He Says: Kardea Nutrition Bars

The fine people at Kardea sent over some Kardea Nutrition Bars, 4 in all, in the aromatic and tasty flavors of:

  • Banana Nut
  • Cranberry Almond
  • Lemon Ginger
  • Chai Spice

The bars weigh in at 1.4 oz (30g) so they’re firmly in the “healthy snack between meals” category for me and not the monster Met-Rx or Detour “meal replacement between meals” category. You may not be able to tell from the regrettably terrible pictures I snapped but the bars have a smooth finish and don’t have flakes, oats or other jaggies sticking out at all angles.

This logically made me expect them to taste artificial, however, upon the first bite I was pleasantly surprised. The texture is rich with a good grain and the tastes (of the 3 bars I ate – more on that below) are all bold and satisfying. While I’ve no evidence that I am now healthier for having eaten these (my cholesterol certainly doesn’t feel any lower) I did not feel like I had a brick in my stomach or conversely, like I was still hungry afterwards. Unlike some other bars I have eaten in this category, eating one gave me the feeling that Kardea bars are made with love.

I’d like to give you a straight up and honest review of the different flavors that’s not going to happen because I feel very strongly about the ingredients in the flavor combinations. That is, I am predisposed to loving one of these, being torn on 2 of them, and having total disdain for the last.

Banana Nut

I love this bar. I love this flavor combination. I love that saying the words “banana” and “nut” in sequence automatically prompts me to tag on the word “bread” or that someone just made some for me.

Cranberry Almond

For me, a toss up. Here’s why. I like almonds a lot. I eat them almost every day. Cranberries on the other hand… well I like them too but during my entire life my mother has pushed cranberries on me (her favorite maybe?) despite my outward advertisement that I was not a fan. Eventually, I gave in and now I eat them often but they still haunt my grocery themed dreams. Oh, right, the bar! It’s a good one too despite my prejudice.

Added By Heather: This morning I had some of a Cranberry Almond Bar and I liked it, but not as much as the lemon ginger. It was more candy like and tasted kind of like shark bites. I would not say it was overwhelmingly cranberry. Again, I love the texture of these bars.

  Cranberry Almond

Cranberry Almond

Lemon Ginger

I hate lemony things. I love ginger. I’m eating ginger right now I love it so much. I thought this one didn’t stand a change. Eating it surprised me; while neither the lemon flavor nor the ginger flavor are overpowering, there’s a subtle hint of each resulting in a very pleasurable taste. This might be my favorite one even though I frown when I think of Lemon Squares.

Spiced Chai

I had a gastro-intestinal calamity involving chai tea once. Never had it again. I gave this bar to my co-worker since his wife likes chai. She will report since there’s no way I was going to give it a fair shake.

Eating these bars made me second guess my preconceived notions of some of the flavors involved and overall, I was very happy with the flavor and texture and would recommend to my father for cholesterol control.

The bars are available at some Whole Foods stores in the south and various independent natural food stores, but online is an option.

The online price is 20% reduced in recognition of the National Cholesterol Education Month. There is an additional 25% off if you type September into the coupon field at checkout.

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13 Responses to “He Says: Kardea Nutrition Bars”

  1. VeggieGirl Says:

    Glad you liked the Lemon Ginger and Banana Nut flavors – those definitely sound like the best-tasting ones!

  2. Mark Says:

    Thanks for adding the pic Heather, the iPhone doesn’t do well in my parent’s kitchen. Or, if I’ve had too much caffeine.

  3. caitlin (seebriderun) Says:

    ooo good reviews!

    also, thanks for the earlier info on HMCS. man, i hate ingredient labels!

  4. HeatherBakes Says:

    Great review! I’m cracking up at “other jaggies sticking out at odd angles”. At Whole Foods in the South, eh? I’ll have to check them out…

  5. Christie Says:

    Thanks for the review… i may have to give these a try!

  6. Jenny Says:

    Thanks for the review, I doubt I’ll be able to find these bars anywhere near me, but maybe I’ll check them out online.

  7. Heather Says:

    Mark, No problem. It was one of my better photos. I am very excited to try the banana nut variety! I can’t believe lemon squares make you frown. They make me like this :D .

  8. Rachel Says:

    I like the term “jaggies”.

  9. Meghann Says:

    I’ve seen these bars on a couple of other blogs to. They look ok, but I’m not convinced yet to go out and purchase them myself. I am more of a clif z-bar girl myself.

  10. Heather Says:

    Meghann, I just found cliff z-bars and I love them, too!!! I am on the hunt for S’mores. These are not similar at all, but I like them because they are kind of chewy in a different way.

  11. Juliet Says:

    Thanks for the thorough review of all the flavors. They look worth trying! Hopefully they’ll be available at my WFs one of these days…

  12. Rachel Says:

    Heather,

    I found the S’mores Clif bars on drugstore.com.

  13. Heather Says:

    Thanks, Rachel. :)

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