Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Review: Larabar Chocolate Chip Brownie Food Bar


I'll be the first to admit that I haven't had the best luck with Larabar reviews on here and I've probably written this same intro many times.  Sometimes I wonder why I keep reviewing these bars, but they have so many darn flavors that I just can't help myself and continue to buy new flavors in hopes of finding another that I might like.  So, that quest leads me to this Larabar Chocolate Chip Brownie Food Bar.  I picked this one up at Meijer for $1.09 and it is 1.6 ounces, 200 calories and contains four grams of protein.  It's also Kosher, Gluten Free, uses Non-GMO ingredients and uses Fair Trade Certified chocolate, so that's for all the Earth lovers of the world.



As with all Larabars, the main components of this bar are fruits and nuts.  In the case, of this bar, it's the typical date puree mixed together with almonds and walnuts.  When I broke this in half, I was astounded at the size of the almonds as they were quite large.  The walnuts were just little bits and I expected that, but the almond sizes were amazing to me and since almonds are probably my second favorite nut, I was very appreciative of that.  Also in the mix were many decent-sized chocolate chips, although the chips were using unsweetened chocolate, so that made me a bit apprehensive, but I always am when I eat a Larabar product now.  Another thing that was a somewhat pleasant surprise is that they somehow managed to make their typical date puree look like it was a brownie.  Being that is the namesake of the bar, that should be expected, but again, my usual sense of apprehension applied to that too.

So, with my usual sense of apprehension I bit into the bar and was delighted with what I tasted.  Not only did this bar feel like a brownie in my mouth as I chewed through it, but it also tasted like one too.  I did not expect that AT ALL and when it happened, I was delighted.  The initial taste was a faint hint of banana, but that faded away quickly to a nice, but mild chocolate flavor.  Combined with the texture of the bar, you could have almost fooled me into thinking I was eating a batch of brownies.  Combining that brownie mouthfeel with the strong crunch of the nuts and chips was also a welcome and tasty surprise as well, because they all worked harmoniously together, especially when I encountered a large almond piece and that happened several times as I made my way through.  Still, this bar wasn't a total winner though because the chocolate chips left a bit to be desired.  They definitely tasted like chocolate, but they were a little flat and that's probably because of the use of unsweetened chocolate.  Had they used sweetened chocolate, I don't think it would have overpowered the bar and it might have actually helped intensify the mild sweetness that was already coming from the date puree.  Not a major complaint, but if I'm going to get chocolate chips, I want them to be sweet, darn it!

Buy It or Fly By It?  I've been harsh on Larabar products in the past, but I just can't do it here because this was just a flat out delicious bar and it gets a firm BUY IT rating.  What is both maddening and upsetting at the same time is now that I've found another Larabar that I like, I'll continue to keep snatching them up in the store in hopes of re-creating that magic.  Hopefully I've just been buying the wrong ones for the most part up to this point and I can continue my "hot" streak that I've started with this bar with all my future reviews.

BUY IT!!

1 comment:

  1. The chocolate chips in this bar are sweetened... Sugar is included in them, and when sugar is added to unsweetened chocolate, it makes sweetened chocolate. These are no different than the chocolate chips found in chocolate chip cookies.

    That being said, I agree with this review. This is definitely one of their winning flavors!

    ReplyDelete

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