Customer Reviews

KIND Nuts & Spices, Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, 12-Count Bars

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
***** Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

Nutritional Value: ***** Excellent 5-fuzzies rating
Packaging, Appearance, Flavor: ***** Excellent 5-fuzzies rating
Competitive Pricing & Value: *** Average not-good not-bad 3-fuzzies rating

Positives:

+ Delicious nutty flavor with a very crunchy texture.
+ Only 4 grams of naturally-derived sugar (AND NO CORN SYRUP)!
+ All-natural minimalist set of ingredients.
+ Due to the all-natural nutritional content that is not artificially fortified with extra vitamins, these serve solely as snack bars and are not meant to be used as meal-bar diet aids.

Negatives:

- Slightly expensive considering the small 40-gram (1.4 ounce) size of each bar.

Although these snack bars come in four different flavors, this review is specifically for the "Madagascar Vanilla Almond" flavor...

The Amazon product listing for this snack bar currently does not list its nutritional information, so I included it below (copied from the kindsnacks Web site):

Ingredients: Mixed nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts), honey, non GMO glucose, chicory root fiber, crisp rice, Madagascar vanilla, soy lecithin.

Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin A (0% DV), Vitamin C (0% DV), Calcium (6% DV), Iron (6% DV).Vitamin E (25% DV), Vitamin K (2% DV), Vitamin B1 (4% DV), Vitamin B2 (10% DV), Vitamin B3 (10% DV), Vitamin B6 (4% DV), Folate (6% DV), Phosphorus (15% DV), Magnesium (20% DV), Zinc (8% DV)

Serving Size: 1 Bar (40g)
Calories: 210
Fat Calories: 140
Total Fat: 16g
Saturated Fat: 2
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 15mg
Potassium: 210mg
Total Carbohydrates: 14g
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 7g

Nutritional Value: ***** Excellent 5-fuzzies rating

As befits the Kind company's slogan of "Ingredients you can see & pronounce", the ingredient listing for these snack bars includes just the necessities, without the various chemistry lab listing of corn syrup-derived sugar, vitamin additives, preservatives, and strange-sounding artificial compounds that some snack bars include. The "non GMO glucose" means that the glucose is derived from non-genetically-modified sources. Unlike the sucrose table sugar, glucose is a very simple sugar that is easily digested by the body. "Madagascar vanilla" is sometimes promoted as being a premium vanilla that comes from Madagascar, even though most of us would not really notice any difference between vanilla sources and where the plants were grown. But many so-called "vanilla-flavored" foods are artificially flavored with vanillin derived from lignin instead of vanilla fruits, so at least we get real vanilla here, instead of artificial vanilla flavoring. The "soy lecithin" ingredient acts as an emulsifier to hold the ingredients together and keep them from separating. Soy lecithin is a byproduct of soybean oil production. So all ingredients used in these bars are vegan and natural in origin. If you are allergic to either soy or nuts, you should not consume these bars. But these bars are gluten-free for gluten-sensitive people, dairy-free, cholesterol-free, very low sodium, and have a low glycemic index with no trans fats.

I am particularly happy with the fact that corn syrup, and all its variants, are not used in these snack bars, and that they are not all loaded up with sugar. Too many snack bars list corn syrup as one of their primary ingredients! These bars also have less sodium than most snack bars out there.

Because these snack bars are not artificially fortified with additional vitamins, they do not serve as meal replacement bars, so they are not comparable to a meal-bar like SlimFast 200 Calorie, Sweet & Salty Chocolate Almond, Meal Bar 5pk, 7.93-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 8) (which, like many meal bars and snack bars, is full of corn syrup).

Packaging, Appearance, Flavor: ***** Excellent 5-fuzzies rating

These bars have a hard, very crunchy, whole-nut texture that I found totally enjoyable to eat as a snack in between meals and on hiking trails. The texture is somewhat like crunching on peanut brittle, but certainly not as sweet as peanut brittle. If you prefer your snack bars to be soft and chewy, this is not the right bar for you... but be aware that "soft and chewy" often translates to "loaded with sugar". If you have sensitive teeth or gums, biting into this crunchy bar may cause some discomfort.

I love nuts and dark chocolate, so for me this was a no brainer. These aren't big enough for a meal replacement for me personally, but for some dieting or trying to do whats right and eat a breakfast in a hurry these are a great option. If you still eating those chewy granola bars, don't you think it time for an adult bar? The taste on this is great as you get the crunch from the nuts, the sweet and smooth from the chocolate, and sweets favorite companion salty. The only negative thing I could say is these do cost a good bit, but in my opinion it is worth it.

Pros:
-Natural ingredients
-Minimal sugar
-Great taste
-Healthy fat, protein and fiber

Con:
-Cost
-Not filling enough for a meal replacement.

Overall five stars as it is a great product and I will continue to use it as a morning snack.

I LOVE these bars! I first started eating them at Starbucks and had to buy a box! They are delicious and nutritious! Amazon has them a a good price and they nicely wrapped and packaged so they are fresh!

I LOVED these bars the first time I ordered them! They were the right combination of chocolate, nuts, and sea salt. The sea salt made the difference for me. It was exactly right. The second time I ordered them, I think they forgot to use the sea salt. I couldn't taste it at all. Very disappointing!

These bars pack a ton of flavor, are totally natural (except for maybe the soy lecithin - I hope it's non-GMO), and have almost no sugar! Great for after dinner or even as a bridge between meals. Highly recommended.

These bars keep me going all afternoon; I like that the energy comes mainly from nuts and not quick-to-burn sugar. And I appreciate that I recognize all the items on the ingredient list! These bars are made of food!

One FYI: I'm not into overly sweet things. I have my baristas use half the syrup they normally would when they make my espresso drinks and find that plenty sweet. So, the fact that I find these bars perfectly sweetened means that some people will find these not sweet enough. My husband described them as, "...okay, but a bit bland." I'm kind of glad he isn't a big fan. That means I get the rest!

With free super saver shipping, these bars are much more affordable on Amazon than they are in my brick-and-mortar grocery store. I'm getting more!

My youngest child is on a gluten- and dairy-free diet and it can be difficult when we are out and about finding safe snacks for her that aren't totally junky like potato chips. I've been a fan of KIND bars for a while because they are portable, GF, all-natural, high in protein and fiber, and don't have a ton of sugar. While these vanilla almond bars are not quite as yummy as the KIND PLUS, Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants, Gluten Free Bars 1.4 OZ (Pack of 12) or the KIND Fruit & Nut, Almond & Apricot, All Natural, Gluten Free Bars (Pack of 12), they are still very good. Recommended.

If you are looking for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon pick-me-up, KIND Nuts & Spices Madagascar Vanilla Almond bar is a great alternative to a surgary sweet candy bar.

The bar, which is all natural, contains mixed nuts, chicory root fiber, crisp rice, Madagascar Vanilla Almond, and soy lecithin. That's it. No additional chemicals or hard-to-pronounce ingredients. It's all natural, with only 4g of sugar, 5 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein.
Another big plus for me is the fact that the bars are cholesterol free, with no hydrogenated oils, or trans fats. The bar, because it contains a variety of nuts, is not low fat, however, with 16 grams of total fat, but only two grams of saturated, or bad, fat.

Taste wise, the Madagascar Vanilla Almond bar tastes pretty much as you would expect. The bar consists of almonds and peanuts and those are the tastes that dominate, with a hint of honey. The bars are not sticky, however, so they make a good snack if you are work or school. Being made primarily of nuts, the bars have a crunchy texture but the bars are not hard.

I like the fact that these are all natural. While the Madagascar Vanilla Almond bar is not a meal replacement bar, they are perfect if you are looking to snack on something tasty and natural.

I really enjoyed these bars. They are one of the few bars claiming to be "natural" that actually aren't filled with unpronounceable ingredients. There are very few, simple ingredients, which are all non-GMO. A gluten free product.

Very lightly sweetened. Calories a little on the high side for a snack at 200 calories, but high in protein.

I was mildly amused that the packaging is labeled as "may contain nuts" when it is a nutty granola bar that has visible nuts in it. :) What can I say? I'm easily amused. I will certainly by these again and will be looking into their other flavors.

I enjoyed the flavor and contents of each bar. And if the bars are kept in a cool place you can actually remove them from the wrapper. Cool doesn't mean house temperature unless yours is 62 degrees. Otherwise, if somewhat warmer the bars become extremely sticky and are hard to remove from the celephane wrappers. Expect sticky licking-good fingers as well. Were it not for that I'd give it a 4+-star.