Review: NOW Honeycomb with Chia & Raisins Energy Bar

I can't remember if I've mentioned it here before, but when it comes to signing up for free contests, promotions and giveaways on Facebook, the web, etc., I'm a total rube.  I sign up for all of them.  I'm sure a lot of you out there think it's a waste of time (I know my friends do), but I will point out that in addition the countless free samples I've gotten, I've also won like $150 in gift cards in various contests, so it's not a totally fruitless endeavor.  With that said, I signed up for another giveaway a couple months ago and as a result of that giveaway, I was blessed with this NOW Honeycomb with Chia & Raisins Energy Bar sample.  Obviously, this is just a small sample of one of their bars, but it is a sample nonetheless.  NOW is a company endorsed by Phil Keoghan (CBS' Amazing Race host) that produced bars using Manuka honey, which is a type of honey native to his homeland of New Zealand.  Anyway, NOW stands for "No Energy Wasted" and I won't waste any more energy talking about the company.  Time to talk about the sample bar.  It is 0.71 ounces and is 80 calories with three grams of protein.  It's also all natural and gluten free as well.

There's not a whole lot to this bar other than it is sticky (from the honey).  It's a mix of raisins, chia (a seed like brain food) and oats/rice crisps bound together by that honey/honeycomb.  Other than that, there's a variety of syrups and unpronounceable chemicals (natural ones) that I won't bother you with details on.  Like their website said, the primary honey used in these bars is New Zealand's Manuka honey and that is also mixed with Clover honey and those two combined make a bar that has an extremely strong honey smell.

That smell translated over to the taste as well as this entire bar permeated of honey flavor.  It was sweet and quite tasty and when mixed with the gumminess and sweetness of the small raisin bits, it made for a nice sweet little treat.  The rice crisps also added a surprising crunch to the bar that was desperately needed to counterbalance the chewiness from the other ingredients.  Had that slight crunch not been in the bar, this one would have just been a gummy, honey flavored mess.  With the crunch, it was almost as if you were eating a bizarre-o and softer version of Honeycomb cereal with raisins mixed in.

Buy It or Fly By It?  I'm a big fan of honey, so I'll give this bar a BUY IT rating because the honey flavor was really strong and appealing to me in this bar and I know that I'd enjoy the full size bar after just having this little taste.  If you are not a fan of honey, stay away from this because you might be overcome by the strength of its flavor here.  Also, if you are interested in trying out a free sample for yourself, the NOW website is offering free samples if you sign up for their list.

BUY IT!!