Carman’s Oat Slice Cranberry & Blueberry | Chewsday Review
It's oat to be good... or is it? Let's find out if Carman's Oat Slice is a lunchbox legend or if it crumbles under closer inspection.
- Whole Grain Oats 16%, Whole Grain Oat Flour 14%, Coconut (Coconut, Preservative 223 (Sulphites)), Brown Sugar, Wheat Flour (Thiamine, Folic Acid), Golden Syrup, Vegetable Oils (Antioxidant 307b), Cranberries 6% (Cranberries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Brown Rice Syrup, Grape Juice Concentrate, Butter (Milk), Blueberries 2% (Blueberries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Antioxidant (307b).
- Allergens: Wheat, gluten, milk.
- May contain: Peanut, tree nuts, lupin, soy, egg.
- I’m scraping the barrel here to find a positive… they are a convenient snack?!
- Sugar (29.2g per 100g) is around double what I’m looking for (less than 15g per 100g). This is mostly added sugar as the cranberries and blueberries make up only 8% of the product. This is similar to Mother Earth’s Oaty Slices (28g sugar per 100g), but significantly more than Arnott’s Snack Right Oaty Bites (16.6g per 100g).
- Saturated fat (18.6 per 100g) is more than SIX TIMES what I’m looking for (3g or less per 100g). This is mainly from the coconut, vegetable oils and butter.
- The fibre content (2.1g per 35g serve) is decent but falls just short of my target of 3g per serve.
- Although the sodium content is within the guidelines (175mg per 100g and I’m looking for less than 400mg per 100g), this is a lot higher than most muesli bars but is on par with Mother Earth’s Oaty Slices.
- They cost $1.24 per bar which is $6.20 per pack of 5 or $35.40 per kilo.
- “Lunchbox friendly.” True, their small size would be handy for packing in a lunchbox and they don’t contain nuts.
- “Source of whole grain.” Again, this is true but I’d like to see a higher oat content, with Carman’s Oat Slice Cranberry & Blueberry containing just 16% oats.
- “No artificial colours or flavours.” Sure but this is really typical for muesli bars and oat slices.
- “Proudly Australian Made and Owned” and “100% Aussie Oats”. I do like to see this.
- Overall, these bars are higher in sugar and saturated fat than my targets, and don’t provide as much fibre as I’d like to see in a lunchbox snack.
- If you are looking for more support choosing snacks, my Toddler and Family Mealtimes memberships include comprehensive product guides for muesli bars, lunchbox snacks, and 14 other categories.
- Mealtimes members also have access to heaps of sweet snack recipes, like my muesli slice, biscuits, blondies, chickpea cookies and more.
The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.
