Bobo's Oat Bars All Natural, Banana, 3-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12)

Bobo's Oat Bars are delicious and nutritious! They make a very filling breakfast, snack, or meal replacement. And IMO, even though they come in a variety of terrific flavors, the banana and the original flavor are the two best.

I have to agree with Mr. Haschka. The banana is virtually nonexistent. That's too bad, because I REALLY wanted these to taste like banana bread. However, they are awesome, as usual. Really, they don't even need any added "flavor", like the banana, apricot or coconut. The dense, wonderful feel of oats and sweetness is great all by itself (well, adding a little layer of peanut butter on top doesn't hurt!). They are filling, great tasting and good for you. We will continue to buy Bobo's Oat Bars in a variety of flavors.

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BOBO'S OAT BARS, named after the oldest daughter of entrepreneur and bar's creator Beryl Stafford, are "baked from the heart in Boulder, Colorado" and should prove to be a delight for oat lovers. The fact that the bar comes in several flavors almond, apricot, banana, chocolate, cinnamon-raisin, coconut, cranberry, original, peanut butter, strawberry may be irrelevant for reasons I shall mention.

At 3.5 inches x 2.25 inches x 1 inch, the bar is a dense, heavy, and pleasantly sweet treat with a strong oat flavor. Each bar is defined as two 180 calorie servings, which is absurd because nobody's going to eat only half the bar. (As a matter of fact, I'll thumb my nose at the Food Police and eat two before I go to the gym. So, there!) Each serving also has 6g fat (2g saturated), 20mg sodium, 9g sugars, 3g fiber, and 3g protein. But no cholesterol or trans fat.

The ingredients list for the banana version contains some things I've never run across before:

"Organic rolled oats, brown rice syrup, earth balance (expeller-pressed natural soy, palm, canola, and olive oil blend), filtered water, pure salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy) and annatto extract (color), organic sucanat (non-refined cane sugar), dried bananas (bananas, fructose), xantham gum. Contains soy. May contain traces of tree nuts and peanuts."

The ingredient "earth balance" sounds meaningless but very PC. These days, that's inordinately important.

Annatto extract is derived from the tropical achiote tree.

And "pure salt"? Does any ingredients list on a foodstuff include "impure salt"?

"Sucanat" is derived from "SUcre de CAnne NATurel", which is dried sugar cane juice that retains its molasses content.

When it comes to familiarity with common ingredients list components, I need to get out more. Perhaps they offer a night-school class for aging boomers at the local community college.

The reason I'm not awarding five stars is that the ostensible banana taste was so subtle as to be virtually non-existent. The only other Bobo's version I've tried was the apricot, and that also seemed minimally flavored. The muted essences were unexpected in something so dense, especially as the oats come across so strongly.

The high points of the bar are, for me, the oat flavor and the "mouth feel." It goes great with cold moo juice. Despite their high price at local outlets $2.69 per bar I'd buy more, and make an effort to sample the other flavors to see if they're better presented.

P.S. 8/9/11: See my review of Bobo's Oat Bars All Natural, Chocolate, 3-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12).

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I love the taste of these bars and the oat health that goes along with eating them! I do purchase these items on a semi regular basis. That said, two things hold me back from buying and eating them more often: 1) The calories are high (but the texture and taste make it worth it) and 2) The price point is still a bit high. I feel like for the cost of a handful oats as the primary ingredient that paying over $2.30 per 3.0 oz bar is too much.

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Bobo's banana flavor is unbeatable. Who knew an oat bar could be this good! Anyone that enjoys healthy, flavorful products will be hooked. I guarantee it!