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Kez’s Kitchen Choc Mud Snack Bars | Chewsday Review

It’s a Chewsday Review of, wait, what? Gluten free choc mud snack bars that are naked and cold pressed….? I’m just as confused as you are. Let’s take a closer look at these snack bars to see what Kez’s Kitchen is baking-up for us today...

Ingredients

Positives

The ingredient list is minimal, and contains no nuts- so they’re lunchbox friendly.
High fibre content of 3.3g per serve, above the recommended 3g. This is significantly greater than other choc snack bars (nutri-grain choc- 0.4g/serve). One serve would meet about 18% of an 4-8 years olds daily fibre requirements and approximately 15% of an older child’s requirements.
Low saturated fat content, within the healthy guidelines.
Significantly lower sodium (salt) content than other snack bars; at only 3mg/100g compared to nutri-grain choc bar- 215mg/100g.

Negatives

Total fat content is 13g/100g, which exceeds the healthy guidelines of 10g/100g. This isn’t a major concern as the fat is coming from seeds (sunflower, sesame, chia), which provides a great source of vitamins and minerals.
Sugar content exceeds general healthy guidelines at 41.3g/100g. However, this is all naturally occurring sugar from the dates, as no ‘added sugars’ were found in the ingredient list. Dates can be an okay sweetener alternative, but one serve of this product is a lot for one small snack bar on a daily basis (10.3g/serve). It’s equivalent to probably 3-4 dates.
The texture is firm and requires reasonable biting and chewing skills, so would not be appropriate for children under 5 years of age. The packet does not specify any age group recommendations, which is concerning as it could be a choking hazard.
These are very expensive at $5.20 per box, which only contains 5x 25g bars. This works out to be approximately $1.04c/bar (full price). This could eat up a significant amount of your weekly shopping budget, especially if you have more than one child!

Marketing

“Gluten free and naked, cold pressed choc mud snack bars”- this is great for those with gluten intolerances/coeliac disease…but I am still not sure what naked and cold pressed means???
“Pure and simple goodness” – I agree with the simple part!
“We believe everyone deserves that moment of blissful indulgence, no matter your lifestyle choices or food intolerances” TRUE! also a bit gushy!
“No refined sugar, vegan, gluten free, lunch box friendly, source of fibre, egg free, wheat free, GMO free (the ingredients haven’t been genetically modified), no colours, preservatives or flavours” – ALL the buzz words, but also all true.

Alternatives

They can be a good swap for other sweet treats children are pestering you for, as they have a reasonable chocolate taste and packed full of fibre.
Chopping up some fresh fruit is always a cheaper and nutritious option, but these offer a great, quick, fibre packed snack for those on the go. However, maybe not an every-day or every snack choice as they are quite expensive, sticky on little teeth and can contribute a significant amount of sugar to a child’s daily intake.
For those picky fruit eaters, the Messy Monkeys strawberry and apple snack bars are another great option, with less sugar than Kez’s Kitchen choc mud bars and a whopping 4.6g of fibre per serve! – check out the Chewsday review for more about these snack bars!