I’m always looking for different snacks to feed my seven before and after school daycare children. I sometimes cook snacks from scratch, but there are those afternoons when I have no time and a quick tasty snack is in order. That’s when I rely on Nature Valley products to help me out.
I have been buying Nature Valley Granola bars for many years, but just discovered their Sweet & Salty Peanut Granola Bars about a year ago. Boy are they delicious! I think I put on a few pounds with these in the house, because they are an irresistable snack!
The box contains six 1.23 ounce bars, and each is foil wrapped to assure freshness. Just like the name implies, these are both salty and sweet, although they aren’t too salty. Nature Valley has pulled off the perfect blending of the two flavors! The bar is a little bit crunchy (from the peanuts), and a little bit chewy. Then to top it all off, the outside of the bar is covered with a thin peanut butter coating! Oh my gosh, these are so good, and they are loaded with peanuts.
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 9g
Saturated Fat: 2.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 150mg
Total Carbohydrate: 19g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 11g
Protein: 4g
Iron: 2%
Ingredients
Roasted Peanuts, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Rolled Oats, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Palm Kernel Oil, Crisp Rice, Rice Flour, Sugar, Malt, Salt, Wheat Flakes, Whole Wheat, Fructose, Peanut Butter, Peanuts, Yogurt Powder, Cultured Whey Protein Concentrate, Cultured Skim Milk, Yogurt Cultures, Canola Oil, Water, Maltodextrin, Nonfat Milk, Soy Lecithin, Color, Yellows 5 & 6 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Other Color, Natural Flavor, Almonds, Baking Soda, Honey, Sunflower Meal, Mixed Tocopherols added to retain freshness.
Thoughts
I love these so much that I really have to be careful about having them around the house! I found that when I wanted a snack, I’d always reach for one of these bars. And sometimes they tasted SO good that I’d go back and get another one to eat. There were times when I would eat a couple of these for lunch. With 9 grams of fat per bar, that’s not a really healthy thing to do. They don’t have the trans fats, which is good, but you still need to watch total fat in the diet.
I absolutely love peanuts and peanut butter, but there has to be a balance. On the upside, nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fat. In fact, one article I found online said that peanuts and peanut oil raise the LDL (good) cholesterol levels, and decrease the HDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
The key is moderation. Any food is bad for you if eaten in excess. The problem with these bars is they just taste so darn good! My daycare children love them as well, and I feel they are getting a healthy snack with protein and fiber when I serve them Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Peanut Granola Bars.
I paid around $3.89 for a box of six bars.
