As many of you know, your Chocolate Priestess is also an Amazon Vine Reviewer and when I am sent a product to test and write about that relates to chocolate I try to share it with you all as well. So today I'm going to look at the Dark Chocolate Peanut variety of the Balance Bar, an energy bar you can find in many stores in the USA though their website says that all flavors may not be available in all stores. This is their gluten free version that also has a "Rainforest Alliance Certified Cocoa" label on it as well. Let's see if the cocoa they are using results in a chocolatey bar that could satisfy a daily craving in a healthier package.
Dutched cocoa is the sixth ingredient on the wrapper list; just one of many ingredients that include several added oils. I think by now, Sisters and Brothers, you know my feelings on added oils and fats when cocoa butter could be used but this isn't candy and it isn't a baked good (not really) so I'm not surprised at all. The bar itself looks like a long brownie that was set in chocolate to cover the bottom then drizzled with chocolate over the top. As you can see there are peanuts as well that seem very pale. The "Best By" date is smeared and I can't read it but the peanuts suggest this has seen better days. The strongest scent are these peanuts with a hint of salt a generic scent that I might describe as "baked good;" no cocoa scent though. The bar is very dry and hard when I first take a bite but the following bites are just nicely crunchy. There is a good cocoa flavor here and an undercurrent of peanuts and no odd or terribly sweet flavor that often plagues these types of bars.
One bar has 25% or more of the daily recommended allowance in Vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as 10% of the daily Calcium and Iron recommended by the FDA. With 180 calories and 4 grams of fiber it isn't the worst bar we've looked at. The flavor was a very pleasant surprise, not as chocolate as you'd want from a candy or chocolate bar but definitely of a brownie like quality. The result is that given the companies desire to turn to more eco-friendly cocoa and the surprise of the flavor this may not be Sacrament quality but it is near to it. If they were to switch out some of the added oils for cocoa butter they might just meet our requirements for Sacrament worthy here on The Chocolate Cult.
Comments
Post a Comment
Do NOT leave a url link in your comments. Leaving such links will result in deletion of your comment. If you have a product you would like featured on The Chocolate Cult contact us and we will tell you how. We charge nothing beyond the product to be tested and written about.
Comments containing insults to other commenters, to companies or brands, or which attempt to insult or denigrate any group of people may be removed by the website editor. Think about how you would like to be treated and treat everyone with respect on The Chocolate Cult.