Review: Curate Harmonious Blend Marcona Almond & Apricot Bar

So I was in Kroger recently and noticed that a new brand of bars had crept onto the shelves.  What I also noticed about these bars is that they proudly profess on the wrapper that they are made with joy (it is a harmonious blend after all!).  The cynic in me just wants to eat that up and destroy them for it, but I'll try to keep this intro as positive as possible against all urges and just dive right in to this review of the Curate Harmonious Blend Marcona Almond & Apricot Bar that I was able to grab for $1.79 (I think).  It's 1.59 ounces and within that are 190 calories and six grams of protein.  It's also gluten and soy free.

Review: Skinny Noodles Shirataki Angel Hair

So I've ventured into Skinny Noodles territory before and I let's just say that I found several things about the experience to be very interesting.  I'll never forget the smell of them after I took them out of the packaging and while I eventually made the smell go away with some intense rinsing, it's something that will stick with me forever.  That said, Skinny Noodles actually responded to my post via Twitter and gave me a tip on how to more quickly rid myself of that smell:  rinse the noodles in vinegar.  With that tip in my back of tricks, I was ready to embark on another Skinny Noodles adventure and take a look at this package of Skinny Noodles Shirataki Angel Hair.  This one was given to me by my sister via a Groupon purchase (remember, she couldn't get over the smell), so I paid nothing for these.  The package itself is 8.0 ounces and it's apparently calorie free for each serving of 4.0 ounces (or at least less than five calories, per government regulations); the entire package eaten together is ten calories.  It's also gluten free, kosher, soy free, vegan and vegetarian.  There's a whole lot of nothing going on here, if you choose to look at it that way.

Review: Pure Organic Ancient Grains Triple Berry Nut Bar

I've been noticing recently that I haven't been reviewing a lot of bars, which is strange considering that the history of this blog is very bar heavy.  I'm trying to re-focus on bars (or at least mix them into reviews more), so that leads me to today's review of this Pure Organic Ancient Grains Triple Berry Nut Bar that I was able to pick up at Fresh Thyme for I think roughly $1.25 (it was on sale).  It's not the first Pure Organic bar that I've reviewed but since these are typically more expensive and/or harder for me to find, I haven't reviewed a lot of them.  Anyway, this bar is 1.23 ounces and within that is 160 calories and five grams of protein.  It's also gluten free, kosher, soy free and vegan.

Review: Skinny Noodles Shirataki Spaghetti

Every now and then, something comes to me that I just don't expect.  Today's review is one of those times.  I remember seeing some sort of blog post or something about Skinny Noodles MANY months ago and while I thought it was interesting, I never went to the effort to seek them out.  Recently, my sister made a purchase of a Skinny Noodles sampler pack off of Groupon and for reasons I will not share, some of that purchase made it to me.  I never expected to review Skinny Noodles, but after my sister's passing them along to me, here we are today to review this package of Skinny Noodles Shirataki Spaghetti.  The package itself is 8.0 ounces and as you can clearly see on the front, it is ZERO calories (although the website now says it is low calorie with 10 calories), ZERO fat, Kosher and Gluten Free.  Basically, I'm not sure this is even food.  Interesting.

Review: Larabar Coconut Pineapple Cake Bar

In my last Larabar review, I mentioned how delighted I was to see their products make a return to the blog after nearly a year's absence.  Today is the second part of the two bars that I picked up in that shopping trip at Kroger as I picked up this Larabar Coconut Pineapple Cake Bar for $1.00.  The bar itself comes in at 1.6 ounces and has 190 calories with a tiny two grams of protein.  If you are a big fan of health or at least attempts at health, this bar is also dairy free, gluten free, soy free and vegan.

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: Balance Bar Bare Sweet & Spicy Nut Bar

Food manufacturing is like one big game of follow the leader.  Everyone copies everyone's ideas and it's just a vicious circle.  You make a non-coated bar, I make a non-coated bar.  You make a Greek yogurt bar, I make a Greek yogurt bar.  You make a savory bar, I make a savory bar.  Anyway,  you get the picture.  That's why it should come as no surprise that today's review subject is another bar in the line of another one of those trends...non-coated savory bars.  I've looked at varieties from other manufacturers previously, but today adds to the Balance Bar review catalog as I take a look at their version with this review of the Balance Bar Bare Sweet & Spicy Nut Bar that I was able to pick up at Meijer for $1.00.  Each bar is 1.19 ounces and has 160 calories and four grams of protein.  It's also gluten, soy and dairy free.

Review: The GFB Gluten Free Bar Oatmeal Raisin Bar

I mentioned in a previous Gluten Free Bar review that I first thought they had been kicked out of my local Meijer, but like the Phoenix, they rose again with additional flavors.  I said that I picked up a couple of flavors and today's review of this The GFB Gluten Free Bar Oatmeal Raisin Bar is the second of those flavors that I was able to grab.  Like the last, this one was on the shelves of Meijer for $1.49.  It clocks in at 2.05 ounces with 220 calories and twelve grams of protein.  It's all natural, dairy free, soy free, vegan and obviously gluten free.

Review: Balance Bar Bare Sea Salt Caramel Nut Bar

Balance Bar is a product that I hit a lot in the early days of the blog and then it went a year before I reviewed it again.  I was thinking that prior to today that it had been at least eighteen months since I looked at one, but much to my surprise, I did a couple of reviews earlier this year.  Either way, review of Balance Bars have been few and far between since 2012.  So, today they make a return to the blog (again) as I take a look at this Balance Bar Bare Sea Salt Caramel Nut Bar that I was able to pick up at Meijer for $1.00.  The bar itself is 1.19 ounces and has 160 calories and five grams of protein.  It's also gluten and soy free, if you are interested in that kind of thing.

Review: The GFB Gluten Free Bar Cranberry Toasted Almond Bar

Last time I looked at one of these Gluten Free Bars, I picked it up on clearance at Meijer so I figured it was a one-time only review since they wouldn't be carrying them anymore.  Well, I was wrong.  Not only are they still carrying them, but they've also added more flavors and seeing that, I picked up a couple for reviews.  Today's review if the first of that purchase as I take a look at this The GFB Gluten Free Bar Cranberry Toasted Almond Bar that I was able to grab for $1.49.  It's 2.05 ounces and comes in with 225 calories and twelve grams of protein.  It's gluten free (DUH, or as the wrapper says OBVIOUSLY) and also soy free, dairy free AND vegan.

Review: CLIF Kit's Organic Coconut + Sesame Seeds Fruit + Seed Bar

I mentioned in my last CLIF review that I binged on some bars at Earth Fare that I don't ordinarily see in my typical run-of-the-mill grocery stores and today's review is part of that same binge.  I don't know why CLIF doesn't include these in the normal stores with the rest of their products, but for some reason they are exclusive to the exclusive grocery stores.  I just don't get it.  Anyway, I picked up this CLIF Kit's Organic Coconut + Sesame Seeds Fruit + Seed Bar at the aforementioned Earth Fare for $1.49 and the bar is 1.7 ounces with 200 calories and a very minimal two grams of protein.  It's also gluten free, soy free, dairy free and made with a minimal eight ingredients.  Here's to hoping that it's not flavor free.

Review: CLIF Kit's Organic Cherry + Pumpkin Seeds Fruit + Seed Bar

I've been trying to branch out a bit more recently and one of the ways I've been doing that is trying to hit up stores that I don't ordinarily visit.  Earth Fare is one of those stores and on a lot of those visits, I find new products that I have never seen in my normal stores.  That said, CLIF products are certainly not new to me as I've done a ton of reviews on them, but Earth Fare did allow me to find a bar from one of the lines that I don't typically see in my normal stores.  Anyway, I picked up this CLIF Kit's Organic Cherry + Pumpkins Seeds Fruits + Seed Bar for $1.49 and the bar itself is 1.7 ounces with 170 calories and four grams of protein.

Review: The GFB Gluten Free Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

For the regular readers of the blog, it should come as no surprise that I'm not very bright.  I mention that because on a recent trip to Meijer, I was strolling through the Gluten Free section of the store and I saw a new bar on clearance that I had never seen before.  I grabbed two of them and the part that makes me not very bright is that I grabbed two of the same flavor, even though I thought I grabbed different ones.  Duh.  Anyway, the only flavor I grabbed (despite grabbing two bars) was this The GFB Gluten Free Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar that I got at the clearance price of $1.79.  It's 2.05 ounces and has 240 calories with twelve grams of protein.  As the name would imply, it's gluten free as well as dairy free, soy free and vegan.

Review: CLIF Kit's Organic Cashew Fruit & Nut Bar

I reviewed a CLIF Kit's Organic bar a while back here on the blog that I got via a free sample.  Since then, I've been looking for those bars in my typical stores but have never seen one.  As I mentioned in a prior post, I was recently in New York City and was meandering around and stumbled into a Whole Foods Market where I saw a variety of bars that I don't ordinarily see.  This CLIF Kit's Organic Cashew Fruit & Nut Bar was one of them and since I've been looking for another one of these for quite some time, I knew I could spare the $1.50 to grab this one off the shelf.  The bar itself checks in at 1.62 ounces with 170 calories and three grams of protein.  It's obviously organic, but is also gluten free, dairy free and soy free.

Review: Larabar Snickerdoodle Fruit & Nut Bar

Larabar has released several new flavors and after a recent Larabar review, a representative contacted me asking if I'd like to try out one of their new seasonal flavors as a free sample.  Never one to turn down a free sample, I was then sent four of these Larabar Snickerdoodle Fruit & Nut Bars to try out and/or share with friends and co-workers.  Like I and the wrapper said, it's a seasonal flavor (!) and it comes in at 1.6 ounces with 190 calories and four grams of protein.  As with most Larabars, it's made with limited ingredients and is also dairy free, gluten free, kosher and soy free, among other things.

Review: Pure Fitness Nutrition Krave Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch Protein Bar

Pure Fitness Nutrition was generous enough to send me some bars to sample and while its difficult to look a gift horse in the mouth, I had to give the last review a negative rating due to the fact that while the concept of the bar was exciting, the flavor was just boring.  In the case of today's review, I'm hoping it is the exact opposite.  Peanut butter and chocolate is a pretty standard flavor combination these days (thus the boredom), so I'm hoping that this Pure Fitness Nutrition Krave Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch Protein Bar can deliver more flavor punch than the actual the standard flavor recipe.  The bar itself is 2.50 ounces and comes in with a hearty 254 calories and twenty grams of protein.  It's also all natural, soy free and heavy on fiber, so there's a lot of added benefits to this bar as well which is nice.

Review: Larabar Chocolate Coconut Chew Bar

I don't know what it is about Larabar products, but when I initially started the blog, I did many reviews of them and did not like most of them.  I then took a break from them and picked them back up later and now, I find myself liking them more often than not.  That seems strange to me that my mind could have shifted so much, but whatever I supposed.  Anyway, it's the recent positive experiences that led me to pick up this Larabar Chocolate Coconut Chew Bar on sale at Kroger for $1.00 and it's 1.8 ounces with 240 calories and a somewhat ample (for Larabar) five grams of protein.

Review: CLIF Kit's Organic Peanut Butter Fruit & Nut Bar

Based on the fact that the owners and founders of CLIF are continuing to release namesake bars in order to celebrate their anniversary, one might make the conclusion that there's a bit of a competition going on in the CLIF corporate offices.  Amongst my countless CLIF reveiws was Gary's Panforte Bar, named for the founder, and now there's this review of the CLIF Kit's Organic Peanut Butter Fruit & Nut Bar named for one of the owners, Kit Crawford.  Kit wants this product line to remind her (and us) of the simplicity of the food that she ate in her childhood, so these bars are made up of a minimal amount of ingredients and are entirely organic.  Before I dive into what this consists of and the actual review of the product, let's cover the basics...I got this free from CLIF via a Facebook promotion, it's 1.76 ounces (that seems to be becoming an industry standard size in my observation) and it is 200 calories with six grams of protein.

Review: Larabar Apple Pie Food Bar

This is an emotional review for me.  A while back, I went on a major Larabar expedition and bought several of their flavors, all of which you've seen reviewed on this blog.  So my quest leads me to the final bar of that purchasing splurge, the Larabar Apple Pie Food Bar flavored fruit and nut food bar.  I picked this one up at Meijer for $1.09 and it is the standard Larabar size of 1.6 ounces.  In that 1.6 ounces, it packs 190 calories and minimal four grams of protein.  So, as I wipe the tears off my keyboard, let's get started with this emotional review to see if Larabar was able to replicate what some may consider the preeminent American classic food.  It's also dairy free, soy free, gluten free, vegan and kosher, in case you are into that kind of mumbo jumbo.

Review: Udi's Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free seems to be all the rage these days as I constantly see gluten free products in the store.  Thankfully, I don't have a gluten allergy, but the fact that I don't have the allergy doesn't mean that I can try out gluten free products and that leads me to try out these samples that I received in the Udi's Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins.  Each muffin container comes with four muffins and each muffin itself is three ounces.  Each muffin has 240 calories and is of course, gluten free and also dairy, nut and soy free.  It's also whole grain, so woo-hoo!  What a "healthy" treat!