South Beach Diet Meal Replacement Bars

Kraft sent me coupons for their South Beach Diet Replacement Bars. So I decided to pick up two bars at Winn Dixie last night.

The first one I tried was Vanilla Creme. The package shows something similar to a long Rice Krispie treat with a vanilla coating on the bottom. Don't let that fool you. The vanilla frosting has very little flavor, save for a cheap anise-like aftertaste. The crispy part was very grainy. If you've eaten the powder from a box of Cheerios, that's what it tasted like. The label says those were soy protein crisps.

The second bar was Caramel Peanut Crisp. It was only slightly better than the vanilla bar. Upon opening the package, I smelled a pleasant aroma of caramel and peanuts [think Pay Day bars]. The crispies had an unpleasant burnt peanut taste. Those were only a little less grainy than the vanilla bar. Also, the peanut butter frosting had a smoother, more pleasant texture and a more pronounced flavor than the vanilla bars, but not by much.

Now let's check out the nutritional labels of the bars:
- Vanilla Creme = 340 mg of sodium and 15 % of your daily saturated fat
- Caramel Peanut Crisp = 350 mg of sodium and 13 % of your daily saturated fat

My conclusion ? Both bars were horribly nasty. They were overpriced at 2 for $5 without the coupon : P Skip the diet bars and pack a balanced, healthy meal in your lunch bag. Otherwise you'll find yourself licking the frosting off the bar and wishing you'd brought something substantial to eat.