Review - Organic Living Superfoods Salt & Vinegar Almonds

Brand:  Organic Living Superfoods

Flavor:  Salt & Vinegar Almonds

Where to get it: here @ OrganicLivingSuperfoods.com

                I love salt, I love vinegar - I don’t really love potato chips. They always kind of make me feel like…blerg. With these raw sprouted almonds from Organic Living Superfoods, salt & vinegar have FOREVER found a new home for me. These nuts are absolutely, amazingly, totally, and completely delicious. I literally cannot overstate this. Usually when I get random packs of slivered almonds to review, I taste one or two…and then promptly dump them on a salad. NOT THIS TIME. Please do not put these on a salad. Please enjoy them just as they are. Do not let the subtle but perfect flavor get doused in a heavy vinaigrette. They are 100% perfect, right out of the bag.

Also to note, their website has SO MANY COOL THINGS. Go there.

               

Tastes like:   The best thing salt & vinegar has ever been on

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:   Raw, vegetarian, vegan, USDA organic, gluten free

What’s in it:

Review - Simple Squares

Brand:  Simple Squares

Flavor:  Various

Where to get it:  here @ SimpleSquares.com

                The texture of these is just absolutely perfect. It’s like, the moistest (sorry), chewiest granola bar that you’ve ever had – but there’s no granola in it. These bars are nuts and coconut, with some sweetener and seasoning, and that’s it. No grains. No soy crispies. I’m not sure how many tries it took them to get the consistency this perfect with such limited ingredients, but I bet it was quite a few. I’m not a big chocolate fan, but I will say that the amount of chips in the Cho-Coco flavor was the absolute perfect amount; it really set the coconut flavor off without being too sweet. Due to these bars being almost all nuts, the fat content makes up the majority of the ingredient panel, which is just fine with me. If you’re a coconut-lover, you need to get you some Simple Squares!

Tastes like:  Lightly sweetened coconut granola bars

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, USDA organic, vegetarian, Kosher, Raw

What’s in it: (Cho-Coco Flavor)

Review - Nuts About Granola Forager Nut & Seed

Brand:  Nuts About Granola

Flavor:  Forager Original Nut & Seed

Where to get it: here @ NutsAboutGranola.com

                I appreciate people trying to be low carb, or Paleo, or Primal, or whatever you want to call it…I really do. But that means there are some things you are just going to have to live without. Potatoes, bread, even granola. I don’t really care if you make an oatless granola, but you can’t just throw nuts and seeds in a bag and call it granola. The presence of raisins in this bag makes this trail mix at best. Dried quinoa, millet, amaranth, I don’t really care if your granola is “untraditional”, but you have to have something in there.

                This is literally nuts, seeds, and raisins. This is not granola in any form. I’m not saying nuts and seeds are bad, but THEY ARE NOT GRANOLA. If you want granola, this won’t do. If you want to use this for anything you have traditionally used granola for in the past, this will also definitely not do. Also, it wasn’t even remarkable in any manner when evaluated on a “nuts & seeds” platform, rather than a granola one. Sorry guys, this is a big miss no matter what you call it.

               

Tastes like:  Nuts & seeds and not granola

Taste rating:  0 if you wanted granola, still just a 5 if you wanted nuts & seeds

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Kosher, Gluten free, Non-GMO

What’s in it:     

Review - Eat Real Yoghurt Coated Fruit and Nut Bar

Brand:  Eat Real

Flavor:   Yoghurt Coated Fruit & Nut Bar

Where to get it: here @ assorted locations

                Have I ever given a fruit & nut bar a 10? I don’t recall, but if I have, it hasn’t been for a long time, and it hasn’t happened very often. This bar FAR exceeded my expectations. It’s part granola bar, part fruit bar, and then there’s this delicious, soft layer of yogurt coating on the bottom that is just so spot on. This Eat Real company has some really good stuff, but I think it’s only widely available in the UK & Australia/NZ. If you’re in the States you might be out of luck, but I’m in the States and I managed to get my hands on a couple of these somehow, so they’re out there. Grab ‘em if you can.

               

Tastes like:   The perfect fruit & oat bar

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:   Gluten free, all natural

What’s in it:

Review - Sheffa Tasty Snack Mix

Brand:  Sheffa

Flavor:  Tasty Snack Mix

Where to get it: here @ SheffaFoods

                There are times when I think a snack is going to be yucky, and it’s great. There are also times when I think a snack is going to be so straightforward that I won’t even know what to write about it. I assumed the latter was going to be the case with this Sheffa Tasty Snack Mix, but I was mistaken. It’s literally a delightful little packet of fruit and nuts and such, but there’s something weird about it. Some spice in here just makes me unhappy. They are a product of Israel, so it’s totally possible that it’s some spice that is super common over there that I’m just not used to, but I just couldn’t do it. I will say they are healthy and very interesting, if you’re looking for a change from your typical nut and salt mix, but these just weren’t for me.

               

Tastes like:  Some kind of weird spice that I don’t like

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review - 180 Degree Snacks Cashew Crunch

Brand:  180 Degree Snacks

Flavor:  Cashew Crunch

Where to get it: here @ CrumCreek.com

                The only people who have a reason not to eat these are people with tree nut allergies. There’s no excuse for anyone else. Sweet & salty blocks of cashews, what’s not to love?? Salt, sugar, nuts. No weird soy crisps binding it together, no flax seeds to get stuck in your teeth, no bizarrely placed cranberries ruining my life. 4g sugar, 4g protein, vegan, gluten-free…this just really fits into every diet. The packaging is also really dynamic, and anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that I’m a sucker for great-looking packaging so I can feel special when pulling out my purse snacks in public.

Tastes like:  Kettle corn cashews

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Kosher, vegetarian, vegan, all natural, gluten free, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - 22 Days Nut Butter Buddha

Brand:  22 Days Nutrition

Flavor:  Nut Butter Buddha

Where to get it: here @ VitaminShoppe.com (they are currently sold out on 22 Days' site, but here is that link in case they come back soon).

 Here piggy piggy piggy piggy….see that little guy up there? Yeah, the Piggy flying around in the sky above us? He’s pretty stoked, for a couple of different reasons. The first is because this delicious bar is vegan. The second is because someone has FINALLY nailed a “two-texture” bar. The outer chocolate coating is dark chocolate, smooth & firm. The inner coating is noticeably different –chewy, soft, an actual filling instead of just more of what the bar is wrapped in (the nut butter name is really accurate).           

      

It may seem strange that I’m this excited about a detail that most consumers probably don’t even think of once in their bar-eating lives, but right now I have about 25 bars that I have to review. When you’re faced with that kind of variety (and truly, everyone is…you make this choice every time you choose your bar at the store or online), sometimes it’s the extra little things that can make a bar really stand out.

PS – I also super love your packaging, 22 Days.

               

Tastes like:  Dark chocolate & almond butter  

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Organic, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free

What’s in it: 

Review - Bakery On Main Granola

Brand:  Bakery on Main

Flavor:  Apple Raisin Walnut Gluten-Free Granola

Where to get it: here @ BakeryOnMain.com

                A long time ago, I went on one of those popular prepackaged food diets (one of the most popular ones here in the US). I didn’t work, but they had a cereal packet that I was OBSESSED with. It had little balls of whatsit (as does this granola) and things that looked like Cheerios. It was ridiculously expensive, and of course even more so if you tried to order it outside of one of their weekly meal plans. I said goodbye to that cereal, and have yet to find anything like it…until now.

                This is marketed as granola, but it’s not really like any other granola that I’ve had. I typically like to mix my granolas into a yogurt, which I would not recommend with this, as there are no oats to get deliciously al dente, and the circles (that you can see in the picture) are corn-based. I dumped this stuff into a mug with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and BAM! I was right back in fancy cereal town! Sweet, cinnamon-y, apple-y deliciousness. As a granola, I say nay. As a cereal, I say yay!

                 

               

Tastes like:  Apple-y cereal

Taste rating:  8/10

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

What’s in it:

Review - Wai Lana Fruit & Nut Bar

Brand:  Wai Lana

Flavor:  Fruit & Nut Bar

Where to get it: here @ WaiLana.com

                Wai Lana, why do I love you so? I KNOW WHY. Because you make delicious, quality products, that’s why. These fruit and nut bars are no exception. They taste like the flavors that they advertise, and the texture is wonderfully moist and chewy. I love the packaging – all the flowers and fruits…beautiful. The serving size on these bars is HALF a bar, so don’t go crazy when you see 120 calories. That’s for half the bar. They are well-worth the 240 calorie hit though if you’re looking for some natural energy or a natural sweet snack (no added sugars!). I’m just a huge fan of this brand.               

                 

               

Tastes like:  Fruits, nuts, and dates

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Vegetarian, Vegan, Made in the USA, No artificial ingredients

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 - Hail Merry Raw Almonds

Brand:  Hail Merry

Flavor:  Vanilla Maple Almonds

Where to get it: here @ Hail Merry

                The only thing wrong with these almonds is that there aren’t 700 of them in the package. I was so sad when the last one was gone. Slightly sweet, perfectly crunchy, with just a pinch of salt…almonds aren’t even my favorite nut, but these may very well be my favorite nut-based snack. I also really like the packaging, cute design, and the fact that it’s not just another cellophane pouch. I’m glad I had the chance to discover these.      

                 

               

Tastes like:  Lightly sweetened nuts from above

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Vegan, Vegetarian, Raw, Gluten free, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review: Charmed Bar

Brand:  Charmed Bar

Flavor:  Cashew Butter Apple-rageous

Where to get it: here @ Charmed Bar

                No matter how hard I try not to be, I am majorly seduced by presentation when it comes to food packaging. When I saw these Charmed Bars, my eyes glazed over a little, and I looked upon the brightly-colored, somewhat bewitching packaging with a fever that almost made me drool a little until I remembered to close my mouth. The major problem is that…we don’t EAT the packaging. So there’s that. Fortunately for me, these bars are really tasty. I haven’t eaten the Peanut Butter Cherry-licious one yet, but the Cashew Butter Apple-rageous one was really, really good.

                The bar almost looks…wet (for lack of a better word) through the packaging, but don’t be afraid, it’s just some of the moist apple goodness shining through, and it wasn’t texturally strange at all. The flavor was great, the size was great, this is a perfect 3pm-rooting-through-my-desk-drawers kind of snack. They have some calories and fat in them that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but I work out after work so this is the kind of afternoon snack I need between lunch and hitting the gym, and then eating dinner. Plus all those calories and all that fat come from things that actually grown on this planet, and none of those things are grains. Win!

                 

Tastes like:  A moist & fruity cookie-bar

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Vegetarian, Made in the USA, Kosher

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: