Awhile ago Honest Foods sent us samples of their planks and bars. Since then, we’ve been happily sampling the products to write a thorough review.

Recently Honest Foods redesigned their packaging. What was once a simple country theme is now a sleek more mature package. Did you know Honest Foods has a blog? Well it does and this is what we learned there about the new packaging.

Packaging – brand spankin’ new, and more Honest than ever. One big change is that our Planks are now going to be sold in an individual, grab-n-go format in-store, and in trays of 6 Planks in our online store. (Our Web site is also going to updated with the new look soon; keep your eyes peeled!)

Calories – The Bar calories have gone down to 210, and the Plank calories are down to 190 per serving.

Less fat, less sugar in both Bars and Planks

So, let’s get started. Shall we?

Honest Foods Planks: Planks are basically granola in a bar form. It is technically easy to break off a piece and crumble it in granola or oatmeal, but it’s quite difficult to not eat the whole thing at once.  They are a good weight, dense and filled with a lot of rich flavors. There is also a variety of ingredients within each plank. The parts of the bar that are not your usual major attractions, chocolate chips, popcorn, etc. are also good.

Maple Almond Plank

Mark: The maple flavor was much stronger than the almond flavor. It was the inspiration behind a very special Beer and Ice Cream Float Dessert.

Heather: This was my favorite plank. When you open it the smell of maple syrup is intense. It’s quite sweet and reminds me of waffles. The almond flavor is quite subtle, perhaps negligible in this bar.

Pomegranate Walnut Crisp

Mark: Fruity, but not overly tart. A pleasant pomegranate flaovor without the usual bitterness associated with the highly antioxidant fruit.

Heather: Previously reviewed by me here. I like the fruity taste of this bar and appreciate it’s citrusy feel.

Blueberry Vanilla Crackle

Mark: pleasantly surprised by the mellow vanilla flavor and how it compliments with the sweet blueberry flavor. I am not usually a fan of things that are vanilla flavored.

Heather: Holy blueberry muffin smell! I think the smell trumps the taste on this one. It was the first plank I tried and I really liked it, but as I tried the others, it slipped to third place. It has a nice blueberry taste, but maybe it’s a little too sweet?

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Bars: Formally known as “Country Squares,” these are smaller and less granola-like, more cookie-like than planks.

Choco Peanut Butter

Mark: This is more brittle, smoother and less grainy than the other bars.People are already aware how well peanut butter and chocolate go together, and this is no exception. Although, this is more “peanut” than “peanut butter” flavored.

Heather: This is like a crisp peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, so I highly recommend it if you like that. It is more dry and crisp than the rest of the bars. I discussed this bar in this post.

The rest of the flavors are slightly different. They are more like a soft, chewy oatmeal cookie/bar.

Apple Ginger Spice

Mark: The first bite of this bar made me make a face. A face that would make you think I didn’t like it. By the time I was done with the first one I wanted to eat another. The ginger undertones were at first overwhelming, but once you get further into it, the flavor contrasts well with the sweet apple. Unexpectedly, my favorite.

Heather: Previously discussed here. I love the combination of the apple and the ginger and how the apple flavor is not fake tasting. I love the soft, chewy texture of these bars! This is my favorite flavor.

 

Cran Lemon Zest

 

Mark: I do not like this one that much. Too lemony for me and I do not like lemon things.

Heather: Previously discussed here. At first I wasn’t sure about this bar because it definitely has a very strong flavor. Unlike Mark, I love lemon flavored things and actually think the lemon flavor is quite subtle in this bar. To me, the cranberry and accent apricot pieces are more p

owerful.

Almond Trail Mix

Mark: This is like trail mix with a strong almond extract smell and presence, which is something I am not a fan of. If you like almond cookies, this one is for you.

Heather: This bar was previously called “Farmer’s Trail Mix.” Even though

almond extract is pretty low on the list of ingredients, that is the flavor that stands out the most. It’s definitely an interesting and unique flavor and, although it’s my least favorite of the bars, I still enjoyed it. If you have an aversion to almond extract, however, stay away.

Final Thoughts: We think it’s rare that a company puts out two product lines and there isn’t one major miss in the bunch, but that is the case with all the Honest Foods planks and bars. There was not one flavor that made us say, “Oh that is gross,” and most often, we said, “That is surprisingly good and unique). Each flavor is strong, so these are not bars for people looking for subtle flavors.

There are no scary ingredients in these bars and planks, but still they are a treat. They do not provide much in the form of satiety and can be quite caloric if a little restraint is not exercise. We love to eat them straight up, in oatmeal, in yogurt and of course, in Beer Ice Cream Floats.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 12:36 pm and is filed under Food Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.