Working from home gives me the flexibility to fit my workouts in and around dropping the kids off at school and any work commitments I might have. However, the downside of spending so much time at home is that immediately after I get back from a run or I’ve just finished stretching out after a squatfest, the post-workout hunger kicks in and all the foodie temptations in the kitchen start calling my name.
Now I’m the first to admit I have a sweet tooth (woe betide anyone that gets between me and a packet of chocolate hobnobs), but in a bid to curb my cravings I have been trying to cut down on the amount of refined sugar in my diet. This is one of the reasons why I started up the #FlapjackFriday feature over on the recipe pages, because flapjacks are one of my absolute fave treats and they are incredibly easy to make using healthy alternatives to sugar.
But sometimes I fancy something just a little bit more decadent, something that I have to rip out of a packet because that makes it feel as though it’s a bit more of a treat. So when a parcel turned up from SCI-MX Nutrition containing cookies, oat bakes and a chocolate brownie, I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
Choc Chip Protein Brownie
Ummm hello, a choc chip protein brownie you say? Give it to me! This protein powerhouse contains a whopping 20g of protein and, like all of the other Pro 2 Go products, is low in sugar. The beauty of this brownie is that it can be enjoyed cold or warm, so of course we had to try it out both ways…well it would be rude not to!
Incredibly filling, sweet tasting and with an almost raw cake mixture type texture, personally the cold brownie just didn’t hit the spot for me. But seriously, zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds and it transforms into an ooey gooey sticky slab of loveliness that had me oohing and aahing with every bite. And I haven’t even told you the best bit yet…there’s just 250 calories per bar, which would you believe is a staggering 50% less than your average brownie!
OK, so I get you can’t carry a microwave round in your gym bag, but hey for folks like me who workout at home, this warmed up protein brownie lark is a proper revelation! Hobnobs…what hobnobs?
Mini Cookie
These cookies might well be mini by name but they are proper mighty in taste and will have your tanks filled up ready to face your next challenge for the day. Available in two flavours: Strawberries and White Choc Chip for a lighter, more summery feel, and Double Choc Chip for the indulgent chocoholics among us, they are high in protein, low in sugar and are ideal for healthy snacking on the go. They look like a standard cookie, with visible chunks of chocolate and flecks of strawberry, and the smell is deliciously sweet and inviting.
I personally preferred the Strawberries and Cream flavour, which is unusual for me as I would usually be all over the chocolate, but…and I can’t quite believe I’m saying this…I actually found the Double Choc Chip flavour too sweet! Maybe I’ve retrained my taste buds after all, who knows, but after a couple of bites I just found the taste too sickly sweet and I gave up; it beat me.
If you don’t have much of a sweet tooth, then I honestly don’t think you’ll get on with these, however if you are a bit of a slave to the sweet stuff and you also worry about eating too much sugar, then these are the ideal solution. The texture is very much like raw cookie dough, slightly chewy and incredibly filling so great for topping up those energy levels.
Oat Bakes
These come in two different flavours: Strawberry Cheesecake and Cookies and Cream, and look like a flapjack with a layer of white chocolate on the base. With 15g of protein in each bake they are ideal as a post workout snack and although they taste sweet, they are low in sugar.
Out of all of the Pro 2 Go range, the oat bakes were by far my favourite. Maybe it’s because they’re the closest thing to flapjacks (I am a flapjack fiend) or maybe it’s a texture thing; they felt more substantial and tasted more ‘real’ which in turn made them feel healthier. Both flavours are delicious and the white chocolate base really helped break up the taste of the bar, so that there was a bit of variety in the mouth. There was no powdery taste, which I got from the cookies, and although they were filling, they didn’t leave me feeling over stuffed or stodgy.
Great handy sized bars that will slip perfectly into a pocket or gym bag, which I can imagine being enjoyed by gym goers as a post-workout protein snack as well as those people who lead a hectic lifestyle and want to up their healthy snack game.
You can buy all of these products and more direct from the SCI-MX Nutrition website and you can also follow them @scimx on their social pages.
