Fuel10k Protibricks Protein Weetabix
This is my first sort of negative article, but it comes with a strong caveat. I’m not a fan of normal Weetabix, its the consistency and texture I just don’t like. Its bizarre because I like Shreddies which often end up a similar texture if soaked too long in milk, but protobricks and Weetabix just aren’t for me.
The Product
The packaging is a fairly straight forward box, and the product inside are in packets of biscuits. So no counting, no weighing, just 2 biscuits, bowl, milk (to taste) and eat in that order.
Now the actual product just looks like Weetabix only a little darker brown in colour, and it tastes like a slightly more fibrous and very wheaty, much more so than the former.
It absorbs milk like a sponge, so 125ml of semi skimmed milk, simply doesn’t cut it, it soaks it up and turns into a thick gloopy, gluey substance almost like bread dough. I haven’t found the perfect amount of milk, but its certainly more than 125ml.
While on the subject of Skimmed Milk, as with all things you add milk to, be sure you add the additional protein, fat, and carbohydrates to the above chart when calculating your intake. According to MyFitnessPal 125ml of Asda Semi Skimmed contains 6g Carbs, 4.5g protein, 2.2g fat. This does make it a much better balance but still must be accounted.
I have also been told by guys in the gym that adding a little honey or vitafiber adds a needed hit of sweetness. Others have suggested adding some peanut butter or other nut butter, a few suggested bananas or various combinations of the above. I suppose you could also use hot milk.
The Competition
Given that Weetabix has produced their own version, and they are the namesake, I thought would be fun to compare the macro-nutrition facts. I would say over all they are quite evenly matched.
IF I liked the type product, I think I would choose the Protibricks due to the lower carbohydrate count. In saying that, I haven’t tried the Protein Big Biscuits from Weetabix, if they taste amazing, the 8g of carbs will look a whole lot smaller the daily count.
| Fuel10k Protibrick | Weetabix Big Biscuit | ||
| Calories (kcal) | 144 | 144 | |
| Protein | 6.3 g | 7.6 g | |
| Fat | 1 g | 0.8 g | |
| Saturated Fat | 0.1 g | 0.2 g | |
| Carb | 17 g | 25 g | |
| Sugar | 1.2 g | 1.9 g | |
| Fibre | 4.4 g | 7.6 g | |
| Salt | 200 mg | 100 mg | |
| * based on 40g of product, no milk. | |||
In the end the Protibricks size up quite well, when semi-skimmed / 2% milk is added, it becomes quite a nicely balanced breakfast. The carbs a little high but early in the day its not too bad.
*Holder image by Andrew Porter Photography
