Slim Fast Bar

“Post!!” My bloke calls from the stairs. He goes to the porch and collects the scattered envelopes and leaflets from amongst the untidy shoes and dried mud.
He slings a padded envelope at me. Excitement kicks in.
My free sample of the Slim-Fast Yoghurt Muesli bar had arrived!
Big grin – new review…

Foil wrapped in a white packet, red sealed ends and Slim-Fast written in red above the top left corner, the words ‘Yoghurt Muesli meal bar – 1 bar = 1 meal’ printed across the centre, a photo of the edible bar, waiting inside the packet, is printed on the right hand side…. my mouth waters.

The bar, in its packet, felt heavy in my hands, bulky if you like, and I imagined this was a good sized bar to fill in for a meal but surprised at its stated weight of a mere 60g (2 grams heavier than a standard Mars bar)

The packet was easy-ish to open – well I suppose it was just very well sealed to keep in the freshness.

An instant aroma of sweet yoghurt filled my nostrils – like the smell of vanilla cream, or maybe white chocolate, to some, with a subtle hinted smell of sweet popcorn!!
It smelt really nice and appetising.
For a healthy meal filler for someone who enjoys a good sweet – I was impressed with this so far…

The Muesli bar appeared like a Rice Crispy bar, crammed but coated in sticky toffee (instead of chocolate as we know).
Half of the base of it had been dipped in the white yoghurt. It’s quite sticky to touch.

The first bite – the yoghurt base was cool against my tongue. My teeth sunk hard into the bar to take a bite. This was very tough and chewy…but I liked it.
There was a sweet milky taste of the yoghurt that caused my mouth to water more but as the sweet yoghurt taste quickly melted away I became disappointed…

The Muesli was far from the sweetness I expected – it was the yoghurt taste that first aids the impression that it is all sweet – but as I said, once that melts and the sweetness disappears you are left with a rather chewy and dry, almost powdery like, substance.
It’s almost as though you have glued Muesli together in a small lump and begin chewing on it.
My saliva glands don’t manage to keep up with it and as I swallow I’m finding bits of dry cereal sticking to my teeth, gums and tonsils and just at the back of my throat causing me the need for a sip of water…

{{Gulp}} Ah, that’s better.

Right…let’s try again.
Second bite – Mmmm-nope, 3 seconds and the yoghurt sweetness has gone again.

Chew, chew, chew…nope, I don’t think I could eat this whole bar – I’m finding it really boring, dry and bland now. It just wasn’t worth that first 3 seconds of taste.
Wait – what’s that? Urgghh…I’m now succumbed to a rather stale after taste.

I give the rest of it to my bloke who is complaining he is hungry (nice of me, eh!) – but maybe a second opinion is appropriate here.
As I ask him to let me know what he thinks, ”First, middle and last impressions would be appreciated…thanks”, I toddle off and leave him to it and as I start to walk upstairs I hear it all without words…

“Mmmm…Oooooo!…Urrrgghh!!!!”

I later on find the half eaten bar left on the kitchen worktop. No need to ask.

Now there are 2 other flavours available in which at this moment I cannot comment on – but these flavours are ‘Fruits of the Forest’ and ‘Chocolate Crunch’ – so I am presuming, and hoping, that I have received the most boring of all three or god help you Slim-Fast people – what’s with torturing yourselves?!

If I have given you any interest in this consumable piece of ‘chipboard’ then the cost of a pack of 3, in a box, will cost you approximately £3.49p (Tesco).

Now, the nutritional information, I suppose, is ok considering it is a meal replacement, so therefore you can expect a normal to high level of fat and carbohydrates as well as a percentage of recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals.

****** Nutritional Info (g) - Per bar (60g) ******
Energy (KJ/Kcal) - 930/221
Carbohydrates - 27.7
Of which sugars - 13.5
Fat - 7.0
Of which saturates - 4.6
Fibre - 4.0
Sodium - 0.2

****** Vitamins & Minerals (%RDA) ******
Vitamin A - 26
Vitamin D - 40
Vitamin E - 40
Vitamin C - 30
Thiamin - 36
Riboflavin - 30
Niacin - 34
Vitamin B6 - 30
Folic Acid - 35
Vitamin B12 - 54
Biotin - 20
Pantothenic Acid - 25

Calcium - 28
Phosphorus - 40
Iron - 41
Magnesium - 18
Zinc - 23
Iodine - 26
Potassium - No RDA
Copper - No RDA
Selenium - No RDA
Manganese - No RDA

As Ciao do not allow the addition of product ingredients (?) I can only inform you that it may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, egg, wheat, sesame seeds, and other cereals.
No comments about Gluten or Lactose.

Looking at the ‘Best Before End’ date, this bars life span seems to have a lengthy time of around approximately 8 months. Keep in a cool dark place.

There’s additional information on the packet of a website, email and telephone number for people with interest in joining the Slim-Fast club which will give you tips, recipes and advice.

Other information on the packet is as follows:
‘Slim-Fast meal replacements are not designed to be your only food – use them to replace 2 meals, add a balanced meal and snacks, plus drink at least 1.5 litres of water daily.’ (Especially after eating this)
‘Can only help weight loss as part of a calorie controlled diet.’

Having only eaten about 2 thirds of this bar I didn't find in any way that it had started to 'fill me up' in the way a normal meal could. I don't see how the last bite would have made much of a difference if I had finished it either.
Research recommends a meal should compact to the size of a large apple – this bar is more like the size of a Satsuma. It may give you all the nutrients you need but it doesn't give your stomach much to work on. It is heavy so if you get any kind of feeling, it's probably that of the feeling of stuffing your face with a big bag of crisps (Doesn't fill you up completely but temporarily satisfies you - for about 40 minutes or 10!)
Now particularly for someone on a slimming diet – if you are a large person that eats a lot, it’s probably quite obvious you’ll have a stretched stomach – some larger people have been inclined to settle for having their stomach stapled – and for those of you that don’t, this bar is in no way going to convince you to carry on with the Slim-Fast course. If this course has actually worked for anyone – I would love to hear from you!
If anything – the original Slim-Fast milkshakes are a good option, I find them a lot more filling and tasty too, but that’s another review…

I did not enjoy this. Maybe someone out there will. The only thing I recommend is do not waste your money and eat a proper breakfast and lunch. Certainly do not have this as a main dinner.
I don’t see how this is a good thing, but then I guess it will work for someone – I’ve not known anyone who has been on a Slim-Fast diet and been successful!
It’s your choice if you chose the option of joining the club – it won’t hurt in trying if you want too give it a go – good on you for motivating yourself!

I hope you all enjoy your freebies if you selected for one – if you have the option then definitely try before you buy…

GB:
Slim-Fast Foods Ltd
FREEPOST NATE139
Milton Keynes,
MK9 1BR

ROI:
Allegro Ltd,
Jamestown Business Park,
Finglas,
Dublin 11

Happy eating.
Bev x