Food Product Review: Nak'd Banana Crunch Bars

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Jessie Ware ~ Wildest Moments
Them Crooked Vultures ~ Elephants
Soundgarden ~ Soundwave
The Cranberries ~ Fire & Soul
Tom Jones ~ Lust For Life
Brandi Carlile ~ Sixty Years On
Thunder ~ Love Sucks!
Beth Hart ~ Am I The One
Deap Valley ~ End Of The World
T-Rex ~ Telegram Sam
Glenn Frey ~ The Heat Is On
A Perfect Circle ~ Rose
Kaiser Chiefs ~ Born To Be A Dancer
Patti Smith ~ Because The Night

We are fans of the Nak'd Bar range in this HQ...and was fascinated by the new offerings. Now to me it was a little funny that they have created a 'crunchy' range because I find that I get that crunch from them anyway. But I decided to take one for the team and try one...lol Life's hard isn't it? 

I am the first one to admit that I only like fresh banana food products and one of my pet peeves is fake banana anything. So it seemed only right that the Banana Crunch would be the one for me to 'test'. 

First thing I do is always check the ingredients...even if they state they are vegan etc. And to be honest this is just me being a pain in the ass..because Nak'd bars are always clearly marked but old habits eh? And yes this bar was vegan and gluten free..woo! Twofer! And I also wrongly assumed that the crunch would be provided by dried banana chips. No..apparently it's a soy mix that gives it a crunchy texture. Interesting...

So the first thing that always hits you when eating a Nak'd Bar is the smell as you open its wrapping and the pungent smell of banana is almost sickly...to me! (see above...) but after a few seconds it dissipates and you are holding the familiar, ever so slightly sticky dried fruits bar. I took a smallish bite and waited for the uncomfortable (OMG my teeth!!!!) crunch. But that isn't what happened at all...firstly the banana flavour is good..not processed at all...and the crunch is more, smushed rice crispiesesque and not chunk of nut style. It's a very enjoyable bar...

Now will they be a common snack for me..probably not..but no less so then the rest of the range. I like them in my stocks to take out and about for snacks and I enjoy the cocoa ones at a certain time of the month..ahem!..(sorry chaps..lol) but I will have them in the mix. It is a nice creation and I look forward to trying the other three 'crunchy' versions...Apple, Strawberry and Cocoa.

Keep up the creating Nak'd Bar folks...your snacks rock.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is going well?

~Red~

Taste Sensation..Nak'd Rhubarb & Custard Bars..GF & Vegan...Yes vegan!

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Depeche Mode ~ Everything Counts
Nelly Futardo ~ Maneater
Depeche Mode ~ Precious
Stevie Ray Vaughan ~ Tin Pan Alley
Robert Downey Jr. ~ Details
UB40 ~ Groovin'
The Police ~ Can't Stand Losing You
Raitt & Adams ~ Rock Steady
The Turtles ~ She'd Rather Be With Me
JET ~ Skin & Bones
Halestorm ~ Rock Show
Sinatra, Martin & Davis Jr ~ Birth of the Blues
Seasick Steve ~ Just Like A King
Within Temptation ~ The Heart of Everything

I am constantly on a search for tasty and healthy snacks. It's too easy to slip and start snacking on the bad kind, right? lol. So I always like to have little snack size packs of unsalted nuts of all varieties to hand. I enjoy fresh fruit but can't eat too much...so that leaves me pretty limited. I haven't found a crisp/chip alternative that I like yet. I will one day try the Kale Chips...I think I have about 10 different recipes for them, sat waiting to be reviewed. lol. I also hope to try the courgette/zucchini chip recipes too. Until then I just have to steer clear of the crisp/chip snacks. (OK I am laughing as I type that...I do cave in sometimes..anyway..) I am human...

A couple of years ago my friend Dev (recent guest host) introduced me to the beautiful little bars that are made by the Natural Balance Food company. These lovely bars are called Nak'd Bars. When I first tried one...I was wow'd by the taste. Dev, ML and I divided up a Cashew Nut Bar and a Cocoa Delight Bar and enjoyed every single mouthful. lol. And from that day...I have been hopelessly addicted. The fact they are GF and Vegan just makes them almost perfect. lol. Here is a link to the their site and some blurb...

http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd/

Nākd bars and snacks are a great way to eat nutritious, healthy food without compromising on taste! Our snack bars are made from yummy natural ingredients such as fruits and nuts which are smooshed together for you into a handy bar. Wheat and dairy free, with no added sugars or hidden extras. Get Nākd today!

Now I have tried all of the varieties and my favourites are Cocoa Orange, Cocoa Delight and the Cashew Nut Bars. I like the others but love those three..lol

I find the cocoa ones really help at..erm..certain times of the month..when I would kill someone for some chocolate. Ahem! And I can eat one and not worry about hidden nasties. I try to have one in my bag when I am away from the house for emergency snacking lol. Such a moment happened yesterday...we were out taking the four legged fella to check out his new holiday digs...which was successful..a mutual love fest happened. lol. And we were also picking up little one M's birthday present...Lego Star Wars something geeky...*rolls eyes*...lol.

I was feeling a little grim around lunchtime so skipped the meal entirely but then found myself feeling flaky after leaving the toy store. I sat in the car and tried to work out where I could grab a quick snack...when in front of my eyes appeared a Pink Nak'd bar. I looked at ML intrigued and then read the label to see Rhubarb and Custard...so I handed it back...and said Nah not vegan...custard eh? I was given the bar back and had it pointed out that the bar was indeed vegan. I think it took me two seconds to rip into that wrapper...lol. Rhubarb and Custard is one of my all time favourite taste combinations. Was I giddy or what???? lol.

Look!!! Isn't she beautiful??? Not the pink...but everything else...lol

The smell as you open the wrapper is glorious. Rich vanilla custard and the tart rhubarb lifted my senses and made me smile like the child that used to enjoy my Nans rhubarb and custard (Oh and banana custard) puddings. I bit into the bar and almost shivered with happiness as it tasted completely divine. The bar was the perfect size as it's intense and richly flavoured. To be honest there just aren't adequate words to describe the experience. This one jumps to the top of my favourite list. I strongly urge you to try this bar soon....

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your Monday is a great one....

~R~