There’s a plethora of muesli bars, nut bars, nut and seed bars available these days. I’ve tried several and none really hit the spot for me. I’ve had a few that tasted a bit rancid and others that were way, way too sweet. That’s why I tried these bars. Here's what I found…

Taste

Both my husband I quite liked the taste. Admittedly it was sweet but not as sweet as many. It did, however, leave a slight bitter taste at the end but not so strong as to be unpleasant. It definitely tasted of caramel but I can’t say I really noticed any saltiness. It was definitely enjoyable.

Ingredients

Nuts form 33 per cent of the ingredients – peanuts and almonds. However, the rest of the ingredient list is depressingly long – over 25 ingredients!

Nutrition information

For an active, growing child, a snack with 800 kJ (191 Cal) is probably fine. However, as it contains peanuts, this is probably not one you want to send to school in the lunch box. For an adult, half a bar would make a reasonable snack, being less than 100 Cal. That’s how I eat these. Half of one with a cup of tea in the afternoon satisfies the sweet tooth, and because half a serve contains 5.5 g of protein and 1.6 g of fibre, it’s quite satisfying. There’s a fair bit of fat in this bar (10.9 g), 2.1 g of which is saturated. The high fat content is mostly because of the nuts.

Pros

• Made by an Australian owned company
• 11 g protein per bar
• 3 g fibre per bar
• Moderate sodium content, being less than 400 mg per 100 g
• Tastes good
• Satisfying

Cons

• Only 31 per cent Australian ingredients
• Super-long ingredient list
• Being a nut bar can’t be put in a school lunch box for allergy reasons
• A serve is one bar which contains too many kJ for an adult snack
• High cost. At $6.30 for five bars, that $1.26 each.

The bottom line

In my view, this a ‘now and then’ snack. It’s too big for an adult but half a serve is fine and better for you than reaching for a cream-filled chocolate! Or three.

Product reviewed by Munaiba Khan, a retired naturopath with an interest in nutrition.