When I hit age 40, I made a decision to improve my eating habits. I guess you could say, I loved food too much. I still do, I suppose. I’ve had modest success at cutting back on my portion size, but mainly, my goal has simply been to eat better food when I do sit down for a bite. Rather than fatty, processed foods, I have done my best to seek out items with natural ingredients. Thus, when I heard about reviewing the organic crunch bars from Wings of Nature, I was hopeful.

Healthy and tasty are at opposite ends of the food spectrum all too often, so I’m always looking for products that can help bridge that gap. Wings of Nature bars are made from real, wholesome stuff. Sugar, trans fat, and gluten don’t show up in these babies. Nuts, dried fruit, and Agave syrup do. Thus, from a health standpoint, it would be a challenge to do better, especially since the ingredients are all certified organic.

Of course, like any food, taste is the most important thing. I’d like to eat a healthier diet, but I’m not willing to sacrifice too much taste. It’s a bit counter productive, I know. But if you don’t enjoy what you eat, what’s the point of eating, really?

I wish I could tell you that these wings of nature bars are the holy grail of foods, with amazing taste while still being healthy. They aren’t quite that good, but they do come much closer than a great number of bars I’ve tried. Each bar has a light, nutty crunch yet retains a chewy texture. There was nothing off-putting about any of the three flavors: Espresso, Cranberry Crunch, and Almond Raisin. For natural, organic bars, they were quite good, but the Agave syrup and dried fruit didn’t always provide enough sweetness to balance the robust nutty flavors. Still, I think these bars are worth trying. They are much better for you than a lot of similar bars on the market, and I’m sure many of you have more discipline than I do. So you might actually be willing to sacrifice a bit of flavor for your health. Read what I have to say about each bar and see if they strike your fancy.

Espresso Coffee Bar:

A light crunch on the first bite then chewy the rest of the way. Raisins are the most prominent flavor, followed by a hint of espresso. They’re pretty good, but I think a little chocolate would really hit the spot on these, give them a nice convergence of flavors . (This is why I have trouble eating healthy.)

Cranberry Crunch Bar:

This variety was my personal favorite. They’re crunchy and slightly chewy. The robust flavors of the various nuts are balanced nicely by the highlights of cranberry, which really gave some extra life to the bar.

Almond Raisin Bar:

It’s no surprise that almonds are a prominent flavor here. What ‘s a bit surprising, though, is that the raisins take a back seat. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds figure much more in the bar’s taste. It’s not a bad variety, just a bit one-dimensional in terms of flavor . If you like nuts, though, it’s certainly worth a try.

 

By Michael Perkins