Alpen light - better as a treat than for breakfast (Weetabix Alpen Light Chocolate & Orange)

Member Name: ChrisGeering

Product:	Weetabix Alpen Light Chocolate & Orange
Date:	25/06/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The bar is sweet and tasty

Disadvantages: The sugar content is high

I usually buy Kelloggs Nutrigrain cereal bars as a surrogate for breakfast. However, I saw an offer for Alpen Light Chocolate & Orange Cereal Bar at Tescos (£1.65 for 5 bars) and decided to try them out instead.

Outer Packaging: The box is a smartly designed and coloured box, containing the 5 bars. The box is made from card and is recyclable.

The Bar Wrapper: The bars are contained within a sealed foil wrapper which is easy to tear. The length of the wrapper is 15 cm, and the weight is 21 g. The graphics look quite good on the bar, with a blue mountain background and an appetizing looking chocolate and orange in the foreground. Also prominent is that the bars contain 70 calories per bar.

The Bar Itself: The bar itself looks quite appetizing, with glazed oats and a chocolate squiggle on top of the bar. However, I wonder whether this is truly a healthy breakfast despite the low number of calories per bar as the sugar content is nearly 20% (19.7 g per 100 g). The bar is also quite small (8.4 cm in length) which is almost half the size of the bar wrapper! - the small size of the bar is probably the reason for the low number of calories.

Taste and smell: The bar gives a nice aromatic hint of orange when you open the wrapper. The bar is somewhat chewy, but not to the point where you fear for your teeth. The oats also do not stick to your teeth. The flavour is quite sweet and tasty, and you can taste the glazed oats.

Overall: In terms of nutrition content (as stated above) I am not convinced that this product is particularly healthy for breakfast. However, this product may be more suitable for a treat (e.g. after dinner) as an alternative to a chocolate bar, as chocolate would have comparatively higher sugar content.

Typical values per 100g per Bar
Energy 1208kj 254kj
Protein 6.1g 1.3g
Carbohydrate 54.9g 11.5g
of which sugars 19.7g 4.4g
Fat 4.6g 1g
of which saturates 1.6g 0.3g
Fibre 24.6g 5.2g
Sodium 0.22g 0.05g

Summary: OK for a treat and a low in calories - but the bars are tiny!