Nature Valley Soft Baked Muffin Bars : Blueberry

I love muffins. They’re basically cupcakes without icing. Due to marketing, muffins are associated with breakfast and snack. I love blueberry muffins, but that doesn’t mean they are healthy. During one of my weekly shopping trips, I noticed a box of Blueberry Muffin Bars. Truthfully, I was looking for Nature Valley Wafer Bars. The new snack was in the neighborhood. Naturally, I checked out the nutrition facts.

Comparison

Turns out they are 50 calories less than Wafer Bars. There is a catch. The photo on the blueberry box was a bit misleading.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Wafer Bars are a little bigger. [I managed to save one of my Wafer Bars for the comparison photo below. Note to self, add a box of wafer bars to shopping list] The size difference was not a deal breaker for me…it was taste.

Nutrition & Taste

Each box came with five bars. I ate three over the course of two weeks. Let’s just say, the last two bars are still in my pantry. It’s likely, I bought these with the wrong expectations. Although, the muffin bars are made with real blueberries, the berries have an aftertaste. It reminded me of the freeze dried blueberries that are used in cereal. I compared the muffins berries to freeze dried berries instead of sundried berries, because they have a longer shelf life. Don’t get me, Nature Valley strives to mass produce nutritional snacks. See facts below.

Verdict

Turns out, I would rather eat a blueberry muffin. I only wasted a few dollars on the muffin bars. Not every alternative is going to be a suitable replacement for the food you like. Portion control is still possible. Fresh baked muffins come in different sizes. I like share mini muffins with my kiddos.

If you want to know more about Nature Valley Wafer Bars, check out my previous post here.