healthy habits | trek bars

jeeeez ok so, healthy food is a semi-regular theme around here... lately. and, because i can't say no to trying new things... it's going to keep happening. this week's installment: trek bars by natural balance foods. their protein flapjacks are (spiel from their website) "now made with gluten-free oats and packed with 10g of added protein for long lasing energy and fullness". meal replacements are my go to, so naturally, i was in.

when the samples arrived and i noted the flavours within the giant box (think: counter size! 16 bars for £14.99; bargain) - banana blast, berry burst, peanut power and cocoa chaos, i was instantly smitten because... who doesn't love a bit of general alliteration on their food products? keen to get sampling on, i ripped the box open, and that's when my colleagues all piped up that they wanted to try one too. 

with sixteen bars and six of us, i agreed to hand them out, only if each of them supplied a 50 word review each. some of them struggled with the word count, but without further ado!

lucy on peanut power: "there's a peanut party all up in my mouth! this bar is filling and flavoursome, and i can definitely imagine it giving me all the energy i would need for the gym (if only i was going to the gym to test that theory...)."

siobhan on peanut power: "trek review: peanutty." (and then two minutes later) "i ate it all" (and later whinged she was too full to eat her pie for lunch... she still ate her pie, but was unhappily full).

nick on berry burst: "surprisingly tasty; dry mouth; stuck in teeth – i want to brush my teeth after eating it; filling; would probably eat again; 6.3719 out of 10."

nicole on berry blast: "packaging: colourful and visually appealing; easy to open and a good size to put in your bag or desk. flavour: i had the ‘berry blast’ and it did taste like berry but wasn’t overwhelming; liked the nuttiness of the bar. texture: i liked that it was easy to chew and tear off a piece from the bar. overall, i really liked the berry blast bar and would have it again. it was filling and was nice for a mid-afternoon snack. i would also take one with me if i was out and needed a snack. great combination of flavour, nuttiness and crunchiness. i would recommend them to a friend."

(should be noted that nicole works in pr... if that wasn't totally obvious. she did also have another one in a different flavour, but i can't find her second review. safe to say it will be pretty cheery.)

louis (and me) on banana burst: "that banana one was like an assault in my mouth!" (me) "it was super strong and a gross overpowering synthetic banana flavour - would not recommend!" (louis)

nick on banana blast: "i ate the whole thing but i preferred the other one and i'm still really full."

me on cocoa chaos: "does anybody want the rest of this?" (lucy did, and really enjoyed it).

chloe on cocoa chaos: "i've got that trek bar, i suppose i could eat that...although i don't want to be too full for dinner later!" (she'd previously had a berry one and not submitted a review, naughty!)

by the end of the week, the bars were all but gone. we tricked a few people into eating the banana ones (they're really... not yum at all), but by friday, one still remained. the rest were all eaten, and mostly in happiness. i think for me, i was not expecting them to be 'wet'. the are all cold pressed and not baked, and i prefer my oaty snacks to be more 'cooked' and less something that looks like a dog treat. 

i like that these are totally healthy, and a great snack on the go - perfect for the handbag or on the way to the gym, and they obviously do keep you fuller longer, but i just did not enjoy the whole eating process. so... another one bites the dust (happu  pun not intended)! at least i have been moderately more popular at work this week! that's a bonus.