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Luna Protein: Cookie Dough

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:00:36 +0000

Luna Protein Cookie Dough proves to be a disappointment from a company that otherwise produces good bars. The flavor sounds intriguing and enjoyable – who doesn’t like cookie dough? – but the result falls short of its potential. The taste of the chocolate coating overpowers the hint of cookie dough – reminiscent of that found in ice cream – that emerges only in the finish. Textually, the bar is a mostly-uniform, chewy mush with an occasional crunch from chocolate chips in the filling. It also leaves a syrupy feeling and aftertaste in the mouth. Nutritionally, this is a lighter bar, weighing in at 180 calories. It boasts a smattering of vitamins and minerals at moderate levels, topping out at 30 percent of your daily suggested intake, but it comes up light on the protein front, especially for a product with “protein” in its name. While 12 grams might be significant for someone with an inactive lifestyle, that’s a small dose for most consumers who will reach for a protein product. Overall, Luna Protein Cookie Dough disappoints, missing the mark on flavor and coming up short on protein.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

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Post tags: bar, calories, chewy, chocolate, flavor, flavorings, tastes

Make Your Own Bars

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:17:34 +0000

Make your own bars with ingredients found at your local grocery store.(...)
Read the rest of Make Your Own Bars (423 words)

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Post tags: almonds, baking sheet, bar, batches, bran, brown rice syrup, cashew, cashews, cherries, Coconut, crunch, cup brown rice, cup oat bran, cup raisins, dried cherries, dried dates, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, flax, food processor, ground flax seed, liking, local grocery store, low speed, meal, meal replacement, mixture, natural, Nutrition, oat, oats, orange zest, peanuts, pecans, Protein, raisin, raw, raw bars, raw cashews, raw ingredients, raw sunflower seeds, refrigeration, rotary blade, salt mix, seed, seeds, snack, workout

Pure: Cherry Cashew Bar

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:34:14 +0000

This bar is made with ingredients that are USDA Organic, raw, vegan, and gluten free, which helps make it live up to its “for all people” tag line. There’s a pleasant base of date and almond flavor to the mix, which has been sweetened with agave and has a slight crunch from small chunks of walnuts throughout. The cherry flavor is subtle, adding a nice tart flavor to the otherwise earthy tasting bar. We’re definitely pleased to see that they didn’t make it too “fruity” tasting. Nutritionally, this 1.7 ounce bar packs a fair amount in, including 400mg of omega 3, 4g of organic fiber, 6g and protein, 200 calories, 9g of fat, and vitamins and minerals. Packaging has a relatively simple style of presentation to it, with a white wrapper that’s decorated with a yellow illustration of a female face. It’s an appealing design that has a definite vibe of health and nutrition to it. The rest of the wrapper has a lot of text on it, but in this case, it all logically fits together as opposed to creating clutter. Overall, an exceptional tasting bar that delivers the perfect balance of flavor and nutrition.

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

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Post tags: 4g, 6g, agave, almond flavor, almonds, bar, calories, cashew, cashews, cherries, cherry flavor, chunks, crunch, female face, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, gluten, gluten free, health and nutrition, illustrations, Nutrition, omega 3, organic, ounce, perfect balance, Protein, raw, raw vegan, simple style, sweetener, sweeteners, tag line, tart flavor, tastes, usda, vegan, vibe, vitamins, vitamins and minerals, walnuts

Luna: Caramel Nut Brownie

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:00:46 +0000

Luna’s Caramel Nut Brownie bar is an especially good one, both in terms of the nutrition content and the bar’s flavor. It’s definitely one of the more indulgent bars that we’ve seen from Clif’s Luna Bar lineup, with a sweet chocolate flavored soy, rice, and oat base (70% organic). From there, they’ve drizzled chocolate and caramel on the top of the bar, while the bottom also has a decadent chocolate coating. As a result, the bar is chewy but has some slight crunch and it’s sticky to the touch — so you might want to eat it directly from the wrapper. Nutritionally, this 180 calorie bar has 8g of protein, 1g of fiber, and loads of vitamins and minerals. Also notable is their promotion of the bar’s “Low Glycemic” index, thanks to the use of brown rice syrup as the bar’s sweetener. So, if you’re looking for a snack that’s more than just empty calories, this is a great choice. On the outside, the new Luna bar look is great, with clean illustrations that give the bar a look that should fit well with the yoga crowd that this bar is meant for. Definitely one of the better Luna Bars that we’ve sampled.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: bar, brown rice syrup, brownie, calories, caramel, chewy, chocolate, chocolate coating, clif, crowd, crunch, decadent chocolate, drizzle, empty calories, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, illustrations, indulgence, low glycemic index, luna bar, luna bars, Nutrition, nutrition content, nuts, oat, organic, Protein, protein 1g, s, sampling, snack, soy, sweet chocolate, sweetener, sweetness, vitamins, vitamins and minerals, yoga

Honey Stinger: Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond Pro

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:00:43 +0000

Part of Honey Stinger’s protein bar lineup, this bar’s most notable selling point is the fact that it contains 20g of protein. Advertised as a having dark chocolate, almond, and coconut flavors, this 3 ounce bar is loaded with enjoyable flavor as well as nutrition. The flavor of this bar can definitely hold its own, with the smooth chocolate center delivering a rich dose of flavor with light coconut and almond notes. If there’s anything we might change, it’s the sweetness of the bar, which is a bit strong, but it does help mask the underlying protein flavor. The bar weighs in at 380 calories, so there’s plenty of substance to it, plus there’s 20g of fiber, 3g of fiber, and loads of vitamins and nutrients. Packaging definitely looks and feels like a protein bar, with a dense 3 oz bar that has bold and colorful labeling. Plus, the Honey Stinger bee logo works quite nicely, emitting a wholesome but aggressive vibe that helps define this product’s niche. Overall, a really nice tasting bar that’s backed with 20g of protein. One of our favorite protein bars to date.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 3g, almonds, bar, calories, chocolate, chocolate almond, chocolate center, chocolate coconut, Coconut, colors, dark chocolate, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, honey, liking, niche, nutrients, Nutrition, ounce, oz, Protein, protein bar, protein bars, smooth chocolate, stinger, sweetness, tastes, vibe, vitamins

Sun Valley Bar: Goji Lemon

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:00:13 +0000

Admittedly, our expectations for this bar were somewhat low. Why? Well, aside from the fact that we haven’t had that many goji flavored bars (or other food products) that taste all that good, it’s the combination with lemon that made us have low expectations (lemon + goji??). Fortunately, what’s inside the wrapper is an extremely enjoyable product, with a perfectly balanced mixture of flavors. There’s a soft base of oats, almond butter, seeds, and nuts, which gives way to a touch of goji and a pleasant note of what tastes like lemon zest. It very much has a homemade feeling to it, which is furthered by the product’s minimalist label design. Nutritionally, the bar has 230 calories, 10g of fat, 7g of sugar, vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron. The ingredient list is mainly comprised of items that are recognizable to your average consumer, which is certainly a plus. So, our only concern for this product is its minimalist packaging, which doesn’t allow you to see in and is completely devoid of any personality. That, in our opinion, might make for a tough sell when it’s going up against more flash competitors. Still, a very enjoyable product.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 7g, almond butter, almonds, balanced mixture, bar, calories, consumers, flavor, flavorings, flavors, food products, lemon zest, liking, low expectations, mixture, nuts, oat, oats, personality, seed, seeds, sun valley, tastes, tough sell, vitamin c, vitamins

NoNuttin’ Granola Bar: Chocolate Chip

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:00:47 +0000

Compared to their Double Chocolate Chunk flavored bar, NoNuttin’s Chocolate Chip bar has far less chocolate flavor. However, it’s still plenty to satisfy and it also leaves more oat flavor in the mix. Plus, there’s a note of what tastes like brown sugar and/or brown rice syrup (kind of earthy, hint of molasses). All of these flavors combine to give the bar just the right amount of each flavor, with a mild level of sweetness to complement the oats and chocolate. It has a definite high quality feeling to it, which is definitely a plus for this bar. From a portion point of view, this bar is definitely on the lighter side, having only 130 calories and 5g of fat per bar. However, being a gluten and nut free formulation is something that should definitely give this bar some added marketability. On the packaging front, this 1.06 ounce bar has a pastel green wrapper that’s pretty busy as far as text elements are concerned. While the name itself is clever, we’re not huge fans of the logo (they’ve got a yellow character blocking the “o”), plus something just feels disjointed about the way that things have been arranged. Our eye was circling around looking for the focal point and trying to absorb everything that’s on there. Still, the flavor is great and if they can tweak the label we think this bar would be perfect.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 5g, bar, bar chocolate, brown rice syrup, brown sugar, calories, chip, chocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate chunk, chocolate flavor, chunks, complement, double chocolate, elements, flavor, flavorings, flavors, focal point, free formulation, gluten, granola, greens, KIND, liking, marketability, marketing, mild level, molasses, nuts, oat, oats, ounce, sweetness, tastes, text elements, tweaking

NoNuttin’ Granola Bar: Double Chocolate Chunk

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:00:26 +0000

For a bar that’s named “NoNuttin,” this bar sure has a lot of flavor. Using a gluten free and nut free granola base, it has a pleasant oat and crisp rice flavor with a slight crunch to the finish. Otherwise, the bar is soft and slightly chewy There’s also a pretty heavy note of dark chocolate, which gives the bar a slightly indulgent – and very satisfying – flavor. We love the very lightly processed feeling to the bar, which is a testament to the product’s simple list of ingredients. What’s also nice is the bar’s relatively low amount of calories (130), making this a great choice as a light snack or supplement to a meal. There’s not a whole lot in this bar in the way of nutrition, with 2g of fiber, 2g of protein, 2% calcium, and 6% iron Packaging is decent, although the logo is somewhat hard to read and the placement of the flavor name requires your eye to search a bit. Prime placement of the product’s nut and gluten free recipe is smart and opportunistic. Overall, we really love what’s inside the wrapper, but the design needs a bit of work.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 2g, amount of calories, bar, calcium, calories, chewy, chocolate, chocolate chunk, chunks, crisps, crunch, dark chocolate, double chocolate, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, free recipe, granola, indulgence, light snack, meal, Nutrition, nuts, oat, prime placement, Protein, s, snack, testament, whole lot

Clif Bar: Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:01:34 +0000

While there’s not a ton of crunch to the bar, there’s a nice dose of peanut butter flavor to this bar. The addition of peanut butter also adds a fair amount of chew to the bar, while oats, soy crisps, and a touch of chocolate chips give the bar some crunch on the way out. We can’t help but feel as though there should be more to the chocolate flavor – it’s really muted in its current form. So really, this bar is like a more chewy version of your typical Clif Bar. That’s not a bad thing, but more a question of preference. In terms of substance and nutrition, this bar has 260 calories, 6g of fat, 11g of protein, 5g of fiber, and a bevy of vitamins and minerals. Plus, it does a nice job of satisfying hunger and a sweet tooth craving all in one shot. On the outside, it looks just like every other Clif Bar wrapper, which, in our opinion, could use a few more visual differences than just a color change in the mountain graphic. Overall, another solid bar from Clif – but not one that’s going to get anyone overly excited.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 5g, bar, bar chocolate, bevy, calories, chewy, chip, chocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate flavor, clif, clif bar, colors, crisps, crunch, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, hunger, job, liking, nice job, Nutrition, oat, oats, peanut butter flavor, peanuts, preference, Protein, s, soy, soy crisps, sweet tooth, sweetness, visual differences, vitamins, vitamins and minerals

Kashi Golean Roll: Oatmeal Walnut

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00:43 +0000

Kashi’s “GoLean Roll” line is an interesting one and their Oatmeal Walnut flavor is definitely one of the better flavors. This bar is very chewy, almost to the point of being difficult to eat (it will give your jaw a workout), and there’s a slight amount of crunch to it from the puffed rice coating. The center of the bar has a pretty decent “oatmeal” flavor, although it was hard to distinguish anything that really tasted like walnut. Ultimately, our biggest issue with this bar is how processed it tastes (and looks). The same can be said for the long ingredients list, which, despite being “all natural,” will require a food science degree to decipher. Nutritionally, the bar has 12g of protein, 6g of fiber, and 190 calories. It claims to be developed for an “optimized glycemic response” (slow release carbs to balance blood sugar and protein/fiber to help you keep satisfied). On that front, the bar seems to work as advertised – it definitely satisfied our hunger. Packaging is good and takes advantage of the popular Kashi brand, but we can’t help but feel like the concept of a “roll” is somewhat unappetizing. Overall, a decent bar, but we’d like it more if it were easier to chew.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 6g, bar, blood sugar, calories, carbs, chewy, crunch, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, food science degree, golean, hunger, i, kash, liking, natural, oatmeal, Protein, puffed rice, tastes, walnuts, workout