Luna Bar-Blueberry Bliss Review

Hello! Today's review is the Lunabar Blueberry Bliss flavor. You've probably noticed a trend of a lot of nutrition bar reviews-I eat a lot of 'em! But I promise there's a lot more in store besides energy bars.

I bought this flavor along with a bunch of other bars. It's been a while since I had tasted an original Luna Bar (by Clif company) so I thought I'd give it a shot again.

Since the last time I had a Luna Bar, the wrapper has changed design. The writing is smaller and a different font as well. It's only changed on a few flavors, though.

Outside:

 Nutrition:

 Inside:

My first reaction when I opened it was "Wow! A lot going on for a bar!" I didn't expect the purple blueberry topping (colored by red cabbage extract), the icing, and the oats on top.
I liked the texture of the bar. The "crisps" that made up the bar were chewy as a whole, but had a crunch to them too. The texture was a lot like that of a Rice Krispy treat. The bar can easily be pulled apart and bended if you try, but is pretty firm overall.
The taste was very sweet! Although it tasted good and not artificial, the vanilla flavor overtook the blueberry too much in my opinion. I took a bite of the blueberry topping alone and it had a subtle tang, and tasted like blueberry jam, which I like! If the bar was simply described as being vanilla with a mild fruity topping, I would have enjoyed the bar more. But the vanilla coating was just too overpowering, considering the name, "Blueberry Bliss". The oats at the top were good for decoration, but I didn't really taste them. Again, I mainly tasted the strong vanilla coating. It wasn't bad though, and I had no difficulty finishing it!

My take:
Nutrition: 7.0/10 (a fair amount of sugar)
Taste: 7.0/10 (I expected more of a blueberry taste)
Appearance: 8.5/10 (I like the bright wrapping and purple topping color)

Overall: 7.5/10


Pros: Crispy texture; tart blueberry topping; 8 grams of protein; pleases a sweet tooth; all-natural
Cons: Too much vanilla flavor; a lot of sugar; not much of a blueberry flavor

Horizon Organic- Chocolate Lowfat Milk Review

Today I'll be reviewing Horizon Organic Chocolate Lowfat Milk. My family loves this brand of milk, although I'm not a big milk drinker myself. I was told that chocolate milk was a great running/swimming recovery drink, so I used some coupons to buy some to try out.

Outside (comes with a straw on the back):

 Nutrition:

I'll just start right now by saying-YUMMY!! I put the straw in the top and took a big swig. Immediately, I noticed how rich and full-bodied the milk taste was. It had a very smooth texture that slid down my throat easily, while still being able to be savored. This milk is a lot creamier than most other lower-quality milks. The chocolate came out as more of an aftertaste. The flavor is mild and not too sugary, but still chocolatey enough for my tastes. Some chocolate milk is so sweet that you feel like you are drinking a milkshake (which doesn't feel too healthy)-but not this one! I wish there was more milk in the carton! Overall, it's creamy, tastes fresh, and has just the right amount of chocolate flavor!

I bought individual cartons of these (missed the shelf stable six-pack-whoops!) and the price was pretty steep. I would guess that it would be fairly expensive anywhere because of the organic label.

Pros: Very rich/creamy; organic ingredients; contains 8 grams of protein; not overpoweringly sweet; fresh-tasting

Cons: Small carton; a lot of sugar

My take:
Nutrition: 7.5/10 (a pretty small carton, and a lot of sugar)
Taste: 9.5/10
Appearance: 9/10

Overall: 9.0/10

-Squidge (p.s.-Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!!)

Larabar-Peanut Butter Cookie Review

Hey everyone! Today I'm reviewing Larabar's Peanut Butter Cookie bar. Before I start-I love Larabars! I've been a fan for a long time, but was made even more of a fan when I got randomly picked on their Facebook page to get 100 trees planted in my name for Earth day! I was sooo excited-and now I won't feel so bad about using too much paper :)

From the outside:

Nutrition:

Inside:



So I opened the bar up, and took a whiff. It smelled a lot like a jar of peanut butter, as I expected, except with more of a sweet scent.

I took a bite-the texture was firm, and yet still very chewy. Compared to other nutrition bars, it was a lot more chewy and dense. At some points, I could taste little peanut pieces throughout the bar.

The taste was pleasant! It was very peanut-y, but didn't taste like raw peanuts- there was a very sweet taste to it as well from the dates. For people who like raw peanuts, the added sweetness may be a surprise. It tasted more like a cookie, hence the name, than plain old peanut butter. The name describes the flavor very accurately! It was rich, strong and flavorful, and the taste stayed in my mouth long after the bite. It had the right amount of salt.The outside was oily, though, and left some residue on my mouth. Overall, this flavor would be great for people with simple tastes-the sweet peanut taste is very prominent, and there's not any other flavor that could be taking its place.

I bought this for $1.00 at the local grocery store. At specialty stores, I've seen it for as much as $2.00.

Pros: Very rich/strong flavor; all-natural/vegan/3 ingredients; tastes like the name implies; nice chewy texture

Cons: Calorie-dense (if you're watching your weight); oily coating; sweet (for people who don't have a sweet tooth)

My take:
 

Nutrition=8/10 (A lot of sugar and fat, but all-natural)

Taste=8.5/10

Appearance=8.5/10

Overall=8.5/10

-Squidge

Luna Protein-Chocolate Review

Today I'm reviewing the Luna Protein brand chocolate flavor. These bars are by the Clif brand, which makes Luna, but have a sleeker kind of shape and packaging compared to the original Luna bar. They also have 12 grams of protein, compared to 8-9.

These were on sale at the local store for $1 each, so I bought one to try. I have tried some other varieties of the Luna Protein bar, but not the chocolate flavor.

Here's the wrapper:

Here's the nutrition:

I opened the bar, and it looked basically like a chocolate candy bar. When I bit into it, it had a chewy middle which was nougat-like, like many protein bars are, and was brown. It also had little specks of crunchy chocolate dispersed throughout the bar.

My first bite tasted very salty-so salty that I had to stop chewing for a moment. Suprisingly though, it was not a gross kind of salty-it was actually somewhat addicting. I took another bite (which wasn't as salty) and immediately recognized the "protein powder" kind of taste. It was not bad, though. The chocolate coating tasted just a tad waxy. The chocolate flavor was mild, but could still be recognized as chocolate.

Overall, this is a solid bar. It would certainly not be my first choice, but if I needed some quick protein, I would eat it. The saltiness could be explained by the 250 mg of sodium (yikes!).

Pros: Nice, chewy texture; mild chocolate flavor; 12 grams of protein; low-calorie; nice packaging; all-natural.
Cons: Salty middle; coating waxy; not much flavor.

My take: Nutritionals=8.0/10
Taste=6.0/10
Appearance=7/10 (I apologize for not taking a picture of the inside!)

Overall=7.0/10

-Squidge

Welcome to The Bright Bite!

Hey there-welcome to The Bright Bite!


Here you will find reviews of a wide range of food products and restaurants, as well as tried-and-true recipes. The majority of the products will be "health" related-I'm on a quest to find the best tasting products that have great nutritional value as well.


So if you LOVE being healthy, LOVE awesome-tasting food, and LOVE sweets sometimes too, you have definitely come to the right place!


See ya soon!

--Squidge (my nickname, by the way :) )