Review - Betsy's Best Bar None

Brand:  Betsy’s Best Bar None

Flavor:  Cinnamon Cardamom

Where to get it:  here @ BetsysBestBarNone.com

                Cardamom isn’t for everyone, but I’m not a person who minds a little of the spice in my goodies. I’d like to blame my dislike of these little “rounds” on the flavor, maybe there is too much cardamom in these? I don’t really think that’s it though, I think it might have to do with the presence of the hemp as well – it’s the first ingredient. All in all it makes for a really weird taste combo here, very much like potpourri or what you’d imagine a scented candle might taste like. Because I’ve never actually tasted one, have you? Probably not. They don’t look very appealing either, weird little round things the color of lawn clippings. I can get over that for taste, but unfortunately, that’s not an option this time.

               

Tastes like:   A scented candle

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:   Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, Kosher, certified organic, made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Go Macro Bar

Brand:  Go Macro

Flavor:  Macrobar

Where to get it: here @ GoMacro.com

                I tried two different flavors and varieties of these bars, and I really liked both of them. Firstly, the little one (Cherries + Berries) tastes a lot like the cherry Nutrigrain bars, that I don’t think you can buy any more, that I LOVED. But, these are better. They’re absolutely studded with cherries, and you can really taste them. At 90 calories, this was an absolutely perfect mid-morning snack for me.

The second bar was the protein replenishment variety in peanut butter flavor. This is a bigger bar, with 260 calories and 12g of protein. The smell was really pleasant, almost like my mom’s peanut butter fudge. The texture is chewy, and the taste is very much a true peanut butter flavor. The bar isn’t heavily sweetened or salted (only 5g of sodium, so basically unsalted). I mean, if you HAD to have the salty peanut butter taste, you COULD sprinkle a little sea salt on top of the bar. I’m sure it would stick and taste delicious. I heard that from a friend…I mean, what?

Anyway, these bars are great. So great. The website is super cool, and the wrapper says the company is family-owned and based in a small community (in Wisconsin, I assume), so that’s pretty cool too. Nothing wrong with big commerce, but man, I get pretty jazzed when a small company makes a really delicious product, and Go Macro does exactly that.

PS - Their website is SUPER cool. 

               

Tastes like:   A cherry Nutrigrain Bar/Unsalted peanut butter

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:   Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, Kosher, certified organic, made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Laughing Giraffe Organics Snakarola

Brand:  Laughing Giraffe Organics

Flavor:  Curry Cashew Snakarola

Where to get it: here @ TheLaughingGiraffe.com

                 Now we’re having fun! It’s not really a granola, I’d call this more of a snack mix. Now that I’ve written this out, I’m seeing why they call it “Snackarola”. Well, I’m glad we got that all worked out! The pieces are big-ish, you can just fish them out of the bag with your fingers and pop them right into your mouth, as opposed to doing the “pour & dump” that you’d have to do when eating granola straight from the bag. The flavor is a slightly sweet curry, with just the slightest hint of heat in the back of your throat once you’ve swallowed your bite. If you’re a curry-phile, you’re probably going to demolish this bag in one sitting, pretty easily. I’m only so-so on curry, so I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for some other flavors of this, but the quality and desirability of this mix is quite obvious, even to me. Snack on!

               

Tastes like:  Sweet curry with an afterburner

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Gluten-free, USDA Organic, vegetarian, vegan

What’s in it:

Review - Skout Apple Cinnamon Trail Bar

Brand:  Skout Bar

Flavor:  Apple Cinnamon

Where to get it: here @ SkoutOrganic.com

                I’ve tried Skout products before, and I’m always impressed with how simple, easy, and good-tasting they are. This bar was absolutely no exception - it’s one of the best fruit bars that I’ve tried. The texture is thick and chewy, and the apple flavor shines through in a very genuine way. I think it’s safe to say that any Skout snack is a great choice if you want something simple, good for you, and true to flavor.

Tastes like:  Sweet apple happiness

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Non-GMO, vegetarian, vegan, Certified organic

What’s in it:

Review - Don't Go Nuts Bar

Brand:  Don’t Go Nuts

Flavor:  Blueberry Blast Bar

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                Something bad happened to this bar. I’m convinced. Bad batch? Bad life choices? Bad hair day? It has to be something. These can’t ALL taste like this. Unfortunately, I had but one bar to try. The initial taste was really good – soft, nice white chocolate flavor…I even made a little “ooooh” noise. Several seconds later, I was ditching the rest of the bar in the garbage can. The blueberry presence has such a weird aftertaste, I really feel like something might have been wrong. There was just this overwhelming blueberry taste, but also like it was chemical- or perfume-related. If I see these bars again, or am sent some, I will certainly get you guys an update.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Like a tasty blueberry cake…that’s been doused in grandma’s perfume

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Kosher, Certified Organic

What’s in it:

Review - Purely Elizabeth Granola

Brand:  Purely Elizabeth

Flavor:  Original Ancient Grains Granola

Where to get it: here @ PurelyElizabeth.com

                This is my new favorite thing - unique, tasty, really just flat-out spectacular granola. It tastes great right out of the bag, but I especially like to dump it into my yogurt. It has enough grains that it will sog up a bit if you let it sit in there long enough, which I love to do. It also has enough “other things” that it doesn’t completely sog up into a worthless carb-bomb. The ingredients are also not your “every day” panel of oats and sugar, you’ve gotta love being able to work millet and amaranth into your diet. I can confidently say that if I never ate another type of granola, I’d be satisfied with this one for the rest of my days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  The best granola in all the land

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Non-GMO, Certified organic

What’s in it:

Review - Vital Juice

Brand:  Vital Juice Co.

Flavor:  Vital Almond w/ Carrot

Where to get it: here @ VitalJuice.com

                I got really excited about this juice, partially because the company is based in Seattle (where just about everything cool is based…you be quiet over there, Portland), and partly because I get really excited about new cold-pressed juice. I took one sip of this guy and it was all over. It’s SO bitter. I had a fleeting thought that maybe it would be drinkable if I dumped a packet of Splenda in it, but I was in my car (with no Splenda), and for 210 calories and 14g of fat, why MAKE myself drink the whole bottle if I wasn’t going to enjoy it? The bitterness reminded me of the inside of a banana peel, or when you get a really sour batch of grapes and they suck all the saliva out of your mouth. Maybe they have other flavors that I will like better, I’m not opposed to trying them.     

                 

               

Tastes like:   Bitter-bitter bad-bad times

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:   Certified organic, vegetarian, vegan, non-GMO

What’s in it:

Review - Annies Cheddar Snack Mix

Brand:  Annie’s

Flavor:  Cheddar Snack Mix

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                                This bag has bunny pretzels, blonde bunnies, and orange bunnies. I wish the whole bag was full of orange bunnies. I never eat food like this like you’re supposed to. I eat all the pretzels, then all the “this”, then all the “that”. I actually think that you can buy just the cheddar bunnies. I might have to look into that. Those buggers are GOOD. Way better than say, a Cheez-It. I love Annie’s packaging on pretty much everything they make. I love the marketing, I love that there are bunnies everywhere. And if you’re going to eat cheese crackers, they should at least be organic…because at the end of the day they’re still cheese crackers. We all need a break from protein once in a while though.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Salty pretzels and cheese crackers

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Certified Organic, no artificial ingredients, Made in the USA, Non-GMO

What’s in it:

Review - Mamma Chia Chia Squeeze

Brand:  Mama Chia

Flavor:  Blackberry Bliss

Where to get it: here @ MammaChia.com

                These are so dang good, they make me want to suck all of my food. I might never eat applesauce again, and I eat A LOT of applesauce. The chia seeds get nice and “al dente” hanging out in the pouch, and the blackberry flavor is so true to blackberries from the branch that I really don’t know what else to say. If you like blackberries, you will love these. I bought a case online and dumped them into a big, glorious, purple pile in the meat drawer of my fridge…because I do what I want!

                 

               

Tastes like:  Unsweetened blackberry jam

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, USDA Organic, vegetarian, vegan, Gluten-free, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review - Urban Remedy Banana Brittle

Brand:  Urban Remedy

Flavor:  Banana Brittle

Where to get it: here @ Urban Remedy

                I am a bread monster. All kinds, all times of the day, as much as I can get. Well, not anymore, because it turns out that bread isn’t that great for you, especially if you’re a diabetic. Well shit. No more of my mom’s banana bread with an inch of butter slathered on top of it for me! But wait…what’s this? Banana…brittle? Ohhhh, I’m sure it’s just another raw chunk of dates and almonds. So then I took a bite, and I am pretty sure that glitter shot right out of my eye sockets. This tastes JUST like banana bread. JUST. LIKE. IT. The texture is different, sure…but the taste is indistinguishable to me. It’s not hard like peanut brittle, it’s more of a delicate, chewy situation.

                I love this product SO MUCH. I would like to write another entire paragraph just slobbering on and on about how much I love it, and how crazy it is to me that the flavor is just so perfect. But I suppose writing that declaration is almost as good, so I’ll spare everyone. If you like banana bread – YOU NEED THIS IN YOUR LIFE.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Banana bread!!

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Raw, Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, Certified Organic

What’s in it:

Review - Essential Living Foods Keen-Wah Bars

Brand:  Essential Living Foods

Flavor:  Keen-Wah Bars (various)

Where to get it:  here @ Essential Living Foods

                These bars are another example of how choosing the correct flavor can make all the difference in the world. I tried Tumeric Goldenberry Pecan and wished that someone would end my life. It should have been called Tumeric Tumeric Tumeric Death. NOPE. Next, I tried the Hemp Maca Goji, and it was just alright, nothing special, but man was I happy it wasn’t a repeat of the first flavor. The third flavor that I tried was the Mate Cranberry Cacao (not pictured), and it was actually something I could eat enough of to process a real review. The texture of these is great, a bit chewy, but easy enough to break off bite-size pieces. The caloric value is perfect for the size. The quinoa doesn’t really factor into the taste much on these bars, so pick one who’s “front ingredients” sound good to you.

               

Tastes like:   Seeds

Taste rating:  5/10

Qualities:   Certified Organic, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Kosher, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Positive Energy Rocks My Socks!

Brand:  Positive Energy

Flavor:  Various

Where to get it:  here @ Positive Energy

                Um, how cool is Positive Energy? They saw my review of their orange juice, and just couldn’t bear the thought of me not being able to try their other flavors, so they sent me a box of them! They also sent some stickers (which my person promptly stole and put on his snowboard), a magnetized + orange, and a page-long HANDWRITTEN LETTER. Color me impressed, I looked at all the words on the page and calculated that, in this day of banging on keyboards all day long, writing that much with A PEN would have seen me take about 17 breaks for hand cramps.  

                Apple juice is my favorite juice, so I went for that first. It was just as good as the orange juice. I put vodka in the cranberry juice as well as the strawberry lemonade. SO GOOD! The rest I drank sans alcohol, like a good girl. I love this line, and I love this company. They really care about their product and the press they get, and they clearly take the time to pay attention to social media – which I’m pretty sure is crucial to being successful in the 21^st century, no shock there. So thank you, THANK YOU, Positive Energy, for the treats, the care, and just for being generally awesome folks!

               

Tastes like:   Juice with a sizzle

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Kosher, Non-GMO

What’s in it: (Orange Juice)

Review - Yum Earth Organics Fruit Snacks

Brand:  Yum Earth Organics

Flavor:  Fruit Snacks

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                I was intrigued by these little guys because they weren’t conventionally flavored. Raspberry, mango and pineapple – yes please! Sadly, this bag contained exactly one mango and one pineapple gummy with the rest being raspberry. Not sadly, the raspberry was my 2^nd favorite flavor, behind the pineapple. The fruit flavors are true to form, and the texture was actually more like Dots than your standard gummy bear product. This lead to quite a bit of I CAN’T GET THEM OUT OF MY TEETH, but they were tasty, nonetheless.

               

Tastes like:  Fruit gummies, go figure

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  Organic, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan, all-natural

What’s in it:

Review: Little Miracles White Tea Organic Energy Drink

Brand:  Little Miracles

Flavor:  White Tea Organic Energy Drink

Where to get it: here @ Amazon

                I don’t dabble in the field of energy drinks very often, because I don’t really like that “I could possibly have a heart attack right now” feeling. I drank this about 15 minutes before working out, as a sort of pre-workout without the freak-out hope. It tastes really good, which was a pleasant surprise. No weird “energy” aftertaste, and no punchy-sweet aspartame flavor at all. It has ginseng in it, but I think most of the energy comes from the carbohydrates, which is alright. Yes, I just said that carbohydrates are alright as a source of energy. SCANDAL. Jeez, media, calm down. It has just 90 calories in it, so that lets you know that you shouldn’t be freaking out about having some carbs. Plus it’s certified organic, so that’s even better. I can’t believe I’m saying this about an energy drink, but I will definitely be buying more of these for gym days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  A more flavorful fruit-infused water

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Certified Organic

What’s in it:

Review: Pro Bar Peanut Butter Meal Bar

Brand:  Pro Bar

Flavor:  Peanut Butter

Where to get it: here @ Pro Bar

                This is a big, heavy, dense bar. This is not a snack bar, and this is not a bar to be taken lightly. It’s heavy. It has a lot of calories in it. But it’s also full of good, natural things, like nuts and seeds, which are heavily studded throughout the bar and visible to the naked eye. Yes, the NAKED EYE. I know it sounds dramatic, but there are so many bars out there that are just a mass of weird-looking pellets and puree. I give credit where credit is due. This bar wasn’t as peanut-buttery as I would have liked though, it did have a strong seed and nut taste with a peanut-type undertone, minus the butter. All in all this is a decent bar if you’re hiking for a day or away from a kitchen or restaurant – just don’t use it as a snack or you’ll beef up quickly.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Nuts and seeds and the forest

Taste rating:  6/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Organic, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review: Crum Creek Certified Organic Soy Nut Mix

Brand:  Crum Creek

Flavor:  Certified Organic Soy Nut Mix

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                I have loved roasted soy nuts for my entire life. It wasn’t until literally about 2 years ago that I even knew what they were. They were just this little, salty, delicious nugget that I never questioned. It’s weird, I know. Now that I know the actual name of these little dudes, I am more than happy to seek them out in new products. These Crum Creek packets are small, but mighty. The dark chocolate is sparse, but it’s a heavy hitter. If you get more than one chocolate chip in a bite, it takes over. The rest of the mix is made up of small parts (no peanuts here!), so it’s easy to take too big of a mouthful and end up chewing for days. It also seemed a little bit drying to me, so have a beverage handy. Personally, I’d probably rather go for straight-up roasted soy nuts rather than this mix, but it’s still a very  respectable trail mix.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Bitter chocolate and seeds

Taste rating:  6/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Organic, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan

What’s in it: