Review: Kashi Cherry Vanilla Soft-Baked Cereal Bar

I've mentioned before that I don't post these reviews in the order in which I actually do them, but at the time that I'm typing this review, it seems like all I've been reviewing lately are cereal bars as my most recent handful of reviews that I've typed have been cereal bars and when I look at my queue of upcoming reviews, I've still got a couple more to knock out.  Yikes, there are a lot of cereal bars out there on the market.  So much so that I didn't even realize that the cereal bar market was so cutthroat and competitive.  With that, I continue my cereal bar run, as I've got another Kashi review with this review of the Kashi Cherry Vanilla Soft-Baked Cereal Bar.  I got this during the hilarious snack time at my work, meaning it was free.  The pertinent details for this bar are that it is 1.2 ounces with 120 calories and two grams of protein.

Upon looking at the wrapper and also taking this out of the wrapper, there was one definite noticeable difference between this bar and all the other cereal bars out there...this one was split down the middle to expose the cherry filling.  I guess the only impact that would bring is that there is not as much cereal bar, but other than that, it's nothing more than just a visual observation.  As for the rest of the bar, it smelled strongly of both cherry and vanilla and the filling was your typical fruit filling for one of those bars.  The only thing that was slightly strange was that there was a slight hint of apple in the smell, so this was all sorts of fruit action.

As I bit into this, I can't say that I was surprised by the taste of the cereal portion of the bar as it was pretty much standard stuff for one of these cereal bars as it was soft, doughy and chewy (thus the soft-baked name).  One thing that was different about this bar and it's because of the split down the middle, is that with each bite I took, the fruit filling kind of squirted into my mouth like a jelly donut.  I have to admit...that was kind of fun and made me feel gluttonous in a way.  The cherry flavoring was sweet, but not overwhelmingly powerful.  If I had to give a one word description, I would say that it was "pleasing", especially since it had a very slight hint of apple.  In a way, it kind of reminded me of a dearly departed Hostess Cherry Pie, which is the definition of gluttony.  The one thing that wasn't pleasing, and that's because it disappeared, was the vanilla flavoring.  While I could definitely smell the vanilla, I couldn't taste it in any of my bites.  Perhaps the flavor just got lost in the cherry filling, but I've got to say I was somewhat disappointed because I love vanilla.

Buy It or Fly By It?  This bar in general was pleasing and when it reminds you of two of the most gluttonous comfort foods that there are (donuts and Hostess Cherry Pies) and still manages to remain moderately healthy, you've got a winner that gets a BUY IT rating.  While it's not as good as those foods, it definitely is "pleasing" enough that it is enjoyable to eat and is worth a purchase (or picking up at your company's snack time) for a nice little treat.

BUY IT!!