A Crunchy Taste of Nature (Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars Variety Pack)

Member Name: Chelle1969

Product:	Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars Variety Pack
Date:	30/10/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Crisp, crunchy, sweet - delicious

Disadvantages: None

I've been quite a fan of the cereal/crunchy/oaty/snack bar for some time now, and they really seem to have grown in popularity in recent years. I certainly don't remember seeing such variety available in the shops a few years ago. Anyway, I tend to buy whichever happens to be on offer at the time, and in Tesco on a recent trip the offer was on all the Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars. I bought the variety pack, which contains two each of three varieties: Canadian Maple Syrup, Oats 'n Honey and Apple Crunch. To be honest all three flavours sounded rather lovely and I couldn't wait to start tasting.

Packaging
~~~~~~~
The outer box is quite attractive and eye catching, mainly green in colour with a picture of the bars placed over a graphic of a sunrise over a valley. On the back however, is a rather dull photograph of a girl looking down over a real valley along with all the nutritional info about the product. For some reason which I don't understand, one of the side panels of the box is written completely in what looks like Arabic (but I could be wrong, I certainly couldn't decipher it anyway)
Inside are six smaller shiny foil wrapped packages each containing two flat bars of crunchy granola. In the variety packs there are two of each of the three flavours although each flavour is also available in it's own box of six as well.

What's In Them?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Each two bar serving (42g) contains no more than:

194 calories (GDA 10%)
11.7g sugars (GDA 13%)
6.9g fat (GDA 10%)
0.8g saturates (GDA 4%)
0.1g salt (GDA 6%)

Allergy Info: oats gluten, soy ingredients and traces of almond, hazelnut, peanut and pecan

Suitable for vegetarians and lactose free

Look and Taste
~~~~~~~~~~
Granola is basically just rolled wholegrain oats mixed with honey and, depending on the product, other ingredients and baked until crispy. When you open one of the foil packets you find two hard thin slabs of what looks like golden compressed oats. All the varieties look the same, and to a degree they all taste the same, that's because the flavours that differentiate them are very subtle. Not so subtle that you can't taste it, but not overpowering and none of them taste of anything artificial. The generic taste is a lovely roasted oaty sweetness. They really are crisp and crunchy, quite dry in so much that there are no pieces of fruit or to add moisture, but not too dry that you're gasping for a drink

Oats 'n Honey - this is just the basic bar with no added flavours. Quite sweet with 2% honey

Canadian Maple Syrup - as above but with 2% maple syrup, although there is honey as well. The lovely distinct smoky taste of maple syrup makes it a favourite for me

Apple Crunch - this one has 2% dehydrated apple and some cinnamon as its difference, and again the subtle taste just gives a hint of apple and spice.

Verdict
~~~~~
Oh these are good, I mean 'really' good. To hell with the fact that they're quite fattening, they're just so moreish. The combination of crisp and crunchy with the flavours makes them just about perfect in my book. When you eat them you feel like you're eating something wholesome and homemade, there are no artificial flavourings to ruin the experience. They are made from wholegrain oats, which are apparently a good source of nutrients and good for maintaining cholesterol levels, so that's a good enough excuse to eat them for me.
Each pack of two bars weighs 42g which is fairly hefty for a snack bar but if that's too much for you, you can of course, just eat one and save one for later (not something I've managed yet!) If you do manage both bars you'll know you've eaten them, they really are quite filling.

They are available from all the major supermarkets priced at around £2.14, although as I mentioned earlier they are/were on offer in Tesco for £1.50. This is one product that I will definitely be buying again, even when the price goes back up they only work out at about 36p per bar.
Incidentally on the website www.naturevalley.co.uk they list a 'Roasted Almond' version which I have yet to find in the stores, but if you're keen to try them all then Waitrose also list a 'Banana Nut' version, which is curious....

Try a box today, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Summary: Highly recommended!