Snack Review: Almond Brownie Balance Bar
So every Superman or Batman has a Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne facet shown to the world when the crime-fighting cape isn’t donned. And though I don’t have the superpowers to fly or anything that even resembles the Batmobile, I think being a Candy Addict and Snackerrific writer is pretty cool.
But countering this sugar-loving image is my non-reviewer persona. How polar is this opposite? Well, truth be told, I am actually a bodybuilder and triathlete. I know, I know… the two don’t go together at all! And believe me, my personal trainer doesn’t like this dual lifestyle one bit. But the key to maintaining both of these opposing lifestyles is moderation.
It could even be considered a balance, if you will. This is why I decided I wanted to write my debut review for Snackerrific on one of my favorite snacks: protein bars. Now, let me clarify, I do not consider a protein bar and a bag of chips to be considered in the same category of snacks.
Snacks for me can be divided into two categories. There are the ones you shouldn’t eat, but do so in moderation (hopefully) not for nutritional purposes, but for pleasure. The other sort of snack is the kind your body needs. Did you know eating every few hours makes your body lose more weight? It has to do with the fact the your metabolism slows after a few hours without food, which is why popular nutrition dictates you eat 6-8 small meals throughout the day as opposed to the big three (you’ll also feel less hungry at meals and thus not be as inclined to over-consume).
Protein bars can fall into either category. Despite the constant attempts of protein bars compelling you to purchase them via nutritional ad-blitzes, many on the market are rather devoid of nutrition and are akin to eating a candy bar. Personally, I would stay away from anything that is less than thirty percent of calories from protein or a bar over 200 calories.
Balance Bars offer a variety of choices, some better than others. Nutritionally speaking, your healthiest bets are the Balance Carbwell, Balance Gold, or Balance Original bars. Why? Because these three products are designed with a 40-30-30 percent distribution of calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fats, respectively. Are there better bars on the market that give you higher protein values with lower carb, fat, and calorie totals? Yes, and I recommend those over Balance, but Balance is one of, if not the most, prevalent bar on the market, so I figured it would be more useful to review this brand rather than some hard-to-come-by super bar.
Of all the flavors my local H.E.B. stocked, I went with the Almond Brownie Original Bar, which cost 98 cents. The reason for this was that is was not only low calorically (200 calories, though the three specified types run between 190-210, so it’s nitpicking), but also the lowest in fat. Yes, all the bars have 7 grams of fat, but this one only has 2 grams of saturated fat (the bad stuff), which is half the amount of most of the other bars, meaning you’re getting more of the healthier unsaturated fats.
As for the bar itself, the aroma is overwhelming mockolate. It reminded me a great deal of Parve brownies (Parve is a type of Kosher category in which the food is not considered either dairy or meat, so when it comes to things like Parve chocolate, no milk is actually used in the making of the confection) or vegan chocolate cake. I can also plainly see the bar is chock-full of nut pieces, even though they resemble peanuts more than they do almonds.
The taste isn’t too bad as far as protein bars go. It isn’t chalky, and indeed nails most of the tenets a brownie should offer your tongue. I would even go so far as to say that this is how your standard Parve brownie or vegan chocolate cake tastes. Is that a good thing? Well, for purists who adore the rich flavor of gooey chocolate, probably not; however, for those who are practicing mindful snacking, it’s a reasonable taste expectation,
As far a nutrition goes, these are also decently fortified with many vitamins and minerals. Would I include this bar in my normal snacking routine? Personally, not a chance. But that is only because I don’t eat protein bars with less than 40 percent of calories coming from protein. But the average person isn’t like me and isn’t consuming 300 grams of protein a day to maintain muscle mass, so this stipulation is moot for most people. For the average person, I do recommend this bar in terms of taste and health as part of your holistic and nutritious daily food intake.
Buy Almond Brownie Balance Bar Online:
- at Amazon.com
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