Pro Flapjacks
CNP Professional Flapjacks, as the name suggests are snack bars in the style of flapjacks containing good levels of protein as well as quality carbohydrates and some fats.
These make a great alternative to sipping on a shake and should help with satiety and cravings.
go to commentsThe Ingredients (an overview):
- Oats
- Slow acting protein blend
- Chocolate coating
- Sugar
- Sweetener (Aspartame and Acesulfame K)
At first glance, the ingredients look like good choices – a good mix of quality protein from whey and casein and low G.I. oats to help stabilise blood sugars. Carbohydrate content isn’t especially low at nearly 35g per bar, and this does mean a bar contains 278 kcals in total, which is definitely high compared to some others on the market – clearly this is not a bar aimed at those on a strict diet. It would be more appropriate to use these flapjacks out on the go to replace a meal, or in addition to if trying to increase daily calories in a convenient manner.
Taste and Texture:
Being called a flapjack, you would expect a taste and texture to resemble that of a flapjack and fortunately CNP deliverrs on the name with a pleasingly chewy and wholesome bar. As this is the chocolate variety, there is a layer of chocolate at the bottomm, unfortunately the layer is no where near as thick as it appears and is just a couple mm’s thick in total.
Taste:
After savouring a few bites, I can say the taste is quite pleasant and surprisingly flapjack-like. There is just a hint of chocolateness but most would be quite pleased with the sweet flapjacky taste. Despite containing artificial sweeteners, there is barely any noticeable chemical after taste that some protein bars have.
Texture:
As above, the taste strongly resembles that of a flapjack and luckily the texture isn’t far off either. The oats give it a satisfying chew and it holds together really well. Some bars suffer from over dryness, however the CNP bars are neither too dry or soggy, which makes them surprisingly easy to eat. As the chocolate base IS real chocolate, it makes the bar look very inviting.
In Summary:
The Good:
- Fantastic value for money
- All round good nutritional profile
- Great for an in-between snack – beats having a Mars bar any day!
- Genuinely quite moreish
The Bad:
- Chocolate taste not very apparent
- High in calories compared to comparable bars
- Too moreish?
To Conclude:
A good all-round bar, I look forward to sampling the other flavours. It’s easy to see why CNP and in particular the Pro range of flapjacks are so popular among trainees. Probably more suited to those wanting a snack or needing extra good quality calories. CNP do offer a ‘leaner’ version of this bar with almost double the protein content and fewer calories which may be more suitable for some who can’t afford to have the extra calories in their diet.
