When it is a day of early rise, a quick start to the day is needed and if, like me, you sometimes are not the most eager to jump out of a warm bed, time becomes swiftly against you. Skipping breakfast is the normal solution, and think that grabbing something on the way to work will remedy it. What I grab is normally a cereal bar. I honestly only bought these Alpen Light Apple and Sultana bars because nothing else took my fancy, and discovered a tasty morning treat indeed. Here are my views on these waistline friendly Alpen Light bars.

---Italian? French? German? American? Well, British Actually!---

Despite being named after the famous mountain range in Europe, and having the image of snow-capped peaks adorned on the packaging, the Alpen range of cereals are nothing to do with Italy or neighbouring countries. Neither are they anything to do with the town of Alpen in Germany, and surprisingly, not associated with the cereal giants in the USA. Alpen branded foods are made by the still British owned cereal company Weetabix. Yes, that shocked me too, much like the TV adverts Lenny Henry did for them when he was still funny.

As a brand, Alpen cereals emerged in the late 60's. Marketed as organic and healthy, the first breakfast cereals were muesli based with rolled oats with no typical artificial additives. I remember back in the eighties that they always seemed too expensive and in tiny boxes, and couldn't compare to an exciting giant box of Sugar Puffs! I mean, they had a orange monster on the cover! Of course, as I aged I realised that the cereal itself was rather nice, and was much better for me than honey coated wheat kernels. Alpen has always been a big seller both here and over the pond, using the natural food tag well. As with most brands, they expanded their flavours and varieties over time and finally produced a range of cereal bars from 2007. I'm not a big fruit eater, but two fruits that I do like a lot are apple and sultana, so trying these was merely a formality, the low calorie count was just a nice upshot.

---Price and Packaging---

Anyone familiar with the Alpen brand will not be surprised to see the mountain range of the same name plastered prominently over the box. Light blues of the image offset the green colours themed in with the apple flavour, with the Alpen logo in large white letter clearly on the box. It stands out shouting, 'ALPEN, you know us!' An image of the bar next to it's ingredients finishes off a standard to attractice bit of design. Of course, also displayed clearly is the per bar '70 calories', flashed as a yellow sticker design. The individual bars are wrapped in a foil cover with the same design and are tight and keep the contents fresh and moist. This all fits with the brand and is an eye-grabber certainly. All the usual information is on the back, and the box is fully recyclable.

For the princely sum of £1.99 you get five bars in a packet, but they are regularly on offers such as 2 for £3 and such like. This is a little more expensive than other cereal bars such as Nutri-Grain or Harvest Chewee, the latter sometimes under a pound for the same amount of bars. That said, its fair to say that the packaging, product quality and ingredients used is of a higher standard.

---Taste and Texture---

While not jumping up and leaping into your nostrils, the fragrance of these bars is very appetising, especially if you like your apple. It's nice to have lots of fruit used too, and the sweet appley smell is very nice, and mixed with the juicy sultana and ever-so-slight oaty aroma, it's all good in the olfactory department.

Just slightly tacky to handle, but not sticky, you can easily pick them up on the go and bite without having to wipe your hands. They are coated in a sugary syrup to hold them together, but they are not fused solidly. They are quite delicate really, and will crumble when squeezed. Unfortunately, because of this they can fall apart in the wrapper, which can be a little messy when opening if they have been banging about in your coat pocket.

I must admit, apart from the nice smell, they look pretty scrummy too. Nicely shaped, a good balance of cereal and fruit gives very natural and appetising colour, and the squiggle of yogurt on the top is the final draw, and you won't be disappointed. Just right in consistency, not too chewy but just enough, and still with a little bit of crunch amoung the flavoursome apple pieces and moist sultanas, the creamy essence of the yogurt topping it off. Sweet yes, but not in a hugely strong sense, and the cereals and syrup just bring the whole fruity flavour together. Very nice indeed, and satisfying too. So much so, that a single bar doesn't last long with me, it's gone in three bites.

---Ingredients and Nutritional Information---

Low in calories per bar for what they are, fears about ruining a diet should be dismissed. High in fibre with added prebiotics, which Alpen say aid digestion. It's worth pointing out that unlike the normal cereals, preservatives are used in these bars.

Cereals (33% Rice, Whole Oats, Whole Wheat), Prebiotic Oligofrutose Syrup (30%), Sultanas (13%), Sugar, Cereal Flours, Humectant (Glycerol), Fruit Juice Concentrates (0.6% Grape, Apple), Dried Apple (2.8 with Preservative Sulphur Dioxide), Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Dextrose, Milk Lactose, Milk Yogurt Powder, Malted Barley Extract, Maize Starch, Flavourings, Salt, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Malic Acid, Antioxident (Tocopherols)

Allergy Information: Contains Wheat, Oats, Barley, Milk, Soya and Sulphites. Not suitable for nut allergy sufferers.

Quantity per Bar.
Energy - 263 kj / 63 kcal
Protein - 0.8g
Fat in total - 0.7g
Of Saturates - 0.3g
Carbohydrate in total - 11.3g
Of Sugars - 4.7g
Fibre - 4.1g
Sodium - 0.1g

---Conclusion---

They are British. They are low in calories. They taste great. For me, these are a good substitute for a missed bowl of cereal, maybe even better in some aspects. Apart from a sterner price tag than other bars in the same category, and with a few added preservatives, these are delicious and feel good cereal bars I wholly recommend you try. Stickiness, fruitiness and oatiness, it's all good and not guilt inducing either. Have a box in your cupboard today in case you miss a breakfast any time soon. Just as high in quality as the mountains that spawned their name.

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