NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars

NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Way back in the dark ages known as the 1980s, there were many efforts by food manufacturers to make foods that were labeled as "healthy" and "nutritious." These generally sawdust inspired meal options were often found in health food stores where it was usually best to go in, get some vitamins and run out of there before you were seduced into purchasing a Tiger's Milk Bar on accident.

(those folks might bill their food as the "first" nutrition bar, but that isn't always something that warrants acclaim... let's hope they've improved their recipe over the past several decades)

NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

And it's not hard at all to find various types of bars that are meant for everything from increasing energy to weight loss to nutritional boosts and for the most part, the majority of manufacturers of these things have accepted the idea that if something doesn't taste good, nobody will eat it. Notice the word "majority" in the last sentence since it would seem that not everyone has caught onto the wisdom that food needs to taste good.

Even if someone is staring at a bowlful of beets, those things better have been prepared in such a way that they will end up being tasty. For the folks who are in charge of making the recipes for NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars, it would seem as though they missed the mark a bit not only with the actual recipe, but also with the labeling on the exterior packaging. One might even suggest that a small amount of false advertising was at work here.

On the packaging, one might think that this bar was supposed to taste approximately like a piece of carrot cake, albeit in some sort of bar form. But interestingly, in examining the overall packaging, it's rather easy to notice that there really isn't anything of note said regarding the fact that this is anything other than a piece of carrot cake hidden beneath a solid plastic wrapper.

NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

The picture, the description and the title of the item on the front of the bar say nothing about the fact that what's inside doesn't bear any resemblance to carrot cake either in form and appearance or regarding taste. 

The subtle hint that the bar is "made delicious with cinnamon" is simply the company's way of trying to cover up the fact that they've pulled a fast one. There is not carrot cake here!

The company should be given a "thank you" regarding their attempt to offer some sort of snack bar (or nutrition bar? energy bar? who knows what this bar's purpose is...) to people who have gluten allergies, but it's hard to do with the current recipe. Really, the bar does seem as though it would be appetizing even though it sort of looks like a Rice Krispy Treat with some odd stripes of frosting on it, but the taste is just odd.

The nutritional content of the bar isn't that shocking and while the calories seem  ten or twenty above where they should be, the fat content and sodium shouldn't scare anyone away. The sugar in the bar is a tad bit high and if someone is actually worried about their calorie consumption and their daily dose of sugar and other ingredients, this particular bar probably isn't the right snack to eat.

NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

NuGo FREE Carrot Cake Bars Report Card:

The Good Stuff:

Drawing a blank here. It's honestly not something this writer would recommend to anyone whether they needed a gluten free snack or not. In addition, suggesting that someone who was a fan of carrot cake try this bar might put them off carrot cake forever. This bar is best left on the shelf. Perhaps the company's other flavors would be a better choice.

Things to Improve:

Essentially, the entire recipe for this bar should be tossed and a new recipe should be created. The contents of this bar just don't remind one of carrot cake and while the advertised cinnamon is certainly apparent, this spice is hardly enough to cover up the fact that the bar tastes like a failed 1980s energy bar experiment and not a delicious slice of carrot cake.

There are certainly other gluten free bar options that are leagues better than NuGo FREE's carrot cake flavor and it shouldn't be that hard to find a suitable replacement for a gluten free snack.