Review: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut (Almond)

Today, I also had a Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Almond Granola Bar.  The wrapper? Boring. It had some nuts on a wood surface, which oddly looked exactly like my work desk.  Sweet and salty inception. 

 Aesthetically, the bar looked pretty cute.  The almonds were dispersed evenly throughout and the almond butter coating looked mighty tasty.   I even gave it a quick smell test, which it passed with flying colors.

Here is its underbelly:

 Time to dive in.  Wow.  Folks, what we have here is 1.2 Oz of pure, unadulterated delight.  This bar tastes like a glorious harmony of Rice Krispies, icing, and almonds.  It is indeed salty, but the flavor is not overpowering.  My only complaint was that a couple of almonds were on the chewier side.  This could be due to my post-college living situation, so I have no qualms with Nature Valley.

Nutritionally, the bar was so-so. 

13 grams of sugar is a bad thing that just so happens to be very tasty.  The bar was also low in protein and contained 7 grams of fat.  At least it had 2 grams of fiber! Overall, not a healthy bar but definitely a delicious snack.  Touché, Sweet & Salty Nut.  Touché. 

Taste: 4.5/5

Appearance: 4/5

Nutrition: 2.5/5

Review: Power Crunch Cookies & Cream Energy Bar

Today, I had a Power Crunch Cookies & Cream Energy Bar. 

The bar on the wrapper looked magical, and I hoped that my bar would look and taste equally pristine.  Well, it didn’t.  It had broken into three equal parts and did not look like it was coated well.   

Nevertheless, I am not one to judge a book by its cover.  So, I dived in.  Not what I expected.  The bar was good but left a cheesy aftertaste in my mouth.  It was reminiscent of the filling in the Austin cheese cracker sandwiches.  However, this odd taste grew on me, and I found myself happy that the bar had broken into several pieces so that it lasted longer.   Not to mention, this cheesy underdog has awesome nutritional facts.   

It is roughly 200 calories and only has 5 grams of sugar.  Plus, it packs 14 grams of protein.  That’s a lot of Gs for something that isn’t Greek yogurt.  Overall, I would say this bar is pretty good. I prefer the taste of other bars, like Balance Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, but the nutritional stats make this bar worth your while.

Taste: 3/5

Appearance: 3/5
Nutrition: 3.5/5