Review: Kashi GoLean Honey Pecan Baklava Plant-Powered Bar

IMG_4360From cereal to oatmeal, muesli, cookies, fruit thingies, crackers, waffles, and even pizza, the products available from the grain-loving folks at Kashi are spread all over the map like grocery store Carmen Sandiegos.

So while Kashi’s cereal usually gets the most buzz, it’s worth sharing the attention with some of the brands more interesting options for morning sustenance. And speaking of buzz, this one’s got a lot of honey.

One of four “Plant-Powered Bars,” Honey Pecan Baklava joins the ranks of Dark Chocolate Cashew Chia, Salted Dark Chocolate & Nuts, and Peanut Hemp Crunch.

I like to imagine these four Plant Power Bars forming a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles-esque team of vigilante crimefighters when the grocery store closes at night.

I won’t serve you a heaping bowlful of words here, either. I promise to keep this review conveniently snack-sized. It might be a stretch to even call this a “breakfast review,” but hey: they’re in the cereal aisle. And when’s the last time you saw the word “baklava” next to your Cap’n Crunch?

IMG_4362Holy moly. Kashi really should have got Vince Offer (from Shamwow and Slap Chop fame) to endorse this bar. Why, you may ask? Because he already has the perfect slogan:

That’s right: this Honey Pecan Baklava bar is amongst the nuttiest things I’ve eaten in recent memory. With its soft, squishy, and super chewy texture, the bar tastes like a blended bowl of mixed nuts that someone ran through a Play-Doh machine to shape it into a bar.

Aside from pecans, I also tasted notes of almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, and maybe even Mr. Peanut’s left thigh. Yep, that’s a lot of nuts.

But the salty nuttiness doesn’t stand alone. If the base flavor is like the bowls of mixed nuts Grandma places strategically around the room at every party, then this bar is what happens when Uncle Ernie spills honey all over ’em after getting a little too tipsy in his Winnie the Pooh costume.

The honey paste holding the nut bits together is quite syrupy, sticky, and delicious, much like baklava itself. I’ve always thought that the husky flakiness of baklava was a bit like a Butterfingers bar without the chocolate, and this Plant Power Bar fully embodies the idea of “healthy Butterfingers innards.”IMG_4363

So while getting a blast of nuts to the face in the morning (this only sounds weird if you make it weird) may be off-putting to some, and while the super chewy nut ‘n’ honey giblets can get stuck in your teeth, this pleasant bar will greatly appeal to baklava (and maybe even Butterfingers) lovers who want an excuse to eat it for breakfast.

It sure beats buying that shameful 75¢ gas station baklava that looks like it’s been sitting in the case since the fossil fuels in the pumps were still roaming the earth.


 

 

The “Bowl:” Kashi GoLean Honey Pecan Baklava Plant-Powered Bar

The Breakdown: Honey and nuts, nuts and honey! If you love those things, you’ll love this salty sweet combo. And if you’ve ever wanted healthy baklava, then I think you’ve found your new mid-morning snack.

The Bottom Line: 8 squishy cereal bar Ninja Turtles out of 10

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