In my experience, you can have a healthy, fibre-filled granola bar that bears some similarity to cardboard, or you can have an unhealthy, fat-filled sugar-and-rolled-oats bar masquerading as health food, luring parents to include them in lunch boxes under false pretences of nutritional awesomeness.
But these Fibre Plus bars are different. Sort of.
While each bar boasts 5 grams of fibre, they’re still soft and chewy. There’s some mouth-scratching roughage in there, but the texture isn’t dry, so it shouldn’t leave you yearning for a glass of water to rehydrate your parched mouth halfway through. Some bits do stick to your teeth, and you’ll probably want something liquid at the end to wash down the stray bits of grain, but the bits stick because the bar is chewy, not dry.
A couple of flavours I’ve sampled:
Dark Chocolatey Chip: Chocolatey is the word used here, and for good reason: It may be “chocolatey,” but it doesn’t taste like real chocolate. It tastes sweet and grainy, like oats laced with corn syrup and waxy dollar-store chocolate. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. The chewy texture is nice, though.
Chocolatey Peanut Butter: Hello, old friend. I love this flavour pairing in most other products, and this bar doesn’t break the winning streak. It tastes like an oat-packed chocolate peanut butter cookie. Again, great texture. Sweet, but balanced by the salt. Much better than the Dark Chocolatey Chip flavour.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $3.99 per 180-gram box of 5 bars at Sobeys.
Value for cash money: Good. I’ve seen them on sale for $3 per box, which is obviously even better. Watch for sales.
Availability: Small grocery stores and large grocery stores alike. They’re made by Kellogg’s, so it shouldn’t be hard to find them. Unless you live in America, apparently. See below.
Nutrition?: Per 36-gram bar: 160 calories for peanut butter, 150 calories for chocolatey chip. Fat: 5 grams in the PB, 4 grams in the CC. Protein: 3 grams in the PB, 2 grams in the CC. The big deal with both is the 5 grams of fibre in each bar. That’s 20 per cent of the daily value.
Curious warning: “Not for sale outside Canada,” says the box, in letters smaller than the fine print in a car ad. “Or what,” I say. “You’ll hunt me down for sport?” Idle threat, Kellogg’s. Idle threat.
The verdict: I’d happily buy the peanut butter ones again. Another good snack to keep in the office desk drawer.
