Following on from the exciting release of the Grenade Carb Killa Spread (reviewed here) , the latest innovation to be stocked at Monster is Muscle Nuts Milky Whey Protein Peanut Butter by Muscle Geek Nutrition. So, among the huge array of high protein spreads currently available on the market, is this one worthy of adding to your cupboard?
First impressions
I was quite surprised at how small the tub is. As a reference Dr Zak’s protein peanut butter, for the same price, comes in a fairly hefty 450g tub, while Muscle Nuts is just 265g. On the other hand, it does appear to be produced in smaller batches and I have no problem paying a little more to support smaller businesses when the quality makes up for it!
So, is it worth it?
Unlike other peanut butters which are free from palm oil and sugar, the product has not separated into an annoying oily and solid layer, it also has a unique texture which I haven't seen before, almost whipped, which I really enjoyed. The texture is, in my opinion, the only thing remotely reminiscent of a Milky Way bar.
While it tastes incredible, I think that the flavour is misleading and would be better marketed as a toffee flavour. After all, there are crunchy caramel pieces in the peanut butter and natural toffee flavours added. If anything, the expectation of soft Milky Way flavour is far surpassed by the actual sweet toffee flavour! The crunchy pieces were unexpected and extremely enjoyable. They undoubtedly deserve a mention on the front of the label at the very least!
Nutrition and ingredients
Something which I value from any food product is a short, easily understood ingredients list. Muscle Nuts has achieved this perfectly. It is hard to believe that it isn’t packed with sugar and chemicals… but somehow they’ve pulled it off! In fact, a 30g serving contains just 1.4g sugar, placing it in Carb Killa Spread territory and a little less than the same serving of Dr Zaks at around 2.4g.
10g of protein is also extremely impressive. There is certainly a trend recently of advertising everything on the supermarket shelves right now as high protein… when in a reality a serving og whatever it is might be as little as 3g! In this case, the protein peanut butter earns its name, not to mention that it is sourced from quality whey protein concentrate.
Overall
A little expensive, but understandably so. Possibly a little element of novelty but nevertheless worth buying as a change from your usual peanut butter. Eat on oats, rice cakes or bagels!
9/10