Special OK (Kelloggs Special K Bars)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Kelloggs Special K Bars
Date:	04/10/05 (1591 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low Calorie . Sweet . Reasonably Tasty

Disadvantages: VERY sweet . Not THAT low calorie for its size

Some time ago, I quit smoking. This has been good for my health - mostly. Where my health has suffered, however, is weightwise. Not unusually, I've put on weight. Actually, the weight gain started years ago, but was slow - until around 18 months ago. This would all be relevant were I reviewing this Kellogg's Special K Bar because I was on a diet. However, I am not very good at dieting (not yet, anyway). In fact, I bring one of my daughter's Special K Bars to munch on mid-morning. I tell myself it's better for me than chocolate...anyway.

Now, these are meant to be reasonably healthy - surely you, the discerning consumer, would like to know if they are. Many things that are healthy are either tasteless or downright disgusting. They're healthy because you don't eat enough of them to become unhealthy. The question is...is this true here?

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What to Look For - Packaging
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We buy Special K bars in boxes of six bars each (as my 14 year old daughter takes one to school each day). They are very recognisable, as they have a giant K on the front (in the style of the Special K cereal K).

Each bar (which can be bought individually in many corner shops) has a white wrapper with Kellogg's Special K Bar flashed across it. It also proudly announces on the side that it has 90 calories per bar.

The back, amongst other tidbits of information, tells us the bar is apparently suitable for vegetarians, though there is no mention of nut allergy sufferers.

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What to Look For - The Bar Itself
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Upon opening the wrapper, you are greeted with tan bar that looks kind of like Rice Krispies (or indeed, Special K) that have been glued together. You can see dried red berry pieces sticking through. The yoghurt topping resembles icing - you know, like when you drizzle icing sugar dissolved in water over a cake - it's thicker than that, but that's the idea. The whole thing is around 4ish inches long (I've not measured it).

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What to Look For - Taste
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The bar doesn't actually smell of much - which is to be expected, as cereal (and other dry foods) often don't have an overweaning smell. If anything, it smells sweet.

The consistency of the bar in the mouth is sticky/crunchy - the amount of sugar and glucose and various other sugar products is very obvious. For a so-called healthy bar, it really is quite sticky. It does crunch - but not loudly. There's too much sugar for that. It sticks to the teeth.

The cereal flavour is practically non-existent - instead, the bar tastes of sugar, fruit flavour, and yoghurt flavour. The fruit flavour is berry-like - and not actually unpleasant. It doesn't taste too artificial (apparently, they are 'strawberry flavour fruit pieces' which have sugar, cranberries, strawberry flavouring and elderberry juice concentrate', which explains both the sweetness and the at least vague real berry taste). The fruit tastes (perhaps not surprisingly) of dried fruit like you get in some cereals.

The yoghurt flavour is again less of yoghurt and more of sugar. In fact, I'd say the yoghurt topping is as much to add to the texture - it gives a somewhat smoother mouthfeel in amongst the crunchyness/stickyness of the cereal and sugar.

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OK - but is it NICE? Matty's opinion/recommendation
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Kellogg's Special K Bars aren't bad. However, they seem to be uncertain as to what exactly they are.

I don't find them much of a 'treat' - they don't have the satisfying taste or mouthfeel of chocolate, so I don't think they make a great substitute for more calorific treats (though surely better than nothing). These are plugged also as a substitute for breakfast (or indeed, lunch, if you are inclined to take the Special K Challenge - Special K products including cereal and cereal bars for two meals a day, and a calorie controlled normal meal once a day - not my idea of a fun diet). Again, they suffer here. They are, in my opinion, far too sweet to be (or to even seem) a good, healthy breakfast, and they are too small to really fill you up. They can be eaten too quickly to feel satisfying. A bowl of cereal is really a better option if you want cereal as a meal - you get the real dairy, you can control the sugar, and you are using a bowl and spoon, thus giving the feeling of really eating.

However, as a midmorning snack, I like them. I don't feel too guilty about it, it keeps me from eating something less healthy (usually), and they are not disgusting - if you have a sweet tooth, that is.

A note of warning - I actually object to these bars being promoted as a 'healthy' option - they are far too sugary for that. Sugar in its many forms is mentioned six times by my count - in the cereal that makes up the bulk, in the fruit flavouring, in the yoghurt flavouring, and in the general bar. Yes, the cereal is fortified, and yes, the bar does have only 90 calories, but there are healthier ways to ingest 90 calories.

So, all in all, a mixed recommendation. I eat them - almost every day at the moment (I'm sure I'll get sick of them soon). I let my daughter eat them (I've seen what she'll eat if I let her). But I wouldn't depend on these for either my breakfast, or for my family's.

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Price & Availability
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By the bar, these will usually cost you (in London) between 40p - 50p each, depending on where you get them. In Tesco, the box of six is normally £1.88, but they are doing a special at the moment - two boxes for £2.50. Compare this to buying Special K Red Berries cereal at £2.58 for 375g, and you'll see that cereal bars (and, indeed, sweetened, speciality cereals) are not necessarily the most cost effective way of eating breakfast.

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The Bottom Line
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I eat them. I find them cautiously tasty. But I wouldn't depend on any cereal bar for breakfast. And I wouldn't be (as they say) crying into my cornflakes if I couldn't get them.

Summary: An expensive way of eating sweetened cereal, but quick and marginally healthier than chocolate