Nature Valley Crunchy Oats 'n Dark Chocolate

Nature Valley Crunchy Oats 'n Dark Chocolate
1.49 oz / 42g (6 for $3.00, Publix)

Ingredients: whole grain oats, sugar, canola oil, dark chocolate pieces, honey, yellow corn flour, soy flour, brown sugar syrup, cocoa, salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, baking soda

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 70
Total Fat: 8g (12%)
Sat Fat: 1.5g (7%)
Sodium: 140mg (6%)
Total Carb: 28g (9%)
Fiber: 3g (11%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 4g 


Ah, it always warms my heart to find a new variety of the tried and true Nature Valley Crunchy bar, the brickle we were all raised on and what started all this granola bar foolishness in the first place. It is a little strange that they say this has dark chocolate pieces - it is actually as if the entire bar has had some cocoa stirred in; I didn't really notice any chocolate pieces. The addition of the cocoa is good but can be a tad overwhelming; if you thought the old bars were dry this bar might be classified as actually removing moisture from your mouth as you eat it. Pairs well with a cup of coffee, and really does deserve to stand alongside the classics of my youth, if perhaps on the second stair. 

Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants Chocolatey Peanut Butter

Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants Chocolatey Peanut Butter
1.2 oz / 36g (5 for $3.79, Publix)

Ingredients: chicory root extract, rolled oats, crisp rice, sugar, peanuts with TBHQ, inulin from chicory root, hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated palm kernel, palm, and/or coconut oils, fructose, peanut butter, canola oil, cocoa, glycerin, partially defatted peanut flour, honey, whey, tricalcium phosphate, salt, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, baking soda, BHT, dextrose, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, vitamin e acetate, zinc oxide, artificial flavor, soy protein isolate, almond flour, wheat starch. 

Calories: 130
Cals from fat: 45
Total Fat: 5g (8%)
Sat Fat: 2.5g (13%)
Sodium: 95mg (4%)
Total Carb: 24g (8%)
Fiber: 9g (35%)
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 3g (6%)


Man, leave it to Kellogg's to have the expertise to handle sunscreen as a food ingredient. Zinc Oxide! Wow! Despite chocolate not being an ingredient (ok, they have cocoa) they've managed to make a granola bar that looks like sort of like a rice krispie treat with peanut butter chips sitting in a thin bed of chocolate. Despite how scary the ingredient list is, this really does taste pretty great. Sort of a caramel / peanut butter / chocolate mix, like a candy bar but lighter. So the advertising on the box indeed rings true: "tastes better than fiber one!" I cannot deny it. 

Eat Think Smile Rich Cocoa

Eat Think Smile Rich Cocoa
1.4 oz / 39g

Ingredients: whole grain rolled oats, brown rice syrup, crisp rice, cocoa, soy nuts, almonds, sugar, evaporated cane juice, sunflower oil, invert sugar, glycerin, natural flavor, salt, soy lecithin

Calories: 160
Cals from fat: 40
Total Fat: 4.5g (7%)
Sat Fat: 0.5g (3%)
Sodium: 60mg (3%)
Total Carb: 26g (9%)
Fiber: 3g (12%)
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 4g (8%)

I don't have a price on this because I swiped it from my mom's cupboard while visiting last weekend. This sort of looks like a thin crisp rice treat but made with the chocolate cereal instead of the regular. it has what look like peanuts on top, but note in the ingredients no peanuts. i've never seen soy nuts before but they look like peanuts. It is disconcerting; are they just raw soybeans or are they engineered somehow? The bar is quite dry, with an almost tangy cocoa flavor. Crumbly, as bars go and the nuts are more a distraction than they are helpful. Still, not bad overall. The ingredient list is pretty healthy looking (though i don't know how you invert sugar). If I had to rate this I'd probably give it a 7 of 10 or so; it is the same size but lighter than a clif bar, the cocoa is slightly overwhelming but not bad, and the texture is dry but ok with a beverage. Good, but not great.