Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Product review

This is a few weeks old now, because I picked this up when the coach from Canberra to Eden stopped at the Snowy Mountain town of Cooma. There were a few cafes, a chinese place, and a fish and chip shop. I'm sure I would have been able to find vegan food somewhere. But, I had planned ahead and brought a sandwich. I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied, however, and went to the Cole's to find some fruit. Unfortunately, all the fruit was expensive, and it didn't even look that good. During a quick walk through the "health food" aisle, though, a special caught my eye. Three Leda Bars for $5.

Leda Bars are produced in a gluten and dairy free facility. They are, like, really super good for you. The main ingredients are chickpea flour and dates. I get seriously excited when I see the word 'vegan' on grocery store products, so I didn't really have any doubts about buying these as my post-sandwich snack. According to the back of the package, there are four flavours available--banana, apricot, choc chip and apple. Unfortunately, Cooma only had banana and apricot. And since I hate all things apricot, I got three banana bars.

At first bite, I wasn't too sure about these. They are really super dense and chewy. The flavour was good, if a little bit chalky. After a few bites, though, these bars really grew on me. The texture makes the bar feel filling. Plus, these bars were full of nuts, dried banana, raisins, and some other stuff so there was some variety in each bite.

By the time I finished my first one, I sort of contemplated opening another. I'm glad I didn't--they fill you up pretty well. Plus, I was glad to have something semi-sweet later on in the week for an easy snack. I would definitely buy these again, and especially if the other flavours were available. I don't think I would pay any more than $2 for a single one of these, but then I'm a bit of a tight-ass. But the next time you're stuck for food and there's a grocery store near by, have a look for these. Because if they're stocked in Cooma, chances are good they'll be available anywhere in Australia.

10 comments:

steph said...

I've been avoiding the bars out of fear they'd be terrible - I tried a 'cherry chocolate bar' (can't remember exactly what it was called) a little while back in the hopes it would be sort of like a cherry ripe, but it was terrible. But upon your recommendation I might give the Leda bars a go.

The Voracious Vegan said...

I've never heard of these bars but they look great. I'm such a jumping ball of joy whenever I see something that clearly says VEGAN on the wrapper. Yay for Vegan Pride!

Unknown said...

never even seen or heard of those before..but they sound pretty good! i'm a fan of banana-bars so i'd probably enjoy them.
oh and i know what you mean about seeing "Vegan" on something..lol when I saw on smart balance that it said vegan i was like YAY!!!! buy 4932804 tubs of it!! haha okay not really, but its still super exciting. :)

Bianca said...

Ha! I tend to buy anything labeled "vegan" that I find in non-health food grocery stores too! I love bars, so this looks delicious. I like that it looks almost cake/bread-like.

Gina said...

I'm totally with Bianca about buying anything vegan in a "regular" store also!! Those look really dense and yummy! The choc chip sounds especially good :)

Anonymous said...

they seem like a great snack! and also the package is cute :)

Anonymous said...

i also get a kick out of seeing the word 'vegan' on things in the store. i like things spelled out to me like that since i usually spend grocery time scouring ingredients lists looking for something that will make me put it back on the shelf

Vaala ◪ said...

Those Leda bars are really good warmed up slightly in the microwave. It really helps the texture.

...barbara... said...

mmmm...i want to try one....
going to have to hunt the next time i make it to a bigger city :)

Little Miss Sunshine said...

OOoo thanks for the review, I've been eye-ing those Leda bars for quite some time now, but never gave them a try coz I don't know how they taste ... but after your review >> YAY!!