Made Good

Update Review, November 2023

Back when I first tried Made Good products, I think they only made the granola minis that I tried (and maybe standard granola bars too?).  Now they offer a variety of other items, such as cookies, crackers, soft baked breakfast oat bars, and "crispy squares"

Granola Bars

"Everything you love about a good granola bar and more. Chewy and flavorful, loads of great taste combinations, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack. Plus there are nutrients from vegetable extracts in every bar, but they are perfectly concealed by all the amazing ingredients. So your kids will never know."

I'd only ever tried the granola minis before, which frankly are a more interesting product to me than granola bars, but when I saw a birthday cake flavored granola bar, I couldn't resist trying.  Granola bars come in a few other flavors as well: including some standard bars (chocolate banana, cookies & creme), and some drizzled with chocolate (cookie crumble, vanilla, or the aforementioned birthday cake).

Chocolate Drizzled Birthday Cake.

"What’s this? A MadeGood Granola Bar drizzled and dipped in chocolate, that’s what. Vegan, organic, and free from the most common allergens including dairy. It’s as rich and decadent as it looks. Tastes like the best of a birthday cake, and still, there’s a serving of veggies perfectly baked inside. Make a wish!"

Well ... this was sweet.  Which, yes, is to be expected.  But it was really really sweet.  I certainly did not taste any of the vegetables hiding within (spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, sweet potatoes).  It tasted like any other granola bar.  Chewy style, bound by sweet goo.  Add in additional sweet due to the additional sprinkles and chocolate drizzle.  Chocolate also coated the entire backside.  The chocolate wasn't particularly good.

Very meh for me, but, if you have kids who like granola bars, I'm sure this would be a winner.  **+.

Original Review, April 2016

Granola.  Not my favorite thing, and one I am rather particular about.  I've certainly tried my share of granola, generally in cereal form or bar form, but, it has never been my "go to" snack.  For cereal form, I want the right style of clumps, the right kind of mix-ins.  For bars, I want the right kind of chewy/crispy balance.  I'm rarely satisfied on the granola front, although sometimes I do enjoy a greek yogurt, fruit, and granola parfait, particularly if I make it with Worthy Granola (still my favorite!).

But, when I was visiting another office, I saw an interesting form of granola in the micro kitchens: granola "minis" by Made Good.  They looked like little bite size nibbles.  Since I'm such a snacker, this form appealed to me.

Of course, the market being what it is these days, they boast all the standard claims: non-GMO, whole grains, low sugar, dairy-free, nut-free, organic, gluten-free, etc.  They add in an extra goodie: they contain a full serving of vegetables.  Yes, vegetables in your granola.  Just go with it for now.

In addition to the minis, Made Good makes regular granola bars. The bars come in four varieties (chocolate chip, mixed berry, chocolate banana, and apple cinnamon).  The bites also come in four varieties, randomly replacing mixed berry with strawberry, but the others are all the same.

I tried two varieties, and, they weren't bad.  I don't want more of them, but, they were certainly interesting to try.  The aforementioned vegetables come in the form of a vegetable powder added to all varieties, containing spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and shiitake mushrooms.  You can detect it, but, it is subtle, and I'm sure it helps trick some children into eating their vegetables, which I'm sure is some of the appeal.

Strawberry Granola Minis.

"Sweet juicy strawberries and gluten free oats. These granola minis taste like strawberry season all year."

Given the variety, I was a bit surprised to find dried apples and apricots in addition to the strawberry bits.  The base also contained oats and other standard granola fillers (sugar, agave, oil, brown rice, tapioca flour), and then of course, the vegetable powder.

They were ... fine.  I loved the idea of mini, munchable granola bites, since I love snacking on granola, but, for some reason, I didn't love these.  Lots of fruity flavor from the bits of dried fruit, but, they were a softer style overall, not as crispy as I like my granola.

Overall, fine, but, just not quite what I was after.  I sorta wanted to put them on ice cream or something as a crumble top.

Strawberry Granola Minis.

I tried these again years later to see if I, or the product, had changed.

I again thought they were fine.  Just fine.  The bits of dried fruit were nice chew, I didn't taste strangeness from the veggie in there, but, they were again just a bit too soft.

A concept I like though, I like snackable granola, and always go for the chunks in my regular granola.

Chocolate Banana Minis.

"Rich dark chocolate and ripe bananas. These granola minis taste just like dessert and contain the nutrients found in one  full serving of vegetables."

Next I tried the chocolate banana flavor.  The base was standard oats, sugar, oil, crisp brown rice, tapioca flour, and agave, this time with banana and chocolate chips mixed in.  I was much happier with this selection.  They were crunchier, and tasted like chocolate chip banana bread, just in crunchy granola form.  There was a slightly strange chew to them though, that I couldn't quite place.  It seemed like there was dried fruit in them, but there wasn't.  They weren't crispy or chewy, just, somewhere in-between.

There was also a slight strange flavor, sorta like when you have some kind of quickbread and find out someone snuck zucchini in it.  This no doubt came from the vegetable powder (spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, shiitake mushroom).  It wasn't bad, and it was very subtle, but, slightly detectable.

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Worthy Granola

I've been reviewing a slew of granola bars lately, but it has been a while since I reviewed regular old granola.  I went through a phase where I tried tons of granola, making yogurt, fruit, and granola parfaits regularly.  And then I stopped, mostly because I just never found granola I cared for.  I know good granola exists, but somehow, I wasn't finding it.  Some, like the ones I tried from Love Grown Foods, had bitter flaxseed that I didn't care for.  Others, like the peanut butter granola from Erin Baker's Granola sounded like they'd be delicious, but failed to deliver.  Honestly, the best I found was  the dessert-like granola from Target's house brand, Archer Farms, or the Udi's granola included in my meal on Virgin America.

But I was given a sample of Worthy Granola by a co-worker.  I read the label: organic, non-GMO, blah blah blah.  I had no expectations.

It turned out to be the best granola I've ever had.

Worthy Granola is made locally here in San Francisco, and most of the ingredients are California-grown as well, including TCHO chocolate.  You can purchase online through Good Eggs, or find it at a few establishments around town.  I also met the owner at an artisan's market once.  She only makes two varieties of granola, but both are phenomenal.  If you ever find Worthy Granola, I highly recommend trying it!

Original Love Granola.

The signature, and original, granola is called "Original Love", made with the standard players like rolled oats, whole almonds, raisins, and chunks of walnuts.  I really appreciated the extra crunch from the well-toasted nuts, but I'm always pretty meh about raisins.  These however were at least nice and plump, not little hard pellets like they sometimes can be.

The magic in Worthy Granola is in the additional ingredients in the mix, like generous size coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds.  Maybe it is just this time of year, but the pumpkin seeds were a unique ingredient that I really enjoyed.

But the true "love" in this granola is the seasoning.  Good base ingredients only get you so far, what makes this granola insanely addicting is just how delicious it is.  Sweetened with maple syrup and blackstrap molasses, both of which give a more complex sweetness than standard granola.  And then there is a tang from apple cider vinegar.  The final touch?  Pink mineral salt.  That is what kicks the granola over the top.  The salt level is high.  Some would say it requires a "chef's palette" to appreciate it.  But to me, it is perfect.

This is the best granola I've ever had.  Interestingly, I generally prefer to have larger clumps in my granola, and this has none, but the flavors are just so amazing that I'm willing to overlook that.  I enjoy it best just by the handful alongside a morning coffee, but I'm sure it is great in other applications too.  I just never get that far.  The moment the bag is opened, it is devoured.

Side note: the granola is normally distributed in glass jars, but since I had samples, it came in bags instead.

Cocoa Raspberry Love.

Worthy Granola now makes a second flavor: Cocoa Raspberry Love.

The ingredients list is a bit long, but nothing on there is scary: the same base of thick-cut rolled oats, almonds, dried coconut flakes, pure maple syrup, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, unsulfured blackstrap molasses, coconut sugar, raw apple cider vinegar, and unrefined pink mineral salt, plus additional freeze-dried raspberries, roasted TCHO cocoa nibs, and a blend of 66% and 84% TCHO chocolate.

I loved this flavor too.  The cocoa nibs added a little bit of extra crunch and bitterness, and the oats were covered with a little chocolate, making the whole thing take on a pleasant chocolate flavor.  I think it would be awesome over ice cream.

But the real bursts of flavor came from two other ingredients: the freeze-dried raspberries and again, the pink mineral salt.  The raspberries were just shocking.  How did so much flavor get into these little morsels?  The combination of raspberry and chocolate made it seem so decadent.  But the real final punch was again the salt.  It came through in every bite, on the finish, in a way that just rounded everything out perfectly, left the flavor lingering, and made you want.

And more I want.  Now.

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Bear Naked Granola

I'm pretty picky about my granola.  I like a specific style.

Granola

I was recently at an event where Bear Naked was giving out granola samples.  It didn't look like the sort of granola I'd like, as there were no clumps.   I want legit clumps, as I like to eat it by the fingerful.  Sure, I also put it on top of greek yogurt, or sometimes sprinkle it on ice cream, or, rarely, add milk to it, but mostly I just like to munch on it.  With my hands.  I'm a snack foods girl, a serious muncher.  Granola sans clumps is no good for this.

Bear Naked makes a slew of different granolas, some of which sound great like Maple-Licious Pecan and  Chocolate Elation.  Some sound ... intriguing, like "Fruit & Nutty Goodie Bag".  Others are loaded with protein, flax, or are reduced fat.  They also make energy bars, layered snack bars, and trail mix, all featuring their granola.  I didn't get to pick my samples, but received two different granolas to try out, neither of which were the flavors that sounded most appealing, but, I'm not one to turn down a freebie, so, I tried it.

While I still didn't like the clumpless form of this granola, the flavors were good, so if you like clumpless granola, this could be for you.  My favorite granola remains locally made Worthy Granola.

Coconut Almond Curry.

"Our savory, sweet mix of soft-baked granola, coconut, whole almonds and cashews, blended together with the spicy zang of Eastern curry is outta this worldly!"

The first sample I received I really wasn't excited for at all.  Coconut almond curry?  I'm not opposed to savory granola, but, don't generally like curry flavors.

Given the flavor, and the visual appeal of the granola, I was pretty certain I wouldn't like it, but I tried a few bites before passing it off to Ojan.

As I could tell from visual inspection alone, it had no clumps.  Strike one.

In the mix along with barely toasted oats was shredded coconut and almonds, as expected given the name of the product, plus curry powder, made up of cumin, turmeric, red and black pepper, cardamom, fenugreek, and coriander.

It tasted like, well, curry.  I didn't like it, but if you like curry, and are interested in a savory granola, I'm sure this product could be interesting.  It did have some sweetness from honey, brown rice syrup, dried cane syrup, and maple syrup,  but the curry made it pretty savory overall.

Certainly not my thing.

Sea Salt Caramel Apple.

"This yummy granola pairs the sweetness of caramel with the tart and tanginess of an apple, all topped with savory sea salt for a truly incredible and unforgettable flavor."

Well, huh.  This was good.

I'll start with the negative - obviously, the form.  I like my granola to have big clumps.  I like to munch on it.  Munching is hard to do with this style of clumpless granola.

But, this really was tasty.  Simple granola flakes, sure.  But also in the mix were dried apples and hard caramel candies.  It was a bit strange to bite down on the hard caramels, but, the caramel apple flavor was pretty awesome.  The sea salt was unexpected.  This was a sweet granola, but, then the salt was very pronounced as well.

This mix was ok to munch on, but really, it just demanded to be sprinkled over an ice cream sundae.  Which I promptly did.

Granola Bites

"Bears aren't the only source of bites around here. Delicious, bite size and portable for those on the go. It’s the perfect snack."

Eventually I discovered that Bear Naked makes a product much more suited for me: granola bites!  little snack size nibbles of their granola.  These sounded quite promising.

Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt.

"There's an old bear saying: Chocolate at night, bear's delight. Chocolate in morning, better get hoarding. This sage advice helped inspire our Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Granola Bites, featuring Fair Trade Chocolate and sea salt with a blend of peanut butter and cashew butter, whole grain oats, sunflower seeds and millet. "

I did like the form factor, not clumps as I was hoping for, more deliberate chunks, but still, quite munchable.

And I did like the decent size chunks of quality dark chocolate, and the pop from the sea salt.  But ... I didn't care for the base, the sunflower seeds and millet aren't really my thing, but I think it was the cashew butter that threw the flavor off for me, it just trended too bitter.

So, better form factor, quality chocolate, but not the ingredient mix for me.

Peanut Butter & Honey.

"Peanut Butter & Honey Granola Bites are made of dark roasted peanut butter, whole grain oats, honey, pumpkin seeds and millet."
I was even more excited for the peanut butter bites, as I adore peanut butter.  And again, awesome munchable form factor.

The peanut butter aspect was great.  But ... much like the dark chocolate & sea salt version, these had a bitterness.  I think the pumpkin seeds and millet caused it?

Sigh.  Gotta stop trying these.

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Quaker

Update Review, 2024

Quaker, along with their obviously popular cereals and granola bars, also makes a fairly large product line of rice snacks.  Large format standard rice cakes, smaller, crunchier Rice Crisps, super thin and even crispier Rice Thins, and triangular Rice Chips.  All come in a variety of flavors.

Rice Crisps

"'With so many crunchy ways to snack, you might not be able to pick just one. They’re a great lunch time sidekick, after school snack or movie night munchie."

The rice crisps look just like rice cakes, but, smaller.  They are however fairly distinct, not just due to the size, but due to the crispy factor.  They are much crunchier/crisper, less airy and fluffy. They come in 10 flavors, some sweet and some savory.  I tried a few.

Caramel.

"These sweet, buttery, caramel flavored rice crisps are a low fat snack the whole family will love."

I love caramel corn.  I appreciate healthier snacks.  These seem like such a perfect snack for me.  And yet ... I always want to like them more than I actually do.

The crispier and thinner than regular rice cakes or caramel corn form factor isn't quite as enjoyable for me.  I prefer a bit more puff to my snacks.  The two-bite size works, but, overall, the rice crisps form lets me down a bit.

The flavor also lets me down.  It is intensely caramel-y.  Very sweet.  Very very sweet.  Again, this seems like I should like it, full of buttery caramel notes just as promised.  But they lack any addicting salty counterpart, and thus are just sweet on sweet.  I like to dunk them into whipped cream, but just eaten on their own as a snack, I want a big more balance.

I want to love these, but generally think they are barely ok, and kinda need to talk myself in to finishing off a bag.  **+.

Apple Cinnamon.

"What do you get when you combine the flavors of tangy apple with tasty cinnamon and crispy crunchiness? Totally delicious rice snacks that will leave you speechless – mostly because your mouth will be full."

I didn't select the apple cinnamon flavor, but my mom had them in her cabinet, so of course I tried them.  They delivered strongly in both the apple and cinnamon flavors.  Very classic fall flavors, warming spices.  Not really what I go for, but, I give them credit for really amping up the flavor.  **+.

Buttermilk Ranch.

"Crispy and crunchy meets creamy and peppery. Get acquainted with a crispy rice snack with zesty and delicious ranch flavor. You'll want to head for the ranch at snack time."

Another flavor I wouldn't naturally pick, but my mom had bags of them at home, so, why not try?  I again almost sorta liked the form factor, somewhere between a chip and a rice cake, but sorta wished they were either even thinner and crispier like a chip/cracker, or thicker.

The flavor, like the others I tried, was quite intense.  They seemed very true to the buttermilk ranch.  Creamy, herby, yep, ranch.  Certainly not a flavor I gravitate towards (not for chips, not for dip, not for salad dressing), but, very true to what they set out to be, and I did enjoy the savory flavor enough to easily finish the bag without a second thought of handing it off to someone else.  I wouldn't purchase on my own, nor seek out, but, they weren't bad.  ***.

Original Review, 2013, with updates from 2020

If you read my blog on Fridays, you know that I've been on an epic quest to find some granola.  I've kinda failed, concluding that the granola from Target is my favorite so far, even when compared to all sorts of expensive, artisan granolas, but its not like I'm running out to get more of the Target stuff.

Chewy Granola Bars

So now, I turn my attention towards granola in a slightly different form: granola bars.  Like with granola, the variance is high.  What percentage is oats? Is it chewy or crispy?  Loaded with fruit and nuts?  Loaded with sugar? Weird protein powders?  They can be 100 calorie light snacks or 500 calorie sugar bombs.  The choice is yours.

I've reviewed a few granola bars in the past, but I'm going to dive in for the next few weeks, doing a different brand every Friday. To start this series, I'll begin with a classic: Quaker.  Yes, the oatmeal people.  I've tried some of their "Chewy" product line over the years. 

The "Chewy" product line is available in several forms: classic granola bars, 25% less sugar, Big Chewy (60% bigger), yogurt (coated), Dipps (dipped in chocolate). 

Classic Chewy Granola Bars

"Quaker®Chewy Granola Bars are a delicious snack that you can feel good about giving to your kids. All classic flavors of Chewy are made with 100% whole grains and other yummy ingredients, like real chocolate chips and raisins, and no artificial flavors or added colors."

The basic chewy bars claim to be decent healthy choices, made with whole grains and no high fructose corn syrup.  About 100 calories each. 

The granola base for all is oats and brown rice crisps in several formats.   They are available in 7 flavors, 4 fairly basic (dark chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip), plus a handful of slightly more fun ones (peanut butter and marshmallow, s'mores, and chocolate-brownie-licious).

Chewy Granola Bars Assorted Pack.

I got the assorted pack, which contains 4 varieties, all of which I tried.

I haven't really liked any - they taste incredibly sweet, fake, and generic.  My tasting notes are not very extensive, as I just haven't really wanted anything to do with these, and handed them off to my niece (who, does adore them). Meh.

Chocolate Chip.

"Nothing gets chocolate lovers cheering like a Chocolate Chip Quaker® Chewy Bar. Every chewylicious bite is made with real, mouth-watering chocolate chips the kids will love."

Most varieties use the chocolate chip as the base.

The little chocolate chips are ... fine.  The mix of crispy things in the base is fine.  It *is* chewy as advertised, pleasantly so.

But it is just a sweet, generic granola bar, targeted at kids, and, I found nothing interesting with it. *+.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

"If you like the delicious flavors of peanut butter and chocolate chips, you’ll love Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quaker® Chewy Granola Bars."

I moved on to the peanut butter chocolate chip.  Made with the same base of oats and crispy rice, with little tiny chocolate and peanut butter chips.

I had it when I was craving chocolate and peanut butter.  After eating it ... I was still craving chocolate and peanut butter.

This was a pretty standard chewy granola bar, very sweet, and not anything special.  I love peanut butter and chocolate together, but neither was very strong in this product, both sets of chips seemed to be more waxy than flavorful.  There were not actually any peanuts in here, only the "peanut flavored chips". 

It was sweet and kinda gooey, so I guess there is that? *+.

S'mores.

"Our S’mores Quaker® Chewy Granola Bar takes a family favorite from the campfire to your cupboard."

Swap out the peanut butter chips for mini marshmallows and you get the s'mores bar.  My review is exactly the same.  It really is the same product, just with tiny tiny marshmallows that get easily lost in it.  Chewy, too sweet, meh. *.

Oatmeal Raisin.

"Oatmeal Raisin Quaker® Chewy Bar is a delicious snack made with raisins, oatmeal cookie pieces, 10 grams of whole grains and other yummy ingredients. "

My favorite of the lineup was strangely the oatmeal raisin.  It at least had some spices in it (cinnamon, etc) and the raisins were not hard pellets.  That said, it was still just sticky sweet, which made no sense with the healthier flavor, and I didn't want a second bite. *.

Prior tasting notes: "Sweet, meh. Not tasty."  Lol.  I had few words back then.

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Maple and Brown Sugar.
(Discontinued)

Standard granola bar, ok maple flavor.

Prior tasting notes:  Pretty good when crumbled up on top of fruit and whipped cream, but very sweet, too sweet to just eat as a bar.  *+.

Chewy Yogurt

"Quaker Chewy Yogurt Granola Bars are made with real fruit pieces, whole grains, a delicious yogurt-flavored coating and other yummy ingredients. These BERRY tasty bars are a snack that the family will love!"

Even though I didn't like the Classic Chewy bars, I still tried a bar from the yogurt lineup, when my little niece rejected her box full.  Available in strawberry or blueberry only.

Strawberry: Top.

"Quaker® Chewy Strawberry Yogurt Granola Bars are made with 14 grams of whole grains, real strawberries pieces, a delicious layer of yogurt flavored coating and other delicious ingredients. With a taste your whole family will love, this yummy snack won't last long in your cupboard!"

The first thing I noticed when I opened the yogurt bar is that it is much bigger, thicker.  Perhaps more like the Big Chew bars? It also was a dryer style, less gooey.

I liked the granola base more than in the classic bars, the mix of oats, brown rice crisps, etc worked better for me here for some reason.  And I even liked the little pops of intense fruitiness from the bits of dried strawberries.  But it was very, very, very sweet, the base has sugar, honey, glucose, invert sugar, and brown sugar after all, and the dried strawberries are sweetened with glucose syrup and fructose too.  

Much better texture for me, but still, wowzer, sweet.  

Strawberry: Side.

The part I really did like though, embarrassingly, is the "yogurt" coating.  Yup, that would be the sugar, vegetable oil, palm oil, why, soy lecithin, etc, etc.  It too was very sweet. But it was creamy, and I kinda liked it.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I cut off the bottom (it was entirely coated) and just, uh, ate that.  The box was going in the trash otherwise, no other adults wanted to try them, and alas, 2 year old declared "yucky"!

Best Quaker granola bar product I tried, for the yogurt coating only :) **.

Update Review, 2018

Quaker is not exactly an unknown brand to me.  I grew up with their instant oatmeal (maple and brown sugar, with extra maple syrup added, FTW!).  Their granola bars were probably the first granola bars I ever had.

I recently tried some of their breakfast bar products.  They make two varieties, harder style "Breakfast Flats" (like Belvita perhaps?) and softer "Breakfast Squares" (like Nutri-Grain).  I tried the later.

Breakfast Squares

"Your morning just became more satisfying with Quaker® Breakfast Squares. Available in Strawberry, Baked Apple Cinnamon and Peanut Butter flavors, these filled soft baked bars are an easy way to fill up and help start your day. Not to mention, each square is made with whole grain oats and other delicious ingredients to make this one fulfilling square."

Breakfast Squares seem to be their version of something like a Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Bar, just, square shaped.  Your basic soft baked oatmeal based bar in a few flavors, handy grab-n-go breakfast.

I tried two varieties, strawberry and apple cinnamon.  The fruit fillings weren't really winners, but I did like the oatmeal bar itself.

Packaging.

The bars come individually packaged, in a plastic wrapper with a clear section showing through to the bar within.

The packaging is interestingly *not* a square, so I assumed that inside would also actually just be a oblong bar.

Strawberry: Top View.

"The sweet taste of strawberries is always refreshing. That’s why Quaker® Strawberry Breakfast Squares are a great way to help start your day. Whole grain oats, whole wheat, strawberry puree and other tasty ingredients create the satisfying breakfast snack you’ll love to enjoy. "

But, they are actual squares.

From the top, it looks just like a fairly standard oat based soft-ish bar.

I did like the oatmeal based bar.  It wasn't quite as soft as I was hoping, but it had good texture from the oats, and a nice sweetness level from brown sugar.  Basically, yup, oatmeal in bar form. *** from that component.

Strawberry: Side View.

From the side you can see the generous strawberry filling layer that runs through the center.

The strawberry I didn't really like.  It was fruity, but, not in a "yay, fresh strawberries!" sense.  No worse than any other bar of this nature, just, not something I like.  It really was generously stuffed though, so if I had liked it, I would have been pretty thrilled.

I just peeled off the oatmeal bar bits and enjoyed it that way, but kept finding myself wishing I had some of my mom's strawberry jam handy to slather on.  So yes, if that strawberry filling had delivered, this would be a great choice. ** overall though.

Baked Apple Cinnamon.

"Apple & cinnamon, the classically delicious duo that blends sweet and spice. We love this combination in our Baked Apple Cinnamon Quaker® Breakfast Squares, the surprisingly satisfying breakfast snack. Enjoy 23 grams of whole grains, cinnamon, sweet apple puree and other tasty ingredients in a square that may become your new favorite apple cinnamon snack!"

Next I tried the baked apple cinnamon.

My review is basically the same.  The oatmeal bar was actually pretty good, nice sweetness and texture.  The filling though?  Mush, that was like low end apple sauce, spiced in ways I didn't like.

I again just peeled off the oatmeal bar, and ate that part (uh, dunked in whipped cream).  **.

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Nature Valley Granola Bars

Update Review, 2015-2020 Tastings

Since I've reviewed Nature Valley before, I'll skip an intro, but, this time I tried all different products.  Spoiler: while I still don't care for crunchy granola bars, the biscuits (aka breakfast cookies) were good!

Sweet & Salty Nut Bars

I've never been a huge fan of granola bars, as you know from my previous reviews.  In fact, I can't think of a single regular granola bar that I have ever liked ... except for Nature Valley's Sweet and Salty Nut Bars, the peanut variety.  I discovered them at Burning Man, when someone in my camp packed the peanut flavored ones, and I became hooked.  The peanut coating got crazy melty in the heat, and they were such decadent treats.

And then I didn't have another for years.  Until now.

The Sweet & Salty Nut Bars come in a number of varieties: peanut, almond, cashew, roasted mixed nut, dark chocolate, peanut & almond, and chocolate pretzel nut.  The peanut ones were the only kind I had had before, but the ones with chocolate do sound even more tempting.

Almond Sweet & Salty Nut Bar.

"Nature Valley® Sweet & Salty Almond Granola Bars are a perfect balance of chewy granola and delicious real almonds, dipped in an almond butter coating."

This time I had the almond flavor. Sure, I don't like almond butter nearly as much as peanut butter, and my fond memories were of the peanut bars, but I was traveling, and American Airlines had these in one of the Flagship lounges.  I couldn't resist, even though I knew the bar wouldn't get all melty like I wanted.

It was ... ok.  Basically a chewy granola bar, with nice crunchy almonds in it.  The almond butter coating only covered one side, and wasn't nearly as tasty as I recalled the peanut butter coating being.

This was fine, but I wouldn't get another.  It made me want a peanut one, but, they didn't ahve them, because, likely, allergies.

Biscuits

Nature Valley makes 3 varieties of biscuits (blueberry, honey, and lemon poppy seed), basically, breakfast cookies, much like Belvita (which I love!).  And then, they also make ... biscuit sandwiches.  You know, stuffed breakfast cookies.  These come with assorted butter fillings: peanut butter, almond butter, cocoa almond butter, and even coconut butter, all paired with a different flavor of biscuit (peanut butter, cinnamon, honey, toasted coconut, respectively).  I thought it was interesting that besides the simple honey flavor, these additional biscuit flavors weren't available just as biscuits.

Almond Butter.

"Biscuit boost! Two crispy biscuits made with 100% natural whole grain oats. In between, rich, creamy almond butter filling for a surge of energy."

I was shocked how much I liked this.  I'll just start there.  I guess, I did love the belVita biscuits, so maybe it isn't that surprising, but, I'm not really an almond butter fan, and the almond butter sandwich didn't sound particularly interesting, with simple cinnamon biscuits.

But it was great.  Each package contains only one biscuit sandwich, but that single biscuit sandwich is quite large, each biscuit about the size of two thin cookies, so, 4 small cookies overall.  Plus filling, of course.

The biscuits, much like the soft bars, were extremely flavorful, strong cinnamon, really strong cinnamon, but in a good way.  They were sweet, spicy, and crunchy.  Perfect breakfast cookies!

The filling too was good, fairly creamy, generous portion, sweetened honey roasted almond butter.

These reminded me a bit of a very amped up Nutter Butter - obviously almond butter and not peanut butter, and mega sized, and loaded with cinnamon, and, I was convincing myself it was a breakfast item to have with my morning coffee, but, the similarities were there.  I'm sure the peanut butter variety would be even more similar.

Overall, this was quite enjoyable, and I immediately abandoned my plans to try a bite for this review and pass off to my partner.  Nope, it was all mine.  It hit all the notes - texture of the crispy cookie and creamy filling, sweetness balanced by spicy cinnamon ... a winner.

Crunchy Granola Bars

No, I haven't suddenly decided I like crunchy granola bars, but, my partner was sent a snack box with these in it, so I gave them a try.

I still find these just not to be a product I have any particular use for.  They are *super* crispy, and I always decide to just crumble them up and use like granola or ice cream toppings.

Oats 'n Dark Chocolate.

"Energy plus indulgence. Dark chocolate pieces join forces with 16g of whole grain oats to tame your cravings and help you power through your day."

The random one included in his box was probably my second choice of flavor (peanut butter dark chocolate would be the one I wanted ...).

It was ... uh, boring?  I expected chunks of dark chocolate, but rather, it was just chocolate throughout I guess.  Honestly didn't taste any real chocolate component to it, although it has both dark chocolate and cocoa in it.

It was also really quite sweet, sweeter than I expected, I guess with sugar as the second ingredient, and honey, and brown sugar syrup both added, this makes sense.

And besides all the sweet and very mild-not-really-there chocolate, the only other things in it are whole grain oats and rice flour.  So, fairly wholesome I guess, but also, just, boring.

Sweet, crispy, I crumbled onto ice cream.  Definitely wouldn't get again.

The package has 2 bars, making up a serving, 190 calories, only 3 g protein, and 12 g sugar.  Not particularly nutritionally interesting. 

Original Review, 2014

Another Friday, another granola bar product line review.  And still, no real winners.  I keep trying!

I had hope for Nature Valley.  Many years ago, I discovered their Sweet & Salty Nut Bars, specifically, the peanut variety.  They are basic granola bars, loaded up with plentiful peanuts, and coated in this amazing salty, peanut buttery dip.  Such intense peanut flavor, perfect mix of sweet and salty, and really, really good if you let them get a bit warm, so they are soft, and the peanut butter topping gets all melty.  Such fond memories of these delicious treats!

This time around, I decided to branch out and explore the rest of Nature Valley's product line.  They make all the styles of granola bars that you would expect: standard crunchy or chewy, protein enhanced, trendy greek yogurt covered, diet style thin crisps, and even breakfast biscuits.  None of the varieties I tried this time around even remotely live up to those magic sweet and salty nut bars of my memories though.

Chewy Trail Mix Bars

The "Trail Mix" line is chewy style, loaded with different fruits and nuts.  The classic is the "fruit & nut", but they also have a more specialized Cranberry & Pomegranate and Dark Chocolate Cherry bars.

Fruit and Nut Chewy Trail Mix Bar.

"Three different kinds of nuts and seeds with dried cranberries and raisins."

 ... or so says the description.  The ingredients label however lists only two types of nuts (peanuts, almonds), not three.  And no seeds.  But yes, there were dried cranberries and raisins, in addition to the oat base.

It was very sweet, with lots of sugar syrup binding together the already sweet raisins and dried cranberries.  The only other filler was the oats.  Not really my thing.

Subsequent tasting notes: [ Meh, generic, sweet granola bar. ] [ Nuts aren’t really good quality either. ] [ It was a chewy bar, but mostly just loaded with sweet binding agent.  Did not like. ]

Protein Bars

The protein bars are classic chewy style, loaded with nuts and rice crips, plus extra protein hidden inside via my "favorite" form, soy protein isolate - yum!  They do all have tasty looking coatings.  Flavors range from coconut almond bars with a coconut flavored coating, salted caramel nut, peanut almond or peanut butter, both with chocolate chips and dark chocolate coating, and mixed berry with Greek yogurt coating.  They boast about 10 grams of protein each.

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Protein Bar.

"A tempting combination of roasted peanuts and luscious peanut butter, all flavored with rich dark chocolate".

They need to work on their description ... "flavored with rich dark chocolate"?  Is that supposed to sound appealing?

Anyway.  This did look pretty good, puffed rice, whole roasted peanuts, mini chocolate chips, and, although you can see it in the picture, the bottom was all coated in chocolate too.

Even though there were peanuts, I didn't taste any of the namesake peanut butter, or even just peanuts really.  The overwhelming flavor was that strange funk of soy protein isolate and whey protein, the magic ingredients turning this granola bar into a protein powerhouse with 10 grams of protein.

I didn't like this, and wouldn't get again.  Even the greatness of chocolate and peanut butter couldn't overcome the strange protein bits, unlike the actually really tasty Peanut Butter Whey Protein Fit Crunch Bar I reviewed last week.

Granola Thins

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Dark Chocolate Granola Thin.

"Delicate squares of granola with a unique, delightfully crispy texture.  Each thin is paired with a delicious melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate flavor."

This was a very thin, very crisp granola bar with good peanut butter flavor flavor.  The chocolate layer on the bottom was decent dark chocolate.  Overall, pretty good, particularly for a crunchy style bar, which I don't normally love.  The chocolate and peanut butter combination was a winner, and the ratio of bar to chocolate was just right.

Crunchy Bars

Crunchy bars are available in a slew of flavors, ranging from the basic Oats 'n Honey to nutty (peanut butter, roasted almond, pecan) to fruity (apple crisp, coconut) to fall inspired (cinnamon, maple brown sugar).

They aren't joking when they call these "crunchy", certainly the crispiest bars I've ever found on the market.

Crunchy Peanut Butter.

"Nature Valley® Peanut Butter Crunchy Granola Bars combine whole grain rolled oats, crisp rice, and peanut butter to produce a sweet and wholesome snack."

This was crazy crisp.  I know they are called "crunchy", but I wasn't quite expecting it to be soooo crispy.

Like the granola thin, it had a really nice peanut butter flavor.  Better than most granola bars I've had lately, which makes me think that perhaps I like the crunchy ones more then chewy ones?

Subsequent tastings: [ Meh, too crunchy ] [ Very very crispy, decent peanut butter flavor ] [ Crispy, kinda honeyed peanut flavor, not bad ] [ Great when you want some serious crunch, fantastic peanut flavor, almost caramelized flavor to it. ]

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Crunchy Oat & Honey.

"Nature Valley® Oats `n Honey Granola Bars combine real honey and rolled oats, to produce a sweet, wholesome snack."

Meh, this was just a hard plain granola bar with a tiny amount of honey flavor.  It was kinda stale tasting because it was so crunchy and there was no other flavor besides the subtle honey. Certainly not for me.

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Brookfarm Muesli, Australia

"Whether it’s Ketogenic, Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Fruit free, Sugar free, natural, toasted or granola, or just delicious and healthy – we’ve got a product that will suit you."

Brookfarm is a common brand of muesli, granola, porridge, nuts, and other related products, based in Australia.  Most of their goods involve macadamia nuts, many are gluten free.  

I think I first discovered Brookfarm on a Qantas flight from Sydney, where they served the muesli, and I thought it was ok.  I didn't particularly seek out other products, but the brand seems pretty popular, I saw it in hotel breakfast buffets at various places in Sydney, and my office had some of the muesli bars stocked for easy snacks.  I grew a fondness for it, and came to look forward to it for breakfast.

Muesli

"Kick start your day with our award-winning premium macadamia muesli! Brookfarm muesli is sustainably sourced, non GMO and all preservative free. Shop our range of toasted muesli, gluten free muesli and natural muesli."

Brookfarm has several styles of muesli - natural style muesli, toasted muesli, and, gluten-free.  I think all include macadamias.

Gluten-Free Cranberry & Macadamia.

"This oven baked gluten free muesli combines antioxidant rich cranberries with the crunchy texture of macadamias, protein rich quinoa, Australian gluten free grains and brans. These are lightly toasted with Australian bush honey and just a touch of our premium macadamia oil. We then add nutritious sultanas and natural currants from Australia’s finest fruit growing regions."

I'll cut right to the chase.  I love this muesli.  Yup, one I'd never expect, gluten-free, featuring cranberries ... but, I really like it.  The crispy buckwheat, quinoa, and puffed rice make for a different style of base than traditional oats, I love the touch of sweetness from honey, and of course, the macadamias, which really shine in this one.  The pumpkin seeds are great for more crunch, and then, yes, even the sultanas and cranberries are nice, little pops of flavor and chew.

This one is good just to eat dry, with milk, or with greek yogurt.  Very versatile.  I like this one even more when mixed with their wild berry granola.  ****.

Update Review: I continue to enjoy this, and the little puffs really do set it apart.  The macadamias are always a winner.  I do wish it didn't have all the dried cranberries, but otherwise, this is tasty, and it also makes great finger food to snack on.

Natural Muesli with Apple, Apricot, & Macadamia.

"Brookfarm Natural Macadamia Muesli with Apricots & Apples is made in the traditional Swiss style, using blended natural ingredients. A gourmet muesli, that doesn’t taste like cardboard and uses the freshest ingredients Australia has to offer. Savour the rich crunchy texture of wholesome Australian grains and brans, natural currants and sultanas from the Barossa, apple from Tasmania, apricots from the Murrumbidgee, together with the magical taste of our own macadamia nuts."

The natural muesli was pretty simple, mainly a base of natural oats and barley, with bits of sultana, currants, and apricots, plus some dried apples and coconut.  Oh, and of course, the macadamias.  Since this was served in my breakfast buffet, I tried it dry, sprinkled on yogurt, and with milk, but none of those preparations really were great for it.  I liked some of the bits, but, it was just really dry and plain.  I think the natural, untoasted style is better suited for an overnight prep, more akin to bircher muesli or overnight oats.  I wasn't ever able to try it that way.

***.

Granola

"Blended with premium, sustainably sourced ingredients, Brookfarm granola is preservative free, non-GMO and produced here in Byron Bay. Shop our range of paleo granola, keto granola and gluten free granola."

Granola comes in a couple forms, including gluten-free and keto varieties.

Wild Berry Granola.

"Awarded a Gold Medal at the Royal Hobart show, our Wild Berry Granola is wildly delicious and rich in Australian grains and flavour. It includes tart cherries and blueberries, oven roasted premium nuts with just a touch of maple and Australian bush honey, and Australia’s native rainforest Superfood, The Davidson Plum. "

I really enjoyed the wild berry granola, a mix with so many goodies, including coconut chips, pumpkin seeds, macadamias, pecans, almonds, and puffed rice, in addition to all the fruity elements: dried blueberries, dates, sour cherries, Davidson plum, orange, and raspberries.  It certainly had a lot going on, but I liked all the different textures, crunchy bits, and chewy fruity bits.  It was honestly pretty good just to eat dry, or drizzled with a little fruit syrup, but absolutely fantastic with some greek yogurt.

Like most of their products, the macadamias were my favorite element, but, altogether it was quite enjoyable.  ****.

Bars

Given how much I ended up liking the breakfast cereals, I was happy to see Brookfarm made these products in bar form too, for easy grab-n-go.  At one time, they seemed to come in the same varieties as the muesli, but that product line looks to be discontinued.  They now only offer a "Prebiotic Wholefood Bar" line, which I did not try.

Gluten Free with Cranberry and Macadamia Bar.

"Brookfarm’s Gluten Free Cranberry & Macadamia Bar is oven-baked, full of flavour and contains 16 delicious natural ingredients.

Based on out award winning Gluten Free Macadamia Muesli, it is packed full of wholegrains, delicious cranberries, nuts and seeds.

Enjoy the light crunchy texture of sun ripened macadamias, delicious cranberries, buckwheat, brown rice and amaranth from central NSW, wholesome sunflower and pumpkin kernels, succulent currants from the Barossa Valley lightly toasted with Australian bush honey to create a bar that will energise you anytime of day."

I did not like this bar.

It was very crunchy.  Too crunchy.  The main components were brown rice, buckwheat, and amaranth crunchies, and puffed rice balls.  There were bits of hard dried cranberries and currants, and a few bits of macadamia. Much like the muesli, but, it just didn't work in this form.

Everything was just too crispy, and I didn't particularly like any of the flavors.

*+.

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Clio Yogurt Bars

My mornings aren't usually that rushed, particularly in this new hybrid world where I work from home in the mornings, but, sometimes I just don't want to put any thought or energy into grabbing breakfast, where even cereal counts as energy - I still need to decide which cereal (or, in my case, usually which blend of cereal), I need to pour milk, and, I usually chop up some fresh fruit to throw on.  Sometimes, I want it to take just the amount of time my coffee takes, with no effort required.  

Enter Clio.  Clio makes Greek yogurt, in bar form, designed for eating on the go.

Clio makes 3 product lines: the "Original" Greek yogurt bars, a Less Sugar line, and the newest offering, "Parfait" bars with granola and yogurt.  I didn't try any of the originals, but they describe them as "Cheesecake-like morsels without remorse", which, I'll admit, does sound temping.  I tried bars from each of the other product lines though.

All require refrigeration, and don't have a particularly long shelf life, which, well, makes sense if they are yogurt.

Less Sugar

"We made Clio less sugar, but kept it 100 (calories that is)."

The Less Sugar line is basically the same concept as the Original Greek Yogurt bars, basically, Greek Yogurt, in a bar form, with a chocolate coating.  The Less Sugar bars are available in 5 flavors: vanilla, peach, mixed berry, coconut, and berry acai, which is an entirely different lineup than the Originals (strawberry, blueberry, chocolate, peanut butter, vanilla, and, seasonal, pumpkin spice).  I thought it was interesting that they choose different flavors for both lines, as I'd expect no difference in flavor appeal?  

Anyway.  I'll admit that I had no idea what to expect from a greek yogurt bar.  It looked like a candy bar, but, was yogurt?  In my head, I somewhat skipped the "yogurt" part, and thought it would be like a protein bar of some kind (which, I guess it was, just not a traditional one).  They all have 7-8g of protein in these petite little bars, which seems good for a small snack.

Vanilla Less Sugar Greek Yogurt Bar.

"Just when you thought vanilla Greek yogurt couldn’t get any more perfect, we go and swap the container for a dark chocolate shell. No lid to lick. No plastic cup to throw away. Save the spoon for another day. You get to eat the yogurt AND the container because it’s made out of delicious dark chocolate. So to all the vanilla Greek yogurts out there trapped inside of plastic cups, we’re sorry. We once loved you, but suddenly you seem— how do we put this nicely? — a little too vanilla."

I opted for the simple vanilla, when I couldn't find the coconut one I wanted to try.

I found the bar quite attractive (so much chocolate!) although a bit petite.  I looked forward to more chocolate goodness.  And then I took a bite.

Hmm.  Yeah.  That was, uh, yogurt.  Tangy, creamy but solid, yogurt.  It was almost like eating froyo, but, just chilled, not frozen.  Or, I suppose, like eating yogurt in bar form.  Which it was.  It had a slight "fake sugar" taste to it, a sweetness that was just a touch too sweet in an odd way, if you know what I mean, likely from the maltitol.

My brain definitely struggled with this.  I love froyo, I like greek yogurt parfaits for breakfast.  But yogurt in bar form ... I wasn't quite there.  The yogurt was fine though, it tasted like average, vanilla flavored greek yogurt.  And I see the convenience.  Just ... a bit odd for me.

**+.

I decided to freeze the rest of this, and have it more like a frozen yogurt bar, since my brain understands frozen yogurt.  It froze very hard, so I definitely needed to let it soften a bit, and the yogurt aspect of it actually was more pleasant that way, but, when frozen, I could taste the "fake sweet" aspect of it that I didn't really care for.  Still not a winner.  I later saw that Clio even recommends freezing them, and letting them thaw 5 minutes before consuming.  This seems like a great idea if you want to throw into your bag on the way out the door and eat sometime a bit later during your commute.

Parfait

"Greek yogurt meets granola in a bar. How convenient."

Undeterred, I decided to try a parfait bar.  The parfait bars come in only 4 flavors: key lime pie, vanilla almond, strawberry, and S'mores.   

When I eat Greek yogurt, I generally have it as a parfait layered with granola, so, the parfait bars were far more appealing to me than the simple yogurt bars.  That said, I dislike granola bars (I can quasi-endure a crunchy granola bar if I break it up and put it on a parfait, but I really don't like chewy ones at all), so, I did worry a bit about the granola "in a bar" aspect of this product.

These bars are double the calories (200) and 10g of protein, so, a bit more substantial than the tiny snack bar Original/Less Sugar ones, but it still didn't feel like a complete easy breakfast on the go as advertised.

Vanilla Almond Granola & Yogurt Parfait.

"We took everyone’s favorite classic Vanilla Greek yogurt and gave it a Clio twist in our new Vanilla Almond Granola & Yogurt Parfait. Our Vanilla Almond Parfait bars combine our classic vanilla Greek yogurt with toasted almond and cranberry granola - all wrapped up in a delicious layer of decadent almond butter coating. "

To do a good comparison with the other bar I tried, I went for the closest thing, the vanilla almond.

When I opened this one, I was very surprised.  I still expected to see chocolate coating, as the picture on the front of the product even had chocolate coating.  My bar did not.  That said, the description did say it would have almond butter coating, which it more of what it looked like, pale blonde in color.  The coating didn't really taste like much of anything though, I really wanted to taste almond butter, but, I didn't pick up almond anywhere in this bar really.

I bit in, and was suddenly very unhappy.

Vanilla Almond Granola & Yogurt Parfait: Cross section.

The top layer of the bar was actually fine - this was the creamy, smooth, Greek yogurt.  As this was not a Less Sugar product, it didn't have the slightly odd fake sweet taste to it, and was pretty good.  It made me want to try a regular Clio bar, as maybe I'd actually like it, and I can see the appeal of a sorta like cheesecake yogurt bar.

But the layer under that, the more dominant layer was ... the granola.  Soft, soggy, mushy, slightly chewy, granola.  Exactly what I don't like.  Which I guess makes sense, even if they wanted a bar with crispy granola, there is no way it could stay that way in the fridge.  But the fridge is required per the yogurt.  So, mushy granola, really not very appealing.  But even worse, the dominant thing here was the dried cranberries.  I somehow entirely missed that in the description ... I wouldn't have picked this had I realized it.  I just don't care for dried cranberries much at all.  They were chewy, sweet, and, well, not for me.

So, almond butter coating that tasted like nothing, decent enough yogurt layer, and meh on the granola with too many cranberries.  I really was craving nut butter at this point though, so I added on a big gob of cashew butter, and it helped balance the fruity cranberries and added more depth of flavor.  I finished it, but wouldn't get another.

**+.

Original Greek Yogurt Bars

"Cheesecake-like morsels without remorse."

The Original Greek Yogurt Bars were the last product line I tried, and certainly the best of the bunch.  I recommend starting there.  These come in 5 regular varieties (vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter, strawberry, blueberry) and a seasonal pumpkin spice flavor.  I did find it interesting that besides the vanilla, the flavor lineup was entirely different from the Less Sugar line, which featured more interesting options like berry acai, peach, and coconut.

These bars are slightly bigger than the Less Sugar bars, and have more protein, but also, obviously, more sugar.  The format is the same as their lower sugar counterparts, with a chocolate shell wrapping the yogurt center.

Vanilla.

"Just when you thought vanilla Greek yogurt couldn’t get any more perfect, we go and swap the container for a dark chocolatey shell. No lid to lick. No plastic cup to throw away. Save the spoon for another day. You get to eat the yogurt AND the container because it’s made out of delicious dark chocolate. So to all the vanilla Greek yogurts out there trapped inside of plastic cups, we’re sorry. We once loved you, but suddenly you seem— how do we put this nicely? — a little too vanilla."

I went for the simple vanilla, and it was enjoyable.  Decent quality dark chocolate shell, creamy, indulgent tasting tangy yogurt center.  The fake sweet taste I noted in the Less Sugar variety was not present here, and the bar overall wasn't too sweet.  The description of a "cheesecake-like morsel" really did fit, and I can see actually treating one as dessert if I wanted (although I quite enjoyed it with breakfast too!).  

***+.

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