Harvest Cheweee Cereal Bars

5-year-old Juliette doesn't like cereal bars, so when we received a box of Harvest Cheweee (yes, there are that many e's !) "Milk Choc Chip Scrummy Cereal Bars" to test, I gave her a bit to nibble so she didn't feel left out but was waiting for her to come and give me the soggy sucked bit when she'd decided she didn't like it. But she didn't ! She came back and asked for a whole bar, like big sister Sophie (who had already wolfed down her complete bar and declared it delicious) ! Unconvinced, I broke off another small piece for her and watched her eat it and ask for more again ! By now convinced but totally confused, I had a quick nibble myself before giving her the rest (which she ate). Well, they are nice, but to me, they don't taste any different to various other cereal bars I've tried so I honestly don't know why she likes these ones but turns her nose up at the others !

Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining ! They may have choc chips in (that's not the reason she likes them, by the way - she's turned her nose up at other cereal bars with choc chips in !) but they're certainly a healthier option than the usual crisps or biscuits she wants.

The Harvest Lunchboxes website says that they contain wholegrain wheat and oats, vitamins and iron and are a source of fibre. What they don't contain is artificial colours. If you look closely at the list of ingredients, you'll notice that sugar is the first thing on the list - further down the list there is also Partially Inverted Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Glazing Agent and Tapioca Dextrine, which sound like other sugar-related ingredients to me. So maybe the relatively high sugar content is what made Juliette give them the thumbs up ? They do seem to be slightly smaller, kid-friendly sized bars though, so each 22g bar only contains 92 calories, which isn't too bad. Each bar contains 5.6g of sugar, 3.2g of fat and 0.1g of salt. I don't know how that compares to other cereal bars, but I would think it's better than most snacky foods like crisps or sweets.

There are probably healthier, lighter cereal bar options on the market, but these bars are obviously designed to be midway between healthy bars and the sweet treats that kids love. The other flavours reinforce this idea, offering white choc chip, strawberry mallow and toffee chip varieties, which all sound delicious and decidedly naughty !

They're great as a semi-healthy treat and I love sneaking one into Juliette's pocket on the way to school if she hasn't felt like eating much breakfast before heading off. It's quicker and easier to eat than a bowl of cereal, and I'm sure it's no less healthy than many of the kids sugary cereals that find their way into the breakfast bowls !

star rating : 4/5