Julia's Food Reviews

Hello!       First off, I would like to thank you if you are reading this in the first place. My audience may not be very large but I am grateful for each and every one of you! That being said, I have decided to take a permanent break from writing food reviews.       This no longer brings me joy and I see it more as a chore. Maybe one day I will come back and write again but I doubt it. Thank you all for your support and happy snacking! 

Lemon Pie: 7/10 - This lemon bar was fruity, tasty, and tangy. I really liked the muted sugary taste paired with the strong lemon flavor. My one complaint is that the date taste was a little overpowering. Many of the bars have this 'issue' and I am not too fond of it. However, the fact that the bars always have under 7 ingredients always amazes me so that makes up for the heavy date flavor and wacky texture! 

Blueberry Muffin: 6/10 - This bar was not horrible but definitely would not choose to have it again.  I found that the blueberry flavor was too strong, making the bar too sugary with a tart aftertaste. For those who like excessively fruity foods, this is for you!

Cashew Cookie: 3/10 -  This bar was not just unsatisfactory but I actively disliked it. To be honest, I am not quite sure why but the taste was pretty gross! It tasted bitter and left an odd aftertaste.  However, I am definitely exaggerating because that is what I do in this blog. I am sure that many other people will find it to their liking. 

Pecan Pie: 5/10 - This bar was also incredibly sweet! Therefore, making it less enjoyable. The sugar was very intense and unsatisfactory.  It tasted like it was just full of sugar which I am not fond of. Additionally, it was just an odd taste. Something about it was unsatisfying and not what I expected. However, it did surprisingly taste like pecan pie. A gross pie, but still a pie.* * note - I would like to point out that I do love real pecan pies, just not this one. I am a pecan pie stan, do not worry. 

Cherry Pie: 6/10 - Usually, I like Larabars but this one was far too sweet. The texture, as always, was perfectly acceptable while the taste was simply no good. The whole bar just tasted like artificial sugar even though I know it was all-natural. Something about it just seemed off and displeasing.  I wouldn’t say it was disgusting it just was not what I was expecting at all. I was anticipating a more hearty and ‘nutritious’ tasting bar. Overall, would not recommend it unless you like really sugary things.

Banana Bread: 12/10 - This was genuinely the best bar I've ever eaten. I don't know what, but something about it quite literally made me physically smile. The taste was so good I felt like my insides were melting. However, keep in mind that this dramatic review could just be because I was hungry. I am so fascinated at how Lärabar continues to make such appealing products with just 3-6 ingredients! They keep raising the bar every time. (pun intended) Specifically what I liked about this bar was the obvious banana taste and the perfect amount of mix-ins. It was super sugary but definitely not too much sugar and it is very hard to find that 'sweet spot' (pun intended) so props to them! There was a great number of nuts, not too much, not too little. Absolutely everything about this bar was excellent . 

Peanut Chocolate Chip: 8/10 - This was a very  well-made bar! There was an intense peanut and chocolate flavor which I found impressive. Usually, I take points off because the flavor is never strong enough. But, this time I only took points off because I simply did not really like the taste. I did, however, appreciate the way you could taste the individual nuts and chocolate chips.   The small, crunchy nuts and chocolate also complimented the texture of the soft bar well. Another plus was that it kept me full and energized enough to play well in field hockey! I would 100% recommend this bar to those who do enjoy heavily peanut butter-flavored things!

Take 5: 9/10 - I really enjoyed this candy bar! The only reason it got a point off is that it just wasn't that original. But it would be near impossible to get a 100% original flavor or idea so I am not holding a grudge. I loved how this bar had a really great ratio of all 5 tastes and main ingredients! You could taste each one clearly!  It was also cool how the creamy chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter were beautifully complemented by the crunchy pretzels and peanuts. I'm definitely glad Reese's manufactured this delicious item!

Mango Passion Fruit Juice: 10/10 - I loved this juice! It was sweet, flavorful, and refreshing! You could really taste the mango and passionfruit. It was altogether a great product. It also had just the perfect amount of sugar. I hate when things are too sweet but this had the perfect flavor combinations. 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip: 6/10 - I actually did not particularly like this flavor. It was way too sweet for my taste. However, I do always appreciate how you can really taste the chocolate in Lärabars. Additionally, I enjoy the soft and creamy texture of them.  But I did take the four full points off because I thought the overpowering, sugary fruit taste was too weird. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter: 8/10 - Keep in mind my protein bar scale is skewed higher because I have such low expectations for them. It would only get a 7/10 on my Luna bar scale. I really liked how there was a thick and creamy chocolate coating surrounding the entire bar and how I could really taste it. However, it was definitely very salty but I could barely taste the peanut butter. It did keep me very full so I could enjoy swimming at the beach which was a huge plus!  I also took a couple of points off because it just tasted like all of Luna's other protein bars. I'm not really getting any sort of variety in that department. It was also pretty dry. Both because it was boring and because I was extremely thirsty afterward. I  find it kind of crazy how after eating this bar, I've tried every single Luna bar flavor available!   Thank you for joining me on my Luna Bar journey! 

Just the Clusters Granola: 9/10 - I was very impressed by this product! I thoroughly enjoyed them. There was a very strong ginger flavor which I really loved. It was extremely flavorful and had great texture as well! All of the various mix-ins (almonds, ginger, cashews, oats, etc.) had a very satisfying crunch when I bit into them. Definitely an enjoyable experience. It also just looked appetizing! The delicious golden color on the large clumps of sugary oats and sliced nuts looked fantastic to me. Overall, there was an exceptional flavor, texture, and presentation. The only reason I took a point off is that I found it was a little too  sweet for my personal taste pallet. 

Banana Chocolate Chip: 10/10 - I really loved the soft texture that you can easily bite into and causes the bar to smoothly melt in your mouth. It also had a very strong banana flavor which is exactly  what I was looking for! I definitely appreciated the strong, sugary fruit flavor. 

Pizza Movers: 10/10 -  I'm not sponsored in any way, just extremely pleased. On the Vegetarian pizza, there's an excellent assortment of veggies that all taste very nice together. On both the cheese and veggie pizza there's a delicious, salty cheese layer resting on top of a perfectly thin crust. I prefer it when there's not loads of cheese so I thought Pizza Movers had a fantastic ratio! I'm also very picky when it comes to crusts and don't like when it's really crunchy and hard to chew. But yet again, Pizza Movers got that part down as well. I would definitely recommend eating from here! 

Tangerine Zest: 7/10 - I found that this Luna Bar was pretty similar to the other Prebiotics Luna bar (Wild Cherry). I did like the fruity, sweet, and tart mixture of flavors but texture and presentation were definitely lacking. The texture was pretty dry and grainy.  There were no toppings such as a coating or drizzle which left the bar with only a bottom coating. Of course, that is still perfectly fine, but definitely not as exciting to look at or to taste. 

Peanut Butter Sandwich: 8/10 - Ice cream sandwiches might just be some of my favorite things in the entire world. However, I personally was not the biggest fan of the peanut butter flavor. I loved the soft, chocolatey outter cookies and the texture of the soft, creamy yogurt. But, the swirls of peanut butter were much harder than the yogurt around it and felt a little odd to bite into. I also thought the peanut butter taste was too overpowering in comparison to the rest of tastes in this sweet sandwich. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: 9/10 - I'm pretty sure this was only the second Lärabar I've had in my life. The first was years ago and I absolutely hated it. However, I decided to try them again and really enjoyed it! It was sweet, flavorful, and chewy. I actually appreciated how soft this was and loved how there was a fruity after-taste as well! It was also very filling. I'm very glad I tried this brand again because I was very pleasantly surprised. I found it had a perfect balance of flavors and am definitely looking forward to trying more Lärabar varieties! 

Nutz Over Chocolate: 8/10 - I was actually really surprised with how high I rated this bar because it was actually really bland but I guess my expectations were just so incredibly low. What I liked about it was that it was definitely very chocolate heavy and kept me very full! However, I kind of think I was just imagining the nut flavor because I wanted to like the bar so bad... Anyways, overall, this was a satisfactory bar but could definitely use some more flavor. Then again, I'm sure many people are not looking for exciting tastes when shopping for nutrition bars. 

Chocolate Salted Caramel: 9/10 - Similar to the first Luna-Protein bar I tried, this one scored higher on my 'protein bar scale' than on my 'normal' Luna bar scale. That being said, this bar earned 8/10 on the ordinary Luna bar scale just because you can really taste the extra nutrients... However, it scored a 9/10  on the protein bar scale because I loved the sweet chocolate and salty caramel combination. I felt like I could actually taste it, unlike many other bar flavors. Then again, I should mention that my score might be very high either because my expectations were 6 feet underground and I usually hate protein bars or because I had just finished a 9-mile uphill hike and was very hungry. Either way, this was definitely a very enjoyable Luna bar!