Blueberry Acai Balance Bar Product Review and....GIVEAWAY!!!

If you had told me a year ago – heck, even six months ago – that I would be writing not one, but two overall positive reviews about protein bars, I probably would have laughed. I certainly wouldn’t have believed you. However, Balance Bar has proceeded to edge me out of my anti-protein bar shell little by little, first with my modest acceptance of its Nimble line, and now with its Bare line. In fact, I liked the Bare bar that I sampled so much that I even asked them to provide a box to not one, not two, but in fact three of my fantastic readers and followers! So if you’re interested, definitely keep reading, and look into the details of entering at the bottom of this post.

The Balance Bar that I’m reviewing and will be giving away is a new Bare product, a Blueberry Acai flavor that is officially the best protein bar I have ever had. The blueberry flavor is strong, unlike those “peanut butter chocolate” or “s’mores” protein bars that you so often buy because they sound fantastic, only to realize upon first bite that they’re nothing more than a brick of chemicals – no peanut butter, chocolate, or marshmallow flavors in sight (or should I say, in taste?). The Acai is a much more subtle component of the bar, though that’s to be expected – Acai is one of those expensive ingredients that is often added in as a minimal extra. I don’t view this as a negative of the bar, as it imparts a slightly more complex flavor than the bar would have if it had been blueberry alone. The other truly fantastic thing to note about the flavor of this bar is that there is no after taste! None. Whatsoever. And I closed my eyes and focused really hard to try to find one. It’s something of a miracle, from my experience with most protein bars.

Now, the Blueberry Acai Bare Balance Bar (phew! Try saying that 5 times fast!) is not all rainbows and sunshine. The ever-present cynic in me naturally found some less-than-ideal characteristics of the bar, and to be fair, I have to mention them. First – sugar is both the second and third ingredient. Granted, due to it being a Bare bar and therefore a more natural alternative to protein bars, there’s nary a drop of high fructose corn syrup to be found, but the sugar level is a little on the high side (I aim for 6g or less in my non-protein breakfast bars, which is really all I have to compare it to). To be fair to Balance Bar, they also give you a whopping 15g of protein and 4g unsaturated fat to help slow that blood sugar spike, making the extra sugar much less of a concern (in fact, that’s exactly one of their motives behind the ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins), but it is something to consider. I was also a little turned off by the palm kernel oil and caramel color in the ingredients list – for a bar that boasts its natural qualities, those aren’t the kinds of ingredients I personally want to see. They’re in very small amounts, and as you can see they aren’t stopping me from grabbing a bar every now and then or encouraging you to try them – just one more piece of the puzzle to think about. The only other “drawback,” which I don’t really mind at all, is that you definitely should still keep a bottle or glass of water by your side when you eat the bar. If you concentrate really hard you might get a little bit of that powdery taste to it (but it’s negligible at best), and all protein bars are inherently dense, so the water just helps wash all of those nutrients down.

Bottom line? Like I said, this is the best protein bar I’ve ever tasted. It definitely has some areas in which I think it could improve, but overall, protein bars aren’t supposed to be the kind of thing you eat day in and day out, anyway. They’re meant for the occasional pre- or post-workout snack, or the bail-you-out-of-an-empty-stomach, bad-food-environment crisis. These aren’t the kind of snacks you much mindlessly during your favorite tv show – they have calories, they have fat, they’re full-on meals in one compact little package. Treat yourself to them on occasion, in the appropriate context, and these little nutrition powerhouses will work hard for you. Just recognize them for what they are, and I can assure you, Balance Bar will not disappoint.

 So how about it? Do you want to try this new Balance Bar flavor out for yourself? Do you want to experience first-hand the revolutionary achievements Balance Bar has made with its Bare line (in my very humble opinion)? Well, you can! The new Blueberry Acai Bare bar can be found at various retail stores across the country, as well as online at Balance Bar’s website. So you could definitely buy your own, or you could enter to be one of three lucky people to win a box!

Here’s the low-down on entering the giveaway:

Earn additional entries by doing any of the following (and leaving a separate comment letting me know you’ve done each!):

Good luck to everyone, and happy protein-ing!