 |
| photo credit: https://www.kualifoods.com/ |
I received three boxes of a new snack food — Kuali snack bars — to taste, and tell my readers about. The creator of the bars, Raquel, had been trying to create a healthy snack bar her picky kids would enjoy eating, when she developed the Kuali bars. This is what Raquel says on her Web site:
"Hi, I’m Raquel and I’ve always been focused upon good nutrition and overall health, but managing these two focuses has been far from easy whilst trying to lead a busy working life. I’m also one of the many (many) parents throughout the world who has faced the all-too common problem of tiny picky eaters who refuse to eat anything that looks remotely healthy.
Overcoming these two challenges is where the story of Kuali begins, and it would be the superfood seed Amaranth that would be the amazing answer to both – providing for a food that my whole family enjoyed and indulged in."
 |
| photo credit: https://www.kualifoods.com/ |
According to the Kuali Web site, "This ancient, cultivated crop [amaranth] originates from Mesoamerica, and the use of Amaranth dates all the way back to the time of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas, who each considered Amaranth as a vital staple food. Not only was this food vital for the health of these ancient peoples, but it was even used within religious ceremonies.
Amaranth seeds have a super high protein content, within which the bioavailability of protein reaches 78% (which in layman’s terms means that it’s a perfect food for absorbing protein and benefiting from all the health benefits that comes along with it)."
 |
| Each box contains six bars. |
I have a couple of sample bags of amaranth seeds languishing in my pantry, and I was curious to see what bars made from the tiny seeds would taste like. I received three boxes of bars — amaranth snack bars with chia and quinoa, amaranth snack bars with cocoa, and amaranth snack bars with cranberries. All three had a similar flavor, and were pretty sweet. The cocoa bar had only a slight hint of cocoa. I liked the taste but I wanted to get other people's opinions, too, especially the opinions of my picky grandchildren, aged eight and three.
 |
| Miss E approves. |
Both children loved the bars, as did their mom. The bars are vegan, and gluten-free with no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners, however, they are made in a factory which also processes peanuts, oats, wheat, soy, almonds, coconut and sesame. They are made in Mexico.
Although the bars are made with 'super grains,' I would categorize them as a snack. You can look at the nutrition label (similar for all three flavors except the cranberry bar has one gram of protein, two grams of fiber and 10 grams of sugar) to see exactly what they offer. They are tasty, sweet, crunchy and chewy, and perfect for when you just need a little something sweet, but healthy. The more I eat them, the more I like them. What do you think? Would you buy these based on the ingredient/nutrition label? What do you look for in a snack bar?
The bars were sent to me at no cost. I was not paid to review them. All opinions are my own.
