Review: Fiber One's Protein Cookies & Creme Chewy Bar

Hey, everyone! After a very long hiatus, Sweet and SavoRi is back! I'm sorry it's been so long. I know I suddenly dropped off the blogging scene, which was a very unprofessional and very uncool thing of me to do. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone who read Sweet and SavoRi got impatient after waiting so long for this blog to update and just gave up reading altogether. BUT! If there is anyone still out there, I can't apologize enough for just quitting on my writing all of a sudden. I feel tremendously bad for stopping my blog posts all of a sudden without a word about it or anything. I promise, this WON'T happen again. And if it does, burn me at the stake!!! (...Just kidding. Please don't do that). So, if anyone out there is willing to forgive me, I couldn't be anymore grateful, and I hope you will enjoy Sweet and SavoRi's latest review- a review of Fiber One's Protein Cookies & Creme Chewy Bar!

REVIEW: Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Chewy Bars

I have tried the 90 Calorie Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewy Bars from Fiber One, and I have tried their Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Chewy Bars as well, so it'd make sense for me to try the last remaining flavor of 90 Calorie Bars: the classic Chocolate. It WOULD make sense, riiiiight? But I think I held off on trying these so long just because they ARE so... classic. As in, boring-sounding. Why settle for Chocolate when you can have Chocolate Peanut Butter, or even Chocolate Caramel Pretzel? I was so passive about actually trying these things that someone ELSE bought them for me. But since they're here now, sitting in my pantry, I can't really say NO to trying these things, now can I? Well, okay- I COULD, but I'm not one to say no to a granola bar, no matter how boring. Especially if said granola bar is only 90 calories.

A 4.10 oz. box with five 0.82 oz. bars cots around $2.98.

REVIEW: Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Caramel & Pretzel Chewy Bars

You know what someone ought to make? Chocolate AND caramel covered pretzels. Chocolate and caramel and pretzels HAVE been incorporated together in different ways, like in Takes 5's and plenty of desserts, but what about just plain ol' chocolate-caramel covered pretzels? You know? You already have this idea to combine all those ingredients there, so why not just put it into actual pretzel form? They might have already made chocolate-caramel covered pretzels SOMEWHERE out there, but I sure haven't seen em'. So... hop to it, you food companies.

Anyway, with that nice little segway in mind, I present to you today the 90 Calorie Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Chewy Bar, brought to you by the brilliant minds of Fiber One.
One 4.10 oz. box with five 0.82 oz. bars costs around $3.34.

REVIEW: Marathon Crunchy Dark Chocolate Energy Bars

Protein bars satisfy. And you know what else satisfies? SNICKERS. Combine them, and you might possibly have the most satisfying snack on earth. Or the most horrendously unhealthy. I mean, come on- Snickers protein bar??? That kinda defeats the purpose of even EATING a protein bar. 

You would think so, right? But it turns out the same guys who made Snickers are now making these Marathon Energy Bars- and guess what? THEY'RE ACTUALLY HEALTHY. Gaaaaasp!

Well, at least healthy enough by MY standards. I guess it depends on which Marathon Bar you get exactly, but these Crunchy Dark Chocolate Marathon Bars are only 150 calories a pop, and are packed with 11g of protein. Not bad, especially if these thing's taste live up to the Snickers name. But if NOT... that kinda defeats the purpose of even buying these things. I can buy any old protein bar at the gas station- but when I'm buying one with Snickers on the label, IT. BETTER. DELIVER. OR I WILL CONSUME THE EARTH IN A BOUT OF FLAMES!!! AND SAY, "MARATHON! THIS WAS ALL MARATHON'S FAULT! MARATHONNNNNNNNN!!!"

But no pressure.

A 44.2g bar costs around $1.85.

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.

REVIEW: Nature Valley Oats 'n Dark Chocolate Protein Crunchy Granola

My previous taste-test of Nature Valley's new protein granola left me and my tummy full of tasty granola deliciousness, so of course I HAD to try another flavor on their line- Oats 'n Honey sounds good and all, but of course my heart belongs to a little ditty titled Oats 'n Dark Chocolate. Not only is it CHOCOLATE, but it's DARK CHOCOLATE! Annnnnd it's full of protein! It's like this granola was made for me!

An 11 oz. bag of granola costs around $3.98.

REVIEW; Edy's/Dreyer's Slow Churned Mint Cookie Crunch Ice Cream

Well, it's the middle of winter everyone, and you know what that means... ICE CREAM! Yes, ice cream! Freezing cold ice cream for allllllll! I like to eat mine outside in the middle of the night, while the snow is coming down in plumes and I'm in nothing but my pajamas. Just pure fun. Super. But it's even BETTER when you have an icy slushie to accompany you instead. Oh well. I guess this Slow Churned Mint Cookie Crunch ice cream from Edy's/Dreyer's will have to do.

A 1.5 qt.  container of ice cream costs around $3.89.

REVIEW: Kellogg's Special K Cookies & Creme Pastry Crisps

My friend was egging me on about how good these Special K Pastry Chips were one time at lunch a few days ago. I wanted to try them, but I knew how small they were, so I thought they wouldn't be worth the cash. But then again, I've been buying up those 90 Calorie Fiber One Brownies all the time lately, and those are exactly the same size as these Pastry Crisps, so I eventually conceded and bought up a box of the flavor that caught my eye the most: Cookies & Creme. I LOVE cookies and cream, in case you didn't know, so I figured this review was gonna be fun. Anyway, a 4.4 oz. box with five 0.88 oz. bars costs around $2.78.

REVIEW: General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal

I don't know what is IS about chocolate-flavored cereals, but they seem to be are just cause for celebration! A long-time example: Cocoa Krispies. I've ALWAYS preferred those over regular Rice Krispies- since as long as I can remember. A more recent example? Released just last year was Chocolate Frosted Flakes. ...Otherwise known as Choco Zucaritas, whatever the heck that means. Whatever- they were chocolate covered Frosted Flakes, and I was freaking out about them!

And then along came Chocolate Toast Crunch... Now, if I was jumping up and down eagerly telling all my friends about Chocolate Frosted Flakes like a geekwad, just imagine how I felt when I heard about Chocolate Toast Crunch, a chocolate version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, aka THE BEST cereal in the world?!?!

Well, actually, I was a bit skeptical. I was excited, sure, but I'm sure you can see how there might be room for doubt. Let me explain: There has been Frosted Toast Crunch: Toast Crunch with a vanilla icing flavor; there has been Peanut Butter Toast Crunch: Toast Crunch with a peanut butter flavor. I can see both vanilla icing and PB working well with cinnamon. Plus, those two flavors are pretty unique. But chocolate flavor is such a far cry from cinnamon flavor, and is so overly used in today's cereal market. Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a FANTASTIC cinnamon cereal, but could it be a fantastic chocolate cereal as well, or would it only be as good as standard chocolate cereals like Cocoa Puffs? Chocolate is an easy flavor to make a GOOD cereal out of, but what about a great cereal? This is what I set about to find out today with this review. A 12.7 oz. box costs around $2.98.

REVIEW: belVita Oats & Chocolate Soft Baked Breakfast Biscuit

belVita's Mixed Berry Soft Baked Bar was pretty delicious by my verdict, so I'm back for more to try their new Oats & Chocolate Bar! I honestly always tend to think at first glance that chocolate-flavored products will most likely beat out berry-flavored ones by taste (except gum. Chocolate gum sounds gross), but I guess we'll see. An 8.8 oz. box with five 1.76 oz. bars costs around $2.98.

REVIEW: Fiber One Chocolate Peanut Butter Meal Bar

It's interesting to see what brand names are hopping on the meal bar bandwagon nowadays, but I'd NEVER think to see Fiber One producing them. Sure, Fiber One has made protein bars in the past, and I see nothing weird about that, but meal bars? Like the ones you find near the medicine aisle? Not Fiber One! Fiber One just seems so... commercial, I guess. I don't know. I mean, I'm sure CLIF and Atkins and PowerBar are all plenty commercial too, but at least they were FOUNDED as meal/protein/energy bar companies to begin with. Fiber One just didn't strike me as the kind of brand that would really be serious about making nutritious products like meal bars. Does that make sense? Fiber One cereals and granola bars are nutritious too, but in a different way. In a way that people who aren't TOO serious about nutrition would buy into. Maybe this all sounds just gobbley-gook, so I'll just shut up now.

But anyway, I'm totally glad Fiber One is making meal bars now- don't get me wrong. They make yummy chewy bars, so I'm sure their meal bars have some degree of potential to them as well. The flavors they've released so far are Strawberry Greek Yogurt, Dark Chocolate Almond, and Chocolate Peanut Butter- the last of which I will be reviewing today. A 7.95 oz. box with five 1.59 oz. bars costs around $5.49.

REVIEW: Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Happy 2014, everyone! How many of you are looking to lose weight as your New Years' resolution? Well, let me be one of the first to say, "You can do it!" Don't listen to those berating statistics that say most people give up on their weight loss resolutions by the end of the first couple weeks or whatever. MY New Years' resolution a couple years ago was to lose weight, and I got down twenty-five pounds. It just takes a little determination not to be deterred by others. What you eat is YOUR choice, not anybody elses, no matter how it seems. Just remember that, and you'll do fine.

Anyway, one easy way to kick start that weight loss is to replace your calorie-laden sweets with something healthier and more portion-controlled. Lo and behold, Fiber One has created a variety of 90 calorie treats so you can indulge without breaking the caloric bank. I've already tried their 90 Calorie Lemon Bar, and today I'll be taste-testing their Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor. A 5.34 oz. box containing six small 0.89 oz. brownies costs around $2.98.

REVIEW: Kellogg's Krave Chocolate Cereal

Well, I snagged the chance to review Kellogg's Krave S'mores as soon as I was able, and I found time to review Kellogg's Krave Double Chocolate way back when as well. But when, you may ask, did I spare the time to review the traditional Krave Chocolate? When did I find time for the normal one, the good guy, the (some might even say) original flavor? (Even though both Chocolate and Double Chocolate came out at the same time). And I would say, "Never! Never have I reviewed the Chocolate version of Krave!" 

Well, until now, anyways.

An 11.4 oz box costs around $2.99.

REVIEW: ConAgra Foods Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets Diet Hot Cocoa

During this time of year, it isn't odd for people to get a hankering for nice, piping-hot beverages.Whether shoveling the sidewalks or trekking through the troves of a winter wonderland, nothing caps off the cold day outside like a cup of hot chocolate. But for those who are watching their weight or just trying to eat healthier in general, hot cocoa is usually a hot no-go. It's just a bunch of liquid sugar and fat condensed into a small mug. And while instant packets of hot chocolate aren't nearly quite as horrific for your health as fancy coffee-shop blends with all the whipped cream and chocolate syrup and what-have-you, they still will most likely get some begrudging looks from the health-conscious because, really, who wants to spend as many calories on a drink as you would for a snack? Unless the drink is going to BE your snack, it really isn't worth it. But thankfully, there's diet hot cocoa for the healthy lifestyle, like these Swiss Miss packets from ConAgra Foods. These instant hot cocoa packets only contain 25 calories each, about 75% less than regular packaged hot chocolate. A 2.32 oz. box with eight 0.29 oz. envelopes costs around $1.89.

REVIEW: Kelloggs Krave S'mores Cereal

Did you know that Krave was a cereal originally released in the UK? Yup! And while they're getting flavors like Chocolate Hazelnut and White Chocolate Brownie across the pond, we're getting flavors like... S'mores. How sophisticated. But I can't say I wasn't excited about the release of this latest Krave flavor- The Double Chocolate variety was delicious, so why would this new flavor be any different? I watched and waited full of undying anticipation for Krave S'mores to one day appear on the shelves of my local supermarket, and suddenlt, out of the blue, there it was!!! ...Only it was sold out.
...Damn (hangs head).
Lucky for me, it wasn't long before I went out to a different store and found a full stock of S'mores on the shelves. An 11 oz. box costs around $2.88.

REVIEW: Nabisco Oreo Creme Filled Brownies

So, in my recent Chips Ahoy! Brownie Filled Cookie review, I mentioned how my mom received a whole bunch of food freebies from her work. I didn't think the snacks she brought home were related at all- Chips Ahoy!, Oreo, BelVita, Wheat Thins, Nutter Butter... Then I did a little digging and found out ALL of these foods are produced by Nabisco. Did you know that? I sure didn't. It's amazing how many smaller, seemingly unrelated brands are all actually owned by bigger, major corporations. Anyway, today I'm reviewing another freebie Mum received: Oreo Creme Filled Brownies from Nabisco. I thought these sounded really unique and were some experimental, unreleased product that I would get to try before anyone else, but they've actually been out for awhile. Tears...

A 15 oz. box with ten 1.5 oz brownies costs around $4.99.

REVIEW: Nabisco Chewy Chips Ahoy! Brownie Filled Soft Cookies

And now a review for a product to buy during those times when your head says, "I want a cookie," but your heart says, "I want a brownie": Nabisco's Brownie Filled Chewy Chips Ahoy! Cookies. My mom got a package of these hybrid cookies as a freebie from her company, and the only thing I could think of when taking these out of the plastic bag full of free food was, "Uh, WOW. Damnnnnn. These sound mind-blowingly delicious." I mean, as if Chips Ahoy! cookies weren't good enough on their own. Now they are simply the mere SHELL to a fudgy, sweet chocolate brownie. Sounds soooo good! A 9.5 oz. package of cookies costs around $2.39.

BIG CEREAL NEWS!!! Chocolate Toast Crunch and Krave S'Mores Cereals

Yessir, two new cereals are hitting store shelves very, very soon... I hope. 

First is General Mills' Chocolate Toast Crunch. Oh yeah. Chocccccolate... Cinnamon Toast Crunch is THE BEST CEREAL in the known universe, and I'm crossing my fingers that Chocolate Toast Crunch can hold up to its ancestor's delicious legacy. This cereal isn't even on General Mills' website yet, so to be frank I only know as much about it as you do, but from what is pictured on the box a 3/4 cup serving will have 130 calories, 0.5g of saturated fat, 130mg of sodium, and 9g of sugar. These chocolate squares are reported to be sweetened with real cocoa and a hint of cinnamon in every scrumptious bite.

Next is Kellogg's Krave S'Mores Cereal. I love the Double Chocolate Krave, and this one sounds like another winner. Thankfully, this cereal DOES have its own page up. A 3/4 cup contains 120 calories, 30 of them being from fat, 3.5g of total fat, 1g of saturated fat, 0g of trans fat, 1.5g of polyunsaturated fat, 1g of monounsaturated fat, 0mg of cholesterol, 105mg of sodium, 75mg of potassium, 24g of total carbohydrates, 3g of dietary fiber, 10g of sugar, and 2g of protein, plus various vitamins and minerals. This cereal is made up of graham-flavored cereal on the outside, with smooth chocolate and a "marshmallowy" filling on the inside. Sadly, this cereal is going to replace Kellogg's Smorz cereal, which would explain why they haven't put their new Krave on the shelves- you know, waiting until the Smorz in stock decreases. I would suggest running out and buying a whole bunch of boxes like no tomorrow if you're a die-hard Smorz fan, cuz' the Smorzpocalypse is upon us...

Sorry I don't have any pictures up of these things, but I if were to see them in stores by now you'd know I'd have a review up like nobody's business. So... Here's a picture of Odie going in fer' the kill!

REVIEW: Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewy Bars

You've probably heard of Fiber One's 90-Calorie Brownies, but did you know that they make 90-Calorie Chewy Bars as well? Along with the classic Chocolate and delicious-sounding Chocolate Caramel & Pretzel, Fiber One also has made a 90-Calorie Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewy Bar, which I will be reviewing today. An 8.2 oz. value pack box containing ten 0.82 oz. bars costs around $4.99.

REVIEW: Nature Valley Chocolate Pretzel Nut Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bar

Maybe this craze has been around longer than I've believed it to be, but it seems like people nowadays just can't get enough of sweet and salty food pairings. Salty fried chicken and sweet, syrup-y waffles; salty cheddar cheese and sweet, cinnamon-y apple pie; salty, meaty ham and sweet, juicy pineapple; salty....... uh....... salt and sweet, buttery caramel- and let's not forget this one! Salty, crunchy pretzels and sweet, creamy milk chocolate. Oh yeah. Can't resist em'.
Odd sweet n' salty combinations have been on the rise for quite awhile now (Heck, they were even serving chocolate-covered mozzarella cheese up at the State Fair), but chocolate-covered pretzels have been a no-brainer since 1544, when pretzel-man Herr Joseph Franz von Liebniz hooked up with the chocolatier next door in Hamburg, Germany to make a truly special food combo. Ahh, Hamburg... Raising up The Beatles AND the sweet n' salty trend.
So why DOES a chocolate pretzel granola bar sound so strange to me? Maybe it's the fact that salty foods like pretzels just seem ODD in typically sweet granola bars, even if said pretzels ARE accompanied by chocolate? I don't know. But anyway, I decided to embrace this growing sweet n' salty trend by testing out Nature Valley's Chocolate Pretzel Nut Bar. One 7.4 oz. box containing six 1.2 oz. bars costs around $3.38.