It's been a while now since I first reviewed Real Handful snacks, and since then they have rebranded a little bit. They now produce "unruly" flavours, and are sick of snacks that are "good" or "bad", so instead their snacks are "better". This might sound confusing but I get what they're aiming for - the healthy snacks market can tend to be a bit black and white, but in reality people have so many differing dietary needs it's never that clear cut.
They recently offered me some snacks from their new range to review and of course I couldn't say no to that! As well as bagged fruit and nut mixes they've diversified into snack bars, with flavours like Choc Orange and Sea Salt Caramello which I'm reviewing today. The bars are made with a mix of nuts, coconut sugar, rice syrup, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed protein and more. They're a little similar to Nine Bars and are gluten free and vegan, although produced in a factory that processes dairy.
The Sea Salt Caramello Bar had a lovely salted caramel aroma on opening the wrapper. It contains a mix of nuts, sultanas, seeds, pumpkin seed protein, coconut sugar and oil, rice syrup etc. And it's pretty darn tasty!
The caramel flavour is spot on, somehow tasting natural but still sweet and moreish, and of course it goes perfectly with the nuts and seeds. The earthy coconut sugar flavour really comes through.This is a very filling bar, must be that pumpkin protein working its magic! 8.5 out of 10.
The Choc Orange bar is topped with a cocoa flavoured topping, which unfortunately was a little melted due to the crazy weather we've been having lately. I forgot to refrigerate it for a while before taking pics - oops!
It contains a mix of nuts, sultanas, seeds, coconut sugar etc as well as orange oil. Again, this is a very tasty bar and has a nice balance of sweet and savoury nutty flavours. The orange flavour is a welcome change, and inevitably reminded me of Christmas since I always associate chocolate orange with it! (anyone else the same?) I preferred the Caramello variety over this but it was still very nice in its own right. Again, quite filling thanks to the pumpkin protein. 8 out of 10.
Overall, I think Real Handful are onto something here! These snack bars aren't necessarily "good" since they do contain sugar, but they are made with pretty clean ingredients suitable for most dietary needs (except nut allergies of course). I think they'd make a nice alternative to the ubiquitous Nakd and Nine bars available in shops and I do hope to see these more widely available. Plus, more flavours please Real Handful!
Ingredients:
Caramello: Mixed nuts (peanuts, almonds), sultanas, brown rice syrup, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut blossom sugar, coconut oil, sesame seeds, agave nectar, pumpkin seed protein powder, cacao nibs, milled golden flaxseed, natural flavourings, sea salt.
Choc Orange: Mixed nuts (peanuts & cashews), sultanas, dark chocolate flavoured coating (sugar, palm oil, cocoa powder, sunflower lecithin), rice syrup, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut blossom sugar, coconut oil. pumpkin seed protein powder, agave nectar, chia seeds, milled golden flaxseed, citric acid, orange oil.
For more info and to buy Real Handful snacks see:
Also available at Holland & Barrett, Ocado.com, Sourced Market and Sainsbury's.