Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Hola.

Do you ever feel like having just one brownie/cookie/slice of pie/dessert?

I do. All the time.

If you tapped into my head, this is what you would hear:

Damn it, Jessica! You don’t need to bake a whole batch of brownies!

Why not? Homemade brownies are a million times better than store-bought.

Yeah, but what are you going to do with all those brownies?

I’ll eat them! Wait no… not all of them! I’ll… uh… give them to my family! 

Yeah right… 

Okay, fine… maybe not. But still, it’s not a sin to indulge in brownies once a while!

I know! You can buy some Fiber One brownies – the ones that come in a box of five.

Hmm… well, I’ve never had them before. Sure, I’ll give them a try! But what if they aren’t as good as I expected them to be? I don’t want to be disappointed.

Well, you will never know until you try.

Ugh, fine. I’ll try the Fiber One brownies this time.

And so, I ended up buying a box of Chocolatey Fudge Fiber One brownies. (I’ve seen other stores carry a different version of the same thing called “Chocolate Fudge”; the packaging is different and the brownies are slightly lower in calories.)I generally like stuff by Fiber One. Granola bars, not so much. But their cereal is really good.

These brownies weren’t all that bad. But they weren’t all that good either.

Pros:

• Low in calories (110 or 90 depending on which version you buy)
• High in fiber (5g)
• Chocolatey
• Chewy
• Soft
• Chocolate chips imbedded in the brownie added a nice texture
• Perfect for when you don’t want to bake a huge batch of brownies.

Cons:

• Too small, too thin.
• High in sugar (9g)

Overall, I’d rate these 3.5 stars out of 5.What are your thoughts on Fiber One brownies?

❤ Jessica

Battle of the Bars

I’ve been eating a lot of granola bars lately. Fiber One granola bars.

Yesterday, I bought one box of Oats & Caramel and one box of Chocolate Caramel & Pretzel.

I intended on eating one.

I ended up eating one…

of each.

First up: Chocolate Caramel & Pretzel

Evaluation: This bar was soft and chewy. In fact, it was softer and chewier than any granola bar I’ve ever had. The puffed wheat and pretzels gave the bar a fun texture and added some crunch. The chocolate dipped bottom, chocolate chips, and caramel drizzle provided just the right touch of sweetness – present, but not overpowering. Overall, I’d rate this bar 3.5 stars out of 5.

Next up: Oats & Caramel

Evaluation: One of the worst granola bars I’ve had, period. Granola bars are supposed to be soft and chewy, but eating this was like eating oats stuck together with Super Glue – way too sticky and chewy. The texture was boring, and it was sickly sweet. Overall, I’d rate it 1 star out of 5.

Conclusion: I will not be buying the Oats & Caramel bars again simply because I found them disgusting. Nor will I be buying the Chocolate Caramel & Pretzel bars in the future, even though I enjoyed them. I was absolutely shocked when I read the ingredients list; both of these bars contain high maltose corn syrup. Does that sound familiar? It should. Hint: HFCS… high fructose corn syrup.

So… what is HMCS aka high maltose corn syrup?

In a nutshell, it is a processed sugar that is the cousin of high fructose corn syrup.

Yikes.

Although there isn’t a lot of extensive studies on high maltose corn syrup, I’m guessing it is far from healthy. And for this reason, I will not be buying Fiber One granola bars in the future.

To read more about HMCS, check out this site.

What are your thoughts on Fiber One and their choice to add high maltose corn syrup to their products?

❤ J