Back in high school, I had a pretty standard lunch. Without fail, I'd eat a cereal bar, a piece of fruit (a banana, an apple or some grapes), and some whole-wheat pretzels. While it wasn't exactly balanced--or filling, it did keep me from succumbing to the vending machines or the fast food offerings as most of my friends did.

I swore off cereal bars for years, but during a recent search for snacks I grabbed a box at the grocery store, then checked out the ingredients list:
FILLING (HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, APPLE PUREE CONCENTRATE, GLYCERIN, SUGAR, WATER, SODIUM ALGINATE, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, MALIC ACID, METHYLCELLULOSE, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CINNAMON, CITRIC ACID, CARAMEL COLOR), WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SUNFLOWER AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF HONEY, DEXTROSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, NONFAT DRY MILK, WHEAT BRAN, SALT, CELLULOSE, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE (LEAVENING), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL VANILLA FLAVOR, CINNAMON, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, PROPYLENE GLYCOL ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS, SOY LECITHIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, NIACINAMIDE, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, GUAR GUM, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID.

Deflated, I noticed Kashi's TLC Cereal Bars nearby, grabbed a box of the Baked Apple Spice and flipped it over to check out the ingredients:

APPLE FILLING (PEAR JUICE CONCENTRATE, EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, TAPIOCA SYRUP, APPLE POWDER, WATER, UNMODIFIED CORN STARCH, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SPICES, NATURAL FLAVOR), KASHI SEVEN WHOLE GRAINS & SESAME® FLOUR (WHOLE: OATS, HARD RED WINTER WHEAT, LONG GRAIN BROWN RICE, RYE, TRITICALE, BARLEY, BUCKWHEAT, SESAME SEEDS), ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, EVAPORATED CANE JUICE SYRUP, EXPELLER PRESSED CANOLA OIL, ORGANIC WHOLE OATS, HONEY, TAPIOCA SYRUP, GUM ARABIC, OAT FIBER, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA, SOY LECITHIN, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL FLAVOR.

Then I compared the nutritional info:

Standard cereal bar:





My decision was made.

I took home a box and tried them out. I really liked the Kashi bars. They're sweet and taste like apple pie. The filling is rich and thick without being overly sticky. I taste cinnamon, maybe some nutmeg, allspice and cloves, just like real apple pie. The crust is hearty, as I'd expect from Kashi, and mildly sweet.

I ate one while stuck in traffic during an endless night of errands. It tided me over for the hour or so it took me to get home. I liked that it only had 110 calories and 3 grams of fiber.


A co-worker tried the Ripe Strawberry version:

"It was good and chewy, but not as sweet as the cereal bars everyone is probably accustomed to. I wish there was more fruit filling in it, but I appreciate that this is a little more natural and also contains whole grains. If I was going to buy a fruit and grain bar like this, I would hold this brand higher than others because it has better ingredients--and even some fiber! As a snack in and of itself (only 110 calories), I didn't find it to be very filling."

The Kashi TLC Cereal Bars ($2.49 for 6 1.2 ounce bars) also come in Blackberry Graham flavor.

Have you tried the Kashi TLC Cereal bars? What did you think?