Review of 'Odwalla' Original Bar (Chocolate Chip Peanut)

Odwalla -- Original Bar (Chocolate Chip Peanut) (vegan)
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Summary: I enjoyed this bar, however there were a few things that could have been improved upon. It was tender and soft, with bits of chocolate chips and peanuts. The peanuts were not crunchy (which made them seem stale) and there weren't enough chocolate chips. There was a very mild bitterish taste to this bar that I didn't care for. Overall, it's a decent snack -- it's filling and satisfied my almost daily peanut butter craving.

Where to buy: grocery stores across the US (e.g. A&P, CVS, Harris Teeter, Safeway, etc.)



Ingredients: Organic Rolled Oats, Brown Rice Syrup, Grape Juice Concentrate, Peanut Butter (Peanuts and Salt), Dry Roasted Peanuts, Semisweet Chocolate Chips (Organic Invert Cane Syrup, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Ground Vanilla Beans), Date Puree, Plum Puree, Peanut Flour, Vegetable Glycerin, Crisp Rice (Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Rosemary Extract), Organic Oat Flour, Organic Soy Nuts, less than 2% of: Organic Sunflower Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Natural Flavors, Salt, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin, Beta Carotene, Vitamin E (D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate) and Folic Acid.

This product contains 29% organic ingredient.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving size: 1 bar

Calories: 230

Calories from fat: 70

Total fat: 8g

     Saturated fat: 1.5g

     Trans fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 170mg

Potassium: 260mg

Total Carbs: 33g

     Fiber: 4g

     Sugars: 14g

Protein: 7g

Vitamin A: 10%

Vitamin C: 10%

Calcium: 25%

Iron: 8%

Full nutritional profile available here.

The nutritional profile is pretty good, however the calories are too high for me for the amount of protein and fiber. I can find a similar or better bar with a similar calorie count and *more* protein, fiber, and nutrients (e.g. Clif bars).

One thing I can't complain about is the strength of the peanut butter flavour. You definitely can't miss it :) It was rich and very satisfying mmm. It would have been better if they used peanut butter chips rather than the soft and nowhere near crunchy enough whole peanuts. I was disappointed that I missed out on a nice crunch.

I wouldn't buy this again simply because I feel like the calories simply aren't worth the nutritional profile and limitations of the soft peanuts and sparse chocolate chips.

Other flavours:

• Apple Toffee Pistachio (vegan)
• Banana Nut (vegan)
• Berries GoMega (vegan)
• Blueberry Swirl (vegan)
• Choco-Walla (vegan)
• Chocolate Almond Coconut
• Chocolate Chip Peanut
• Chocolate Chip Trail Mix
• Chocolate Peanut Butter (vegan) (reviewed here)
• Dark Chocolate Chip Walnut (vegan)
• Lemon Ginger (vegan)
• Orange Cranberry (vegan)
• Strawberry Pomegranate (vegan)
• Superfood (vegan)
• Super Protein (vegan) (reviewed here)
• Sweet & Salty Peanut  (vegan)
• Sweet & Salty Almond (vegan) (reviewed here)
• White Chocolate Macadamia

Brand (quoted from odwalla.com):

• "...more than 98% of all our trash is recycled."
• "...30% of our electricity needs have virtually zero emissions, which significantly reduces our carbon footprint."
• "Odwalla has made multi-year donations to the Organic Farming Research Foundation and Conservation International to help with sustainable agriculture."
• "Odwalla contributes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation^® to help fund breast cancer research worldwide."
• Non-GMO
• "To help Haiti recover from its devastating 2010 earthquake, we donate 10 cents from every 12 oz. Mango Tango smoothie to the Haiti Hope Project."