NuGo 10 Lemon Raw Natural Energy Bar Review

I really love the NuGo family of nutrition bars. NuGo (regular) is low glycemic, NuGo Dark is dairy free and vegan, NuGo Organic is vegan and organic (of course), NuGo Free and Crispy Cat are dairy and gluten free, Smarte Carb is low glycemic and sugar free, and NuGo 10 is raw, vegan, gluten and peanut free. Recently, I spotted NuGo 10 Raw Natural Energy Bar (Lemon) for $1.39 at the grocery store. Since I had yet to try this brand of NuGo bars, you know I had to get it. This bar is made with "3 fruits + 3 nuts + 4 seeds" and is vegan, gluten-free, peanut-free and Kosher.

I examined the ingredient list first and saw, organic dates, organic figs, organic raisins, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, ground flax seeds, ground poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, and organic lemon rind. I love that this bar has such natural ingredients, but I worried about it tasting too "datey." I opened it up and took a bite and found that, although it was fairly datey (think Larabar), the flavor worked, especially with the lemon. The lemon added a nice tart flavor to the somewhat sweet, chewy bar. I loved the texture the nuts added (especially the almonds). I liked that this wasn't a date bar trying to taste like
peanut butter or cookies or something like that.

NuGo Free Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bar Review

NuGo Free Bars are gluten free, soy free and dairy free. I have already reviewed the Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar and Dark Chocolate Trail Mix - both of which I liked. There is also a NuGo Free Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bar, which was begging to be reviewed.

My first thought about this bar was that it didn't taste much like carrot cake. It did taste sort of pumpkin-y, which is not a bad thing. The icing was a nice touch, and it wasn't too sweet. I liked the cinnamon and nut flavors, and it actually contains carrots and raisins. This bar, like the others varieties, was quite chewy, but not unpleasantly so.

Each delicious NuGo Free Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bar provides 160 calories, 3 grams of total fat, no saturated, no trans, 12% of the daily value for fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

NuGo Free Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bar Review

As I was looking for a gluten free nutrition bar, I tried NuGo Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar and while I liked it but I wanted a more ... exciting flavor. I decided to try Dark Chocolate Crunch, Dark Chocolate Trail Mix - not much more exciting, but what can I say - I do like chocolate.

This bar is similar to the Dark Chocolate Crunch in appearance with a dark chocolate layer on the bottom and some chocolate intermingled in the rice crisps. This is different from the aforementioned variety, however, because it has a more complex flavor - the nuts really add something to both the texture and taste. This bar too is pretty chewy, almost too much so, but it tastes great.

Each NuGo Free Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bar provides 160 calories, 5% and 8% of the daily value for total and saturated fat, 4 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar and 9 grams of protein.

NuGo Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar Review

I've been trying to cut out gluten to see if it bothers my stomach, and it's been pretty hard. So many things have gluten in them, especially my nutrition bars, which I love to eat a lot of. One of the few nutrition bars that offers gluten-free products is NuGo Free. With offerings like Dark Chocolate Crunch, Dark Chocolate Trail Mix, and Carrot Cake, I was excited to try these. I opted for NuGo Free Dark Chocolate Crunch, which at just $1.29 was quite a NY bargain.

I opened the wrapper to examine this bar. It looked very dark chocolatey, with an actual layer of chocolate on the bottom and well as intermingled in the rice crisps throughout. As for taste, this bar is quite chewy - it's quite a jaw workout! The dark chocolate flavor is nice but also a bit boring to be honest. However, it's not the bar's fault that I seemed to be feening for a more interesting flavor profile!

Each NuGo Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Crunch Bar, which is also vegan and certified Kosher in addition to being gluten free, provides 150 calories, 5% and 8% of the daily value for total and saturated fat, 5 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar and 9 grams of protein.

NuGo Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar Review

The NuGo family of products come in many different incarnations - all with a nutritional or diet realted claim. There is regular NuGo (100% natural, low fat & low glycemic), NuGo Dark (dairy free& vegan), NuGo Organic (vegan & 10 grams of protein), NuGo Free (wheat-, soy-, and dairy-free plus high fiber), NuGo 10 (gluten & dairy free, vegan & raw), Crispy Cat (gluten & dairy free, vegan & organic) and Smarte Carb (sugar free, high protein & low glycemic). I picked up a NuGo Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar for only $0.99 and couldn't wait to try this all natural, low fat treat.

This particular bar was advertised as being made with real milk chocolate and although I tend to go for dark chocolate, real chocolate in any form is appealing! I wasn't sure where this would place me on the fullness-o-meter, but I excitedly unwrapped it to find out. The bar is a crunchy mix of "crisped soy nuggets" drizzled with milk chocolate. The texture was crunchy yet satisfying, and the peanut butter and milk chocolate blended together for pure PB & chocolate bliss. One bar is 50 grams in weight, so I was definitely satisfied.

NuGo Smarte Carb Sugar Free Chocolate Black Cherry Bar Review

I have an inherent bias against products whose names are spelled in "inventive ways," so NuGo "Smarte" Carb Bar was almost a no go. However, always curious to try a new nutrition bar, I put aside my skepticism and decided to give NuGo Smart Carb Sugar Free Chocolate Black Cherry Bar a go. I have to admit, what really drew me to the package was the 16 grams of protein advertised on the front of the wrapper, not the picture or the fact that this bar is sugar free.

The basic composition of the bar includes crispy soy nuggets dipped in sugar free milk chocolate. As for the appearance - the soy nuggets are an ... interesting color. They're very unnaturally pink. I think it must be from the beet color listed in the ingredients. Very strange. Almost strange enough to make me reconsider trying the bar, but since I had already spent my $1.50, I closed my eyes and took a bite.

This bar tasted much better than it looked, thankfully! The milk chocolate coating mixed well with the cherry flavor, and the crispiness was just right. I was satisfied for a couple of hours after eating this, which is one of my requirements in a nutrition bar. It's not very sweet - and contains sugar alcohols, but I didn't notice any adverse effects from this.