Review: Kellogg's Special K Strawberry Protein Meal Bar

I've had mixed reactions in my previous Kellogg's Special K bar reviews.  It's not that I've found them poor tasting, it's just that I've found them to be pretty basic.  One would think that with a flavor just called "Strawberry" that the streak of basic reviews would continue, but I was willing to move forward and review it for yours (and my) pleasure.  I picked this bar up at Meijer for $1.29 and it clocks in at 1.59 ounces with 170 calories and ten grams of protein.  Being that this is a "Protein Meal Bar", you'd expect it to have more protein than just ten grams, but there's not point in arguing over semantics.

As you can see from this one, the basic name carries over to the basic appearance of this bar.  It's primarily a rice crisp base mixed with intermittent pieces of dried strawberry bits.  The bar is then covered with a yogurt based vanilla coating which carries a strong scent of vanilla.  Also, when I broke this bar in half, the smell of sweet strawberry was very strong and that's a wonderful thing when you are dealing with these "protein" bars.

One problem that I've found with these Special K bars is that the rice crisp can get rock hard and make them difficult to chew and that is no different with this one.  Once you get past that chewing difficulty though, you are going to find what I thought to be a very appetizing bar.  The strawberry was strong, sweet and very prevalent.  The vanilla yogurt based exterior coating also carried a cool and refreshing taste that made this one more like a dessert than something that you would expect in a protein delivery system like a lot of these bars end up being.  All in all, I would compare the taste of this to a strawberry parfait and since I'm a big parfait guy, I love that.

Buy It or Fly By It?  I can confidently say to BUY IT.  Like I said, once you get past the chewing difficulties, you are going to find yourself with a tasty and pleasant bar.  I don't know that I'd classify it as a replacement for an entire meal, but when you are only talking 170 calories, this does make for a nice snack to get you through a tough morning or afternoon.

BUY IT!!