Nakd Bars : New flavours!

I can't remember when I discovered Nakd bars but they've been a regular in my lunchbox and kitchen cupboard (and occasionally, fruit bowl) for a long time now.

Nakd bars are ("gleefully") made by Natural Balance Foods and are made from natural, raw ingredients such as fruits and nuts which are "smooshed" together into a handy bar form. They are vegan-friendly, wheat and dairy free, and the ingredients lists are reassuringly brief. I like them because they're better for me than a regular cereal bar, most clocking in around the 100-150 calorie range and count as one of my 5-a-day. The consistency is sort of squidgy but the nuts are not ground to dust so you still get quite a bit of texture.

There's a wide range of flavours and I've tried most of them. In the oaty bar range you have Apple Pie*, Banana Bread, Cocoa Loco and Berry Cheeky. In the fruit bar range there's Berry Delight, Cocoa Orange*, Cocoa Delight, Cocoa Mint, Cashew Cookie*, Ginger Bread*, Pecan Pie*... and recently Caffe Mocha and Rhubarb & Custard in addition to a new range of crunch bars in Apple, Strawberry, Banana and Chocolate varieties.

I happened upon the Rhubarb & Custard and Strawberry and Banana crunch bars on offer in the supermarket recently (there's nearly always an offer on) and couldn't resist giving them a try.

The Rhubarb & Custard bar is really lovely. How they manage to get it to taste like that without including either ingredient is quite amazing, but I guess it's more to do with suggestion than anything. There's a subtle warming vanilla hit that must be from the "natural flavours" rather than the dates, cashews and raisins that are the main ingredients. The texture reminds me of a good light sticky toffee pudding... it's not as dense as the banana bread bar but there's still a good bit of chew there. It's not just going to melt in your mouth and leave you wondering if you ever had it at all. 

The Banana crunch bar is lighter in texture than the Banana Bread bar, more moist, and the crunchies are a really lovely addition. I thought it was really tasty and is still incredibly low in calories. The Strawberry crunch bar is similarly moist and reminds me of strawberry shortcakes with the crunchies. I'm not usually a fan of strawberry things (even though I adore strawberries) but I think I like this even more than the Banana Crunch bar! It did a good job of fuelling me through a 4 mile run and I found that all the bar kept hunger at bay for a good few hours, making them an ideal mid afternoon snack.

If these sound like your sort of thing, look out for them in the supermarkets and healthfood stores (often two packs for £4) or grab some selection packs from the website to try. This post was not sponsored, I just really love nakd bars!

* my favourites