26 Feb ‘Healthy’ cookies and doughnuts: NUFF reviewed

Calorie-free cookies and fat-free doughnuts have been the stuff of dreams since time began.

Sorry, they still are.

But one company is trying really hard to make junk food healthy by upping the protein content, slashing sugar and stuffing it with so-called superfoods.

NUFF (Natural Unprocessed Fat Burning Food) has taken the worst bits out of doughnut, cookie and brownie recipes, lessening the saturated fats, starchy carbs and sugars.

Their bakers use organic, nutritious and fibrous ingredients like raw cacao, nuts, fruit and coconut oil.

They unabashedly say that, thanks to what they’re made from, their cakes promote better body composition, increased metabolism, better brain function, less risk of depression plus better eye and skin health.

While we’re unsure about how reputable the claim that ‘doughnuts reduce risk of depression’ is (we haven’t read it in a science paper), NUFF launched online this month and will also be opening up offline pop-ups around the city by summer.

They’re in talks with Selfridges about setting something up in the stores.

I wanted to give people something that is not only genuinely good for you, but also tastes so good that it triggers the same sensory reactions we get from eating junk food

For same day delivery in London and next day further afield, all orders have to be made by 1pm. You can choose between a dozen and a half dozen box.

They don’t normally do vegan versions but, for Metro’s delivery, they replaced the eggs with chia seeds.

CEO Kevin says: ‘When we can get it exactly the same as the egg versions then we’ll look to just do a sole vegan version.’

Kevin set up NUFF in the hope of bridging the gap between nutrition and pure indulgence with alternative sweet treats.

He says: ‘Fundamentally it had to taste as good as, or even better than, the junk food already available out there, otherwise why eat it?

‘We focused on making our treats indistinguishable in every way bar nutrition.

‘I’ve tried a lot of the “healthy” alternatives before and they always fell incredibly short and left a lot to be desired. I wanted to give people something that successfully brings together the best of both worlds, offering something that is not only genuinely good for you, but also tastes so good that it triggers the same sensory reactions we get from eating junk food.

‘Sugars, starches and sweeteners raise our blood sugar, which causes the body to store fat.

‘Our treats are low in sugar and starch whilst providing protein and healthy fats which are essential for a healthy metabolism, and fibre, which slows the digestion process down reducing the impact on your blood sugar levels.

Even so if you’re packing away the NUFF don’t expect it to be a miracle weight-loss aid. Though it might just be the best of a naughty bunch.

THE REVIEW

Two paper bags arrived in a box to my office. Proper packaging was still in production at the time.

They were pretty greasy but the treats inside were not.

Inside each bag was a couple of glazed doughnuts and a couple of dark chocolate chunk cookies that I shared around.

Offerings with promises of ‘healthy’ and ‘high protein’ were met with intrigue and slight apprehension.

People are not used to healthy less fattening/sugary food looking and tasting like cookies and doughnuts.

So what was this?

Collective oohs and ahhs followed as people tucked in and passed the treats to one another.

Half a glazed doughnut was 72 calories. The equivalent at Dunkin Donuts comes in at almost double: 130 calories.

NUFF’s was made from nuts, fruit, cocoa, chia eggs, coconut flour, sourdough, syrup, himalayan salt, lemon, cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut oil.

I enjoyed both, highly. Namely for the nutritional promise and I’m a sucker for dark, dark chocolate and anything I don’t usually get to eat as a vegan.

The cookie itself was gooey and slightly undercooked as cookies should be. I find that regular cookies are unnecessarily sugary, oily and calorific.

I’d like to eat a whole one and I’d like to not have to forfeit my lunch in order to do so.

The NUFF dark choc cookie has 160 calories. Its Millie’s counterpart has 208.

Means I can have two, right?