Tag: Fiber One

REVIEW: Fiber One Limited Edition Birthday Cake Baked Bar

Meghan 8 Comments

Fiber One Limited Edition Birthday Cake Baked Bar

Having eaten a lot of stuff from Fiber One over the years, I’ve always felt that it seems to specialize in what I like to call “Dieter’s Delights.” That is, it makes treats that only seem delightful if you’re already depriving yourself of everything else that could even remotely be considered indulgent.

Nowhere is this appeal to the calorie-conscious more apparent than in Fiber One’s new Limited Edition Birthday Cake Baked Bars. After all, what kind of dieter could possibly allow themselves a slice of fiberless, fattening cake, when Fiber One promises to deliver as much flavor and enjoyment for only 90 calories AND with 5 grams of fiber to boot? Being the Birthday Cake queen that I am, I opted to buy the value pack of 12 individually wrapped bars, figuring that these would be right up my alley.

The first thing I noticed about these baby-cake-bars is that they’re small. Like, really small. They’re two, maybe three bites at most, and I actually took a picture of one of them next to a quarter so that you can get a good idea of how small I’m talking here.

Fiber One Limited Edition Birthday Cake Baked Bar 2

Looking at them, I can clearly tell they’re supposed to be emulating Funfetti cake, although the hue of the sprinkles in the bars themselves look noticeably more anemic than they do on the box. The “frosting” (or lack thereof) is a measly tangle of sugar-drizzle that makes me think that my cakes might have gotten caught under a dripping conveyor belt of freshly-frosted Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Size and cake-nakedness aside, they certainly smell delicious! They have a delicate, sweet vanilla scent that reminds me of any boxed mix that you’d be likely to whip up at home. But, at the end of the day, taste is what matters most in any baked good, and Fiber One delivers here. The bars taste like a yummy (albeit tiny) square of yellow cake, and they’re as good as any other snack cake that you would find prepackaged at the grocery store.

They’re a bit on the dense side, but I actually kind of dig that, especially with the crunch of the icing drizzle and the Funfetti sprinkles there to give some variation to the overall texture. I’m still finding the size on these guys to be a problem, though. I find myself wanting to eat three or four to feel like I’ve had a satisfying treat.

Fiber One Limited Edition Birthday Cake Baked Bar 3

Ah, well, since I bought the value pack, I figured that I may as well set about rectifying the size and frosting issues by whipping up a quick batch of buttercream frosting and assembling eight of the bars together into a little Fiber One-inspired cake. NOW this is an indulgence! Diet-friendly? Probably not, considering that my buttercream has three cups of powdered sugar in it. But, delicious? Oh, you better believe it!

(Nutrition Facts – 1 bar (25 grams) – 90 calories, 25 calories from fat, 3 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of total carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.98
Size: 10.6 oz. (12 bars)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: BIRTHDAY CAKE! Calorie-conscious treat! Delicious when assembled into an actual cake!
Cons: Not nearly enough frosting. One bar is just a tease. The resulting assembled cake not being diet-friendly.

QUICK REVIEW: Fiber One Chocolate Chunk Soft-Baked Cookies

Marvo 4 Comments

Fiber One Chocolate Chunk Soft-Baked Cookies

Purchased Price: $3.00 (on sale)
Size: 6 cookies
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Tastes mostly like a grocery store bakery chocolate chip cookie. Not a bad way to get 20% of your daily fiber. The 3-inch cookie was soft and chewy. Turning junk food into a vessel for fiber. I could eat five Chips Ahoy cookies and get the same amount of fiber.
Cons: It has the same weird aftertaste that most Fiber One products have. No nutritional benefits beyond the fiber. Possible side effects from eating more than one in a sitting. Still waiting for Fiber One Potato Chips. I could eat five Chips Ahoy cookies and get the same amount of fiber.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cookie – 120 calories, 40 calories from fat, 4.5 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Fiber One Caramel Sea Salt 90 Calorie Soft-Baked Bars (Target Exclusive)

Marvo 1 Comment

Fiber One Caramel Sea Salt 90 Calorie Soft-Baked Bars

Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: 6 bars
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Nice flavor, but I’m not sure it’s not what I would consider caramel. It kind of tastes Fig Newton-y. Soft, slightly chewy texture. Smells like brown sugar. Low fat. A decent tasting way to get five grams of fiber. I guess it’s easier than eating an apple. I mean, I can stuff a whole bar in my mouth, but I can’t stuff a whole apple.
Cons: Sometimes there are these bursts of saltiness, which are a bit off-putting. “Caramel bits” are really toffee bits. The bars look kind of small when unwrapped, they’re just 2-inch squares. Some people have had gas issues with the chicory root extract, which gives the bar its fiber, so don’t go through the box in one day…or even two days.

Fiber One Caramel Sea Salt 90 Calorie Soft-Baked Bars Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 90 calories, 25 calories from fat, 2.5 grams of fat, 1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Fiber One 80 Calories Chocolate Squares Cereal

Margaret 7 Comments

Fiber One Chocolate Cereal

What would happen if we all suddenly transformed into moose?

Well, aside from getting really huge noses and roaming freely between the Alaska-Canadian border, we would have the opportunity to consume about 9770 calories a day, a diet likely involving some grains seeing as we would no longer have the benefit of opposable thumbs and thus, would be shoveling our long noses into big bags of grains.

If this moose transformation were to happen now, we’d be in luck as a cornucopia of grainy goodies seems to be trundling down the production line of Kellogg’s, Post, and General Mills, all ripe for the tasting. Next in line? Fiber One Chocolate Squares.

This is a curious concept to me. Cereal that consists of chocolate and fiber doesn’t easily connect as one idea in my brain. They seem like two separate identities of cereals: one for Saturday morning cartoons and the other for the rest of the time. The thought of combining them is kind of like getting a six-man toboggan stuck in a tree in the middle of June: it doesn’t quite make sense, but sometimes 1) it doesn’t matter if it makes sense and 2) you just gotta trust that maybe it will over time. So I’m going to trust the General.

Fiber One Chocolate Cereal Look at all the fiber in that bowl

Upon pouring out the first handful, the little squares show a hopeful shade of cocoa brown (more specifically, “Russet Tone” in accordance with the paint sample book at Home Depot). They look like the wood chips my dad used to throw in the smoker and seem equally as sturdy, so you could probably reconstruct a full-scale model of the Eiffel Tower with them.

I, unfortunately, don’t have the architectural skills to reconstruct the Eiffel Tower with cereal product, so I ate them instead. On first shovelful, they’ve got a solid crisp. The chocolate is subtle, with the familiar chalky cocoa taste of Nesquik or Ovaltine. A sweeter (corn) bran somethin’ somethin’ comes in at the very end. I had intended for this to be my dessert, but, with its nostalgic powdered-chocolate-milk-and-cereal taste, could imagine it for breakfast. It holds a very delicate flavor. Delicate like antique chandeliers.

Sadly, that delicacy breaks apart when submerged in milk as any the sugary goodness dissolves. It’s like the little grains tried to dress up but then lost their tux and tails on the sidewalk. However, I know there’s a camp of people who love the sensation of cereal milk. If you are one such human, you may find you enjoy this in milk as its sturdy bran stands up for a good amount of time. The cocoa, however, still isn’t very strong, so the milk doesn’t taste so much of cocoa as it does of corn bran pulp. I’ll allow you to decipher for yourself whether you wish to embark on such an eating experience.

With Cocoa Krispies and Cocoa Puffs currently dominating the chocolate cereal market, the square is a welcome variation from the dominant geometrical experience of the most popular chocolate cereals. It broadens my mind to ask: what else could this cereal be? Would it make for a good ice cream topper? Or a pie crust? Or perhaps the medium for an installation piece at the MoMA? Imagine the possibilities.

Fiber One Chocolate Cereal A square of potential

You can be whatever you wanna be, little square (positive reinforcement).

My college roommate used to tell me to start my New Year’s Resolutions on solid knees. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I have a feeling that the 40 percent of the calcium provided within this box of chocolate squares will keep my knees in-check. Plus, they’ve got fiber and don’t taste like vitamins and minerals. That’s a hurdle and they’ve crossed it in well my book.

On the whole, while not spectacular, these were good for munching. I had hope for a deeper, more woodsy cocoa flavor, but, hey, let me not go all catawampus over my own nit-picky preferences. I enjoyed this enough. Is it the best chocolate cereal? Not for me, but it does provide something pretty innovative and pretty tasty and that’s pretty good for today.

(Nutrition Facts – 3/4 cup – 80 calories, 10 calories from fat 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 105 milligrams of potassium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, 11 grams of other carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein.)

Item: Fiber One 80 Calories Chocolate Squares Cereal
Purchased Price: $2.97 (on sale)
Size: 11.75 ounce box
Purchased at: Harris Teeter
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Good size. Solid structure. Cocoa flavor. Doesn’t taste like vitamins and minerals. Lots of calcium. Solid knees. Antique chandeliers. Turning into a moose.
Cons: Cocoa flavor too delicate. Not much better in milk. Corn bran pulp. Getting a toboggan stuck in a tree. Not being equipped with architectural skills.