Since my son switched over to a gluten free diet, I am on a constant mission to provide a variety of suitable snacks for his school lunches that he actually enjoys. When I saw these Enjoy Life Caramel Apple Snack Bars sold at my regular grocery store I thought I would give them a shot. It is nice to see more gluten free items being carried at mainstream grocers, and certainly more convenient than me having to shlep myself around to 4 different stores to get my son's food for the week. (No, I'm not exaggerating - this diet can be quite a chore!).

About the Enjoy Life Caramel Apple Snack Bars
From the company Enjoy Life these snack bars are sold in a box of 5 individually wrapped bars for around $4.

The manufacturer describes them as follows:
Soft and chewy snack bars made with dried apple, caramel and cinnamon. They’ll be the apple of your eye!

My biggest draw to these bars of course is that they are gluten free. But, I was also hoping that my son would enjoy these a bit more than he does the Glutino Apple Bars. Sizewise, these are pretty much your standard cereal bar, maybe 5" or so long. What I noticed right away about the Enjoy Life bars is that they are more solid and less like a cereal bar. The consistency of these bars almost reminds me of a fig newton except bigger. Instead of being crumbly like a cereal bar they are more chewy. I prefer this consistency because not only are they less messy, they are also more filling. Of course, part of that could be because the bar isn't falling to bits and it is actually going into your mouth and getting eaten.

With a name like Caramel Apple I fully expected that these would be extremely sweet and more like a cookie. Unfortunately, they are rather bland - like many gluten free and allergen free items. Just because a product doesn't contain wheat, eggs, nuts, and milk shouldn't mean it needs to lack in the flavor department - but more often that not this is the case. They don't taste raisiny like the Glutino Apple bars do, but they certainly don't taste any more apple and I cannot taste the caramel in these at all. Of course, if I did then I would probably eat them up instead of packing into my son's lunches!

When I send these to school they do not always get eaten. More often than not these bars will come home still in the unopened wrapper. Still, when this happens, more often than not my son will help himself to it from his lunchbox when he gets home. If hungry, my 7 year old can eat one of these bars rather quickly but always with a beverage close by. I can't blame him because eating something as bland and chewy as these definitely calls for a drink.

Overall, I think the Enjoy Life caramel apple bars are just "ok". I'll continue to purchase them when I'm in a pinch and need to get items for my son from "the regular" grocery store for reasons like I don't have the time to drive 20+ miles to get to a grocery store like Wegmans or Whole Foods. Enjoy life has done a good job at making a bar with a good consistency but they need to work on improving the taste!


Ingredient Info (as provided by the manufacturer's website):
Organic Brown Rice Syrup; Organic Evaporated Cane Juice; Brown Rice Flakes; Brown Rice Flour; Sorghum Flour; Dried Apple*; Sunflower Seed Butter (Roasted Sunflower Kernels, Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt); Fig Paste; Date Paste; Vegetable Glycerin; Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil); Organic Beet Fiber; Ground Flaxseed; Natural Caramel Flavor; Xanthan Gum; Baking Soda; Salt; Cinnamon

NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL ANYTHING, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, VITAMIN FORTIFIED, GLUTEN FREE, CASEIN FREE

vitamins and minerals:
Calcium; Magnesium, Niacin (Vitamin B3); Riboflavin (Vitamin B2); Vitamin B6; Thiamin (Vitamin B1); Folate; Iron

*Sulfite-Free

www.enjoylifefoods.com





Recommended: Yes