Healthy Snack Bars

Healthy snack bars: the perfect solution to eliminating in-between meal spells of hangry-ness, OD-ing on sugar during afternoon slumps, and needing something to eat because the blogger event you're at failed to cater for vegetarians (hashtag vegetarian probz). I decided to try a whole range of bars (not in one go), and tell you which ones to avoid, and which ones to slide right into your handbag immediately. 

Nom Organic Banana Oat Bar

I was disappointed with this one. Maybe it's because I read Oat Bar and in my head imagined delicious flapjack. But this had a powdery texture that's not very pleasant, plus gritty bits that didn't register with my tastebuds as either banana or oats. The ingredients promised cacao nibs, but there's not even a hint of a chocolate taste. Organic it may be, but healthy it's not exactly: contains agave syrup and coconut sugar - both loaded with fructose. 

9 Bar Nutty and 9 Bar Fruity 

These look startling reminiscent of those seed bars you hang out for birds. They pretty much are a bunch of sticky seeds, with very little in the way of fruits, nuts, or flavour. I slowly tip my thumb upside down like a malevolent Roman emperor at a Gladiator tournament.

Nakd Cocoa Orange, Cocoa Mint, and Ginger Bread

The kings of healthy snack bar land! The people who make these have nailed it with both taste and texture.  Each bar contains only three or four ingredients, which in this day and age of processed food containing endless unidentifiable things is pretty amazing. Sweet dates are mixed with cocoa and natural orange or mint oil, and the gingerbread one is boss, tasting like actual cake! They're all dairy, (refined) sugar, and gluten free, and come in a range of flavours and a choice of bars or bites (including salted caramel, which I want right now!).

Rude Health The Beetroot

Very similar to Nak'd in sticky, but pleasant, texture, and also free from dairy, gluten and bad sugar. As well as the delicious earthy taste of ground beetroot, there's also dates, almonds and seeds. It slips up on being totally healthy by containing sunflower oil, but it's still way better than a fistful of Oreos. 

Pulsin Vanilla Choc Chip Protein Bar

One bite of this and I had to check the wrapper to see that I'd not mistakenly bought a bar of grout for floor tiles. This tastes and smells like gluey plastic, yick! How can people enjoy these? I love vanilla and I love chocolate chips, but you will never be able to get past the adhesive taste in order to find these flavours. If you want protein, I'd say have a handful of nuts instead. 

Raw Health Truly Juicy Bar Date and Brazil Nut 

Another squidgy date and nut bar (dates are the new candy!), this is pleasantly sweet and has a nice coconut aftertaste. Raw Health use raw, naturally soaked and sprouted ingredients and then make their bars at low temperatures to deliver healthy nutrients and enzymes. 

Meridian Peanut Bar

Sorry for ending on a note of disappointment, but I was kind of hoping this would be like a yummy Tracker Bar, with lots of crunchy peanuts. It's more of a sticky mess made from Meridian's peanut butter (I love all their nut butters!), plus bran and malt from brown rice, and some fruit juice. It wasn't the best, and the juices and agave syrup are not the healthiest for those trying to keep sugar down. 

Do you have any healthy snack bar recommendations for me? What kind of healthy snacks do you prefer when you're out and about? Leave me a comment below x