Kelloggs Rice Krispie Cereal Bars (You'll love them as much as Your Kids) (Kelloggs Rice Krispie Cereal & Milk Bars)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Kelloggs Rice Krispie Cereal & Milk Bars
Date:	19/10/08 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fortified with vitamins, very tasty, no hydrogenated fats

Disadvantages: Too high in sugar content

I wouldn't normally have ventured near this type of cereal bar. Just the sight of those Snap, Crackle and Pop kids characters on the front of the box is enough to scare me away. Although they project a 'fun' image, it doesn't somehow conjure up a healthy image at the same time.

Anyway, I was having coffee with my sister who only ever gives her children the healthiest of healthy food, when I spotted her opening one of these cereal bars for her 3 year old. She noticed my surprise and said they weren't too bad in the health stakes.

So I had a quick scan through the packaging (once said child had finished, of course) and saw that they weren't actually too bad and little Max did appear to be thoroughly enjoying his bar.

So, the next time I did the shopping, I made my way towards the cereal bar section and picked up a box.

~~~Packaging~~~

These cereal bars come packaged in a glossy cardboard box, which looks pretty much like a Rice Krispie box with the same blue colouring and Snap, Crackle and Pop characters on the front. Each box contains 6 x 20g cereal bars, individually wrapped, so they're convenient for packing into lunch boxes.

~~~What do they Taste Like~~~

I simply had to try one of these for myself. After opening the wrapper for my daughter, it smelled so nice I told her I needed to try it out to make sure she'd like it. OK, she probably didn't believe me but she did reluctantly allow me to eat half the bar. And I would have eaten more because it was so nice.

It has a sweet, almost honey like smell when you open it up. The bar itself isn't rock solid, it's a bit soft to bite into but it holds its shape out of the wrapper. The bottom of the bar is covered with what they call a 'delicious milky layer'. I liken it to the yogurt coating you often find on raisins or nuts.

Overall, its taste is similar to those Rice Krispie cakes you probably made as a kid - you know when you mix Rice Krispies with honey and put the mixture into paper cake cases and leave it to set.

~~~Nutritional Information~~~

On the front of the box they provide you with the proportion of calories, sugars, fat, saturates and salt that each bar contains. However, it's a bit deceiving I think, because underneath these figures it states 'of an adult's guideline daily amount' when these bars are obviously targeted at children!

Each bar only contains 83 calories which is a very reasonable amount for a child's snack. Sugars are in the high category with 7g in each bar, that's why they taste so sweet. However, they don't contain any hydrogenated fats or artificial colours. They're also fortified with calcium, vitamins and iron as the cereal itself is. Fat content is reasonably low with 2.5g in each bar.

I've only given these bars 4 stars because of the high sugar content, otherwise they would have received a 5 from me.

~~~Price and Availability~~~

You'll find these in most major supermarkets retailing for around £1.59 and they have a shelf life of around 6 months.

Oh yes, there are more of these bars in the range, namely: Frosties, Frosties Chocolate and Coco Pops.

~~~Ingredients~~~

Kellogg's Toasted Rice Cereal (28%)(Rice, Sugar, Salt, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Barley Malt Flavouring, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk (13%)(Skimmed Milk, Sugar), Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Dried Skimmed Milk (10%), Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Fructose, Humectant (Glycerol, Sorbitol), Milk Whey Powder, Calcium Carbonate, Milk Sugar, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Antioxidant (Ascorbyl Palmitate, Alpha Tocopherol), Acidity Regulator (Diphosphates), Flavouring.

~~~Dietary Information~~~

Contains or may contain: Soy ingredients; Barley ingredients; Milk ingredients

Suitable for: Vegetarian; Halal certified

For further information see:

http://www. kelloggs.co.uk/products/ricekrispies/Bar/rice_kris pies_cereal___milk_bars.aspx

Summary: A tasty lunch box snack that kids love