Review: RXBAR Chocolate Sea Salt

Let's kick 2017 off with a food review, shall we?  I need to start doing these more often!

RXBAR is a brand I came across when I was doing my detox last summer.  Very simple ingredients - and dairy free, soy free and gluten free.  These chocolate sea salt bars have only 7 ingredients: "Dates, Egg Whites, Almonds, Cashews, Cacao, Sea Salt, Natural Chocolate Flavor".  Gotta love that.  

Dates and the nuts aren't exactly low calorie/low fat, so you do see those reflected in the nutritional stats.  I'm trying to think positive because it's all natural ingredients, but it is still 200 calories for a small bar.

How's the taste?  I've tried other flavors in the past, but this was my first try of the chocolate sea salt flavor.  It wasn't overly chocolately - if you hadn't told me it was chocolate, I might not have picked that out.  I did enjoy the few grains of big sea salt crystals on top.  It's a dense bar, and a bit more sugar than I'm looking for traditionally when I'm looking to add some protein as a snack.  I'm torn right now as to if I should recommend it!  I like this company and their product line, I'm just not a raving fan of this particular flavor.  Blueberry was a bigger hit for me.  They're on the pricey side too - $2 per bar at Trader Joe's.  I do appreciate the natural ingredients though... ;)

Nutrition Facts 
Calories 200
Total Fat 9 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 240 mg
Carb 22 g
Fiber 4 g
Sugars 12 g
Protein 12 g

Review: Power Crunch Protein Energy Bar Original Chocolate Mint

I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with reviewing new-to-me food items again. At one of my local grocery stores recently, there was a gal sampling various flavors of the Power Crunch protein energy bars, and she gave me a handful of them to try later.

I went back through my blog and realized that I reviewed one of these back in 2012! I was not a fan of the French Vanilla Creme version back then.

So has the manufacturer fixed the complaints I had four years ago?  Sadly, no.  The texture is just weird - it's not pleasant.  After the first bite, I thought to myself, "hey, this isn't too bad..." but after the second bite, I just didn't want to keep going.  The aftertaste really shot through, and it was truly unpleasant.  I also tried the Peanut Butter Creme and French Vanilla Creme versions this week, and all of them had that terrible aftertaste.  I can't recommend these bars because of that.

Nutrition Facts 
Calories 205
Total Fat 13 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 100 mg
Carb 10 g
Fiber 1 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 13 g

Review: PowerBar Triple Threat Caramel Peanut Fusion

Today's entrant is the PowerBar Triple Threat Caramel Peanut Fusion.

Tasty!  Reminded me of a Snickers bar - this has some good flavor and some tasty caramel action.  Oddly though, I was hungry less than an hour later - not sure if it's because this was only 10 grams of protein?  I might buy this one again, though I'm not psyched about the relatively low protein given the 230 calories.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 230
Total Fat 9 g
Saturated Fat 4.5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 220 mg
Carb 31 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 15 g
Protein 10 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Double Chocolate Brownie Balance Bar

Today, we've got the Double Chocolate Brownie Balance Bar.

This my favorite of the Balance Bars that I've tried so far.  It's got a good rich chocolate flavor - and I could almost pretend like it's a brownie.  I like the little chocolate chip pieces in there as well.  This is definitely a chocolate punch - and sometimes that isn't exactly what I want at 3am, but other times it really hits the spot.  It's moist and brings the chocolate flavor home.  I like that it doesn't taste like I'm eating 14 grams of protein (though you definitely feels the 17 grams of sugar...).  Two thumbs up here!

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 160 mg
Carb 22 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 17g
Protein 14g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Luna Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter

Today's bar - Luna Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter.

This is a small bar, compared to other bars with similar nutritional value.  But it does pack in a lot of flavor.  The texture is good too - not at all chalky.  It had a good peanut butter flavor, and the chocolate coating was pretty good as well.  Not much of an aftertaste, which is a rarity when it comes to protein bars... ;)  I would buy this one again.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 190
Total Fat 8 g
Saturated Fat 3.5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 250 mg
Carb 19 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 12 g
Protein 12 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Caramel Nut Blast Balance Bar

Next up on the snack bar train - Caramel Nut Blast Balance Bar.

This is definitely not one of my favorites.  I don't know what exactly it is that I don't like - but clearly the Balance folks have been tweaking it (see the "original recipe - it's back!" notation on the wrapper).  The caramel nut top layer is okay, but I really don't care for the base layer, which is the biggest part of the bar.  Too little caramel to balance out the meh base layer.  These are not in my snack bar rotation any longer.

Nutrition Facts 
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 150 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 0 g
Sugars 14 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Power Crunch Protein Energy Bar French Vanilla Creme

Today, the Power Crunch Protein Energy Bar, French Vanilla Creme flavor.

I love love love sugar wafers.  I haven't had them in years but I do love them.  So I was excited to try this one out... and my friends, this is no sugar wafer.  Everything was off on this one.  The coating was waxy.  The filling was extremely chalky.  And there was a weird after taste on the whole thing - almost acidic.  Maybe from the stevia used in it?  Weird.  Definitely will not be buying this one again.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 205
Total Fat 12 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 115 mg
Carb 10 g
Fiber 1 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: S'mores Balance Bar

The S'mores Balance Bar is an interesting one.  Good chocolate flavor, and the soft top layer has an odd combination of marshmallow and graham cracker flavoring.  I can't quite put my finger on it to describe it better, but the flavors work overall in this bar.  The marshmallow and graham component makes it not overwhelming with the chocolateness.  I don't know if I feel strongly that this is "s'mores" true flavor, but it's something that I like to eat.  I just don't know if it truly qualifies as "s'mores". ;)  Not sure what I'd call it though, so I guess I'm useless then. :D

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 220 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 14 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Lemon Meringue Crunch Balance Bar

Stepping away from the chocolate bars, I gave these Lemon Meringue Crunch Balance Bars a try.

I'm torn on recommending them - I only tried one of them, and it was okay.  I liked the change of pace from the chocolate varieties, but the crunch layer wasn't particularly awesome.  The lemon meringue top soft layer was nice though.  The lemon flavor came through without being totally overpowering.  But I guess overall, I wouldn't rush out to buy this one again.  That base layer just wasn't very tasty, and I want the whole thing to be good, not just the soft top layer!

Nutrition Facts

Calories 200

Total Fat 7 g

Saturated Fat 4 g

Trans Fat 0

Cholesterol 0

Sodium 210 mg

Carb 23 g

Fiber 2 g

Sugars 14 g

Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: thinkThin Chocolate Covered Strawberries Protein Bar

Today's entry is the thinkThin Chocolate Covered Strawberries Protein Bar.

First off, you have a visual in your mind that this is going to be a chocolate covered red strawberries bar - but it's not red inside.  It's a pale color (I ate this at 5-something in the morning and in the dawn's early light, I can't tell if it was white or beige), which kinda throws you off a bit.

But honestly, it's not about the color.  If it's tasty, who cares about the color, right?  Unfortunately, it's not too much of the tasty.  It's chalky and the flavor is just odd overall.  It didn't taste like true strawberry, which was a big let down for me.  I appreciated the 15 grams of protein and ZERO grams of sugar, but I wouldn't run back to this bar.  It definitely left me with an artificial sweetener aftertaste.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 120 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 15 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch Balance Bar

First up, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch Balance Bar.

What's not to like?  It's very minty - seems stronger than a Thin Mint cookie but it's been a long time since I've had those so I could be mistaken. ;) But you do need to really be in the mood for mint to have one of these.  I ate them during my pregnancy a few too many times and kinda burnt out on them.  But they did hit a spot when I was in the mood for sweet-and-minty, and overall they're tasty. Just very minty. ;)

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 190 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 16 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Snack bar reviews

One of my biggest challenges with being a new mom is trying to eat at weird hours - and to do so quickly.  So for my 3am-6am "oh my gosh I am starving" window, I have been going for nutrition bars.  I can unwrap and eat 'em one-handed, and this has been a lifesaver in those wee hours.  So I'm going to start reviewing the various bars here...

The biggest criteria for me in choosing a bar is the overall nutrition.  I tend to go with something no more than 200 calories and no less than 10 grams of protein.  Some fiber is a good bonus.  I'd prefer to have not much fat (especially saturated fat), but the chocolate-coated bars are generally tasty enough for me to feel it's worth it. ;)

All of these bars are items I've bought on my own with no influence from any manufacturer (though I would love to try new flavors, if you're listening, snack bar makers!) ;)