I get how annoying it is when someone says, "Wow this health food tastes just like that delicious food you love!" and then it absolutely does NOT taste like that delicious food I love. It tastes like a health food that's trying to be a delicious food, and it's failing.
That being said, I recently came upon a new flavor of Perfect Bar: the dark chocolate chip, peanut butter, sea salt variety. I am very openly and admittedly not a bar person, which is sad because as a fitness editor, bars are like a form of currency. So I tried the Perfect Bar thinking I probably wouldn't be blown away. Alas, I was wrong.
If you're a fan of the PB/chocolate flavor combo, you're going to freak out over this bar. It tastes like a Reese's cup in the way that it's delicious and exactly what you'd hope for with the "dark chocolate peanut butter" label, but doesn't have the whole "my insides are going to hurt later" effect that the candy does. It's made from whole foods like peanut butter, honey, dark chocolate chips, milk and eggs, and brown rice protein. Those ingredients all made sense to me . . . but here's what blew me away when I read the label: it's got superfood powders like kale, flax, rose hip, orange peel, lemon, papaya, tomato, apple, alfalfa, celery, kelp, dulse, carrot, and spinach. I never, I repeat NEVER, would've guessed that if I hadn't read the label. It honestly just tastes like peanut butter and dark chocolate.
Now for nutrition: a half of a bar was enough to sate me. The whole thing is 320 calories, and since the base of it is nut butter, it's high in (healthy) fats and protein, so half of it was just enough for a great midmorning snack. In one 320 calorie bar, you'll get 19 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein. You'll also get a little calcium and iron, energizing B vitamins, phosphorous, calming and cramp-soothing magnesium, potassium, and even copper.
A pack of two Reese's cups has less volume (45 grams of food in weight compared to Perfect Bar's 65), so there are slightly fewer calories but more sugar and essentially no vitamins, and none of those micronutrients from the superfoods.
I'm never a person who says "I'm going to trade my dessert for this healthy thing" - because let's be honest, if I'm going to have dessert, I'm just going to have dessert. But I'm really eating my words while I eat this tasty bar. I'm getting all the craving satisfaction from one of my favorite candies, but I'm leaving my body feeling better by putting real, whole foods in it.
0 comments :
Post a Comment