Thursday, January 30, 2014

REVIEW: Kashi Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt with Chia Chewy Granola Bars

So, Kashi's had these new Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt granola bars around for awhile (I know, that sentence kinda contradicts itself there), and it seems to have "Made For RiRi" written all over it (Not technically, but still). Sea Salt? I love salty foods! Almonds? They're my favorite nut! Chocolate? I love chocolate!!! (It's not DARK chocolate, but it works). Except for the chia, everything Kashi has put into this bar is making it sound faaaantastic. So I kinda have high hopes for this review! Let's see how it goes.
A 7.4 oz. box with six 1.2 oz. bars costs around $4.09.

A 35g bar contains 140 calories, 35 of them being from fat, 4g of total fat, 1g of saturated fat, 0g of trans fat, 1g of polyunsaturated fat, 2g of monounsaturated fat, 0mg of cholesterol, 120mg of sodium, 21g of total carbohydrates, 4g of dietary fiber, 7g of sugar, and 6g of protein.

Being of a regular size relative to most Kashi granola bars, this one is covered with thin chocolate "chunks" on top (whereas I see them more as shavings), and crunchy whole almonds placed here and there within the confines of the oats and Kashi's "whole grain blend".

First off, the chocolate shavings fall off very easily from the top of the bar, which makes for some convenience issues. The chocolate itself was good but not great- it must have been semisweet chocolate, because it tasted a lot like baking chips. I suppose this is okay- and there was a lot of chocolatey flavor to be had, which made matters better -but come on Kashi! Pick a real flavor- milk or dark. You don't need to be using semisweet chocolate when you aren't baking anything...
As for saltiness level, I'd have to put this bar at a "very." It tasted like a lot of salt to me, even if there actually wasn't a huge amount within the bar. The salt's taste kind of reminded me of McDonald's fries though- yeah, that kind of salty. I found it to be pretty tasty, if not a bit odd at first. The salt also went well with the yummy roasted almonds, of which there were a good amount of in the granola bar.

Overall, when it comes to Kashi granola bars, this is actually one of their sweeter and tastier varieties around so far. There was plenty of chocolate dispersed on the bar- so much so that each bite had a bit of chocolatey taste to it. The salt? I think Kashi could've layed off some, but maybe then the bar wouldn't have been as flavorful without it. The almonds added a crunchy, natural, and hearty feel to it all. I don't know if I'd buy these again (Kashi granola bars have never been my favorite), but if I were to pick out of all the Kashi granola bars I've had so far, this has to be the best one yet. And if I were forced to make a choice of which kind I'd most likely purchase in the near future, it'd have to be these.
I'd give Kashi's Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt with Chia Chewy Granola Bars a 7/10.

Which Kashi granola bar should be reviewed NEXT? Let us know in the comments below!

Till' then, this has been RiRi ri-porting!

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