NEWSFLASH: Fiber One Chewy Bars Unite Mankind!

I received an email last week from a woman I'd never met. She mentioned she thought she'd contacted me before on behalf of EatBetterAmerica.com (which she hadn't) then asked if I'd like to participate in a product review for Fiber One Chewy Bars.

Fiber.

That's all I saw. You all may remember my love affair with roughage so I didn't ask any questions and instantly said yes. I wasn't sure who this woman was or who she worked for, but she was offering me free fiber and I didn't want to mess up a good thing. A few days later I received a FedEx package from Michigan with one box of Fiber One Chewy Bars. Before the courier had even gotten back to his truck, my kid and I had wolfed down the first four.

There were no further instructions inside the box and I wasn't sure what was expected of me. I emailed my supplier, asking what kind of review she wanted and she replied that I could write anything I pleased. I ripped into the fifth bar and composed this little beauty (yes, it's skippable):

I'm really into high-fiber products and am used to them being somewhat difficult to chew so these were a very pleasant surprise. I didn't feel like I had to work to get them down. I didn't have to work to grind up any fiber and by looking at the bar all I could see was rice puffs and oats instead of huge chunks of roughage. Almost all I tasted was honey and chocolate which for a bar with as little sugar and fat as these have in them, was great. They have a "melt-in-your-mouth" quality that I can only compare to a warm rice crispie treat. Fantastic. Another huge benefit for me is that they are soft enough for my two year old to eat and enjoy. She usually can't eat most granola bars since they are too stiff - and most only have about 5% of daily fiber and tons more sugar anyway. I would definitely buy these for myself as on-the-go snacks but I'm most excited about having a stash of them for my two year old picky eater who has been begging for them ever since her first bite yesterday. And of course, because they have so much fiber, they actually work to satisfy a hunger craving when we are out on the town.

I thought the packaging was pretty bad. I know General Mills is probably trying to appeal to the health-conscience crowd and didn't want to do any cutesy packaging, but the colors and fonts on the package are pretty sterile and unappealing. Maybe a bigger deal should be made on the package about the soft texture of these bars since that's what sets them apart from other fiber bars in my opinion. I know they are called "Chewy Bars" but many other kinds of granola bars claim to be chewy as well and are nothing close to as soft as these. And it seems like granola bars usually come six to a box - these only had five.

But really, the taste and texture is fantastic. I've checked the nutritional information a dozen times to make sure that something that tastes this decadent really could be so good for my body. A+ on taste, C on packaging.

I emailed her my review as I licked the last of the goo off my fingers. I assumed it would be submitted to General Mills along with hundreds of other reviews and perhaps even be considered in their product development. Then her response - "Just for future reference, you don't have to let me know what you're going to be posting. Anything you come up with is fine!"

Posting? After a few emails back and forth and we had it all straightened out. Apparently my blog is considered a powerful marketing tool and she had wanted me to put a blub up here to hype the new product. Some may call it selling myself out but I dare anyone to resist the lure of free, delicious fiber straight to their door via handsome FedEx carrier. Go buy the freakin' bars. They will save your marriage, smooth your skin, clear your driving record and enthrall your colon. Anyone else want to mail me free food?

Comments

S'mee said…
sweet gig!

Oh! And I am writing this from the check out line at my local supermarket where I am currently purchasing boxes of Fiber One Chewy Bars with oats and chocolate!and extolling their virtue to all within earshot.

(Hoping that someone at General Mills will hear my sucking noise and send me a case of Fiber One Chewy Bars with oats and chocolate. Or just the cute FedEX delivery guy!)
Anonymous said…
First You Tube, now Hollywood Flakes? What is this world coming to?
Soon we'll see blogs like: "Penny talks in complete sentences! brought to you by AlphaBits."
or
"New baby made possible by Huntington Memorial. When you have an emergency or are just looking for a quick check-up come in to the professionals at Huntington Memorial. The staff made my stay comfortable, even enjoyable. I would recommend nothing less than a stay at your friendly neighborhood Hospital. When you're in pain, think Huntington Memorial. I did."

Come to think of it, the possibilities are limitless. You could potentially get every human need by plugging products on the blog. Today fiber bars, tomorrow dry cleaning. Genius.
Carina said…
Yes, but do they protect us from meteors?
Janell said…
Wow you mean this wasn't SPAM, fishing, a creepy stalker, a bomber, or otherwise postal terrrorist? And the bars were tasty? What luck!

Congrats on your progress towards making millions =)

Ya know, if I ever happen to find a single bar for 50cents or less, I'll give it a try =)
Suzie Petunia said…
Where may I find such a sumptuous fiber-filled treat? Do tell.
Annie said…
Sarah, that is a really sweet picture of yourself. I'm glad that you found Fiber One as a photographic muse.
dalene said…
Wow, a powerful marketing tool eh? Cool. Anything that gets you free food I guess.

I think they should call them, "Not your mother's Krispie Treats."

I got a free pair of Birkenstocks once.

(And what's up with word verification? I love typing in random letters because all I have to visualize is a blue box with a question mark.)
Anonymous said…
oooohhh fiber!! I will have to look for these in the grocery store. ANd by the way, I love the picture of you and the box o' fiber! Cute!
Heather O. said…
Do they have hydrogenated oil?
Robyn said…
I bet a nickle there's GE foods in that there bar! General Mills is on the "bad" list. Sorry to burst the bubble of free food, but soylent green is Monsanto!

Now back to your regularly scheduled fun stuff!
Bek said…
I keep signing up for the "test our product and blog about it" sites and NADA NOTHING!

You must be cool. :-)

My kids detest granola bars (now, that isn't going to get me anything free) and would rather eat, are you ready, wheat chex. Plain.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? I am a junk food mamma that has been blessed/cursed w/ mini health food snobs. They don't even have the same genetic make up so I know it isn't hereditary, it is the way the universe plays a joke on me :-)
Unknown said…
Chronicler:

Just so you know, if you've eaten a soybean in your life, you've put a very EXTENSIVELY genetically modified organism in your body. Same with anything related to corn (ever seen teosinte? the ears are the size of your thumb.) GMO or genetically engineered does not = bad. It just means now we KNOW what gene we're looking for, specifically, and not just randomly selecting for "Oooh! Pretty!" or "Hey, this plant doesn't need 4 gallons of pesticide on it per year to survive..."

Sorry to rant, but I find the "OH GOD! THIS PLANT IS ROUND-UP READY! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" thing really... weird. Sarah, even if it contains GMO products, you have my permission to eat fiber bars until you're the most regular woman on the planet. The transgenes will not give you flipper babies. Science. It's what's for dinner.
Unknown said…
The marketing machine has worked. I am going to buy a box of these bars per your suggestion.
Samantha said…
That picture is the best part of this post. Well done.
Robyn said…
Adrienne, sorry but round-up ready, for farmers does mean run for your life. And unfortunately, for your example, I have not eaten a soybean anything in my life. With that said, I wasn't judging Sarah's ability to eat the granola bar, she had been at my site and expressed an interest in learning more and just reinforcing the dialogue between the two of us.

Anyone on the planet can eat whatever they wish. But the monsanto's of the world are the new killing fields whether you or anyone else wishes to recogize it.
Sarah said…
I'm with chronicler on this one - I'm not saying that all genetically engineered food is going to kill you, but I totally disagree with a lot of the politics of them and their side effects on other non GM farmers. Everyone watch the movie "The Future of Food" for a good old fashioned freak out.

Bek - selling out isn't all it's purported to be. I'm sure you'll get your chance someday though!

Compulsive - free birks?? You are WAY out of my league. Where do I sign up for that one?
Catherine M. said…
Mom always tries to tell me that she laughs out loud reading your posts. This is the first one that absolutely got me going! I loved your expression in the photo.. As far as selling your soul for fiber bars, souls are a dime a dozen in LA.
Unknown said…
Chronicler:
I'm not saying the Monsanto people are a group I'd like to befriend and have a picnic with, but your post gave me the impression your problem was with GMO/GE products, not Monsanto. Sorry if I misinterpreted.ra
Anonymous said…
Wow, Sarah. Your blog makes me want to run out and buy a box right now. How can I get hooked up with free food?
Anonymous said…
Looked at 2 Tom Thumb signature stores in Dallas. Can't find them. :(
Unknown said…
What's so pathetic is that I actually went out and bought a box today b/c of your review. I'm giving into the Man! What's worse is that I LOVE them. Chocolate in a "healthy" product...that's my kind of snack. I like the fact they really are filling and tasty, not in that health food sort of way where it's supposed to be good but ends up tasting like faintly-chocolate flavored cardboard. The only drawback I found is what Sar said--5 per box for what, $2.50/box?! Where's my 6th bar?! I feel gipped. I even skipped having a second one until tomorrow so I could ration them off for the rest of the week. Ugh. Ticked. Full but ticked.
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