| Product: |
Weetabix Alpen Cereal Bars |
| Date: |
28/05/05 (928 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Delicious, Low in fat, Easy to carry
Disadvantages: may contain nuts, not suitable for coeliacs
Why is it if someone else in the family decides to go shopping with you it costs you more money?
Daughter No.1 was home for Christmas, we had just returned from Malta the previous day, and as the cupboards looked a bit bare, off we went to Costco to stock up ready for Christmas and parties. I was planning on buying cheeses, wines, non-alcoholic drinks, fancy biscuits, nibbles etc. as well as basics like meat and fish. And of course CHOCOLATES, don’t forget the chocolates!
As we walked round, sampling bits and pieces as you do in Costco, she spotted a wrapper with 4 boxes of Alpen Bars. That meant 24 bars, she wouldn’t eat all those in 10 days holiday, but as there was no mention of oats, which cause me a problem, they were added to the trolley as they sounded quite yummy.
The wrapper was taken off next morning, revealing the 4 boxes more clearly, 2 Fruit and Nut with Milk Chocolate and 2 Strawberry with Yoghurt. On the back of the box along with some other details it says, “A moist chewy combination of crispy rice and wheat flakes and juicy raisins, topped with roast hazelnuts and almonds, and dipped in smooth milk chocolate”. The other box had similar details but added, “Topped with pieces of real strawberries freeze dried at their succulent best, dipped in a creamy yoghurt flavoured coating.”
Each box has a piece of trivia, telling us that Chocolate houses were opened in the 17th. Century in London, to provide refreshment for the body and mind. Going on to say they can’t promise a spanking new you, but they can put a spring in your step with New Alpen Fruit and nut bars. On the Strawberry box we discover that in the 12th. Century Genghis Khan’s hordes carried yogurt in gourds (I hadn’t realised that rhymed!) to help fortify them as they crossed deserts. It goes on to say, they can’t promise world domination but can help battle your hunger pangs with the goodness of New Strawberry and yoghurt bars.
The fronts of the boxes made in glossy cardboard are fairly similar, both have a blue sky with a mountain. The fruit and nut has a chocolate coloured mountain with ALPEN in large letters on it, plus a tempting picture of the bar and some pieces of chocolate, grapes, ears of wheat and hazelnuts and clearly states 6 Fruit and Nut with Milk Chocolate on a purple vertical stripe. First prize to the Strawberry with yoghurt, a blue sky and shaded red, snow capped mountain with a creamy band with the number of bars. Again a picture of the delicious looking bar, and lots of succulent strawberries and pieces of wheat.
Each bar was foiled wrapped with a similar picture to the front of the box and weighed 29g. Easy enough to open, the lovely smell of chocolate, fruit and nuts met us. It was about 9cm long, 2cm. high and 3cm wide. The base and bottom approx. 0.5cm. was covered in chocolate, the top rounded and sprinkled with nuts. You could see pieces of fruit in the biscuit mixture and it was glossy and slightly sticky. Yum! quite a bite and chewy. Definitely worth trying I thought as I bite again and again. Gosh nearly all gone. Probably 4 bites could be 5 if you’re careful! The chocolate was good quality. The flavour was a good mixture of chocolate fruit and nuts and the chewy cereals. I wondered what made it chewy, so when my coffee was finished, I went into the kitchen and picked up the box.
EEKS! On the side of the box I couldn’t see which had been covered with the wrapper, it had a list of ingredients. The other side of the box which had been visible had a list in 6 different languages. Cereals 30% (Wheat, Rice Oats) Oh. No! not oats I had thought it tasted like them but was enjoying it too much to stop! Feeling safe as it said a combination of crispy rice and wheat flakes.
Too late the deed was done, I would have to suffer the consequences.
Fortunately the percentage was so low it didn’t have any awful affect on me, and since then I’ve eaten several more. I’m a devil for punishment! Because it’s chewy you feel as if you are having a lot to eat, there are 122 cals in the Fruit and Nut Bar and 3.9 g Fat, and 119 in the Strawberry and 3.1g Fat, for those of you who are counting the calories. Not sure if it put a spring in my step, but it certainly battled with the hunger pangs and having a fruit juice first and a coffee with it, I have lasted until lunch time, which did surprise me.
The strawberry pieces are full of flavour and not at all cardboardy in texture. The yoghurt covering on the base is just like the yoghurt chocolate covered nuts and raisins that were so popular a few years ago. Again a lovely creamy flavour, my son picks off the strawberry pieces which is easy to do!
I have also seen an Apple and Blackberry with yoghurt but this hasn’t got the same appeal. (Sorry about the pun - A Peel for an apple! for those of you with an odd sense of humour like myself.)
I now happily much away whilst checking my e-mails some mornings, alternating with ordinary cereals.They are excellent bars to give someone, either child or adult rushing out to school or work without breakfast, but do carry a warning about Nuts. Even the Strawberry ones as they are made in an environment were nuts are. They also contain Gluten so are not suitable for Coeliacs, and Cows Milk and Soya.
The warning is there, so in future I will read the ingredients carefully, but it did not appear obvious from the first glance, it goes to show how important the small print is.
Now you are asking what did they cost? They were £3.89 for the 4 boxes plus 17.5% VAT which equals £4.57 or £1.14 a box, or 19p a bar.
I’m still a fan 18 months later and often have one of these at lunch time just to have something sweet and low in fat instead of higher calorie chocolate biscuits. If you haven’t tried them then what are you waiting for --- treat yourself!
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Last comment:
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marandina - 28/05/05 We absolutely love these! I really like the chocolate one. Great review, Jo.
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