2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
A Teaspoon Guide to
Australian Muesli Bars
The following lists set out the Muesli Bars on sale in Australia that have
the least sugar (the Best 10), those that have the most sugar (the Worst 10)
and a complete listing of all of them. The complete listing also includes a
handy teaspoon reckoner so you can see how many spoonfuls of sugar you
will get in a standard serve of that Bar.
Some Muesli Bars are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Polydextrose
(sometimes called Litesse) deserves a special mention because it is
increasingly being used with artificial sweeteners in ‘sugar-free’ foods.
Polydextrose is classified as a fibre but it is made from dextrose (glucose)
and sorbitol (which is converted to fructose), so your body ‘sees’ it as a
sugar. The label on the product will proudly proclaim that it is high in fibre
and low in sugar, when in fact most of the so called fibre is really sugar.
Humans (and most other mammals) do not have the enzymes (chopping shears) necessary to
cut up a polydextrose. We do have enzymes for sugar, fructose, glucose and starch, so when
we eat those sugars, they get dealt with immediately in our small intestine (with disastrous
consequences in the case of fructose).
But when we eat polydextrose it sails straight through our small intestine and becomes petfood for the bacteria that inhabit our large intestine. Our little passengers love the stuff,
chomping away furiously on it and converting it into fatty acids (which we then absorb into
our blood stream) and gases (which we … well, you get the picture).
Fatty acids released in this way may not trigger an appetite suppressing response (unlike
normal dietary fat, which does).
This means that we could just be skinning the cat another way. Whether bacteria fill our
arteries with fatty acids (when we digest polydextrose) or our liver does the job (when we
digest fructose) is probably beside the point if neither of them trigger a hormonal response
that suppresses our appetite.
The long and the short of it is that I recommend you avoid foods sweetened with
polydextrose or maltitol (as it is converted to fructose anyway).
The Best 10
1
1
Atkins Advantage range
2
3
4
Carman’s Original Fruit-Free
Carman’s Apricot & Almond
Slim Secrets range
*0.0%5.0%
7.1%
8.2%
#
^8.5%-
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
5
6
7
8
9
10
Be Natural Honey Nut Trail Bar
100 Healthy Calories Super Berry
Breakfast Bar
Weight Watchers Ginger Kiss
Muffin Bar
A.O. Mixed Nut Bar
Be Natural Sunflower & Pepita Nut Bar
Woolworths Naytura 4 Seed Bar
11.0%
13.1%
13.4%
^14.0%
14.3%
14.5%
15.6%
* Sweetened with Sucralose
#
Sweetened with Maltitol
^ Sweetened with Polydextrose
The Worst 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Go Natural 100% Fruit Bar - Apricot
Go Natural 100% Fruit Bar – Fruit
Medley
Sun Apricot Bar
Go Natural Popcorn & Fruit Bar – Apple
& Cinnamon
Be Natural Fruit & Nut Yoghurt
Coated Nut Bar
Orgran Fruit Filled Blueberry Bar
Sun Cashew Nut & Honey Bar
Tasti Carob coated Fruit & Nut Snak Log
Go Natural Yoghurt Fruit & Nut Delight
Coles Smart Buy Choc Chip Chewy
Muesli Bar
61.8%
57.9%
57.2%
54.1%
44.6%
43.0%
42.9%
42.5%
41.5%
41.2%
The Complete List
Not all bars are created equal. Some are 30g and some are 70g and there are lots in between.
To make sure we’re comparing apples with apples, I’ve standardized the serving size to 50g
(about the size of the average bar).
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
100 Healthy Calories
●●
Hi-Lite Breakfast Bar
16.9%
◑●
Super Berry Breakfast Bar
13.4%
A.O.
◑●●
Almond, Peanut & Apricot Bar
21.1%
◔●●
Apricot & Almond Bar
18.6%
◔●●
Cashew & Coconut Bar
18.3%
Chocolate Fruit & Nut Brownie
32.6%
●●●●
2
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
◕●
●●●
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
Mixed Nut Bar
14.3%
Roasted Hazelnut & Raisin with Chocolate
25.9%
Atkins
◔
Advantage Chocolate Decadence
1.7%
◔
Advantage Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch
1.8%
○
Advantage Mocha Crunch
0.0%
◔
Advantage Chocolate Peanut Butter
1.7%
◔
Advantage S’mores
1.7%
◑
Endulge Chocolate
5.0%
◑
Endulge Wafer Chocolate Mint
4.6%
◔
Morning Shine Apple Crisp
2.7%
◔
Morning Shine Choc Chip Crisp
2.7%
○
Morning Shine Creamy Cinnamon Bun
0.0%
◔
Morning Shine Strawberry Crisp
2.7%
Be Natural
◔●●●●
Fruit & Nut
36.5%
Nut Bars Almond & Apricot
27.4%
Nut Bars Almond & Apricot Yoghurt Coated
39.0%
Nut Bars Fruit & Nut Yoghurt Coated
44.6%
Nut Bars Macadamia Apricot
29.0%
Nut Bars Macadamia Honey
16.0%
Nut Bars Macadamia Honey Carob Coated
30.8%
Nut Bars Sesame Nut Split
25.0%
◕●
Nut Bars Sunflower & Pepita
14.5%
●●
Nut Delight
17.0%
◑●●
Trail Bars Cranberry
21.6%
◑●
Trail Bars Honey Nut
13.1%
◑●●
Trail Bars Nut & Fruit
20.3%
◔●●●
◕●●●●
◔●●●●●
◑●●●
●●
◕●●●
●●●
Cadbury
●●●
3
BrunchBar Apricot & Almond
25.7%
◕●●●
BrunchBar Fruit & Nut
31.4%
◔●●●
BrunchBar Hazelnut
28.3%
●●●●
BrunchBar Mixed Berry
32.6%
●●●●
BrunchBar Raisin
33.4%
◑●●●
BrunchBar Toasted Coconut
29.7%
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
Carman's
●
◔●●
◕
Apricot & Almond
8.2%
Classic Fruit
19.8%
Original Fruit-free
7.1%
Coles Smart Buy
●●●●●
◕●●
Chewy Muesli Bars Choc Chip
41.2%
Chewy Muesli Bars Chocolate Topped
22.9%
Go Natural
◔●●●●●●●
100% Fruit Bar Apricot
61.8%
100% Fruit Bar Fruit Medley
57.9%
Almond & Apricot Snack Bars
35.3%
◔●●
Almond & Cashew
19.9%
◑●●●●
Carob Macadamia
36.9%
Macadamia & Hazelnut
20.1%
Macadamia Dream
37.9%
Nut Fantastic
33.0%
◕●●●●
Organic Wholegrain Meal Bar Apple & Sultana Ripple
38.9%
◔●●●●
Organic Wholegrain Meal Bar Apricot
35.6%
Popcorn & Fruit Bar Apple & Cinnamon
54.1%
Yoghurt Fruit & Nut Delight
41.5%
●●●●●●●
◔●●●●
◑●●
◑●●●●
●●●●
◑●●●●●●
●●●●●
Kelloggs
●●●
All Bran Baked Bars Honey & Oat
25.0%
◕●●
All Bran Baked Bars Sultana & Cinnamon
22.5%
◔●●●
Crunchy Nut Nutty Mixed Nut
26.3%
◔●●●
Crunchy Nut Nutty Peanut
28.0%
◑●●●
K-time Muffin Bars Apple Flavour
30.0%
◕●●●
K-time Muffin Bars Blueberry Flavour
31.8%
◑●●●
K-time Twists Apple & Cinnamon Flavour
29.3%
◔●●●
K-time Twists Raspberry & Apple
28.2%
◑●●●
K-time Twists Strawberry & Blueberry
30.2%
◑●●●
K-time Twists Strawberry & Yoghurt Flavour
28.9%
LCMs Coco Pops Kaleidos
37.3%
◑●●●
LCMs Rice Bubbles
30.0%
●●●●
LCMs Rice Bubbles Choc Chip
34.1%
◑●●●●
4
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
●●●●
LCMs Rice Bubbles Zebra Spots
34.1%
◕●●●
LCMs Shakes Choc Shake Flavour
30.5%
◕●●●
LCMs Shakes Strawberry Shake Flavour
30.9%
●●
Muesli Bars Choc Chip
16.6%
●●
Muesli Bars Choc Honeycomb
16.6%
●●
Muesli Bars Choc Malt
16.6%
●●
Muesli Bars Choc Vanilla Malt
16.6%
◔●●●●
Nutri-Grain Bar Choc Malt
36.7%
◑●●●●
Nutri-Grain Bar Honeycomb Flavour
38.0%
◔●●●●
Nutri-Grain Bar Original
36.7%
◕●●●
Special K Bar Mango & Passionfruit Flavour with a Yoghurty Drizzle
31.2%
◕●●●
Special K Bar Original with a Yoghurty Drizzle
30.8%
Leda
◕●●●●
Gluten Free Apple & Cinnamon
40.5%
◕●●●●
Gluten Free Strawberry
40.3%
◕●●●●
Gluten Free Triple Berry
40.3%
Musashi
◕●●
Growling Dog Chocolate
23.2%
●●●
Growling Dog Wildberry
25.2%
◕●●
Lose It Apple & Strawberry
22.1%
◑●●
Muscle Slice Fruit & Nut
20.2%
Nana Diver's
◕●●●
Apricot & Yogurt Mini Meal
32.0%
◕●●
Banana & Yogurt Mini Meal
23.9%
◕●●
Chocolate Chip Mini Meal
22.4%
●●●
Honey Oat & Sultana Mini Meal
26.2%
◕●●
Lots of Fruit Mini Meal
23.5%
Macadamia Choc Mini Meal
29.2%
◑●●●
Nature's Way
◔●●
Slim Right Choc Almond
18.6%
Nestlé
◕●●●
◕●●●●
◕●●
Milo Energy Snack Bar
31.0%
Milo Energy Snack Bar with Milk
40.7%
Starz Incredibites
23.0%
Orgran
5
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
●●●●●
Muesli Bar
Fruit Filled Blueberry Bar
Percentage
Sugar
43.0%
Power Bar
◑●●
Chocolate Flavour
22.0%
Slim Secrets
◔●
●
Afternoon Snack Attack
9.8%
Mintabolism Boost
8.5%
◔●
Morning Rev-Up
11.0%
◔●
Night Time Binge-Buster
10.3%
Sun
◕●●●●●●
Apricot Bar
57.2%
●●●●●
Cashew Nut & Honey Bar
42.9%
●●●●
Macadamia & Honey Bar
34.3%
Sunbeam
●●●●
◕●●●●
Fruit 'n'ut Cashew Blend
33.7%
Fruit 'n'ut Original
39.1%
Tasti
◑●●
Milkies Choc Banana
20.0%
◔●●
Milkies Choc Strawberry
19.5%
◔●●
Milkies Choc Vanilla
19.5%
◔●●●
Muffin Bakes Choc Banana
26.3%
◑●●●
Muffin Bakes Choc Fudge
29.3%
◕●●●
Muffin Bakes Ginger Kiss
32.5%
◕●●●
Muffin Bakes Raspberry & Yoghurt Duo
31.8%
◑●●●
Muffin Bakes Sticky Date
29.0%
●●●
Nut Bar Choc & Peanut
25.6%
●●●
Nut Bar Choc Almond
25.6%
◕●●
Nut Bar Choc Apricot, Coconut & Cashew
22.1%
●●●
Nut Bar Choc Hazelnut
25.9%
Nut Bar Fruit & Nut
30.9%
◔●●●●
Nut Bar Yoghurt Fruit & Nut
34.7%
◕●●●●
Snak Logs Carob Coated Apricot
39.8%
●●●●●
Snak Logs Carob Coated Fruit & Nut
42.5%
◑●●●●
Snak Logs Oats, Golden Syrup & Coconut
36.8%
Xanabar extremely cashew
27.0%
◕●●●
◔●●●
6
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
Uncle Tobys
◑●●
Chewy Apricot
21.1%
Chewy Choc Chip
17.6%
◕●●
Chewy Forest Furits Flavour
23.6%
◔●●
Chewy White Choc Chip
18.5%
◑●●
Crunchy Apricot Flavour
22.0%
◑●●
Crunchy Choc Chip
20.0%
●●
Crunchy Nut Crumble
17.0%
●●
Crunchy Original
17.5%
◔●●●
Delights Caramel Almond
28.3%
◑●●●
Delights Caramel Vanilla
30.0%
◕●●●
Delights Choc Crunch
32.2%
◕●●●
Delights Choc Hazelnut
32.0%
●●●●●
Fruit Twists Apple & Blackcurrant
41.1%
◕●●●●
Fruit Twists Pear & Apricot
40.8%
◕●●●●
Fruit Twists Strawberry & Blueberry
40.8%
◕●●●●
Fruit Twists Strawberry Smoothie
40.3%
●●●●
Fruit-Full Bars Apple
33.8%
●●●●
Fruit-Full Bars Apple & Raspberry
33.5%
●●●●
Fruit-Full Bars Apricot
33.5%
●●●●
Fruit-Full Bars Mixed Berry
33.8%
◕●●●
OT's Cereal & Milk Bars Cocoa Crispy O's
32.5%
●●●●
OT's Cereal & Milk Bars Vanilla Crispy O's
33.0%
OT's Cereal & Milk Bars Wildberry Flavour Cripsy O's
34.8%
◑●●●
Yoghurt Topps Apricot
30.0%
◔●●●
Yoghurt Topps Honeycomb Flavour
28.1%
◕●●●
Yoghurt Topps Mango & Passionfruit
30.7%
◑●●●
Yoghurt Topps Raspberry Flavour
30.0%
◑●●●
Yoghurt Topps Strawberry Flavour
29.7%
●●
◔●●●●
Wallaby
◔●●●●
Wallaby Natural Pure Fruit Bar
35.0%
Weight Watchers
7
●●
Black Forest Muffin Bar
17.1%
◕●
Ginger Kiss Muffin Bar
14.0%
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.
2008
A Teaspoon Guide to Australian Muesli Bars
Teaspoons per
Serve (50g)
Muesli Bar
Percentage
Sugar
◑●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars Apple Crumble
29.5%
◑●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars Apricot Pie
29.3%
◑●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars Blueberry Crumble
29.3%
◑●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars Fruit of the Forest
29.3%
◑●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars Raspberry Pie
29.3%
◕●●●
Real Fruit Cereal Bars strawberry & blueberry duo
30.7%
Woolworths
◕●
Naytura 4 Seed Bar
15.6%
Naytura Almond & Apricot Bar
20.2%
Naytura Cranberry & Macadamia Bar
30.4%
●●●
Naytura Fruit & Nut Bar
25.0%
●●●
Naytura Yoghurt, Almond and Peach Bar
26.2%
◑●●
◑●●●
You'll Love Coles
8
◔●●
Chewy Muesli Bars Apricot & Coconut
19.7%
◕●●
Chewy Muesli Bars Chocolate Topped
22.9%
◔●●●
Yoghurt Topped Apricot
27.1%
◔●●●
Yoghurt Topped Strawberry
26.8%
© 2008 Morton Gillespie Pty Ltd - David Gillespie.