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Uncle Toby’s Chewy Choc Chip Muesli Bars | Chewsday Review

Today I'm back with another lunchbox favourite. Will Uncle Toby's be able to gl-oat over my review of their classic choc chip muesli bar?

Ingredients

Muesli blend [Uncle Tobys Rolled Oats (34%), wheat (11%), breakfast cereal (whole grain wheat (5%), wholemeal wheat flour, wheat bran, sugar, vitamin E), coconut, milk powder], glucose, choc chips (9%) [sugar, vegetable oil, milk solids, cocoa, cocoa mass, emulsifiers (492, soy lecithin), salt], chicory root fibre, sunflower oil, sugar, humectant (glycerine), modified starch (1412), invert sugar, honey, emulsifier (soy lecithin), flavour, salt.
Glucose, invert sugar and honey are all types of added sugar.
Chicory root fibre is added to boost the fibre content.
Allergens: gluten (wheat and oats), milk and soy.
May contain: rye, barley, lupin.

Positives

Fibre content of 3.4g per bar is above our target, and provides around 25% of a toddler’s daily fibre needs, or 20% of a school aged child’s fibre requirements. Arnott’s Bluey Muesli Bars or Carman’s muesli bars are other great high fibre options.
When purchased in a value pack, Uncle Toby’s Choc Chip Muesli Bars work out to around 50c per bar. This makes them a cheaper option compared to Carman’s muesli bars ($1.15 each), but for even more of a bargain, check out Aldi Chewy Choc Chip Muesli Bars.
Low in sodium (40mg per 100g), as expected for a sweet snack.

Negatives

Sugar content of 17.2g per 100g is above recommendations, with 100% of this coming from added sugar. This is more than Aldi Chewy Choc Chip Muesli Bars (12g per 100g), Bluey Muesli Bars (13.3g per 100g) and most Carman’s muesli bars.
Total fat (11.5g per 100g) and saturated fat (4.2g per 100g) are above healthy guidelines. This comes mostly from the milk powder, chocolate chips, oil and coconut. Some options which are lower in saturated fat include Uncle Tobys Chewy Apricot Muesli Bars (1.9g per 100g) and Carman’s Fruit Free Muesli Bars (1.6g per 100g).

Marketing

“100% Aussie Oats”. Oats make up 34% of these muesli bars, and they’re made in Australia from at least 70% Australian ingredients, so there’s no way to tell if this is true from the packaging. We’ll have to take their word for it!
“Only 5.4g Sugar”. True, this is the amount per bar but the proportion of the bar as sugar is higher than I’d like.
“No artificial colours or flavours. Source of fibre”. True.

Alternatives

Uncle Toby’s Chewy Choc Chip muesli bars wouldn’t be my first choice due to their high sugar and saturated fat content.
These Carman’s Brownie Bars or Vanilla Birthday Cake Oat Bars are higher in fibre, with less sugar and a similar saturated fat content. Aldi Chewy Choc Chip Muesli Bars are a penny penching option with less sugar, more fibre and a similar saturated fat content per bar compared to the Uncle Tobys version.
If you want more, there is a complete guide to choosing Muesli Bars on both Toddler Mealtimes and Family Mealtimes. This review is just a snapshot of what you get as a member! Join here.