So Two FBGs Grab These Bars…

And what do they find? Deliciousness! OK, so the title is a sorry attempt at a cliché bar joke and a sad pun on the word “bar” to begin with, but we couldn’t resist. However, here are three bars we recently got our dirty mitts on. Some worth trying, some not!

Wings of Nature Organic Bars

Wings of Nature

The folks at Wings of Nature were nice enough to send me a couple of their bars to try. Initially we got a kick out of the name. Erin immediately thought of maxi pads, which could very well be attributed to the fact that she’s period-free (brat). I, on the other hand, thought of that song by Jeffrey Osborne song, “On the Wings of Love.”If the Cranberry Crunch Bar hadn’t been divine, I’d be very perturbed at the company for getting that song stuck in my head. Luckily, I didn’t think of pads or cheesy songs when I chomped into that heavenly goodness. That little thing was so tasty I may have licked my fingers. On a health bar! Packing 17 grams of carbs, this bar was perfect after my 3 mile-run. It was sans weird-powder aftertaste and gluten–free, so my sensitive stomach was a fan. I dug the healthy party-time in my mouth.

Sadly, that thesame party didn’t happen after trying the Almond Raisin Bar. It was a typical bland bar that you’d shove down after a workout to avoid passing out.The Espresso Coffee Bar gave me a “Wow, there’s a lot of coffee in my mouth right now!” kind of moment. While I’m sure the java junkies of the world would disagree with me, I couldn’t really hang with the intense beans found in that bar. I will say this, though: My guy loved the darn thing. He, unlike me, actually enjoys the real taste of coffee and thought the flavor was subtle. (See aren’t ya’ll glad I got a second opinion?) He was a bit disappointed in its lack of protein (only 5 grams), but he’d still use it as a snack bar 45 minutes before a run.

If you’re tired of your same ol’ bar and looking for something scrumptiously new, try riding the Wings of Nature. Tongue A.D.D. is a terrible thing to ignore.

Kardea Nutrition Bars

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: There are SO MANY DANG BARS OUT THERE! Therefore, when we agree to review one, we make sure that it’s different or unique—and we’re pretty brutal in our review. With so many choices, you have to be the best-of-the-best to get the FBG stamp of approval. When I first saw the Kardea bars, I liked their natural-looking packaging and nutritional stats: less than 200 cals a bar, high in fiber, high in good fat, low in bad fat and 7 grams of protein. Plus, they include cholesterol-lowering plant sterols. Since high cholesterol runs in my family, my ears perked up at that.

The first Kardea variety I tried was Banana Nut. And, guess what? It tasted like a Banana Nut muffin—like the homemade kind, not the fake-banana kind. Score one for Kardea. The next flavor? Cranberry Almond. Also quite pleasant and real-food tasting. I’m beginning to dig this company…and then, the mother of all flavors: Chai Spice. The flavor was unique, strong yet not overpowering and it filled me up. Game, set, match to Kardea. Ya’ll are in the running for a Noshie next year!

Kellogg’s FiberPlus Antioxidants

A new contender in the world of all things fiberific is Kellogg’s with its new FiberPlus Antioxidants line of bars. For these, it looks like they squared up Fiber One bars and then took it to ’em—hard. I’ve eaten a Fiber One bar (or 50) in my day, and I gotta say, when it comes to wanting a sweet treat that won’t leave you starving in an hour, you can’t beat ’em. However, I’ve always thought that they were a tad too sweet. FiberPlus did take note of that and toned the bars down by 2 grams of sugar compared to Fiber One. The bars still taste sweet, but not sickeningly sweet. They also have 20 cals less than the original Fiber One bars and have fewer carbs. Both have 9 grams of fiber and list “sugar” instead of high fructose corn syrup in their ingredients.

What about taste,you ask? I am in love with the Chocolately Peanut Butter variety! So freakin’ delicious. The Dark Chocolate Almond and the Chocolate Chip are good, too, but there’s really no fair comparison to peanut butter and chocolate. Now I still wouldn’t eat these daily, as they’re a pretty processed food, but as an occasional treat instead of ice cream or something else? Heck ya!

What are your favorite nutritional bars? Do you eat them as snacks? And what’s most important to you: taste or ingredients? —Jenn & Tish

Disclosure: These products were provided for review by their respective manufacturer, but in no way is this post or our review of products sponsored, influenced or paid for by any company. We tell it like it is!