Eat in. Play out.

OK here's today's line up AND the at-home version.

No LIDL version available, sadly for my wallet. They do have a cocoa orange nakd knock off but I don't like those so there you go.

All are GF but none are soy free.

Clockwise from top right we have:

M&S

80p per 35g bar, 4g protein. Good moisture to bite ratio and strong, rich almost coffee like chocolate taste, with a treacle note that is coming from the raisins in the mix. Density managed via chicory fibre which seems to be the go-to for a lot of things. A slightly more attractive product to look at than the Nakd bar but that is not a high bar. Addition of peanuts and actual chocolate chips makes this much tastier and interesting than the nakd bar it is a copy cat of, but gram for gram it is actually pricier.

TREK PROTEIN

£1 per 45g bar, 7g protein. The answer to "what if we made nutella miserable?" A chonky literal brick of a product with substantial heft and 0 joy. Paler than the M&S version as it has more nuts and no raisins. Peanut flour and chicory fibre make up almost 20% of this and it shows. I have a lot of time for nakd as they were the only vegan treat in town for a while but this thing is a sad dry lump. Eating it is an experience in dutiful chewing and leaves your jaw sore. Honestly you are better off just eating nuts. I pity the hazelnuts in this product.

TRIBE PROTEIN

£1 per 38g bar, 5g protein. The objectively tastiest of them all, basically a layer of soft date paste on a slightly crunchy chocolate flapjack-esque base (probably cold pressed but could be baked not 100% sure) then topped with nuts making it feel like the fanciest. Protein comes from "soya protein crispies" which sounds like a terrible breakfast product. Addition of oats makes it not-like-the-other-ones but it sits in the same taste zone so I included it. Different textures make it interesting and it is my current fave for with afternoon coffee.

THE AT HOME VERSION

Goals here were to keep the chocolate goodness, make it soy free and improve on the cold-pressed bars by making them moist and softer. Getting the hard texture that the packet versions have probably involves a level of dehydration that I have no interest in.

I included oats as chicory fibre isn't particularly available and I needed a dry binding agent. I had jumbo oats in and they needed a bit of crumbling to make them finer but I refuse to keep multiple grades of oat in the house as my flat is small and I am not quite that obsessed.

I added a chopped chocolate and peanut top because it makes the final thing look nicer as well as giving it variety in texture. Initial versions I mixed these in like the M&S bar but I prefer it with them on top.

I didn't bother with hazelnuts and stuck with peanuts but obviously you can substitute.

Final texture is akin to a chocolate brownie - it has that gooey chew.

Makes approx 12 40g bars at 16p each - price will flex depending on how cheap you can get your dates, I am blessed with a large turkish store on the corner.

200g chopped stoned dates (buy cheap ones this is not the time for fancy medjool)

100g peanut butter - I had smooth but crunchy will work

100g GF oats

15g cocoa

Vanilla essence

Pinch salt

15g chopped dark chocolate (LIDL)

15g chopped roasted peanuts (I used salted, YMMV)

* soak dates in boiling water (just enough to cover) for 10 mins, drain and smush dry

* blend dates into a pale creamy paste

* add other ingredients except chopped chocolate and peanuts

* stir well to break up oats

* press firmly into a container, mine was 16cm x 9 cm giving a mix height of 2.5cm

* leave in fridge overnight

* next day cut into 12 bars and press chopped nuts and chocolate on top - first version I topped the big block pre slicing then realised this would only be one edge of the bar so don't do that

Made for my darling who misses this from pregan days - HMU if you want a vegan version of your faves.

I knew it would need umami and that dry-your-mouth-out sharp depth that mature cheese had so a quick conflab with my fellow cookery mavens on "what does stilton taste of really?" and here we are

1 broccoli, chopped (I use frozen)

1/2 an onion (again, frozen)

Veggie stock to cover

ONE ENTIRE TUB OF NUTRITIONAL YEAST

Heaped tsp white miso

Heaped tablespoon of dried seaweed

3 pudding spoons of the pickle liquid from a jar of gherkins - sauerkraut would also work, you want a white vinegar pickle here not a sugar pickle

Garlic to taste (I use powdered because I am a lazy heretic)

Smidge of English mustard

3 chopped spring onions (white and green bits)

I added a slug of chopped chives and parsley as I had fresh in but think that it will fly without

Generous salt and pepper seasoning

* Gently simmer until broccoli is cooked and remove from heat - the less you cook it the greener it will stay

* Blend until super smooth

* Serve with swirl of cream (I had oatly, but elmlea plant also works) plus grated mature vegan cheese

* I cooked mine the day before and heated up before serving

From v1, I removed chicory and chocolate, replaced half the black treacle with a paler syrup. I had maple which pushed the cost per unit up to 33p but it still is cheaper than the LIDL offer. A swap with golden syrup would make it 25p.

The main difference was mix thickness and cooking method. Mix needs to be at least a finger thick and I did the first stage of baking in a bain marie to stop the sugar caramalising hard. The baking dish was covered with foil throughout so there's no crispy brown top - though there is a chewy crust.

Am I painfully aware of the irony of a cosy cottage bake like flapjack needing a french cooking method to get to the same moisture and texture as a product made in a factory? Why yes. Yes I am.

You will need to check it regularly because ovens are wily beasts. I checked mine every 5 mins towards the end to get these timings so YMMV depending on if you know whether your oven runs hot or not.

I will be attempting a v3 without a bain marie because it is a little faffy, and with golden syrup instead of maple because that stuff is pricey but it was what I had in the house.

100g GF oats

50g margarine

50g sugar

25g black treacle

25g maple syrup

2 tsp cocoa

2 pudding spoons of mixed flax and sunflower seeds in accordance with your preference - I went heavier on the sunflower seeds

Pinch salt

Drop vanilla extract

* Melt the fat and sugars in a pan, turn off the heat

* Add cocoa, seeds, salt and vanilla extract

* Add oats, stir well until some of the oats break up and you have a soft texture

* Leave mix to soak for 10mins

* Oven to GM 4

* Grease the smaller dish, put oat mix in - it should be a finger thick, cover with foil

* Boil the kettle and put water in the larger dish

* Put your smaller dish in the bath

* Put both in oven for 15mins

* Remove. Take smaller dish out and put on oven shelf like a normal person

* Bake for another 15 mins

* Test with a needle / pin - this should come out clean from the centre with nothing wet sticking to it, if that's the case then return to oven

Good starter for 10.

Version is GF and soy free, using the incredible method of buying GF oats and sunflower spread. Why the originals are not GF or soy free I do not know. Moral weakness probably.

Standard flapjack methodology, melt fat and sugars, add dry to wet. Ratios adjusted for added seeds, cocoa and chocolate.

Strongly on the side of "crunchy" rather than "soft and chewy" so a little dry for my tastes and didn't have the pretty gloss of the Graze. Darker than LIDL but not as deep as a Graze. Essentially this is in line with the LIDL offering with extra chocolate. Sweetness level is about right.

Good chocolatey depth so matches GRAZE but not sure that chocolate as an ingredient is really giving it anything that the cocoa isn't.

I don't think that the chicory powder is adding much value either but may check one with and one without - gram for gram it is the priciest ingredient and honestly I only included it because I happen to have some in the house.

I don't have access to the protein soy nibbles that have been used to add protein to the LIDL version so these clock in at 3g protein per portion, a little lower than LIDL but higher than Graze.

Recipe yields 6 squares which are slightly larger than the originals (36g compared to 30g) at a total cost of £1.39 or 23p each (Sainsburys prices, checked today) This would come down further if chicory and chocolate omitted). Already cheaper than LIDL at 37p and a big improvement on Graze 69p.

V2 will look to get more moisture so upping marg and syrup, possibly lowering oven temp, maybe shorter cooking time, covering with foil and trying to make a thicker batch. It will also take out the chocolate and eat it instead.

Yeah yeah I change multiple variables. Peer review me baby.

I am limited in my control over cooking method as I am not a factory. I suspect that GRAZE are doing something clever in the cooking process or even cold pressing cooked oats into a syrup mix. That feels like a v3 job if v2 doesn't cut it.

I do love me a decent copycat and this is an interesting one where I cannot decide.

They both weigh the same (30g) so LIDL comes out on top here. Both are vegan. Neither are GF. Both contain soy.

Recipes are very similar: oats, margarine, golden syrup, chicory, cocoa, brown sugar, sunflower and linseed.

The Graze version is darker, thicker and a little softer. It is glossier and has much more of a chocolate hit, as contains actual chocolate and molasses as well as cocoa. It has a couple grams extra fibre (suspect additive from "citrus fibres" in the ingredients list).

The LIDL one is paler, oatier, a bit less chocolatey, still moist but with tasty crunchy bits. It has more protein (5g compared to the Graze 2g) and a couple grams more sugar.

So, if you are a protein snack person and/or on a budget grab the LIDL ones, if you have big chocolate cravings take Graze.

Yes I will be attempting to make a version that is GF, soy free and combines the best of both, watch this space.

Here's the problem solved my darlings - following some kitchen experimentation, I estimate this at 50p a portion (based on London prices from LIDL and the many blessed places on Brixton Market where I can buy a large bag of dried anything for about £2)

50g dried weight quinoa

25g dried weight black beans (75g cooked / canned)

25g dried weight spelt (75g cooked) - this is the only slightly complex to source thing, I found it in H&B and think you could easily substitute pearl barley but I wanted to keep to the original

60g cooked edamame (I use from frozen)

50g grated carrot

50g finely chopped cooked broccoli (I use frozen)

30g chopped cooked fine green beans (yes, again, frozen)

30g roasted peanuts

15g each pistachio, almonds and pumpkin seeds

15g nutritional yeast

* Rinse and soak the black beans and spelt overnight in one bowl, and in another bowl rinse and soak the quinoa.

* The next day cook the beans and spelt for 1hr, drain, cool.

* Cook the quinoa for approx 15mins, drain, put back in the pan and put a lid on it off the heat until cool - this helps fluff it.

* Mix the beans, spelt and quinoa together

* Add all the other ingredients and stir

* Add dressing, and salt to taste

Dressing - I eyeballed this based on what I had in. The original has pomegranate concentrate and apple concentrate which not being a factory I do not have, but am hoping for pomegranate molasses at some point when I can get it. The packet version is also too sweet for me and contains ginger which is death to Peter Green and where his palate goes, my people go also.

2 parts sesame oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 part lime juice, 1 part sriracha, 1 part garlic powder, salt.

Inspired by HADES the computer game I give you: Pom Porridge

You want 1:2 whole big oats to liquid. I use whatever plant milk is on offer and save the cash for fancier oats. I like big oats and I cannot lie.

* Heat dry oats with hefty dose cinnamon, pinch salt, some pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a heavy based saucepan until you can smell them starting to lightly toast. Watch like a hawk so they don't char

* Add liquid. It will bubble and hiss. Do not panic

* Add half a grated apple

* Stir once, then turn off the heat, cover and leave for 15-20mins

* The oats will absorb all the liquid and plump up

* When ready, stir in sweetener if you want (apple has done good work here so check) I like maple syrup or a little black treacle