I have been systematically cutting high-fructose corn syrup from my family’s diet, lately, and wow is it astounding how many places it hides. Goodness. Now, I do a lot of my own baking, so for the most part, I can easily make some of the items that tend to be the worst offenders.
But oh how my children miss Nutrigrain bars. And truthfully, I miss them, too—they’re an easy snack for them to grab, and it’s not something I can easily replicate.
But the organic fru-fru bars tend to cost about $5/box, and I don’t miss them that much.
So I was just poking around on Amazon and found these Nature’s Choice Multigrain Bars on sale. If you sign up for Subscribe & Save, they’re $30.75 for 12 boxes; that’s about $2.56/box, or roughly half what they cost at my supermarket.
Not only are they corn syrup-free, they’re also wheat-free and completely vegan. That makes them an ideal snack for kids with food allergies, too.
Now, which flavor do I order? I’m leaning towards cherry….
Whoa, I may have to grab that… my 18 month old eats a ton of stuff like that, but my 4-year-old son is wheat allergic so he’s never eaten any kind of cereal bar. Maybe now!
Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? Pretty much everything there is corn syrup/trans fat free, plus lots of organic options, and cheaper than the regular grocery store. I like to be able to pronounce most everything I eat, so TJ’s has become our store of choice.
CuriousParty: We occasionally make the trek into Atlanta to visit TJ’s, but it’s not exactly local/convenient for me. Alas. I miss them terribly! (I used to live near one.)
Seriously…the TJ’s cereal bars are under $2 a box and they are fabulous. Stock up the next time you’re there!!
I got a box of those fru fru bars at my dollar store. I was leary but they were great. I went back and got the rest.
SO it’s YOUR fault they’ve been airing those ridiculous ‘what’s all the fuss about since corn syrup is just … corn’ ads!
I’ve been doing most of my shopping at Fresh and Easy recently. Most of there stuff is free of Bad Things (TM). For instance, their lemonade consists of water, unpasteurized organic lemon juice and cane sugar. Their orange juice is unpasteurized orange juice.
Doesn’t get much simpler than that. 🙂
I hope I never have to move away from Trader Joe’s again. Pre-kid we had one in NJ, but didn’t have one when we moved to MN. Luckily we got one about a year after my son was born, when I really started paying attention to all the Bad Things (TM) in processed food. THANK GOODNESS!
It was cause for great celebration in my house when TJs opened a store within a 30 minute drive. Which just goes to show what happens to your priorities post-kid…God I feel old.
I third the “stock up when you are at TJs again” suggestion. I’m staring at their apple cereal bar box, and they don’t expire until 1/09, and I bought them about three months ago. So, you could definitely do some stocking! I agree that they are AWESOME!
And, I thought trekking out to the one 20 minutes away was a schlep – which is why I only do it once a month. I just found out that they are opening a store within the next year less than a two minute drive from me. Yippee!
I’m diabetic so I’ve been tracking down and murdering HFCS whenever and wherever I can. Did you know that, tablespoon for tablespoon, catsup has more carbs than the most expensive ice cream? And a lot of that is HFCS. So, here’s my catsup recipe.
I just take two 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce, add a pinch of salt and one packet of artificial sweetener. If you prefer actual suger, one teaspoon will be enough. Shake it up and you’re ready to go.
(It’s generally actually cheaper to buy two 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce than one 16-ounce can.)
It’s not as overpoweringly flavored as commercial catsup, but it dresses up a burger just fine.
Hey Mir, thanks for the tip on these. We love them but at over $4 a box at our local store, I feel guilty if I sneak one for me. But at $2 a box, not as much guilt! Also, I am looking for a deal on a microSD format of memory card. Please post anything like that if it comes along.
I was just coming here to comment too about Trader Joes, but I see that others had the same thought. Their bars are in a box of 6 for $1.69. I can’t get the regular ones at a regular store for that price. We live an hour away from TJ’s, so once a month, we go up there and STOCK UP! I think the cashiers cower in fear when we come with our piled up cart, but they have so many healthy, inexpensive options, it pays for us to go up there!!