Recently I was sent a care package by Balance Bar Cafe. An interesting new product trying to establish itself as a high energy health conscious snack. The cafe title is not meant to be taken as a traditional Energy Bar with caffeine included, but rather the name is a subtle  suggestion to  eat this when coupled with coffee, as you would a more unhealthy snack.

Balance Bar Cafe’s are a product designed to be enjoyed as a healthy snack along  with your morning coffee, or afternoon pick me up. It doesn’t mean that they are a meal replacement. Nor are they Diet Food. Does that mean you would eat this instead of lunch dinner or breakfast? No it doesn’t. But if you are  going  to try a snack during your coffee break wouldn’t it be nice if the snack was a high in  protein, overall balanced  alternative? Why yes… yes it would be.

As per usual all products submitted are run through the same process.

The Journey

• Smell: If it doesn’t smell good How can you eat it?
• Taste: Obvious and penultimate
• Aftertaste: Food is done, but is the  flavor?
• Claims: If a product claims to be faster than a speeding bullet we’ll shoot it.

Smell: Popping open the package and I was  greeted  with a wonderful nutty chocolate smell. While I could smell both the  chocolate  and the almond i guess the biscotti was just icing on the bar. The smell was quite sweet and inviting.

Taste: While the Cinnamon Bun bar tasted mildly sweet this bar is quite sweet and has a smooth finish to it. Wile I wouldn’t say the almond was evident it did have a smooth taste to it. There was a definite complexity to the overall taste that was missing from the Cinnamon Bar. The taste rounded out nicely when paired with a good dark cup of coffee. but on its own it was a little complex. I think maybe just a  cinnamon  almond would have been enough. The bar itself is layered with real almond slices, and  chocolaty  drizzle, so you know it isn’t all chemicals and trickery. You are tasting  almond  because they are staring right back at you.

Aftertaste:  This is the one area that kind of let me down a little bit there was a slight aftertaste to the bar as a whole. While Icouldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was it was there. however if you drink it with coffee it wasn’t there at all. So Coffee Up!

Claims: I was  satisfied, and though I’m not in the habit of snacking with my coffee this treat did seem to fill a gap in my day when I was running around without being junk food. (Weight Watchers people, the bar is 5 points, I calculated it) Full nutritional  information  here. Balance bar claims that their bar follows the 40-30-30 plan, which means 40 percent carbs, 30 percent  protein  and 30 percent fat.

Conclusion: This was a tasty snack, and filling. Unlike most diet foods which sell you on a snack without  calories  or fat or anything this snack sells you on the fact that it replaces worthless snack with something healthier, a bit of a balanced snack. I like that. If you are eating something with no  calories  and no fat… what IS it? At least with this you know you’re getting filled with 40-30-30. And it does fill you up, and hold you over. I found it great as a snack while i was running around doing errands and chores. Throw back a mug of coffee and a bar and you’re ready with energy and fuel.

Overall this is a well rounded snack.  Sticking to a diet plan and trying to manage the snacks while still feeling a little indulgent is hard work. its nice to  know  there are foods on the market for people with a sweet tooth and a coffee snack habit. Although I’m not a sweets kind of guy this was quite good.

*Full Disclosure:  I was sent a lovely care package at no cost by the fine Folks at Balance Bars for the purpose of writing this review. This in no way affected my opinions of the product nor was a desired  outcome  asked for or agreed upon.