Snack Review: Kardea Nutrition Bar
OK, so these are all about heart health and “natural cholesterol management.” If you want to know about that, go read their website. My business here is how they taste, because if they don’t taste good, who cares how healthy they are? If I want to eat something healthy that tastes bad, that’s why they invented vegetables and whole grains, thanks very much.
Anyway, I can’t tell you more, because I stopped reading the website myself before it stopped me from trying these at all. For some reason, phrases like “More Viscous Soluble Fiber than Heart Healthy Oatmeal” don’t fill me with anticipation of deliciousness. “Viscous” just isn’t a word that I want anywhere near a description of my snacks, you know?
The manufacturer had kindly sent all four flavors for me to sample. I decided to try the cranberry-almond first because it was post-dinnertime and that flavor sounded most like dessert.
When I opened the wrapper my dread increased. It looked like dough that they forgot to bake.
But when I actually tasted it I was very pleasantly surprised. It was pretty good. I was just going to take a few bites and wrap it up to compare to the other flavors later, but I wanted to keep going. I ate most of it and saved just a few bites instead.
Now, mind you, I’m not saying that it was entirely unlike dough that they forgot to bake – but I am one of those people who licks the bowl when I make cookies, including oatmeal cookies. It was chewier than entirely raw dough – more kind of half-baked – but that was kind of the taste, raw and a little sweet and a little oat-y.
It didn’t taste much like almond and only seemed to have little bits of cranberry. But for something with so many health claims to bear up under, it was really pretty tasty.
On the other hand, for something that was supposed to be healthy, my stomach didn’t care too much for it at first. It kind of laid there like a lump and made me wonder whether the human body was really designed to digest psyllium husk and chicory root fiber. We don’t even get what’s inside the husk, or the whole root? Not very appetizing sounding ingredients and not very digestible sounding either. The feeling went away after a little while, but I could have lived without it.
The chai tea flavor had a better texture, like there was more nuts or oats in it. It had a smell of real spices and tasted of them too. I’m not sure that I want a bar like this to taste like chai tea, but if you do, it’s made of the real thing, real tea and real spices. The lemon-ginger had no detectable ginger, but was nicely lemony in a lemon-peel way. If you are the kind of person who likes marmalade you might like this one. The banana-nut tasted so much like slightly undercooked banana bread that it was kind of disorienting, but I guess that’s a good thing.
Would I eat these again? If someone sent them free again, sure. I might even buy one myself, and since I have rarely bought any brand of nutrition bar for a second time, that’s pretty high praise.
But, I don’t see any evidence on their website that these are sold in stores. Would I mail-order a box of 15 for $24.95? Nope, they are nowhere near something I want to make that kind of commitment to.
But if I’m wrong, and you ever see one in a store, they’re worth trying. They’re better than most of the nasty bars I’ve tried in the past, most of the ingredients are real food, and hey, what’s a little psyllium husk between friends?
Buy Kardea Nutrition Bars Online:
- at Amazon.com
Snack Review: Kardea Nutrition Bar on October 2nd, 2008
[...] Dana Lilienthal wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI might even buy one myself, and since I have rarely bought any brand of nutrition bar for a second time, that’s pretty high praise. But, I don’t see any evidence on their website that these are sold in stores. … [...]