate bar. I haven't no, never really liked any of the phd products and i wouldn't trust a protein bar from Aldi xD

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  2. You should definitely try the carb killa range by Grenade. A tad expensive but they taste like a chocolate bar!!

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    1. Ooh really? I'll definitely have to give them a go! What flavour is the best?

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    2. I think that there are only three flavours... Caramel chaos, cookies and cream, fudge brownie. They are all tasty but I definitely recommend the last two! Also myprotein do a good range of protein bars and cookies although I believe you can only buy them direct from their website :)

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    3. I think that there are only three flavours... Caramel chaos, cookies and cream, fudge brownie. They are all tasty but I definitely recommend the last two! Also myprotein do a good range of protein bars and cookies although I believe you can only buy them direct from their website :)

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  3. I would agree with the two comments above, combat crunch and carb killa bars are way better than quest bars! Cinnamon Twist is my favourite combat crunch flavour and the caramel chaos or white chocolate cookie are my choice for the carb killa!

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    1. Thank you so much for your tips Abi! Cinnamon Twist sounds right up my street..

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