Luna Bar: Peanut Butter Cookie

Price: $2.00 (on sale)
Serving: 1 bar, 48g
Calories: 180 per bar
  Calories from fat: 50
Fat: 9%, 6g
  Saturated Fat: 15%, 3g
  Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 6%, 150mg
Protein: 10g
Total Carbohydrates: 9%, 23g
  Fiber: 12%, 3g
  Sugar: 12g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Luna Bar says: A delicious cookie crunch with rich flavors of sweet, creamy peanut butter

Abi says: I need to stop buying energy bars that have ‘cookie’ in their names. They do not look like cookies or taste like cookies or even smell like cookies.

I can forgive the first issue. Luna energy bars are bars, thus the bar shape. They’re also coated in what appears to be a peanut buttery icing. Instead, it is an evil trap of sugar (er, evaporated cane juice) oil, soy flour and vanilla. Because peanut butter cookies come with icing? What? This bar contains more of that coating than actual peanut butter!

I buy peanut butter energy bars because the flavor of peanut butter is so rich and overwhelming that it can kill people:

Peanut Allergy Sign by Dan4th

But the peanut note is in not way strong in this bar. I’d say it is merely subtly peanutty. And instead of that marvelous legume we have a whole different taste/smell issue. LunaPro, the grain-based, protein-rich foundation for this bar. LunaPro is the ingredient that assaults the senses and says ‘This is fake! This is not a cookie! This is not a granola bar! This is not going to taste good!’. And I have to go with my taste buds on this one: the peanut butter cookie bar is an item to be avoided.

Ingredients: LunaPro (Soy Rice Crisp [Soy Protein isolate, Organic Rice Flour], Organic Toasted oats, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Flaxmeal), Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Coating (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Soy Lecithin, Organic Vanilla), Organic Peanut Butter, Inulin (Chicory Extracat), Vegetable Glycerin, Natural Flavors, Organic Roasted Peanuts, Peanut Flour, Sea Salt.

3 Comments »
Posted on December 11, 2008
Categories: Cholesterol Free, Contains Nuts, Energy Bars, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Luna Bar, One Star, Peanut Butter, Three Points, Vegetarian

Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Sweet & Salty Granola Bars: Chocolatey Almond

Price: $2.99 for 6
Serving: 1 bar, 1.13 ounces
Calories: 160 per serving
Fat: 12%, 8g
Sodium: 6%, 150mg
Protein: 5g
Carbohydrates: 5%, 16g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Sugar: 10g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Kellogg’s says: Crunchy almonds and hearty oats meet a rich chocolatey coating. Each bite of Sweet & Salty granola bars introduces you to a perfect mix of flavors.

Abi says: In the past I may have mentioned love for a certain Nature Valley granola bar. They redefined my relationship with granola and made for just about the perfect item to keep tucked in a tote bag. After finding those beauties, Snack Lounge set out on a mission to find all of the best almond-focused granola bars. As a part of this search we found the healthy Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar and this offering from Kellogg’s. And then we gave up because the results were so depressing we thought “Why do we keep subjecting the palate to these awful snacks?”

Well, we do it for you. The trouble with this bar starts with the word ‘chocolatey.’ As an occasional CandyBlog reader, one should know that the c-word doesn’t mean that it is made with chocolate. No, it means that we’re looking at something that merely resembles chocolate. It means a chocolate impostor. It means lies.

Pair that with a really weird smell that was definitely not just almonds. Maybe it was the NIACINAMIDE and PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE. Oh, just kidding. Those are sciency words for vitamins and minerals. But I’m not joking about the weird smell or taste. As an almond-lover I found the bar distinctly off-putting. Give me a Nature Valley granola bar any day.

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Posted on January 5, 2008
Categories: Almond, Chocolatey, Contains Nuts, Granola Bars, Kellogg's, One Star, Three Points