Even if the place you are hiking is unpronounceable, rest assured, the ingredients in your energy bar don’t have to be. One of the things I have always found unsettling, is that we go out into nature, leave the cars and city behind for the beauty and simplicity of nature and natural things. But usually the foods we take with us and eat are full of over-packaged, processed, artificial stuff while we’re there. It always seemed wrong to me. Never fear, KIND is here! Kind snacks has a philosophy: if you can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t have to eat it. They use all natural, whole ingredients, and work hard to create a natural bar that does the trick on trails! KIND fruit and nut bars are my latest essential addition to my daypacks for this reason and more.
The SBM team tasted four flavors: Madagascar Vanilla Almond, Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate and Protein, Dark Chocolate, Sea Salt and Nuts, Cashew and Ginger Spice. They vary in calories and protein, as you would expect from a whole food. My favorite was the Cashew Ginger Spice bars. I’ll list the ingredients here because I love how simple they are: Cashews, almonds, peanuts, chicory root fiber, honey, non GMO glucose, crisp rice, ginger, sugar, spices, soy lecithin. They have a unique flavor among bars I’ve tried before. But in case you like the old standby flavors, they have plenty of those as well: peanut butter, chocolate, fruit and nuts. My second favorite was the Madagascar Vanilla. It wasn’t overly sweet, just the right amount of flavor and tasty, wholesome energy food.
One of our editorial staff said “My favorite was the dark chocolate almond and sea salt, but they were all good. I love the natural sweet and salty combination they offer. From the combination of the chocolate and the nuts, they’re a great alternative to standard protein bars, which are comparable only in size and I believe require an acquired taste. They also compare to trail mix, but KIND bars are more convenient since trail mix can be cumbersome to carry on a short day hike. These little bars fit nicely in a breast coat pocket or a map pocket in your favorite hiking pants and taste good to boot. I wouldn’t pay $2 for one bar but I would certainly scoop some up if I saw them on sale for 10 for $10. That seems more reasonable. But then again, I only buy my regular bars when they are on sale too.”
Other feedback from staff: “It was tasty, but the chocolate flavor was over powered by nuts. I would have liked more chocolate. It was very crunchy due to the whole nuts in them. But if you like nuts, the flavor will make you super happy!”
As for me, I took them on hikes, added them to yogurt for lunch, and grabbed them on the go. In short, they work really well in a lot of ways for me. As a natural, whole food, they are low in sugar, and all naturally sweetened (with cane syrup or sugar). In terms of taste, they beat the pants off those sawdust squares covered in fake chocolate any day. Based on the flavors we tested, KIND delivers on flavor, variety and nutrition.
As bars go, they are a touch more expensive than the bars I usually pick, but for all the friendliness and benefits that they offer, I’d pay the extra few cents without complaint. One place they might improve is in packaging. They have received awards for being the “best packaged bar,” among many other awards, but I think they could do one better. I would like to challenge KIND to find a slightly more eco friendly package. Something recyclable or reusable would be the perfect finishing touch to a product like this. Also, packing in single-wrapped multi packs would save on waste overall. If you are one who needs 30 grams of protein in your bar, this one probably isn’t for you. They range from 6 to 7 grams of protein in the bars we tried. But as a pick me up on the go, or tasty calories on the trail, KIND is tops.
PROS
- All natural, non GMO, whole ingredients
- Great taste and texture – no sawdust covered up in extra sugar and junk
- A plethora of flavors and nutrition sources – I can’t wait to try Maple Walnut Clusters with Chia & Quinoa!
CONS
- A bit low in protein content
- Packaging – I’m reaching with this one, I know
KIND has a winning combination of healthy and tasty, convenient and wholesome, economically sustainable and socially impactful. For me, this translates to, “we care” and among those of us who pay attention to what goes into us, this is sweet music. They’ve won me and I’ll take them on all my trips!
Click Here to Purchase the Kind Bars (Cranberry Almond flavor!)
Manufacturer: KIND LLC
Date available: Now
Manufacturer’s Website: Kind Snacks
MSRP: US$ $1.99
Flavors Available: Too many to list, including mixes, cubes and other varieties and flavors. Please check the website.
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