Review: Quaker Quinoa Chocolate Nut Medley Granola Bars

I don't know what it is about these Quaker Quinoa bars and Marsh.  In the last review, I also found that flavor on clearance and once again in a visit to the clearance section, I found this box of Quaker Quinoa Chocolate Nut Medley Granola Bars on clearance as well.  Not sure if Marsh can't sell them or they just can't sell in general, but it seems odd to me.  Either way, a box of these contains five bars and each bar is 1.23 ounces with 150 calories and two grams of protein.

Review: Yoplait Plenti Black Cherry Plentiful Greek Yogurt

I'm going to jump ahead a little bit as I tackle yet another Yoplait Plenti review with something that really focuses on what you'll see in the photo after the jump.  Apparently Yoplait (General Mills) has decided to join the "Keep Calm and ______" movement and add the tagline to the underside of top of their yogurt containers.  I can't tell you how insane that drive me.  The "Keep Calm and Carry On" slogan has an interesting history, but some marketer took it and used it for other purposes.  Then other marketers thought this was a good idea and here were are today with that slogan spread EVERYWHERE and way overused.  It drives me insane to the point where it actually makes me angry and I rant on a food blog about it where no one cares.  All over a goofy little slogan.  And...wait...I'm just going to stop here before I go off the deep end and get into the review.  Anyway, I picked up this single serving container of Yoplait Plenti Black Cherry Plentiful Greek Yogurt at Kroger for $1.00 and it comes in at 5.3 ounces packed in with 140 calories and twelve grams of protein.

Review: Yoplait Plenti Blueberry Plentiful Greek Yogurt

I mentioned in my last Yoplait Plenti review that these cups of Greek yogurt seemed like they were something that had been out forever and that's why I had steered away from reviewing them, figuring that I already had.  As I mentioned, it turns out that they were new-ish and I was just dreaming that they had been reviewed before.  So, since I've neglected them in the past, I figured it was time to plow through with another review as I grabbed this Yoplait Plenti Blueberry Plentiful Greek Yogurt off the shelves of Kroger for $1.00.  It's 5.3 ounces and is packed with 140 calories and twelve grams of protein.

Review: Kellogg's Special K Berry Medley Bars

Recently I took a look at one of the new products that Kellogg's Special K had rolled out in their snack bars line and since it seems as if they rolled out their new products in a pair, I'm now going to take a look at these Kellogg's Special K Berry Medley Bars.  I picked these up on sale at Marsh for $1.99 and each box contains six bars that weigh in at a tiny 0.88 ounces and has a minimal 100 calories with two grams of protein (they are a snack bar after all).  Since this is pretty much the definition of a process and manufactured food, there's no sorts of all natural or anything tag lines to throw on here, which is kind of funny.  Still, that doesn't bother me one bit because I'm the same guy that willing throws candy, cookies, ice cream and beer into my body on a fairly regular basis, so I'm not exactly the bastion of health...I just sometimes eat healthy foods.

Review: Earnest Eats Almond Trail Mix Baked Whole Food Bar

Sorry folks, but this blog has been a little Fresh Thyme heavy recently.  Unfortunately, that's mostly going to continue for a while because I made a HUGE splurge there and probably will go back again.  The positive is that it's freshened up (get it?) the content a bit here and given me some new products to review.  Today is the second look at an Earnest Eats product as I grabbed this Earnest Eats Almond Trail Mix Baked Whole Food Bar for $1.69.  It's 1.9 ounces and has 210 calories with six grams of protein.  It's also organic, vegan and wheat free.

Review: Earnest Eats Cran Lemon Zest Baked Whole Food Bar

Today's product is doubly new for me.  Firstly, I picked this up at Fresh Thyme, which is a store that I had never been to until then (nice store, by the way).  Secondly, with a new store bring a new product manufacturer and this is the first time that Earnest Eats has ever made an appearance on the blog with their Earnest Eats Cran Lemon Zest Baked Whole Food Bar that I was able to pick up for $1.69.  Each bar is 1.9 ounces and has 210 calories with five grams of protein.  It's also organic, wheat-free and vegan, so there's those additional health benefits (or life choices) as well.

Review: CLIF Nuts & Seeds Bar

When I'm walking through the store and am looking through the shelves for new things, I sometimes see products that make me think to myself "why even bother?"  Today's review, which adds to the CLIF collection, is one of those products.  The whole idea of this bar just seems so incredibly boring that I just don't know how it could be appealing enough for anyone to buy it.  Now, I'm a reviewer (or at least pretending to be one), so I bought this CLIF Nuts & Seeds Bar just because it was a new product and I wanted something to review.  This one set me back $1.00 at Kroger and it comes in at the CLIF bar standard 2.4 ounces.  It's also packing 270 calories and eleven grams of protein.

Review: Mariani Granola Honeybar

Mariani has had a nice little introduction on the blog as they've successfully pleased me after their shocking (to me) introduction to me when I just happened upon them at my local Walmart Neighborhood Market.  In that "shocking" introduction, I picked up four different flavors and this is the third of those four flavors as I grabbed this very basic sounding Mariani Granola Honeybar for the same $1.29 as the others.  The bar itself is 1.4 ounces and has 160 calories and a fairly minimal four grams of protein.  It's also free of a lot of things as well, including cholesterol, gluten and wheat.  In addition to that, it's also all natural, kosher and vegetarian.  Whew!  That's a lot of stuff.

Review: Balance Bar Bare Mixed Berry Nut Bar

At the rate I'm going, I could almost solicit a sponsorship for this blog from Kroger as their Free Friday Download program continues to grow the number of reviews on this blog.  What I do like about that program (other than the free stuff, of course) is that it forces me to look in sections of the store that I've been away from for a while and looking in those sections allows me to find new products that I have never seen before, as is the case with today's review of this Balance Bar Bare Mixed Berry Nut Bar that I can add to the already expansive collection of Balance Bar reviews.  It's a 1.19 ounce bar and it has 160 calories and four grams of protein.  It's also dairy free, gluten free and soy free if that floats any of your boats.

Review (#1000!): Skinnygirl Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bar

Today is a big day for the blog and if you didn't notice from the title of this post, this is review number one thousand in this blog's history, so if you'll indulge me for a few moments, I'm going to spend a little time dwelling on the milestone before I get into today's actual review.

Honestly, I can't believe I've written that many reviews and I've done it in a little over three years time.  That's not epic, non-stop production like some blogs out there, but it's still a lot for one guy to take on (excuse me while I break my arm patting myself on the back) AND EAT.  When I started this blog, I figured it would be something that I'd do sporadically for a few months and then move on with my life.  Over three years, one thousand reviews, over 2.5 million page views and over 500,000 unique visitors later, I'm still here kickin' it.  This blog has never been a super successful or overly read blog as those statistics show, but it's chugged along just enough to keep me going for all these years and reviews.

I'd be remiss if I didn't thank everyone that has gotten me this far because if it weren't for the fans whose visits generate revenue via the obnoxious display advertising that clogs and slows down the site, I would have given up this blog a long, long time ago.  I realize that I've mailed some reviews in, not really given my best effort at times and I've even accidentally reviewed some products twice without even knowing it, so there have been times where it perhaps hasn't been worth visiting.  Regardless, that just shows how awesome all of you are and I do want to say THANK YOU (again) for all your visits and support throughout the years.

Since this is the milestone one thousand, I figured I would call my masculinity into question (this is called Crazy Food DUDE) and review a product that is specifically targeted toward women as I've done many times before with LUNA bars.  Still, despite the fact that I'm not female, I think it's okay for me to eat this...well, I'm going to declare that it's okay for me to try out this Skinnygirl Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bar that I picked up at Marsh for $2.49.  Skinnygirl is kind of famous and maybe it's going to her head as she's put two mildly annoying taglines on the wrapper of this bar.  First, this is referred to as a "Tasty Nutrition Bar" on the front of the wrapper.  Should the judgment of whether something is tasty or not be at the discretion of the person eating it?  Also, on the back/side of the wrapper, there was another tagline that said "Treat Yourself Healthy."  Again, if I don't eat this bar, am I not treating myself healthy?  And yet another thing, is a bar that is part of a company that was founded based on Skinnygirl alcoholic cocktails really able to decide what is treating my body healthy or not?  And another thing...the founder of said company is a Real Housewife of New York (Bethenny Frankel), so that doesn't exactly make her a model citizen.  Okay, I'm complaining in a ridiculously long diatribe about things that don't matter again, which is something I've done many times over the course of one thousand reviews, so I guess it's nothing new.

Anyway, this bar is 1.4 ounces and has 160 calories and six grams of protein.  It's also gluten free (isn't seemingly everything now?) and also kosher, if you are into knowing that kind of information.

Review: belVita Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits

I wish I had done a better job of categorizing Free Friday Download posts because it seems like the Kroger promotion is starting to account for a fair amount of reviews.  Today's review is another one of those instances as a recent coupon promotion allowed me to pick up a box of these belVita Soft Baked Oats & Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits at of course no cost to me to add to my modest belVita collection.  Within each box are five soft baked biscuits and each biscuit clocks in at 1.76 ounces and has 200 calories and 3 grams of protein, in addition to some "Nutritious Morning Energy."

Review: Leclerc Chocomax Brownies Coated Chewy Bars

Sometimes things just stick in your head, no matter how wrong or right they are.  For example, every time I think of Canada, I think of the South Park movie and how they portray Canada as our enemy.  That inevitably leads me to the famous song from the movie, along with some other lines, and it always brings a smile to my face.  Knowing that, when I saw the subject of today's review in  my local Kroger and saw that it was from Canada, I immediately thought of the movie and perhaps that's what caused me to pick up this box of Leclerc Chocomax Brownies Coated Chewy Bars.  Okay, perhaps that was not the only reason.  The fact that they were on clearance for $2.09 certainly helped as well.  Anyway, each box contains six bars and each bar is 32 grams...oh wait, that's metric...sorry, the Canadian thing got stuck in my head.  Each bar is 1.1 ounces and comes in at 150 calories with two grams of protein.

Review: Good Greens Apple Crumb Soy Greek Yogurt Bar

It's been quite a while since I looked at a Good Greens product (over two years), but I had noticed recently that my local Marsh Supermarket had started carrying their bars.  I hadn't made any purchases because I thought I had tried all the flavors, but upon further review recently, I noticed that there were a couple that I hadn't tested out yet and that leads to today's review of this Good Greens Apple Crumb Soy Greek Yogurt Bar.  I was able to grab this one for $2.49 and it comes in at 1.76 ounces with 190 calories and ten grams of protein.  It's also dubbed as a "Wellness Bar" on the wrapper and I think that's a first for me.  As always with these Good Greens bars, it's powered by their Z52 Superfood Powder and I'll spare telling the long story of that that is again.  You can check out the website or my prior reviews if interested.  Anyway, the bar is also all natural, gluten free and vegan, so that's fun (or healthy) I suppose.

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.

Review: Chobani Oats Cranberry Greek Yogurt With Steel-Cut Oats

When I was losing weight a several years ago at a meteoric pace, one of my favorite treats was to make a bowl of oatmeal and then mix some yogurt in with the oatmeal to make a convoluted parfait of sorts.  When I was recently strolling through Meijer, they had a free sample station set up where they were passing out a new Chobani product that seemed to be emulating the same thing that I used to make on my own, so I grabbed a couple of cups of it up and that leads me to to another Chobani review, this time with my look at this single serving cup of Chobani Oats Cranberry Greek Yogurt With Steel-Cut Oats that I was able to pick up for $1.25.  Each cup is 5.3 ounces and has 160 calories and ten grams of protein.

Review: Boundless Nutrition Oatmega Blueberry Pomegranate Bar

It's been a while since I've taken a look at an Oatmega bar.  This one has just been laying around waiting for me to review and I've been putting off doing it because, quite frankly, the combination kind of scared me.  I love blueberries, but I'm not particularly fond of the pomegranate flavor in a lot of cases, so I've been taking my time getting to doing a review of this Boundless Nutrition Oatmega Blueberry Pomegranate Bar.  Alas, I couldn't put it off forever, so that leads me to take a look at this bar that I picked up at Marsh for $2.99.  Each bar is 1.8 ounces with 190 calories and fourteen grams of protein.  It's all natural, made of whey protein and is high in Omega 3, so it's got all those delightful characteristics going for it.

Review: Nature Valley Blueberry Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares

I've covered in a recent review how Quaker Oats is a product producing machine and is actually the source of the second most amount of reviews on this blog.  Another big time, although not as big, producer in this blog's history is General Mills, of which Nature Valley is one of their products that I've hit many times on this blog.  Today, I've got another Nature Valley hit with a review of one of their new products as I take a look at this box of six Nature Valley Blueberry Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares that I was able to pick up in a crazy sale at my local Meijer for $1.88.  Each of the six bars in the box is 1.24 ounces and has 150 calories and two grams of protein.

Review: Dr. Black's Brain Bar Dark Chocolatey Nut Bar

After my last Dr. Black's review, the people from Dr. Black's were kind enough to reach out to me to thank me for the review and also to apologize for the fact that my free sample melted before it arrived (totally unnecessary apology, but very much appreciated).  Because of that, they wanted to see if I would be interested in samples of their other flavor bar and that leads to today's review of this Dr. Black's Brain Bar Dark Chocolatey Nut Bar.  This one is 0.99 ounces and clocks in with 110 calories and four grams of protein.

Review: EcoTrek Fitness Dark Chocolate Raspberry Whole Food Bar

In my last EcoTrek Fitness bar review, I mentioned how it seems like gluten free is taking over the world.  I'll spare you that diatribe again (if you even read it the first time) and just focus on the fact that today I'll be taking a look at another one of their products in this review of the EcoTrek Fitness Dark Chocolate Raspberry Whole Food Bar.  I picked this one up in the same clearance sale at Meijer for $1.99 and each bar is 1.76 ounces (that seems to be a standard size for many, many bars out there oddly enough) with 195 calories and ten grams of protein.  It's all natural, dairy free gluten free, vegan and consists of all sorts of fruits and vegetables, so it's got all that going for it.

Review: Gnu Foods Fiber Love Apple Cobbler Soft-Baked Fiber Bar

I don't know why it bothers me, but I have to admit that I sometimes shop at Earth Fare and I hate myself for it.  I guess it might bother me because I've never wanted that connotation as a natural foods/health nut that shops at those kinds of stores.  There's nothing wrong with shopping there at all, but I've just got this bug in my head about it.  I guess it's remnants from being picked on too much in elementary school for doing ANYTHING that was different from the norm.  I'm 35 years old...maybe I should get over that.  LOL.  Anyway, I picked up a new product (to this blog) at Earth Fare with this Gnu Foods Fiber Love Apple Cobbler Soft-Baked Fiber Bar that I was able to grab for $1.33.  Each bar is 1.6 ounces and has 140 calories and three grams of protein.  It's also got 48% of your daily fiber, so HOLY COW.