So today we've got a review and giveaway of 3 sampler packs of Vitalicious products!

And is it just a coincidence that there's a big ol' Vitalicious banner ad running over on our main page all of a sudden? Er, well, not exactly! But here at Cranky Fitness we don't worry overly much about the feelings of the good people who give us samples or sponsor us or compensate us to review things, as is the case here. It's not that we're especially ethical--we're just too cranky and opinionated to be anything but honest. Oddly enough, sponsors are cool with that.

(Well, we don't know how warm and affectionate the Skinny Bitch video folks are feeling after Merry's honest review. But so far we haven't had any Skinny Bitches trying to bust down the doors of Cranky Fitness headquarters in order to beat the crap out of us. Yet. We'll keep you posted.)

Anyway, in case you haven't heard of Vitalicious, they sell muffins, muffin tops, cakes, mixes, brownies, and even coffee. Hungry Girl is a big fan. Their baked goods generally come in portion-controlled packs of 100 calories.

Our sampler pack of 24 muffins included:

VitaBrownies
Chocolate Fig VitaTops
Banana Nut VitaTops
Double Chocolate Dream VitaTops
Deep Chocolate VitaTops
Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTops
Golden Corn VitaTops
CranBran VitaTops
AppleBerry VitaTops
MultiBran VitaTops
BlueBran VitaTops

The Lobster and I tried every single variety, just to be thorough. We figured that calories can not possibly count if they're consumed while doing research!

So what did we think? Well, there were good things and bad things about the VitaMuffins. First the good news:

Things We Liked!

1. They're mostly whole grains, usually whole wheat flour, and generally it's the first ingredient.

2. A hundred calories isn't bad for either a muffin or a brownie. These are small, but they're fairly substantial and filling.

3. Most of the ingredients are pretty natural, and for those who don't like aspartame or sucralose, there doesn't seem to be any of that in there.

4. They're really convenient, and if you're trying to grab breakfast on the run, a stash of whole grain muffins on hand would serve you much better than a donut or a poptart.

5. For a hundred calories, they've got a fair amount of fiber and even a respectable amount of protein (typically 6 grams of fiber and 4 of protein).

6. They have 9 gazillion flavors (our sample pack didn't even get to them all) and chances are good you're going to find at least one of them you like.

I'd go with the Multibran or Banana Nut for breakfast, and either the Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip or the Double Chocolate Dream for a dessert. The Lobster's favorites were similar: the Golden Corn, Banana Nut, Apple Berry, and most of the chocolate flavors with one glaring exception (discussed below).

7. You can freeze 'em for up to nine months, or keep them around in the cupboard or fridge for about 5 days.

8. For a "convenience" food, they're a pretty darn healthy choice, and you don't have to feel horribly guilty eating them.

Things We Didn't Like:

1. I'm not a fan of adding vitamin supplements to food. I think it's best to get vitamins naturally whenever possible. And if I decide I need to supplement, I'd rather make a conscious decision about which sort of multivitamin formula makes sense to me--not get vitamins randomly added to processed foods. It's especially annoying to see this touted as a major selling point. If the vitamins occurred naturally because of all the healthy fruit in them, then sure, go ahead and mention that. But I wouldn't brag about throwing a vitamin pill into a muffin recipe. (On the other hand, the Lobster doesn't give a crap about the vitamin issue; no complaints there).

2. The taste was not quite as good as "real" muffins or brownies. They tasted more like virtuous, "not bad," compromise versions. The Lobster found them closer to the real thing than I did. I kept noticing a woody sort of taste, and the fruits added in lieu of extra fat tended to clash with the chocolate flavors. (The chocolate fig flavor was probably the worst of all. Neither of us liked that one).

But unless you live in fantasyland, there is kind of an expected flavor trade-off when eating a low fat, high fiber, vitamin fortified baked good. If you're feeling indulgent and want to splurge on the "real thing," these might not satisfy.

3. The Apple Comparison. In their marketing materials and on their website, Vitalicious compares the nutritional benefits of their products to those of an apple, implying that the muffins and brownies are a wiser choice.

I'm sorry, nice Vitalicious people, but come off it!

If you are honestly torn between eating an apple and eating a packaged processed vitamin-fortified muffin? Duh! Eat the apple!

The health benefits of Vitalicious products do not come from eating them instead of whole fruits and vegetables. They come from eating them instead of Krispy Kremes and Twinkies.

Overall: A sensible, healthy choice for a convenience food, especially if you crave muffins and brownies and are counting calories. If you're looking for a no-holds-barred indulgence, these probably wouldn't do it. But if you want something reasonably tasty, and are willing to experiment with finding your favorite flavor, these could become a great no-guilt alternative to much junkier options.

Now, On to The Giveaway--Where There is also Good News and Bad News.

First the bad news: U. S. residents only. So sorry!

And more Possibly Bad News: You need to provide an email address and sign up for a newsletter to enter.

But the Good News: There are three winners, and when you have even a slight contest entry barrier like a newsletter sign-up, you eliminate most of the competition! So if you sign up, there's a much better chance than usual that you'll win!

(Or, if that's too much hassle, the Vitalicious ad on in the left sidebar of our main page has a 10% discount if you want to try some without having to enter anything.)

Entry instructions:

Sign up for the newsletter here by the end of the day Wednesday, Sept 30.

Then come back and leave a comment on this post, or at the main Cranky Fitness post, letting me know you signed up.

The Vitalicious people will give me a list of the signer-uppers, and I'll haul out the Random Number Generator to pick the winner from those names.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

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“Free Food! Yeeeehaw! Sign me up!”

This may not be an actual quote, as Crabby doesn’t use the word Yeehaw all that often. She could have said “Yay!” or “Hooray!” or “Holy Crap!” But whatever the exclamation, it was uttered because Crabby was VERY EXCITED to find out several weeks ago that General Mills was willing to send her stuff to eat for free.

And the Nice Crunch Bar people sent the package as promised! Two whole boxes (one Peanut, one Almond) of said crunch bars; a press kit; and a Special Bonus Gift--a hideous burlap tote bag! Really, the poor tote bag is the ugliest thing you can imagine, you can only feel sorry for it.

However, Free Product Sending People, please do not be angry at Crabby's callous treatment of your homely tote bag. Crabby loves Free Stuff and wants you to keep sending more! And particularly products that claim to be (a) healthy and (b) tasty.

Caveat: Cranky Fitness can not, however, accept and keep things that cost more than $40 in exchange for a review. (Or at least not while those nifty BlogHer ads are running in her sidebar. She signed a contract promising not to!) Also, Crabby will always disclose when something she reviews was given to her fer nothin'.

This will give readers the chance to ask themselves: can you trust the Crab? Would she suck up to a manufacturer simply to get more free stuff in the future? (Well, actually, she might! Maybe for a free week at a luxury spa or something. But not for a few freakin' snack bars).

And by the way, Crabby also apologizes to the Free Stuff People and her readers for the tardiness of this review. By now, Back in Skinny Jeans (and probably lots of other blogs too) have already reviewed these Nut Crunch Bar Thingies and Crabby is way late to the party. But she's here now, so lets get to it!

So how do the Nature Valley Nut Crunch Bars Taste?

Actually, they're pretty damn good.

Really--they're way more yummy than Crabby thought they'd be. They're sweet and salty and crunchy and taste pretty much like a real candy bar that you'd buy on purpose, not like an Energy Bar or Granola Bar or some other Compromise Food. Crabby's main taste objection: slightly more salty than necessary.

As it happened, Crabby's family was visiting when the package arrived, and Four out of Five Crab tasters said the same thing: Mmmm! One out of Five said: Eh. Not too bad. As for Lobsters: both Lobster and Lobster Mom said: Yumm! So it's not just the Crab who thinks they're tasty.

Almond was the flavor of choice amongst Crabs (and the Lobster) but the Peanut Bars weren't bad either. (By the time the bars got to Lobster Mom, there was only Peanut left).

What else is Good about these bars?

They're mostly nuts and don't have a lot of other ingredients. The nuts give them 7 grams of protein. And they're pretty cheap: a package of six retails for less than $3.50.

And like all Snack Bars, they're convenient. Toss one in your purse or backpack and you've got a semi-healthy treat that could keep you from making a far more disastrous snack choice instead--let's say hunger hits unexpectedly in front of a Ben and Jerry's or Pizza Hut or something. Stuff the bar in your mouth and Run Away!

What's Not So Good about them?

Among the handful of other ingredients: sugar and corn syrup. That's why they're tasty. And they're not whole food, like an apple. But you knew that--snack bars don't count as "real" food.

Also, they're about 200 calories (depending on flavor) and they're not all that big. This is a fairly high calorie budget for a treat that feels small. There are other smallish bars out there that are closer to 100 calories. But to be fair, they don't taste nearly as good as this one. Also, there are plenty of energy bars that are way more than 200 calories that taste like vitamin-and-protein-fortified, sugar-sweetened grout.

One could theoretically eat half of one of these Nut Crunch Bars for a tasty 100 calorie treat--but Crabby, despite several attempts, was unable to stop with "just a couple bites." They're too small and too yummy for that. Open the package--face it, the bar is gone.

So does anyone here even eat energy/snack bars? Have any favorites, or loathe the whole concept? What do you look for in a snack?

(And an unrelated P.S.--Crabby urges you, if you're the sort who doesn't mind surveys, to take the BlogHer survey in the sidebar. Crabby hasn't done it yet herself, but will soon. She hopes it's not too annoying! Anyway, she'd love to make Cranky Fitness look more popular than it actually is by having thousands and thousands more than two people click on the link!)

LATE-BREAKING CRUNCH BAR UPDATE:

Apparently, the awesome Weetabix at Elastic Waist likes these crunch bars too! For some reason, this makes Crabby very happy.

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