Product Review: Attune Chocolate Probiotic Bars
Via one of the dairy-free blogs that I follow, I was contacted by Attune Foods Inc. and offered the opportunity to try some products and write a review. I was sent three of the Attune chocolate probiotic bars for a taste test. I had one a day (which is what they recommend--you don't wanna go overboard with probiotics or your body might get "out of balance").
The first one I tried was the one I was most excited about: Coffee Bean and Dark Chocolate. Oh, yum. There are crunchy coffee beans in it! Loved the texture, loved the mocha taste. I can't say for sure I got a coffee buzz out of it, but I really liked the flavor. This is my #1 pick out of the three I tried.
The second one I tried was the Raspberry Dark Chocolate. I'll admit that I am not the biggest fan of raspberry in general. Blending raspberry with chocolate, though, is a pretty good incentive for me to try it. It's got a "seeded" texture because there are tiny bits of raspberry in the bar and so you get little tart bursts of raspberry as you're enjoying the chocolate. I'd probably rank this one third but mostly out of my personal lack of interest in raspberry. If you're a fan of the chocolate-raspberry combo (coffee, candy, cookies) you'd enjoy this bar.
I saved the Dark Chocolate bar for last. It was maybe not as silky as a high-grade dark chocolate, but it was tasty dark chocolate for way less than what you'd pay for the fancy stuff. It's just the right percentage of cacao and a good recipe so it's not bitter but it's not super-sweet, either. Not to mention it's a satisfying amount of dark chocolate for only 80 calories! Score!
Two things to note about these bars:
1) While probiotics are a bit sensitive to temperature, unlike yogurt which you really need to keep in the fridge all the time, these bars are formulated so that they travel a little better. Keep them in the fridge until you plan to use them, and then toss them in your backpack/pocketbook/lunch bag and they can be eaten at room temperature. I'd say just don't leave them in your car or keep them in your bag if you're going to be out in hot weather all day.
2) Although the bars I ate don't have dairy in the recipes, the bars are made on the same equipment as makes other products that have dairy and/or nuts in them, so these may not be for people with extreme allergies or sensitivies. I'm pretty good with the "made on same equipment" stuff 99% of the time, and I don't think I felt any effects from that, but your experience could be different. Also, all the recipes contain soy if that's a concern.
All in all, I thought the bars were an interesting concept. I liked that they weren't as sugary sweet as I expected them to be--because that pretty much would cancel out the point of probiotics in my opinion. After only three days with them, I didn't notice much of a change in my digestion, but because I tend to take some form of probiotics just about every day, maybe it helped maintain the status quo.
I picked up a few more at the "special" grocery store this week, although they didn't have the coffee one (bummer!). I ate a dark chocolate one on the way home! I figure if you're going to treat yourself to some chocolate, you might as well make it a healthier choice instead of a candy bar. It's almost the same price, anyway. (I don't buy candy bars because of my allergies, and I was shocked when I noticed the prices at the checkout line racks recently.) And hey, if you don't like yogurt but you think you should have probiotics in your diet, maybe this is an option.
It sure beats "candy bar guilt."
(Special thanks to Attune Foods Inc. for the free chocolate bars.)
The first one I tried was the one I was most excited about: Coffee Bean and Dark Chocolate. Oh, yum. There are crunchy coffee beans in it! Loved the texture, loved the mocha taste. I can't say for sure I got a coffee buzz out of it, but I really liked the flavor. This is my #1 pick out of the three I tried.
The second one I tried was the Raspberry Dark Chocolate. I'll admit that I am not the biggest fan of raspberry in general. Blending raspberry with chocolate, though, is a pretty good incentive for me to try it. It's got a "seeded" texture because there are tiny bits of raspberry in the bar and so you get little tart bursts of raspberry as you're enjoying the chocolate. I'd probably rank this one third but mostly out of my personal lack of interest in raspberry. If you're a fan of the chocolate-raspberry combo (coffee, candy, cookies) you'd enjoy this bar.
I saved the Dark Chocolate bar for last. It was maybe not as silky as a high-grade dark chocolate, but it was tasty dark chocolate for way less than what you'd pay for the fancy stuff. It's just the right percentage of cacao and a good recipe so it's not bitter but it's not super-sweet, either. Not to mention it's a satisfying amount of dark chocolate for only 80 calories! Score!
Two things to note about these bars:
1) While probiotics are a bit sensitive to temperature, unlike yogurt which you really need to keep in the fridge all the time, these bars are formulated so that they travel a little better. Keep them in the fridge until you plan to use them, and then toss them in your backpack/pocketbook/lunch bag and they can be eaten at room temperature. I'd say just don't leave them in your car or keep them in your bag if you're going to be out in hot weather all day.
2) Although the bars I ate don't have dairy in the recipes, the bars are made on the same equipment as makes other products that have dairy and/or nuts in them, so these may not be for people with extreme allergies or sensitivies. I'm pretty good with the "made on same equipment" stuff 99% of the time, and I don't think I felt any effects from that, but your experience could be different. Also, all the recipes contain soy if that's a concern.
All in all, I thought the bars were an interesting concept. I liked that they weren't as sugary sweet as I expected them to be--because that pretty much would cancel out the point of probiotics in my opinion. After only three days with them, I didn't notice much of a change in my digestion, but because I tend to take some form of probiotics just about every day, maybe it helped maintain the status quo.
I picked up a few more at the "special" grocery store this week, although they didn't have the coffee one (bummer!). I ate a dark chocolate one on the way home! I figure if you're going to treat yourself to some chocolate, you might as well make it a healthier choice instead of a candy bar. It's almost the same price, anyway. (I don't buy candy bars because of my allergies, and I was shocked when I noticed the prices at the checkout line racks recently.) And hey, if you don't like yogurt but you think you should have probiotics in your diet, maybe this is an option.
It sure beats "candy bar guilt."
(Special thanks to Attune Foods Inc. for the free chocolate bars.)
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