Granola Bars

Test date: June 2010

Tester: Michele and husband Marc

Products for this test purchased at Whole Foods, Costco, and Fred Meyer.

MICHELE'S OPINION: For this test I was expecting that some of the bars would be just terrible, but none of them were inedible. I wouldn't eat the Kashi one again though. Other than that, if any of these bars were on sale I would consider buying them again. It just depends on what type of granola bar you're into. Read on for more details on price, nutrition, and taste, including the taste winners:

PRICE COMPARISON FOR 6-9OZ OF GRANOLA BARS (store first, then brand):
$4.89 Fred Meyer Kashi TLC
$4.29 Whole Foods Health Valley Organic
$3.50 Whole Foods Cascadian Farm
$2.39 Fred Meyer Quaker True Delights
$3.19 Fred Meyer Nature Valley Variety Pack
$2.49 Fred Meyer Planters
$2.00 Fred Meyer Quaker Chewy
$1.99 Fred Meyer brand
$1.41 Costco Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut

1. Health Valley Organic Peanut Crunch Chewy Granola Bars: This bar is pretty light in density and has the consistency of a rice crispy treat. There is a taste of honey and a little bit of chocolate, but primarily the flavor is rice. There are no peanuts bits in this bar, but there is definitely a light peanut-y flavor. Marc says its a little bit grainy.

2. Cascadian Farm Organic Fruit and Nut Chewy Granola Bars: This is a relatively dense bar with whole almonds and cranberries. The sweetness in this bar comes from raisins and dates I believe.

3. Quaker Chewy Variety Pack: The peanut chocolate chip bar has a medium density and a peanut butter flavor. You can also definitely taste the chocolate chips. The oatmeal raisin flavor is very cinnamon-y and really tasty. It is also medium density but falls apart pretty easily. These bars have a lot of flavor and taste the most sugary. Marc says they have a thick and sticky consistency.

4. Kashi TLC Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bars: This bar has big chunks of almonds, oats, and other nuts and tastes very healthy. There is a rich, raw oaty flavor and it is not sweet. It doesn't have a lot of taste.

5. Quaker True Delights Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry Chewy Granola Bars: This bar smells like maple syrup and has a rich syrup and other fruit juice flavor. Very sweet, in a natural way. There are whole cranberries and it is pretty dense bar compared to the others. Sweet!

6. Nature Valley Variety Pack: This crunchy bar is a classic. It has a crispy, flaky texture to it and is sweet but not too sweet. The sweetness tastes like it comes from brown sugar.

7. Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut Peanut Bars: This is a chewy bar with a sweet yogurt coating on one half. It is relatively sticky and is one of the sweeter bars in this test. Marc says it tastes not like peanuts but like peanut butter.

8. Fred Meyer Crunchy Granola Bars Variety Pack: I tried the Oats and Honey bar in this pack. This bar is definitely a store brand version of the Nature Valley crunchy bars (#6 above), with two thin, crunchy bars per package. It has a natural sugar flavor that is not overwhelming. The two bars taste similar, but not exactly the same. The Nature Valley product just has more taste to it, for reasons that we cannot pin down.

9. Planters Nutrition Cranberry Almond Peanut Heart Healthy Bars: This is a very dense, stick-to-your teeth chewy bar with a nutty and cranberry flavor. But it is not very flavorful compared to the other products. It has a sticky consisency and a little bit of an apple juice sweetness to it. Marc says it is dry and tastes like peanuts.

NUTRITIONAL NOTES: N/A

TASTE WINNER: I love the taste of the Quaker True Delight bars, if you're looking for something sweet. If you like a good crunch and don't like anything too sweet, you can't beat the classic Nature Valley bars. If you're a health nut, go for the Cascadian Farms Organic bar. It has a nice natural sweetness and density to it.