Monday, October 6, 2014

Review: Meta Health Bar Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bar


I have made no secret on this blog that I really like oatmeal.  One of the neat things about oatmeal is that there are so many different ways to eat it, whether that be sweet or savory.  Along those lines, you can build your sweet or savory profile any way you like.  It's one of the great utility foods out there and it's one that I love, although I prefer my oatmeal the sweet way.  My favorite way to make it sweet is to add a bit of cinnamon and raisins into it, so when an opportunity for a free sample bar that was based on that same flavor profile popped up, I was certainly going to grab it.  Okay, let's be serious...I would have grabbed a free sample regardless of what the flavor profile is.  I'm a freebie addict.  Anyway, this free sample of the Meta Health Bar Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bar arrived in my mailbox and I was anxious to try it out.  It is 1.41 ounces with 150 calories and a minimal two grams of protein.  It's also high in fiber, so with a bar that is high in fiber, you can definitely "Make A Change" in your life (or a certain room) with that extra dose of fiber.  Okay, sorry for that grossness.  One more note is that this is an extension of the famous (or infamous) Metamucil product line, so just keep that in mind.



If you look at the wrapper and then look at my picture, there's no great mystery here.  What I will say is that despite the fact that I looked at the wrapper, I was a bit surprised by the size of the raisins in this bar.  They were full size raisins instead of just tiny raisins or raisin bits.  That was nice.  The rest of the bar had all the smells listed in the name as it smelled strongly of each and every single one of them was a wonderful smell.  Keep in mind that this flavor combination is my favorite oatmeal combination, so I may be overrating how wonderful that smell is though.  That wonderful smelling mix is then topped with what appears to be a vanilla frosting like a cinnamon roll, but when I look at the ingredient list, that "frosting" is listed as a "white compound coating."  Uhh...that makes it sound decidedly less appetizing, but whatever.  The bar itself was bound together by honey and also quite soft and pliable, but that should be expected being that this is an oatmeal bar and that's been a characteristic of just about every oatmeal bar I've ever eaten on this blog.

When I bit into this, two flavors stood out in this chewy, but also somewhat gummy, bar.  First, there was a sweet and tangy taste of raisin and that was quite nice.  Second was the taste of cinnamon, which came on with a lot more strength than I ever would have expected.  It was so strong that it was approaching, but not reaching, the kind of heat/spice that starts to clear your sinuses.  If I had to use one word to describe the spice, I would say "warm."  As you'd expect the oatmeal was bland and really was just there as a vehicle for fiber, but that's okay because that's what oatmeal does.  As for the "white compound coating", it wasn't quite vanilla, but it did a nice job melting over the bar and providing an ever-so-slight bit of a gooey and melting characteristic to the bar, which was nice as that helped cool down the "warm" spice that was coming on with each successive bite.

Buy It or Fly By It?  Like I said, this flavor combination is my favorite oatmeal combination so it would have been hard for this bar to get a negative rating.  It succeeded in not doing that and by the end of the bar, I was wanting more which means it clearly gets a BUY IT rating.  I've already mentioned it, but if you decide to pick this one up, be ready for how much of the cinnamon comes on because that could be a turn-off if you aren't a cinnamon person.

BUY IT!!

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this review. I too am a freebie addict and love things made with oatmeal and raisins. But for some reason after I received this bar in the mail I was hesitant to try it. I think the Metamucil brand just doesn't bring much "yum" to mind. Definitely going to give this a try now.

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  2. I never eat healthy food. I got 4 of these bars free at my gym. Shocker--I loved them!

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  3. I always try to eat healthy food because I am health conscious person. However, I liked this post. Much organized article.

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  4. Yes, I agree the bar tastes good, however it only has 2g of protein and it has 4.6 teaspoons of sugar. Healthy in some ways, but for me not worth all of that sugar.

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    1. Agreed. They were handing these out at my gym. I was shocked when I read how much SUGAR was included.

      I was extremely disappointed that my gym had not screened this first for being "healthy".

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  5. Been eating the other flavor for MANY months. Cranberry Lemon Drizzle. I agree, TOO MUCH SUGAR for something that is supposed to be healthy. Except for the psyllium that is 'heart' healthy, I finally read the entire package contents...never seen so many different references to sugar - hidden on the packgage under the fold of the wrapper - corn sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup solids - going to email them now and ask WHY so much sugar.

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