Nature Valley Protein Peanut, Almond & Dark Chocolate

Nature Valley Protein Peanut, Almond & Dark Chocolate

1.42 oz / 40g (5 for $3.49, Harris Teeter)

Ingredients: roasted peanuts, almonds, soy protein isolate, chicory root extract, sugar, vegetable oils, roasted sunflower seeds, toasted coconut, whey protein concentrate, tapioca syrup, high maltose corn syrup, fructose, cocoa, vegetable glycerin, rice starch, rice maltodextrin, salt, soy lecithin, dextrose, baking soda, natural flavor. 

Calories: 190
Cals from fat: 110
Total Fat: 12g (19%)
Sat Fat: 3.5g (18%)
Sodium: 180mg (7%)
Total Carb: 14g (5%)
Fiber: 5g (20%)
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 10g 

You ever feel like we might have reached a deconstructionist ideal with these ingredient lists? Everything has been reduced to a single facet: not rice, just rice starch; not soy, soy protein isolate, and so on. Disheartening to say the least. More disheartening news to follow too as this bar, despite being a pretty standard looking bar with chocolate icing on the bottom is really fairly bland. There is a faint nutty taste but the bar overall is neither sweet nor salty, which makes you wonder what that "chocolate" icing really is. It was so disconcerting I actually turned the bar icing side up to eat it which actually improved the experience a bit. In some ways this is actually good; at least it doesn't taste like a batch of chemicals. The space-age has arrived, ladies and gentlemen; our food is made of food broken down into its basest elements and is nutritious but has little taste. The future! Here today!

 

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Cashew

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Cashew
1.2 oz / 35g (6 for $3.00, Walmart)

Ingredients: cashews roasted in safflower oil, high maltose corn syrup, whole grain oats, sugar, rice flour, high fructose corn syrup, palm kernel oil, whole grain wheat, fructose, cashew butter, canola oil, nonfat milk, maltodextrin, salt, whey, reduced minerals whey, soy lecithin, malt extract, color, natural flavor, baking soda, malt, mixed tocopherols. 

Calories: 160
Cals from fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g (10%)
Sat Fat: 2.5g (13%)
Sodium: 135mg (6%)
Total Carb: 23g (8%)
Fiber: 1g (4%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 2g 


Another basic granola bar with icing on the bottom. Not quite as exciting as the peanut / chocolate variety. Why is it that cashews are so exciting in the mixed nuts can but not that exciting in a granola bar? In this case it might be because they were hard to notice over the sweet icing. If you take the joy out of eating cashews for me, you have failed. I hate to harsh on this bar as it is a good bar overall, but maybe it should be called "cashew butter" or something that doesn't belie its true flavor. 

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Dark Chocolate, Peanut & Almond

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Dark Chocolate, Peanut & Almond
1.24 oz / 35g (6 for $3.00, Walmart)

Ingredients: roasted peanuts, high maltose corn syrup, sugar, dark chocolate chunks, whole grain oats, high fructose corn syrup, rice flour, palm kernel oil, almonds, whole grain wheat, fructose, canola oil, nonfat milk, salt, maltodextrin, peanut butter, whey, reduced minerals whey, soy lecithin, malt extract, color, natural flavor, baking soda, malt, mixed tocopherols. 

Calories: 170
Cals from fat: 70
Total Fat: 8g (13%)
Sat Fat: 3.5g (17%)
Sodium: 120mg (5%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 3g 


The most striking thing about the ingredients list for this bar is how much worse they are for you than the crunchy kind. The ingredients list is twice as long and full of sugar and chemicals, they are higher in fat and lower in fiber, etc. Still in the grand scheme of things I think this bar is still mostly ok. It has a peanut butter icing on the bottom, and is otherwise a pretty standard chewy granola bar. It tastes really good; the chocolate chunks and the peanut butter icing really make this pretty sweet, like a candy bar. I would rather eat this than a lot of candy bars out there, as a matter of fact. Perhaps that is its calling; for breakfast it is a bit sweet.