Nature Valley Pecan Crunch

Nature Valley Pecan Crunch ($0.75, office snack area)
1.5 oz / 42g

Ingredients: whole grain rolled oats, sugar, canola oil, crisp rice with soy protein, brown sugar syrup, pecan pieces, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, natural flavor, almond flour, peanut flour.

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g (11%)
Sat Fat: 1g (4%)
Sodium: 170mg (7%)
Total Carb: 29g (10%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 4g

It's almost unfair to include the nature valley crunchy bars on this site, as I've eaten them for so many years they basically define what I'm looking for in a bar (other than of course our old friend 'variety'). I've not had this pecan version before so I thought I'd try my best to compare it to the other bars you've been patient enough to sit through waiting for the king to arrive.

Oh, goodness. This is good even by nature valley standards. Lots of people find the nature valley bars to be slightly too dense and crunchy, but this particular variety seems lighter than the old "oats and honey" - i have to admit this has a better overall texture than almost any bar previously encountered. The lighter texture among other things means that it doesn't crumble all over the place when you eat it, which admittedly is about the only shortcoming I can find in the original bar. I'm tempted to call it a fluke; I'm so used to the nature valley crunchy texture that I'm frightened to even imagine they've been able to improve on it. Say it isn't so! Sweet agony!

I know what you're thinking. You're all "how can he like this thing so much?" Well, I'm here to tell you, this is a different animal entirely from the stale, 3 year old bar you found in some hunger-induced panic in the bottom of that backpack you'd been carrying around all year and barely decided would be better than gnawing on your own foot. This is toasted, nutty, crunchy, granola perfection, my dear friends, and you owe it to yourself to experience it.