Want advanced access to my weekly Chewsday Reviews?

Every Tuesday morning receive the latest Chewsday Review delivered directly to your inbox.

Noshu Snackles bar | Chewsday Review

Today’s Chewsday Review features the Noshu Snackles bar. These bars are 97% sugar free! But, you know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is… is that the case here?

Ingredients

Puffed Rice (22%) [Rice, Sucrose, Salt, Emulsifier], Non-Dairy Choc Compound (20%) (see below), Soluble Corn Fibre, Chicory Root Fibre, Coconut Oil Powder (Coconut Oil, Maltodextrin, Pea Protein), Vegetable Glycerine, Natural Flavour.
The choc compound includes: Vegetable Fat, Non-GMO Erythritol (a sugar free sweetener), Cocoa Powder, Polydextrose, Maltodextrin, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Steviol Glycosides (Stevia – also a sugar free sweetener)
Erythritol and Stevia are both sugar free sweeteners.
Allergens: Soy
May contain: Gluten, Lupin, Milk, Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Egg and Sesame.

Positives

Very low in sugar, especially for a muesli bar with only 0.5g per bar (2.1g per 100g). These bars will still taste sweet due to the addition of sweeteners (Erythritol and Stevia). Even though it isn’t sugar, and these are naturally occurring in some foods, consistent exposure to super sweet flavours isn’t ideal for little ones. You may also find these ingredients can cause an upset tummy for some.
Excellent fibre content at 5.4g per serve, which is higher than most other muesli bars on the market. This high fibre content is due to the addition of Soluble Corn Fibre.
Nut and wheat free, so they’re lunchbox safe and suitable for wheat allergy or coeliacs (may contain gluten).

Negatives

These are very high in saturated fat (17.7g per 100g) and total fat (20g per 100g). For saturated fat, we’re aiming for less than 3g per 100g, so this is WAY higher than I would like. It’s also way higher than other muesli bars like Carman’s Muesli Bars (usually 3-4g of saturated fat per 100g), or Uncle Tobys Chewy Apricot Muesli Bars (1.9g per 100g).
The sodium (salt) content is 130mg per 100g, which is within healthy guidelines, however this is on the high side for a sweet snack product, with many muesli bars having much less.
Very expensive! These bars will set you back approximately $1.20 per bar (22g). It’s a similar price to Carman’s muesli bars ($1.08 per bar), but the Noshu are half the size.

Marketing

Alternatives

I knew these sounded too good to be true. There’s just nothing particularly nutritious in these bars. There’s some puffed rice and that’s about it. Sure, it’s great that they’re low in sugar, but they’re still super sweet without any substance. They may provide more fibre and less sugar than an LCM, but they also have triple the saturated fat content per bar, so these wouldn’t be my go-to muesli bar.
For those times where you do need a convenient packaged snack option, I prefer something like the Carman’s Fruit & Nut bars, or for something more ‘fun’ Carman’s Vanilla Birthday Cake Oat Bars.