Stuffed with honey, dried fruit and just plain sugar, muesli bars usually don’t rank highly in our opinion.
And yet, we understand that they can sometimes be the most convenient (and tasty) source of energy. But is it ever better to choose a muesli bar over candy?
Whether it’s for a quick post-workout snack or a lunch box treat, it’s important to know which muesli bars to choose and which to avoid avoid avoid!
So, we decided to do the hard work for you. And unlike our previous taste tests, we definitely felt an unnatural sugar rush after trying these “healthy” bars. Here’s our ranking, from best to worst.
1. Food for Health Cacao, Vanilla & Chia Bars, $6.99 for six 25g bars
Teaspoons of sugar: 1 ½
While this one has a little more “sugar” than we’d like, it’s the only bar we could find sweetened with rice malt syrup and Natvia. Therefore, fructose-free! It’s also nut-free, so it’s great for a lunch box treat (but they’ll need a lot more food to fill up!).
Mai: “I like the chocolatey flavour of this bar. And the fact that I can recognise all the ingredients. But it’s a little too teeny tiny.”
Rachel: “After tasting the other bars, this one almost seemed bitter. Not that I mind – I love me some dark chocolate! The portion size is so small, though. I doubt it would satisfy anyone.”
2. Uncle Tobys Farmer’s Pick Roasted Macadamia & Almond, $5.49 for five 32g bars
Teaspoons of sugar per serve: 1
Okay, so it might remind us of guinea pig food, but Uncle Tobys earns sugar-free brownie points for the amount of fibre stuffed into these tiny bars. The size makes them lower in sugar, too, but not very satisfying.
Mai: “I prefer my muesli bars nutty so this was a little too cereal-y for my liking. But at least it wasn’t too sweet!”
Rachel: “This bar is great if you want to give your jaw a workout. The taste is nice, but the texture is a bit woody.”
3. The Bar Counter Almond Macadamia Cashew & Blueberry No Added Sugar Bar, $2.00 for one 40g bar
Teaspoons of sugar per serve: 1 ½
The Bar Counter should have just wrapped up a Medjool date and called it a day. While they may not consider dates to be “added sugar”, the amount of fructose in them doesn’t make this a healthy snack.
Mai: “The label is all about the almonds, macadamias, cashews and blueberries, but honestly all I can taste is dates!”
Rachel: “Dates sure are the main ingredient here. I can’t taste anything else.”
4. Carman’s Gourmet Protein Bars Dark Choc & Cranberry, $6.38 for five 40g bars
Teaspoons of sugar per serve: 2 ¾
Um, this “protein bar” has way more carbs than protein! We blame the sugar, glucose, honey, cranberries and “dark chocolate”, which all make this taste like a glorified chocolate bar.
Mai: “This features dried cranberries, honey and a drizzle of chocolate so it wasn’t a complete shock to find out it was packed with sugar. Sweet it is. Healthy… I’m not as confident…”
Rachel: “With peanuts and chocolate, this tastes kind of like a fruity Snickers. In fact, it’s almost as sweet as a Snickers. Is this a Snickers?”
5. Go Natural Yoghurt Almond Apricot Nut Delight, $1.95 for one 40g bar
Teaspoons of sugar per serve: 3 ½
Sugar is the first ingredient in this bar. And it shows up in many different forms, too – dried apricots, honey and glucose. Is it any wonder there’s more than three teaspoons of sugar in there?
Mai: “I like the crunchy filling, but are you suuuure this isn’t covered with white chocolate? ‘Cause there’s no other way it could be that sweet!”
Rachel: “Yikes. It’s so sweet I could smell the sugar as soon as I opened the plastic. I felt ill after one bite, so I don’t know how anyone could eat the whole thing. Three teaspoons is a lot of sugar, but I’m actually surprised it’s not more.”
6. All Natural Bakery Oat Slice Apricot Almond Yoghurt, $2.96 for one 100g bar
Teaspoons of sugar per serve: 5
With just honey and apricots sweetening it, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a healthy – and hefty – bar to snack on. BUT closer inspection shows a whopping 19.45g of sugar (around 5 teaspoons).
Mai: “If I’m aiming for something healthy, then it kind of sucks when I find out it’s so not good for you. This oat bar sounds promising, but all of the honey, apricots and dried yoghurt topping mean it ends up tasting (and feeling) like little more than a slice of cake.”
Rachel: “This is cake with yoghurt icing!”
BONUS! I Quit Sugar Coconut & Vanilla Superfood Muesli Bar Mix, $6.35 for 330g mix (20 bars)
With zero sugar in the mix, you’re free to experiment with the level of sweetness (and extra ingredients) you add. We recommend any packet mix that lets you do this… or just make your own from scratch! It’s a lot cheaper, when you consider how much you get from a batch. Our mix is nut-free too, making it perfect for school.
MAI: “I love customising so I consider this mix a blank canvas for creating my own perfect healthy muesli bar. Add nuts? Yes please! Less sweetener? Definitely! More coconut? Why not!”
Rachel: “The mild, sweet flavour of this muesli bar makes it easy to change up. I like to add a tablespoon of raw cacao for a chocolate fix.”
Are you ready to transform your life and find food freedom?
Join our 8-Week Program today (and you could win lunch with Sarah!)
0 comments :
Post a Comment