Love (of food) in the time of COVID19: Healthy Supermarket Snacks review

As COVID restrictions across Australia gradually ease, cafes and restaurants are slowly opening again, and life sways in the direction of normality. Although feeling comforted by the falling number of cases in Australia, I am a little wary of the fact that many people appear to have forgotten all about social distancing. 

Hear ye, hear ye: just because the government is allowing some activities to resume, that doesn't mean we are in the clear. In fact, being in the Southern hemisphere, we really ought to err on the side of caution, as we are going into the flu season. The combination of COVID19 and the general flu would not be pretty. 

PSA announcement out of the way, let's get back to the business of this page: reviewing edible things. This time, I'm reviewing treats that can be found in the health food aisle of your supermarket that can be kept in the cupboard to satisfy snack cravings whenever they hit, while (allege the companies who make them) providing additional nutritional benefits. 

Koja Natural Peanut Butter Bar, $3.50

True to its name, the main ingredient in the Koja peanut butter bar is peanut butter. Sweetness is achieved through the addition of rice malt syrup, which is a sugar alternative made with brown rice. Enzymes are added to the rice, which breaks down the starch; that mixture is then cooked until a thick syrup forms. Rice malt syrup contains no sucrose or fructose (it consists instead of maltose and maltotriose) and is tooted as healthier than regular sugar. I personally don't buy it (neither the product nor the health claims), but it is a great alternative for those with certain allergies. A 30g bar provides 150 calories, 4.3g protein, 9.8g fat (1.3 of which is saturated), 3.7g of sugar and it is gluten free. 

On the plus side, the ingredients are very simple; it is relatively low in sugar for a sweet treat, it gives a good hit of energy in the form of healthy fats from the peanut butter, and it is great for those with allergies, particularly gluten intolerance. The addition of cocoa nibs gives a good crunch and a slight bitterness that is rather pleasing. On the down side, the flavour is somewhat bland and unsatisfying.

Keep It Cleaner Bliss Ball in Espresso, $2

I have tried the Keep It Cleaner protein powder in the chocolate flavour, and it is my favourite protein powder (not that I have tried that many, to be fair) - it packs a good amount of protein with very little sugar, and it tastes just like a chocolate milk. So when I saw that Keep It Cleaner has produced a range of other healthy food products, I was pretty excited. 

I picked up two flavours of the "bliss balls": the espresso (pictured) and the peanut butter choc chip. The main ingredient in those bliss balls are dates and nuts. These spherical snacks are definitely there to give you a sugar hit: apart from the natural sweetness of the dates, the bliss balls are also sweetened with coconut syrup. The espresso ball provides 174 calories, 3.2g protein, 8.3g fat (2 of which is saturated fat), 14g sugar and 3.9g fibre. 

Both the espresso flavour and the peanut butter choc chip flavour tasted great and true to what they claim to be. By that I mean, there was a distinct coffee taste in the espresso ball that tasted like the real deal, not some artificial imitation of coffee.Likewise for the peanut butter choc chip bliss ball. These are also truly bang for buck: at $2 each, I don't think you can do much better for a "clean" treat. The downside is, of course, the high sugar content which might give you a burst of energy but will surely spike your blood sugar, and the texture is a little stodgy so you do feel a teeny bit sickly after. For that reason I wouldn't eat them on the regular, but I think they would be great to carry in your bag for those moments where you get caught out without food, and don't want to become hangry. 

Wholesome Food Company Lentil Harissa Chips, $5

For a change of pace, let's talk about salty snacks. I only bought these gluten free lentil chips because they were on sale (I got mine at half price, $2.50). Otherwise I wouldn't have looked at them - they didn't sound that appetising to me. However, having had them, I'm now a total convert. The fact that the ingredients are pretty wholesome ( the chips are made of lentil flour, potato flour and potato starch) and they happen to be gluten free did not detract from the wonderful salty, satisfying crunch that you'd want from a chip. The harissa flavouring was what truly won me over: it packs a surprising amount of heat and strikes a good balance between moreish and satisfying. 

The nutritional facts at the back of the package considers 20g one serving, but let's get real here: who stops at a small handful of chips when one gets a craving for them? The bag is 120g, and I will list the nutritional information for 100g here and let you be the judge of what is a realistic serving size: 450 calories, 11.5g protein, 15.7g fat (only 1.1g of which is saturated - impressive), 2.8g sugar (also impressive), 1100mg sodium (it is a pretty salty snack, after all). 

Has this replaced the likes of Red Rock Deli as my favourite chips? Nope. Would I buy again? Absolutely. 

Keep It Cleaner Protein Bar, $3

Let's get back to the protein bars, shall we? Similar to the "bliss balls" produced by the same brand, the Keep It Cleaner protein bars have a base of dates and nuts. Having the word "protein" in its name made me expect that this will give a good amount of protein that is comparable to a protein shake, and might be suitable as an after-exercise snack. 

The 40g sea salt and choc caramel bar packs in 10g protein, which is kind of disappointing. If I were really going to use this as an after-workout snack, I would expect at least twice the amount of protein. Apart from the protein, one bar will pack in 10.1g sugar, which, to me, is not good bang for healthy bucks. As a comparison, Keep It Cleaner's chocolate flavoured protein shake packs in 22.8g protein with 0.4g sugar at a 35g serving size. Amazonia's Raw Slim & Tone Protein (also vegan) in the cacao macadamia flavour provides 21.7g protein for 0.2g sugar per 30g serving. That kind of nutritional profile is more along the lines of what I would be looking for in terms of an after-workout protein replenishment. 

On the other hand, it is not always convenient to go mix yourself up a protein shake after every workout, and you might not be looking for a protein snack at all: maybe you just want a sweet treat for the energy burst; and the fact that a protein bar provides 10g protein on top of the energy hit is just added bonus. So my advice, for what it's worth (not very much as I am not a registered dietitian, nor do I have a medical degree - but nonetheless, what I'm saying is just common sense), is this: read the labels and make sure the product actually fulfills your particular need. Just because a label says "protein" doesn't mean there aren't better alternatives, even within the same brand range. 

Pana Organic chocolate in Fig & Wild Orange, $6.90

Pana has a huge range of vegan chocolates which are surprisingly creamy and melty despite the lack of dairy content. There is a slight waxy-greasy texture in those chocolates and they melt super fast. I'm not saying that as necessarily a bad thing, but just something to know before you buy one expecting it will have the same mouthfeel as a regular dark chocolate: it doesn't. 

This particular flavour of chocolate bar has 55% cocao content, with dried figs and wild orange essential oil. There is a debate about whether essential oils are safe for ingestion. While I have not experienced any adverse effects from consuming this chocolate, some people have reported various discomfort when they've ingested essential oil, even at very diluted amounts. Of course, it is likely that what Pana means by "essential oil" is different from what a consumer knows as "essential oil"; and what Pana is using are specifically produced for food. In any case, if you are particularly sensitive, perhaps choose a flavour that does not contain essential oils; or contact Pana just to be safe.  

While Coles and Woolies now carry quite a few of Pana's wide range of flavours, for some of the more unusual flavours you'd either have to buy from the Pana website or at health food stores. I'm particularly keen to try the rose flavour, the hemp & nibs (being cocao nibs) flavour, and the newly released grapefruit and peppercorn flavour. I have a penchant for unusual things, and it's wonderful to see a vegan producer being adventurous and releasing so many interesting-sounding varieties. Apart from being certified vegan, Pana chocolates are also halal certified. 

That brings our healthy snack adventure to a close. I might do another post once I've tried a couple more healthy snacks. That won't be for a while yet, I think: having no particular dietary requirements apart from lactose intolerance I'm willing to overcome with lacteeze when the right food comes along, when I want a snack, I will just reach for the traditional "naughty" stuff, because after all, life is too short.