REVIEW: Nature Valley Salted Caramel Nut Protein Bar

This is one of Nature Valley's new products from their recent protein bar line. I've tried their Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate flavor before (not as a review, but still tried it), and was not overly impressed. Perhaps this bar will taste a bit better. What can I say? I believe in second chances! And the temptation of salted caramel was calling my name! I thiiiiink a pack of five 1.42 oz bars is around $5.00. I've really got to start keeping track of prices, haven't I? Anyway, on with the review!

This bar contains 190 calories (110 of these being from fat), 12g of fat, 3g of saturated fat, 0g of trans fat, less than 5mg of cholesterol, 170mg of sodium, 14g of carbohydrates, 5g of dietary fiber, 6g of sugar, and 10g of protein.

Not really a granola bar- since there aren't even oats- this is more like trail mix in a convenient bar form. Except without the raisins. Or chocolate. Maybe this is more like a nut bar. There are plenty of chewy roasted almonds and peanuts anyway. Mixed with the nuts are little spheres of crunchy crisped rice. The top of this bar is shiny and sticky.
It was fun to pick apart the nuts one by one off the top. Each one was covered in a sweet, slightly caramel-y glaze. A very solid, nutty taste. Tastes hearty. The chew of the nuts complemented the crunch of the rice very well. PS, I love almonds, so, YUM!

The true salted caramel component of the bar is found on the bottom. It's not covered in melted caramel or anything. It's more like a hardened yogurt thing. But is sure TASTES like salted caramel, that much I can tell you!!! I've had some REAL salted caramel before- well, in ice cream anyways, you know, like a swirl- and this DEFINITELY tastes like it. Maybe even a bit too salty! Well, for some. For me though, it's fantastic. The caramel-yogurt-whatever also melts in the mouth. Easily the best bar of the bar. And the nuts and caramel stuff complement each other great.
So, if you haven't guessed, I really, really like this bar! The taste is superb! It really shouts "salted caramel." You may not like it all that much if you prefer the saltiness factor of food to be on the down-low, but I liked it. You might've not heard, but salty and sweet is a great flavor combination.
I guess one prob I gots with this bar is that it's a little high in fat, and it doesn't have THAT MUCH protein. But then again, most commercial-y bars don't. And the fat content IS excusable- I mean, this is a NUT bar, and nuts, as we all know, are high in fats. But the good kind. So, that's good! Plus, 5g of fiber. Bonus!!!
I'm going to go ahead and give this bar an 8/10. It's really, really tasty. Love it!!! Nature Valley, why are your products so addictive?! At least now I can't feel so bad about eating them with the addition of protein.

Have you tried any of Nature Valley's protein bars? If so, did you enjoy them?

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