I impulse shopped.
As I came upon the food section, an end cap caught my eye. Candy. Unjunked. I blinked my eyes a couple times and shook my head to make sure I was actually seeing this.
It was still there when I reopened my eyes. This was not a mirage of black wrapped candy bars with glints of bright colors of red, purple, and green decorating the end of this aisle. These candy bars looked more like they should be placed with the video games rather than in the food section. I picked one up to see what was not-so-junk about this candy bar.
This is what was printed on the label:
UNJUNKED
NO ARTIFICIALS
NO HYDROGENATEDS
NO CORN SYRUPS
NO PRESERVATIVES
NO GMOS
UNREAL (This happens to be the brand name as well.)
Personally, no matter what is in candy, candy in itself is junk food. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So I found it amusing they were claiming that because their bars didn't contain any of the items listed above, it was therefore "unjunked." Sugar, as in added sugar- including cane sugar (which is sucrose), is junk. Yes, it can assist in making food tasty, but it's true.
The one I happened to pick up was UNREAL8, their "unjunked" version of a Snickers bar. I am my mother's daughter (and Snickers is a guilty pleasure for me), so I had to try this. I already had my glorified candy bar, an Almond Brownie Balance Bar (which I consider a not-so-guilty pleasure), why not get this too?
When I returned home, I was famished from my Target trip. (Okay, not really... I just really wanted chocolate.) I pulled out the candy bar and tore into the wrapper to take a look at candy, unjunked.
Wow, not nearly as appetizing as a Snickers looks. Mars at least goes through the trouble to make the chocolate look like it was poured onto the bar by the ripple effect on the top. This candy bar only has dimples, from the wrapper. Maybe this tastes better than it looks.
I think I broke a tooth... wait, nope. My teeth are still in tact (thank goodness). But man, this is a workout for my jaw. Ah, yes. There are no preservatives in this candy bar. They aren't kidding either. The first two bites were the most difficult to chew. For some reason, it got easier as I progressed through the candy bar. I'm not sure if it was any "fresher" than the end of it or if I worked up enough jaw strength.
As for taste, it was decent. Nothing to write home about (but enough for me to blog about). It had enough sweeteners to make up for the corn syrups typically found in candy bars. These sweeteners included cane sugar, organic blue agave inulin, more cane sugar, a little more cane sugar, and evaporated cane syrup. It took all of those sweeteners to make up for what is usually used in a candy bar.
The other notable ingredient in this "unjunked" candy bar was palm kernel oil. Palm kernel oil, like coconut and palm oil, is an oil that is relatively high in saturated fat. According to the nutrition facts, one of these candy bars alone makes up 25% of your daily saturated fat intake (on a 2,000 calorie diet). Yikes!
Now if you click on the link above (or conveniently right here), UNREAL not only takes the time to compare UNREAL8 to Snickers, but also to a pear. It shows that a pear and their "unjunked" candy bar have the same amount of sugar. No way! What they fail to highlight is that a pear also has fewer calories and contains no fat. Oh, and that the sugar in a pear occurs naturally.
There is no reason to think the "unjunked" candy bar is above the typical candy bar. Either way, it is candy. It is no more nutritious for you than what you find from other candy companies. If you really want to be healthy, reach for a piece of fruit. If you really want to be naughty, have what you crave.
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