Cacao & Cashew Quinoa Bar – Product Review

I don’t snack very often, but when I do,  the thing I decide to snack on will depend on what I want out of that snack.  If I’m in the mood for a biscuit then I’ll raid the children stash, but if I want a pick-me-up then I’ll turn to something more natural but these types of snacks tend to be over priced and generally made from dried fruit and I normally don’t bother.

At the end of a dash and grab visit to my local Aldi supermarket the other day, I came across their Cacao & Cashew Quinoa Bar.  My first thought was that they seemed different to the usual snack bars on the market so I decided to pick up a pack of them.

The packaging immediately appeals to me.  Plain and simple, with a shot of what the bars look like and this was one of the factors in my decision to buy them – full marks to the branding team because you got me!  The packaging also has some very clear information, that they’re a source of protein, gluten free and high in fibre.  I’m trying to increase my dietary fibre so that was the 2nd deciding factor.

When opening the package I was expecting a chewy texture a bit like the dried fruit bars, but the bar was a little chewy  and a little bitty. I know it doesn’t sound like the best description, but it had some bite to it and it was something you had to have a chew at which made it last longer.  Sometimes you sit down with a snack bar, either at your desk or in front of the TV and before you know it you’ve eaten the bar.  While chewy, the bar is a bit crunchy so it takes more effort to chew and eat each mouthful, which for me is a positive.

I normally associate quinoa (pronounced keen-waaa not kwin-owaa) with being a savoury ingredient, normally in a salad or something ‘healthy’.  The bar is cacao, not chocolate so the flavour profile is quite different and not too sweet, but I felt that it needed a hint of something to give it a lift.  Personally if this bar had a hint of orange it would be a surefire winner in my book but still great with a coffee and I found it quite filling.

The pack was £1.69 for 4 x 35g bars.  Other bars in this market are easily double this cost.

THE VERDICT

Taste : 3.5 out of 5

Value for money : 5 out of 5

Likelihood of buying it again : 3.75 out of 5