If you recall, I’ve reviewed a Clif Mojo bar before- the peanut butter pretzel flavor. You may also recall that while I didn’t hate it, I definitely didn’t think I’d purchase one again. Well lo and behold I went and did just that when I stumbled upon this delightful looking white chocolate macadamia flavor.

I love white chocolate, and macadamia nuts. What could go wrong?

Let’s start with the stats. 190 calories with 11 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein. All well and good here.

The ingredient list is mostly organic with very few funky ingredients to complain about.

Appearance: Chunky with puffed rice, pretzel bits, macadamia pieces, and white chocolate chunks all held together by a shiny colorless glaze. One side of the bar has more pretzel pieces while the other seems to have all the white chocolate chunks.

Texture: Everything has a very satisfying crunch to it from the crackling puffed rice to the crisp pretzel bits. The nuts and chocolate pieces have a similar oily smoothness and density that feels good as they give way under the strength of your bite.

Taste: There is a very surprising saltiness right from the start. It’s not like individual salt crystals dissolving on your tongue either, but more of an all over saltiness as if the bar was painted with saltwater. It’s jarring at first, the acrid iodine flavor washed over everything makes your jaw tingle just under the ears like you’ve bitten into a lemon.

It’s great when you bite into a white chocolate chip and the saltiness combines with the sweet to make one cohesive flavor, but since the distribution of ingredients isn’t homogenous, some bites are a mouthful of sweet chocolate while others are just an unpleasant saltlick.

As for the macadamias, they’re barely noticeable. There is a faint nuttiness in the back of your throat if you’re looking for it, but really it’s not a huge part of the overall flavor of the bar.

Overall, while I didn’t hate it I didn’t really “get it” either. The pretzel bits seemed out of place entirely and the saltwater flavor was just impossible to get past. I would have liked this better if the nuts were salted rather than the binder and if the whole thing were better distributed so that most bites will have a bit of everything in them.

I’m really just not feeling this whole “put pretzels in everything” business that Clif Mojo has going on, so this product line as a whole is probably just not for me. And I can’t for the life of me figure out what is giving the entire bar that bathed in saltwater taste when there doesn’t seem to be a colossal amount of sodium in it.

Also….where my macadamias at!?!? What a tease.

What is your favorite nut? (I’m a cashew and hazelnut fan myself.)

November 30, 2011 Alayna Discussion 10 comments

You know that smell. When you unexpectedly walk into a cloud of that sweet and salty aroma at festivals and faires, you know exactly what you’ve stumbled upon.

Kettle corn. You can smell the metallic tinge in the air from the fiery-hot cast iron kettle being super-heated, the charred smell of burning wood cracking and blistering open under the kettle belly, and the almost sun-kissed hay-like smell of the corn kernels bursting open as they explode from the intense heat.

And then there’s the flavor. Toasty and lightly coated with the thinest lacquer of sugar and a sprinkling of briny salt. I always loved it when there was barely any coating at all on the popcorn because it made me eat more and more of it in an effort to get enough of that elusive flavor onto my tongue.

I’ve tried to capture that same experience with these toasted “kettle corn” pumpkin seeds. Two favorite fall treats combine to form one irresistibly sweet and salty snack.

Here’s what you need: The seeds from one small pie pumpkin, melted butter, sugar, and salt. That’s it.

You just pour the butter and sugar over the seeds and stir to combine, then pour them out onto a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle over a thin layer of salt.

Those get baked at 300 degrees for 25 minutes, just long enough for the butter and sugar to caramelize on the toasted seeds.

And they are heavenly! The subtle sweet and salty flavor of kettle corn is unmistakably recreated in these pumpkin seeds. They are a delicious and mostly healthy treat that is perfect for fall snacking.

Toasted "kettle corn" pumpkin seeds

Two favorite fall treats combine for a salty and sweet snack.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• the seeds from one small pie pumpkin
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• sprinkle of salt

Cooking Directions

1. Remove seeds from pumpkin, rinse, and let dry on a kitchen towel.
2. Combine seeds, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl and stir.
3. Spread seeds out in one even layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprinkle with salt.
4. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes.

Enjoy them on a crisp and cool fall day or anytime!

October 21, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 9 comments

I think I may be the only person on the planet who doesn’t really like Clif bars. At least not the original variety that are like thick chalky bricks, those always give me acid reflux and make my tummy hurt. I have no idea why they do that.

I decided to give this Clif Mojo bar a try because…well…because it has pretzels in it. There’s really nothing more to it than that, I was just intrigued.

Ingredient list is pretty clean, lots of stuff in it but nothing I’m too afraid of.

It clocks in at 190 calories which is a little bit low for a satisfying snack but still good. 9 grams of protein and another 9 grams of sugar are both respectable stats. And I was worried about the salt content with this being chock full of pretzels, one of the most classic of salty snacks, but at 220 milligrams it’s really not totally unreasonable.

Appearance: I like the cobbled-together look of this bar. Loosely clinging together pieces of pretzel, puffed rice, peanuts, and peanut butter chips. I was very excited to see those adorable little peanut butter chips, I didn’t even know they were there until I opened it. Nice golden sheen from the brown rice syrup too.

Texture: Crunchy and chewy, a bit jagged but not unpleasant. There’s no sogginess in the pretzels from being in contact with the moisture from the brown rice syrup. Peanut butter chips are buttery smooth and the puffed rice is a nice subtle crackle.

Taste: I expected this to be a contrasting sweet and salty flavor, but it was really mostly salty. Not a bad thing, just not what I expected. The peanut butter chips are subtle, they provide a nutty flavor without any additional salt or sweetness. The salt comes solely from the pretzels, with some bites being less salty and others very salty when you bite into a piece with big salt crystals.

Overall, I liked this bar but I don’t think it’s one I’d add to the regular rotation. It’s definitely light years better than those regular thick pasty Clif bars, but still not that exciting. However, if you’re a lover of salty snacks more than sweets, this might be just right for you. I, however, was really hoping for that awesome contrast between salty and sweet. I think a bit of honey flavor would have taken this over the edge for me.

Salty, sweet, or both at the same time?

August 31, 2011 Alayna Discussion 8 comments