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Clif Bar: White Chocolate Macadamia

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:02:05 +0000

Given Clif’s facility with all things peanut-y, it would seem that the use of tempting additions like white chocolate and macadamia has the potential to create a totally indulgent, if calorie-rich bar. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make out either white chocolate or Macadamia flavors in this one, and instead the dominant taste note one gets is simply “sweeter than regular Clif Bar.” If you’re going to dangle these other ingredients for us, throw us enough chunks to make them discernible – otherwise, they go in as just so much extra sugar. While the Clif label isn’t known for providing the lightest of products, there’s usually some worth to the exchange of health for flavor and calories. But this has less flavor and fewer nutritive qualities than its line mates.

Total Calories: 240
Fat: 7g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 9g
Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

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

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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Clif Bar: Maple Nut

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:26:03 +0000

Maple Nut is one of the more enjoyable Clif Bar flavors that we’ve sampled. It tastes like exactly what the name implies, with a soft but slightly crunchy body that has just the right amount of maple flavor to it. There’s also a touch of salt to the finish, which gives the product a slightly savory note that helps balance everything out. In terms of ingredients, the bar’s key ingredients are organic oats and soy rice crisps, which help to add some substance and nutrition to the bar. They also account for the bar’s soft, but crunchy texture, which is quite pleasing and further adds to the sense of substance. Nutritionally, the bar has 10g of protein, 5g of fiber, 240 calories, and an ample dose of over a dozen vitamins and minerals. It’s a great choice if you need a snack before a workout or something to help get you through a long afternoon. Packaging is clean and appealing, although we’re not sure why the color purple was chosen to go with a maple and nut flavored bar. Still, the overall product is extremely good and we’d definitely reach for it again.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 5g, bar, calories, clif, color purple, colors, crisps, crunchy texture, dozen vitamins, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, liking, maple flavor, maple nut, Nutrition, nuts, oat, oats, organic, organic oats, Protein, sampling, snack, soy, tastes, texture, vitamins, vitamins and minerals, workout

Vega Whole Food Energy Bar: Berry Flavor

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:20:12 +0000

Like the other Vega Whole Food Energy bars, this one is made from “raw, alkaline, plant based superfoods.” You’ll find dates, hemp protein, almond butter, agave nectar, sprouted whole flax seeds, cranberries, raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, organic sprouted mung beans, organic wheat grass, and a few other ingredients for flavoring. It’s a soft but chewy bar, with a slightly dry texture, especially at the finish. Flavor is really enjoyable, with notes of the fruit and nuts throughout. There’s also a slightly earthy note of flavor to the bar, which is likely from the wheatgrass, mung, and flax. Nutritionally, the bar is a winner, with 10g of raw protein, 250mg of potassium, 6g of fiber, omega 3 and 6, vitamins, and minerals on top of 240 calories. The bar is great as for snacking before a workout – or to help supplement a meal with something that’s sweet but nutritious. Packaging is probably the only area that we’d like to see some improvement, with a look that feels technical rather than inviting. To a degree, the label made us expect a bar that didn’t taste good, which is fortunately not the case. Overall, it’s a very enjoyable product, but kicking up the packaging a bit would definitely help.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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KIND Bar: Fruit & Nut Delight

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:00:45 +0000

This is sort of Kind’s catch-all dried fruit and nut bar and its mix of peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts and walnuts, the nut part is certainly up to snuff, although we’d like it if there was a bit more variety to the fruit beyond raisin and apricot. Also, the Kind folks really overdid it with the honey/pectin coating on this one – it glistened and gleamed dangerously, and we were a bit worried we’d lose a tooth. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the flavors were all pretty distinguishable in the mix. On a packaging point, the blue trim on the wrapper is absolutely gorgeous.

Calories: 170
Protein: 5 g
Fiber: 3 g
Fat: 11 g
Carbs: 16 g

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Post tags: almonds, apricot, bar, brazil nuts, calories, carbs, dried fruit, fiber, flavor, flavorings, flavors, fruit, fruit nut, fruits, honey, KIND, kind folks, liking, nut bar, nuts, peanuts, Protein, raisin, walnuts

Kashi GoLean Roll: Caramel Peanut

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:00:23 +0000

We can honestly say now that the success Kashi had with its earlier Roll bar was no fluke – the caramel peanut is as formidable as the chocolate in terms of taste and ability to satisfy. Its flavor can’t be beat in terms of caramel notes, although the nuts and rice are a bit bland. Texture is an issue, however, as the “nougat” center of the role – quotes used because very little nougat is used in the making of this bar – is resistant enough to yank out fillings or whole teeth, especially when your jaw is already tired from cranking through most of this bar. Still, it’s well worth the trouble, especially with 12 g of protein and 6 g of fiber sitting around to soothe the pain.

Calories: 190
Fat: 5g
Protein: 12 g
Fiber: 6 g
Total Carbs: 27 g

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Post tags: 5g, bar, calories, caramel, carbs, chocolate, fiber, fillings, flavor, flavorings, flavors, fluke, nougat, nougat center, nuts, pea, Protein, tastes, teeth, texture, worth the trouble

Larabar Jocalat: Chocolate Coffee

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:00:44 +0000

Like other Larabar products, this one is made with simple, understandable ingredients, including dates, walnuts, hazelnuts, cocoa, cashews, and coffee (all are USDA Organic). The resulting mix is quite good, especially since the flavor of the nuts helps mask the flavor of the dates, which can tend to overwhelm other flavors. The use of cocoa also helps quite a bit, with a touch of indulgence added to this nutritious tasting bar. And speaking of nutrition, the bar has 4g of protein, 5g of fiber, vitamins and minerals, and 190 calories. So, there’s some substance to it, but not too much, and just the right amount of vitamin content to make this a worthwhile snack. Last, but not least, is the packaging. It’s dark colored theme seems like the right choice for a chocolate and coffee flavored bar, while placement of the USDA and Fair Trade logos are a plus. On the other hand, the “JOCOLAT” text seems to make it hard for the eye to find the flavor of the bar – just something to consider. Overall, a very enjoyable bar.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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