New HALO bars by ProBar - review and giveaway

These days I'm making a real effort to eat healthier foods (see my Forty Before Forty list, items #1 and #2), and although I think I might actually be on my way to breaking my addiction to junk food, those mid-morning and mid-afternoon munchies continue to be a real challenge. When you're starving and/or stressed, it's all too easy to end up with a bowlful of potato chips or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because all you're concerned about is satisfying that hunger, and you don't stop to think (or don't want to think).

The solution, of course, is to rid your pantry of unhealthy foods -- but deprivation is never the answer, because after weeks with only celery in the fridge I'm just going to drive over to Sprinkles Cupcakes or Cold Stone Creamery and pig out. Besides, I've got kids, so I need to keep some snacks like bagels and graham crackers, which are okay in small quantities, especially for kids, but all too easy for grownups like me to overindulge in.

This summer ProBar launched a new line of adult and kid-friendly snack bars called HALO. Like the name suggests, they are a healthier snack option you can indulge in without too much guilt. They're low in sugar, only 150 calories, with zero trans fats, 2 grams of fiber, and 3-5 grams of protein. The primary sugar used is organic brown rice syrup, which has a low glycemic index value so it gives you sustained energy without a dramatic spike (and dip) in blood sugar. They're vegan, dairy-free and all-natural.

Oh, did I mention they taste great? They come in four yummy flavors -- Nutty Marshmallow, Honey Graham, Rocky Road and S'mores. Who wouldn't want to try flavors like that?

The Basics
HALO- Satisfying your sweet tooth with zero grams of guilt. Introducing Halo™, the delicious between meals treat that’s designed to do your body good. With natural whole food ingredients and heavenly taste, these bars have such big flavors they take on a personality all their own.

HALO sent us samples of all four flavors so we could try them out. Here's what we thought of them:

The Bongga/The Blah
I didn't think I'd like this flavor -- I thought it would be sickly sweet -- but I was pleasantly surprised at the balance struck by the sweet marshmallow and the nutty flavors. There were peanuts scattered throughout the bar, giving it a nice crunch.


The Honey Graham bar had the most indistinct flavor out of all the four bars. It was sweet and satisfying, but it didn't really taste like a graham cracker. My kids were lukewarm about this flavor, and it did sort of feel like we were eating a regular, run-of-the-mill energy bar.


The rocky road flavor is my personal favorite. Hey, who doesn't like chocolate? The bar is dark and dense, which immediately fools my brain into thinking it's a lot more decadent than it really is. It has a strong chocolate flavor with a hint of nuts, just like any rocky road bar should be. If you close your eyes, you can easily imagine that you're biting into a brownie with nuts.


This was the all-around winner! Every single person in my family loved it! It's filled with chocolate chips, so every time you bite into one you feel like you're really indulging in a treat. I must admit I did not quite taste the "graham cracker" in this S'more (that was the same problem with the Honey Graham flavor), but it's still a really great-tasting bar.



The Bottom Line
HALO bars are a great between-meals option for adults and kids because they fill you up with good, healthy ingredients and taste a lot more decadent than they really are. You can actually have one without feeling guilty that you're cheating on your diet, or give your kids one without worrying that you're setting them up for a lifetime of junk food addiction!



Win a HALO Bars prize pack
One lucky Bonggamom Finds winner will receive a box of HALO bars with a women’s Osprey Courier bag embroidered with the PROBAR logo.

Required entry:
Leave a comment on this post and tell me which HALO Bar flavor you would most like to try. This entry must be completed before extra entries qualify.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).


1) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(1 entry).

2) Retweet my HALO bar giveaway tweet (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet).

3) Write this on the ProBar Facebook page (1 entry):

I entered to win a box of sinfully delicious HALO Bars on Bonggamom Finds! http://ow.ly/5xr2t

4) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):

I entered the HALO Bar giveaway! http://ow.ly/5xr2t

This giveaway ends at midnight PST on July 21, 2011; I will draw a winner at random on July 22 and post the winner's name on the comments section soon after. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.