I have confessed my snack bar addiction on my blog many times. Every time I see a new product I HAVE to try it! With all of my sampling I have developed quite high standards for my favorite “go-to” snack. First and foremost flavor is essential. I hate when bars claim to be “peanut butter” or “chocolate” and I can’t find a trace of anything that even resembles those flavors. Secondly texture. I love fruit and nut bars because they are either extremely dense and soft or they have big pieces of fruit an nuts in them! Granola bars are somewhat iffy to me because they can be hard and often fail to satisfy. Lastly, nutrition. I want to treat my body well and give it REAL food with substance! Kind Bars and Larabars are on my “favorites” list because they have amazing flavors, textures and are completely natural.
Ladies and gentleman I have a new addition to my favorites list: Kardea Nutrition. I have never seen their products in stores, so I was extremely excited when I was contacted by the company to try their products. I immediately scoped out their website: www.Kardeanutrition.com and loved their philosophy, foundation and flavors. The company is inspired to help individuals naturally manage cholesterol. It is theorized that foods that contain at least 0.4g per serving of plant sterols along with a diet of low saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Each Kardea Bar has 1g of plant sterol. They carry gourmet natural nutrition bars that are heart healthy in four unique flavors: Lemon-Ginger, Chai Spice, Cranberry-Almond and Banana Walnut. Each bar has 150 calories and packs 7 grams of protein, no cholesterol, 80mg of sodium and 9-11g of sugar.
When I received this package in the mail today, I was ecstatic because I have been dying to try these bars and in need of a snack! PERFECT! I had a hard time deciding which flavor to try first, and ultimately banana-walnut won me over. I am really skeptical of banana flavored products. I love banana, but the flavor can go oh so wrong when incorporated into snacks or artificially produced.
The ingredients list: Brown Rice Syrup, Almonds Agave Syrup, Isolated Soy Protein, Rolled Oats, Banana, Psyllium Husk, Chicory Root Fiber, Plant Sterol Ester, Acacia Fiber, Walnut, Brown Rice Protein Concentrate, Brown Rice Flour, Molasses, Evaporated Cane Juice, Canola Oil, Soy Lecithin, Tapioca Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Natural Flavors and Nutmeg.
There was nothing scary about those ingredients and it sounded filling enough to hold me over until dinner. When I opened the package a fantastic home-made banana bread smell crept out and a smile came to my face. I knew this would taste even better than it smelled. It took all of my will power not to devour it before snapping a picture! Every single bite reminded me of banana bread. It was soft with a bit of a crispy texture. I can not even explain to you how impressed I was by this product.
It was the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. I loved the full flavor, the “home-baked” consistency, and the jam-packed nutrition! Kardea proves that healthy eating is delicious! I want to thank the people at Kardea for sending me these products to review, it is surely a pleasure! I know the other bars will be equally delicious and can not wait to try!
Live Life, Eat Right!
Nora
What qualities do you look for in a snack bar?
7 Grams of protein out of a 150 calories is reall solid, thanks for the nutritional guide.