Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut Toasted Coconut

Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut Toasted Coconut (6 for $2.50, target)
1.2 oz / 35 g
Ingredients: roasted peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, whole grain oats, palm kernel oil, toasted coconut, rice flour, whole grain wheat, vegetable glycerin, almonds, honey, maltodextrin, palm oil, mixed tocopherols, whey, fructose, canola oil, salt, soy lecithin, corn starch, barley malt extract, baking soda, natural flavor. 

Calories: 170
Cals from fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g (13%)
Sat Fat: 3.5g (17%)
Sodium: 135mg (6%)
Total Carb: 20g (7%)
Fiber: 2g (7%)
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 3g

Sugary. Coconutty. Perfectly acceptable coconut version of the popular chewy nature valley bar. I still like almond the best, but this is as good or maybe better than the peanut one.

Nature Valley Crunchy Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate

Nature Valley Crunchy Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate (6 for $3.09, target)
1.49 oz / 42 g
Ingredients: whole grain oats, sugar, peanuts, salt, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor, canola oil, rice flour, brown sugar syrup, honey, baking soda. 

Calories: 200
Cals from fat: 90
Total Fat: 10g (15%)
Sat Fat: 2g (9%)
Sodium: 170mg (7%)
Total Carb: 26g (9%)
Fiber: 2g (10%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 4g

If you ever wondered, "why don't they combine the chocolate granola bar with the peanut butter goop that's on top of the peanut butter granola bars?" then do I have good news for you. There are no surprises here - it is really just the peanut butter goop from on top of the crunchy peanut butter granola bars, slathered on the fairly recently invented chocolate crunchy granola bars. Nature Valley crunchy bars don't seem like they could be controversial, but if you look at the ingredients, at least three of them are sugar. This bar isn't particularly good for you. Also, the peanut butter goop isn't really my favorite, it can get a little messy. But this is a great combination, completely unsurprising but reliable in its familiarity. If you like these, you like them; I do. 

Larabar Kid Chocolate Brownie

Larabar Kid Chocolate Brownie (6 for $3.99, target)
0.96 oz / 27 g
Ingredients: buckwheat flour, unsweetened chocolate, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla extract, honey, coconut oil, water, chia seeds, cocoa powder, sea salt.

Calories: 120
Cals from fat: 60
Total Fat: 5g (6%)
Sat Fat: 3.5g (18%)
Sodium: 35mg (2%)
Total Carb: 17g (6%)
Fiber: 2g (6%)
Sugar: 10g
Protein: 1g

This is an all-chocolate fig newtonish thingy. It looks exactly like a dark brown fig bar. I'm not sure what the difference is between the outer section and the inner, it all just tasted the same. The package held a single newt-sized bar, which is a little disappointing but since it is half fat I guess "think of the children?" It was good, and sweet while still having a sort of "unsweetened cocoa" foundation, so I think dark chocolate fans might be pleasantly surprised. No nutritional value but tasty. 

this bar saves lives madagascar vanilla almond and honey

this bar saves lives madagascar vanilla almond and honey (9 for $16.99, amazon.com)
1.4 oz / 40 g
Ingredients: almonds, flax seeds, chicory root fiber, clover honey, toasted oats, crisp rice, natural flavors, sunflower oil, madagascar pure vanilla extract, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, raisin juice concentrate, vegetable glycerin, vanilla bean seeds. 

Calories: 180
Cals from fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g (14%)
Sat Fat: 0.5g (3%)
Sodium: 70mg (3%)
Total Carb: 22g (7%)
Fiber: 7g (29%)
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 4g

Pretty standard (if expensive) granola bar. Pretty sticky in the wrapper but not messy per se. Much more subtle than the chocolate variety from yesterday. Not overly sweet. Not as exciting as the others but hits a certain chord for those purists who are looking for a chewy granola bar that has somewhat wholesome ingredients but tastes sort of like an old-school quaker bar. I'd eat one again.

this bar saves lives dark chocolate peanut butter and sea salt

this bar saves lives dark chocolate peanut butter and sea salt (9 for $16.99, amazon.com)
1.4 oz / 40 g
Ingredients: peanuts, peanut butter, flax seeds, chicory root fiber, clover honey, cane sugar, palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, crisp rice, sunflower oil, raisin juice concentrate, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, peanut flour, vegetable glycerin, peanut extract. 

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 90
Total Fat: 10g (5%)
Sat Fat: 2.5g (13%)
Sodium: 110mg (5%)
Total Carb: 22g (7%)
Fiber: 6g (24%)
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 4g

This is an expensive but good bar. It is a granola bar with both a chocolate drizzle on top and a bed of chocolate on the bottom. It tastes like a candy bar, very sweet. The sea salt is a welcome addition, cutting the sweetness. 

Kashi Nut Butter Bars Salted Chocolate Chunk

Kashi Nut Butter Bars Salted Chocolate Chunk
1.23 oz / 35 g
Ingredients: whole grain oats, brown rice syrup, almond butter, cane sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract, dried brown rice syrup, sorghum, almond flour, dates, cold-pressed coconut oil, palm oil, oat fiber, salt, natural flavor, rosemary extract. 

Calories: 150
Cals from fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g (11%)
Sat Fat: 2.5g (13%)
Sodium: 140mg (6%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber: 3g (10%)
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 3g

I haven't seen these at the store but I got one in a random box of snacks so I wanted to update you. You know it ain't about the money I do it all for you. I wasn't sure what to expect out of this, it was sort of small and heavy. Inside is a chewy granola bar with a thin layer of almond butter slathered on the top and then sprinkled with chocolate chips. It isn't a good look, but it seems like in a quest for convenience we are now able to skip dipping our nature valley bars in the peanut butter jar and get to buy granola bars pre-dipped instead. A noble cause indeed. The bar is pretty good; it is pretty much what you'd get if you took a cocoa-flavored quaker granola bar and dipped it in a jar of almond butter, then a bowl of chocolate chips. Hard to hate the taste, although there is a little chemical flavor imparted from somewhere. I give it an eight, bob. 

Kind Breakfast Peanut Butter

Kind Breakfast Peanut Butter (4 for $2.49, Kroger)
1.8 oz / 50 g
Ingredients: oats, dried cane syrup, peanuts, canola oil, brown rice flour, oat flour, salt, gum acacia, water, raisin paste, peanut oil, peanut flour, millet, honey, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, vitamin e. 

Calories: 230
Cals from fat: 100
Total Fat: 11g (17%)
Sat Fat: 1.5g (8%)
Sodium: 135mg (6%)
Total Carb: 28g (9%)
Fiber: 5g (20%)
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 5g

These are like the bastard child of clif and nature valley - two little bars about the size of a mini clif per pack. They are extremely cookie-like which is sort of a nice spot to land in; somewhere between the clif blobs and the nature valley bricks. No chemical taste at all which is great. I mean, you couldn't put them on a plate and fool anyone into thinking they were cookies, they are too grainy for that- but they are a pretty pleasant if sort of dry texture. Like maybe you had a hippie mom who made cookies with rice flour and millet and honey and quinoa, you know? That hippie mom would love these things, except of course the part about buying them from "the man." 

JIF Creamy Peanut Butter Bar

JIF Creamy Peanut Butter Bar (5 for $3.79, Kroger)
1.4 oz / 40 g
Ingredients: rolled oats, sugar, corn syrup, palm and palm kernel oils, why protein isolate, partially defatted peanut flour, isolated soy protein, peanut butter, glycerin, milled corn, corn syrup solids, natural flavor, honey, fructose, calcium carbonate, salt, fruit juice concentrate, water, soy lecithin, reduced mineral whey powder, canola oil, skim milk, molasses, salted butter, sodium citrate, fruit and vegetable extract for color, cocoa processed with alkali, tocopherols. 

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 70
Total Fat: 8g (12%)
Sat Fat: 4g (20%)
Sodium: 150mg (6%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber: 1g (4%)
Sugar: 10g
Protein: 7g

I eat JIF peanut butter so I naturally picked up a couple of boxes of these - this is what they are counting on, really since the actual bar is not really going to sell itself. It is a standard chewy granola bar with a sort of peanut butter icing covering both the bottom and the top. The texture is fine although the coatings are a little much - sickly sweet and chock full of chemical flavor. I count at least 7 different sweeteners in the ingredient list and at least 5 other things I wouldn't be able to identify in nature. Calcium carbonate is an antacid so I guess maybe they are predicting this will give me heartburn? 

Kind Popped Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt

Kind Popped Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt (5 for $4.29, Fresh Market)
1.2 oz / 35 g
Ingredients: oats, millet, brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth, sorghum, quinoa, oat flour, tapioca syrup, dried cane syrup, honey, canola oil, chocolate liquor, sugar, brown rice syrup, gum acacia, sea salt, natural flavor, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, vitamin e. 

Calories: 140
Cals from fat: 40
Total Fat: 4.5g (7%)
Sat Fat: 1g (5%)
Sodium: 95mg (4%)
Total Carb: 24g (8%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 3g

A thin, squarish, chewy granola bar supposedly set apart by the popped sorghum it includes. The ingredient list reads like a whole grain dream, or a feed trough. It tastes sort of how you'd expect - the various grains lend a sweetness and a variety of textures that are very interesting but ultimately sort of just "grainy." The chocolate chunks are a welcome addition. Overall this bar is ok, at least a little novel for its choice of feed grains. 

Special K Salted Pretzel Chocolate

Special K Salted Pretzel Chocolate (6 for $2.50, Publix)
0.88 oz / 25 g
Ingredients: rolled oats, corn syrup, pretzel pieces, rice flour, sugar, fructose, palm kernel and palm oil, chocolate, dextrose, glycerin, sorbitol, cocoa powder, cocoa, natural and artificial flavor, salt, molasses, soy lecithin, sea salt, malt extract, whey, mixed tocopherols, BHT, nonfat milk, wheat starch. 

Calories: 100
Cals from fat: 20
Total Fat: 2g (3%)
Sat Fat: 1g (5%)
Sodium: 65mg (3%)
Total Carb: 19g (6%)
Fiber: 1g (4%)
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 2g

You know, this is really low fat. It is also pretty dry. I think this is a Special K "thing" - that they are low fat and dry. This is a very standard granola bar - just oats and chocolate chips and stuff, no icing or weirdness. The chocolate chips are better than most. There is sort of surprisingly little chemical taste here, the bar is pretty tasty. Just dry. Also, because they are only 100 calories each I usually end up eating two of them. Well played, Special K. 

Nature Valley Nut Crisp Almond Dark Chocolate

Nature Valley Nut Crisp Almond Dark Chocolate (6 for $3.99, Kroger)
0.89 oz / 25 g
Ingredients: almond pieces, sugar, roasted peanuts, rice flour, vegetable oils, roasted sunflower seeds, flax seed, cocoa, salt, rice maltodexterin, barley malt extract, soy lecithin, milk, natural flavor, oil of rosemary. 

Calories: 130
Cals from fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g (14%)
Sat Fat: 2g (9%)
Sodium: 160mg (6%)
Total Carb: 11g (4%)
Fiber: 2g (7%)
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 3g

Even Nature Valley isn't immune from the marketplace - they are now selling bars in transparent wrappers and with a window in the box, just like Kind! But they haven't stooped as far as Clif - the box is still green and wide like a normal nature valley box. 

This is a crunchy bar with chocolate on the bottom. It lives up to its name - it is extremely nutty and doesn't really taste like the normal nature valley crunchy bars. The bar is extremely small (presumably to make up for its caloric content). This is problematic - it is a reasonable number of calories but it is really not satisfying on its own, I ate two instead. I feel like it might not have killed them to throw a handful of rice krispies in the mix to add some mass. 

Quaker Real Medleys Apple Nut Harvest

Quaker Real Medleys Apple Nut Harvest (5 for $4.49, Kroger)
1.34 oz / 38 g
Ingredients: whole grain rolled oats, sugar, whole grain rolled wheat, whole grain rolled rye, molasses, soybean oil, natural flavor, apples, ascorbic acid, citric acid, cashews, tapioca syrup, walnuts coated with rosemary extract, cranberries, honey, sunflower oil, water, glycerin, salt, cinnamon, soy lecithin. 

Calories: 160
Cals from fat: 50
Total Fat: 6g (10%)
Sat Fat: 1g (4%)
Sodium: 80mg (3%)
Total Carb: 25g (8%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 14g
Protein: 3g

Well it seems even Quaker is trying to get into the "premium" granola bar game occupied by Kind - these are packaged minimally in transparent wrappers and while they haven't stooped as far as Clif they are certainly going for about the same thing. But in the end this is just a slightly nicer quaker bar - a little bigger, with slightly better ingredients (can I hear it for walnuts coated with rosemary extract? oh, yes). It doesn't have the texture of a Kind bar or Clif Mojo; it has the texture of a Quaker bar - the same familiar chewy feel that you're used to from them. This isn't really a bad thing - in fact, I'm happy to have another solid choice at the market and always knew Quaker had room to up their game a little. 

Clif Kit's Organic Fruit + Nut Bar, Peanut Butter

Clif Kit's Organic Fruit + Nut Bar, Peanut Butter ($1.59, Whole Foods)
1.8 oz / 50 g
Ingredients: organic dates, organic peanuts, organic almonds, sea salt.

Calories: 200
Cals from fat: 100
Total Fat: 11g (17%)
Sat Fat: 2g (10%)
Sodium: 95mg (4%)
Total Carb: 25g (8%)
Fiber: 4g (16%)
Sugar: 15g
Protein: 6g

Another compressed date bar, this time from Clif. This isn't a bad bar but it really looks awful. Close your eyes and think of something more pleasant like a snickers. 

Points off for being a little on the dry side, bonus for the extremely pure ingredients list. 

Vega Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

Vega Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ($2.49, Whole Foods)
1.48 oz / 42 g
Ingredients: organic peanuts, organic peanut butter, organic tapioca syrup, brown rice crisps, organic agave syrup, organic cane sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, sacha inchi oil, buckwheat, chia seeds, organic peanut flour, hemp seeds, sea salt, organic peanut extract.  

Calories: 200
Cals from fat: 110
Total Fat: 12g (18%)
Sat Fat: 2g (10%)
Sodium: 80mg (3%)
Total Carb: 20g (7%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 5g

I'll be honest, I didn't read the price correctly on this bar which is the only reason it made it to the checkout. You'd think at some point Whole Foods would have some shame about how much they charge for over-privileged candy bars but damn, two-fifty doesn't even seem to give them pause. I guess suckers like me are mostly to blame. Or maybe it is because that sacha inchi oil comes from the amazon river basin. No, not the home of prime 2-day delivery, chief. Think "heart of darkness." 

Anyway, this is a delicious peanut-chocolate candy bar thing masquerading as health food but hey, I'm ok with the charade if you are. It is a chewy peanut bar sitting in a bed of chocolate. No chemical tastes, gluten-free, organic peanut extract, huzzah! Points retracted only for cost.

Nature Valley Crunchy Coconut

Nature Valley Crunchy Coconut ($3.29 for 6, Harris Teeter)

Ingredients: whole grain oats, sugar, canola oil, toasted coconut, brown sugar syrup, yellow corn flour, soy flour, honey, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, natural flavor. 

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g (15%)
Sat Fat: 3g (14%)
Sodium: 160mg (7%)
Total Carb: 27g (9%)
Fiber: 3g (11%)
Sugar: 10g
Protein: 4g

After years of oats and honey, Nature Valley has been killing it recently by introducing new flavors in recent years. The coconut flavor is very reminiscent of some sort of cookie I've once eaten, either some girl scout thing or maybe one of those that comes in a big blue metal tin, it is hard to really place it. In any event, it tastes like cookies, what in the hell are you waiting for?

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Fruit and Oat Harvest, Country Strawberry

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Fruit and Oat Harvest, Country Strawberry (5 for $4.39, CVS)

1.76 oz / 50g

Ingredients: whole grain oats, sugar, palm oil with tbhq, enriched flour, corn syrup, oat fiber, isolated soy protein, maltodextrin, acacia gum, glycerin, cellulose, wheat gluten, molasses, natural flavoring, baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, salt, soy lecithin, bht, peanut flour, nonfat milk, invert sugar, strawberry puree concentrate, modified corn starch, sodium alginate, citric acid, dicalcium phosphate, methylcellulose, artificial flavor, caramel color, malic acid, red 40. 

Calories: 180
Cals from fat: 45
Total Fat: 5g (8%)
Sat Fat: 2g (10%)
Sodium: 160mg (7%)
Total Carb: 33g (11%)
Fiber: 5g (20%)
Sugar: 15g
Protein: 4g

The first thing I noticed about this bar was its atrocious ingredient list - palm oil, 5 or 6 different sweeteners, things that are only listed as their abbreviations, etc. The second thing I noticed was the mess of crumbs it dumped in my lap when I opened it. So these are some things that one needs to be prepared for. 

This is actually not a bad bar at all - it is sort of a large chewy bar that looks like it is made up of the same stuff as a crunchy nature valley bar, but topped with a layer of strawberry jam. It has remarkably little chemical taste for something that is made primarily of chemicals. I ate it over the trash can and will happily do so again at least 4 more times. 

Evolution Harvest Cocoa & Nut Bar

Evolution Harvest Cocoa & Nut Bar (about $2, starbucks)

1.48 oz / 42g

Ingredients: almonds, whole-wheat flour, rice meal, whole oat flour, salt, organic agave syrup, brown rice syrup, cocoa, ground almonds, sea salt. 

Calories: 180
Cals from fat: 90
Total Fat: 10g (15%)
Sat Fat: 1g (5%)
Sodium: 120mg (5%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber: 4g (16%)
Sugar: 9g
Protein: 5g

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first; this is an extremely expensive bar. This and a regular coffee set me back about four bucks. But between this and the 500 calorie banana bread I think I made the right decision (and I love banana bread but that's a whole other blog, am I right?) - I mean, look at that ingredient list. Very respectable. 

This bar is a crispy thing coated in a very thin layer of chocolate. It sort of looks like it is made of cocoa krispies and almonds. It sort of tastes like that, too actually. It has a nice light texture and a non-cocoa-krispie-like deep chocolate flavor. It is really "cocoa-y" sort of like dark chocolate which isn't bad. The chocolate coating is a little melty and looks like it would stick to stuff if you let it out of the wrapper but even my ham-hands did ok and didn't get messy. Overall, a fine bar. 

Larabar Pecan Pie

Larabar Pecan Pie (4 for $5, Kroger)
1.6 oz. / 45g

Ingredients: dates, almonds, pecans.

Calories: 220
Cals from fat: 130
Total Fat: 13g (20%)
Sat Fat: 1g (6%)
Sodium: 0mg (0%)
Total Carb: 24g (8%)
Fiber: 4g (16%)
Sugar: 18g
Protein: 3g

This is very similar to all the other larabars but with one exception: the pecans and almonds together give off some oil. The bar was sort of oily. It tasted fine, but had what I would best describe as an unpalatable sheen.

Clif Mojo Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt

Clif Mojo Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt (5 for $5.89, Target)

1.41 oz / 40g

Ingredients: almonds, organic tapioca syrup, organic pecans, organic dark chocolate, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa, palm kernel oil, organic palm kernel solids, organic soy lecithin, organic vanilla, organic cashews, organic roasted soybeans, organic rice crisps, organic inulin, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, natural vitamin e. 

Calories: 200
Cals from fat: 120
Total Fat: 13g (20%)
Sat Fat: 3g (15%)
Sodium: 160mg (7%)
Total Carb: 19g (6%)
Fiber: 3g (12%)
Sugar: 9g
Protein: 5g

I'm sorry to say that Clif, who was once king of the granola scene has succumbed to market forces and have started ripping off other bars. This bar is a shameless derivitive of the very popular (and very good) Kind Dark Chocolate Nuts and Sea Salt bar, right down to the box and wrapper design - they are trying to get people to pick this up by mistake. The sad bit is these are more expensive and not as good for you as the Kind bars. But I cast my lot and picked some up anyway; as I've told you many times before dear reader, its not about the money; I do it all for you. Let's try and judge this bar on its face and not on our previous experiences. Let us bring some objectivity to the table despite the obvious comparison this bar begs for. 

OK, so this is a sort of stiff combination of nuts, chocolate chunks and rice krispies with a chocolate coating on the bottom. The texture is pretty sticky, but the combination of ingredients is really nice - the rice krispies keep it sort of light where the nuts could weight it down. It is actually a little lighter and more "granola-y" and a little less "nutty" than the bar-that-shall-not-be-named, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is a good tasting bar, in every way something I'd naturally buy if I saw it on a shelf somewhere. 

Clif, you are better than this. Respect yourself. Sell these in a plain brown wrapper, behind-the-counter access only. You have the goods. 

Bear Naked Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter

Bear Naked Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter (5 for $5.49, Target)

2 oz / 57g

Ingredients: whole grain oats, honey, peanut butter, semisweet chocolate, peanuts, brown rice syrup, whole flaxseed, crisp rice, soybeans, isolated soy protein, chocolate liquor, sea salt, soy lecithin, spice extractives. 

Calories: 250
Cals from fat: 110
Total Fat: 12g (18%)
Sat Fat: 3g (15%)
Sodium: 115mg (5%)
Total Carb: 31g (10%)
Fiber: 4g (16%)
Sugar: 14g
Protein: 8g

It is a good thing this bar tastes really good, because it somehow manages to look like (but be uglier than) both the standard clif bar and the compressed date bars. But the taste is fantastic, sweet chocolate and salty peanuts. The crisp rice give it a nice texture, too - not too dense. All in all a very good bar that you should eat with your eyes closed.