Thanks to being a member of
BlogSpark, my family and I were able to try all four varieties of Nature Valley's new
Nut Clusters. It was really a no-brainer for me, since I LOVE Nature Valley's Granola Bars (Oats & Honey are my fave!). I knew these would be great, and my kids are big granola bar fans, too. The trouble was, I wasn't sure how hubby would respond. He is a hardhead when it comes to healthy snacks, especially anything he considers "squirrel" food.
We were sent packages of:
Roasted Cashew Clusters
Roasted Almond Clusters
Honey Roasted Peanut Clusters
Nut Lovers Clusters
The first three are all self descriptive, and the Nut Lovers is a mix of Honey Roasted Peanuts, Pecans, and Cashews with granola and honey.
Since cashews are probably my favorite nutty snack, I figured that I'd start the taste test with those. Yum!!! Everyone liked them, except hubby. He refused to try them.
We went through and tasted each one. My son declared the cashew his favorite and my little girl said she liked "allbody's kind", meaning every kind. When I pulled out the bag of Nut Lovers, hubby finally said we were making him hungry with all of our Mmmmm's, so he popped one in his mouth. Guess what? Yep, he loved them! After seeing how great they tasted, he tried the others, too. He liked all of them, but declared the Nut Lovers the best. Oh, and remember I thought I'd like the cashew the best? They were great, but I ended up thinking the almond were the tastiest with the peanut being the runner up.
So, now that you know that they really do taste great, what about nutrition? Well, they're pretty comparable to a granola bar on calories, with a slightly higher fat content (duh, they're loaded with nuts). That also means they are loaded with protein too, though, with 5 grams per serving.
One serving size is 7 clusters, and at first I didn't think that sounded like much, but was surprised at how large the clusters were and how filling they ended up being. They also come in a resealable pouch, so they stay fresh longer! These are definitely making it on my grocery list.
And of course I wanted to find a coupon for them! Right on the Nature Valley site, they are offering a
$1 off coupon. I haven't been to the store to price these yet, but $1 off is really good.
Oh, and don't' forget to clip the Box Tops for Education off of the empty package before throwing it out. And believe me, you'll be throwing that package out faster than you think, because these snacks go quick!
