Pumpkin and Spice

  A while back, I received a package in the mail, thanks both to the folks at Foodbuzz and Quaker, with an assortment of Quaker's newest granola bars. Called Quaker True Delights, these certainly aren't like the granola bars your mom used to tuck in your lunch as a kid! These are grown-up granola bars- rich, chunky and decadent. With no high fructose corn syrup, and only 140 calories each, these would be the perfect snack when you get that mid-afternoon candy craving.

I got two each of their three flavors, so I sent some to Kyle, who decided to be a good guy and share with his friends at work.

Here are my thoughts on the bars:

Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut-  So freaking yummy. Tasted like a cookie. Big, chunky flakes of crisp coconut, crunchy, buttery macadamia nuts, chewy, slightly creamy banana pieces. Vanilla-y and buttery. My personal favorite of the bunch.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond- Big chunks of dark chocolate and tart dried raspberries. I liked the big hunks of almond. Kind of dessert-like. The dark chocolate raspberry is a great combo, and the texture of the bar makes it seem like a fancy oatmeal cookie.

Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry- Good. Nice big pieces of cashew and tart dried berries. The flavor of the oatmeal bar itself (vs. the "fixins") was more noticeable in this bar. It had a brown sugary/honey flavor that complimented the cashews nicely.

Kyle only got a couple bites of the bars, because his co-workers kinda leapt on the bars like ravenous wolves. (One of his co-workers took the cashew one out of Kyle's desk and ate it while he was in the lab!) Out of the four of them (Kyle + three co-workers) three of them would buy the bars at the store. One of his co-workers was so enthusiastic about them that she went to Quaker's website immediately after finishing her bar to find out where she could buy them. The one person who didn't think she'd buy them doesn't like chewy granola bars- she likes them to be crunchy. (I'm personally a chewy granola bar enthusiast, but I understand that everyone has different preferences.)

Personally, I will definitely be buying these in the future. I love, love, loved the Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut bars! They cost a little more than Quaker's regular bars, but in my personal opinion, the bars are yummy and decadent enough to make them worth the extra change. Interested in trying them yourself? You can snag a $1.00 off coupon at Quaker's website!