Saturday, 18 June 2011

Bear Snacks review


If you've been following my blog closely (careful - I'm a teacher, I might spring a surprise test on you to check you've been paying attention !), you'll know that the lovely people at Bear Nibbles sent us a selection of their healthy snacks and a recipe to try out for Heart (or Butterfly, as we made) Strawberry Yo-Yo Scones (which we did here).


Well, the Madhouse kids (and their friends) made short work of the scones so we moved on to trying out the rest of the Bear Nibbles snacks. As you can see from the pictures, the girls couldn't wait to get testing !


First up was the white packet containing mango and pineapple Bear Fruit Nibbles. As the label says, you get 100% fruit with no nonsense. The ingredients list says : mango (50%), pineapple (50%), absolutely nothing else (handblended so mixes vary). Wow ! You can't get healthier or more natural than that ! The pieces are chewy (they're handpicked and softly baked, apparently) and aren't too dry, unlike some dried fruit. The girls loved it. It reminded me of the pieces of dried fruit you get in high quality breakfast cereal. A 30g sachet contains 85 calories and counts as one of your five-a-day. Off to a great start. (See how I resisted the urge to write grrrrreat there ?!)


Next up was the brown packet, containing Cocoa Cherry Pie Baked Granola Nibbles. This time the label promises 100% whole grains and fruit with no added nonsense (I'm liking this brand more and more). The ingredients list is just as impressively natural - whole grain oats, whole grain maize, cherry pieces (9% - cherries and apple puree), coconut, nibbed cocoa beans (6%), apple, grape and carob extract. Taste-wise, if you imagine simultaneously eating a handful of chocolate, granola and dried cherry pieces from a box of Special K, you'll get the right idea ! I found it slightly dry but I think that's because I got mainly the crumbs at the bottom of the bag after the girls picked out all the big lumps ! They loved it. Again, a 30g bag comes in at under 100 calories (just - it's 99 calories). Another great alternative to biscuits, crisps or sweets when the kids want something to nibble on.



Now, the girls were absolutely gutted the other day when I chopped the Strawberry Yo-yos into little pieces - although they did forgive me once they'd tasted the scones !



They were over-the-moon to discover the Blueberry Yo-yos in the purple pack. The girls loved unrolling the fruity coils, again made with 100% fruit ... and vegetables. The ingredients list is still totally natural but has some surprising ingredients - apples, pears, sweet potato & black carrot extract, natural blueberry flavour, absolutely nothing else. Each yoyo contains just 27 calories which is amazing and they're so much fun to eat that the girls would easily choose these over sweets.

I've been blown away by just how natural and healthy the snacks are while remaining great-tasting and satisfying. They are absolutely percet for kids' lunch boxes or snacks on the go, but also for grown-ups who want to avoid snacking on unhealthy or high calorie snacks. They're absolutely Bear-illiant !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : Fruit & granola Nibbles 69p (30g Bags) ; Multi-pack fruit & granola Nibbles £1.99 (3 x 30g) ; YoYos (2 YoYos) 49p (20g bags) ; Multipack YoYos £2.29 (5 x 20g bags- 10 fruit YoYos)

Current BEAR stockists: Waitrose, Ocado, Co-operative, Holland & Barrett, Somerfield, Asda, Boots, Wilkinsons, Wholefoods, Planet Organic, and lots of small chains & independents.


for more information : http://www.bearnibbles.co.uk/

Other reviews you may be interested in :

3 comments:

  1. i have seen these in the shops i think but never tried them. your kids seemed to like them so will give them a try next time we see them!

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  2. The pineapple and mango nibbles sound yummy! Might have to tryy and find some

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