Jigsaw Bar Update - Being Discontinued

I was just contacted by the manufacturer of gluten-free Jigsaw Bars about their discontinuance. We reviewed their chocolate and coconut-almond bars and enjoyed them, we are disappointed about this news.

Below is the email, enjoy the savings!

612 Boxes of Chocolate and 297 of Coconut-Almond Left!

Last Chance Price of $17.50 $14.97 Per Box (12 bars)

On October 18th, 2007 we announced that we would be discontinuing the Jigsaw Bars. At the end of this month, we will no longer be offering them.

The “Best Used By” date, as estimated by our manufacturer, is April 2008. “Best Used By” does not mean “Expires On.” In fact, I ate a Chocolate Jigsaw Bar this morning and it tasted just the same as always. Either way, we’re giving you an extra price incentive to act now.

If you’ve been a part of the small but intensely loyal group of fans, I thank you again for all your support. It saddens me that our Jigsaw Bars were not able to receive a broader appeal. But not all products can be smash hits.

We are currently seeking out a replacement bar (gluten-free, casein-free, whey protein, low/no sugar) to recommend and resell. If you have suggestions, please email them to me at patricks@jigsawhealth.com.

Purchase your Jigsaw Bars now before they are gone forever.

Sincerely,

Patrick Sullivan Jr.
President & Co-Founder
Jigsaw Health, LLC

Energy Bar: Enjoy Life Caramel Apple Snack Bars

Another product we gave a taste test to was Enjoy Life's Caramel Apple snack bars. These bars are nut and gluten free, contain no trans fat and "no artificial anything". They purport to be free of all common allergens while maintaining their "soft and chewy" taste.

The bars definitely look appetizing on the box package- but perhaps look a bit (okay a lot) different in real life. Actually they resemble caramel-colored logs and are considerably smaller. But on first bite, I wasn't really disappointed. The snack bars are soft and chewy and have a nice bite to them.
They most certainly do resemble apples and cinnamon and have sweet yet smooth finish.

Yeah- they aren't bad at all! And not just because they are gluten free. They really do taste good. Yup, I'll be buying these again for sure.

Ingredients:
Organic brown rice syrup; organic evaporated cane juice; brown rice flakes; brown rice flour; sorghum flour; dried apple (sulfite-free); sunflower seed butter (roasted sunflower kernel, evaporated cane juice, salt); fig paste; date paste; vegetable glycerin; expeller-pressed vegetable oil (safflower oil and/or sunflower oil); organic beet fiber; ground flaxseed; natural caramel flavor; xanthan gum; baking soda; salt; cinnamon.

Made in a dedicated nut and gluten free facility.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1 bar (28 g)
Servings per container: 5
Calories: 110
Calories from fat: 25
Total fat: 2.5 g
Sat fat: 0 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 95 mg
Total carb: 21 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 8 g
Protein: 2 g

Jigsaw Bar- Chocolate

Another Jigsaw brand bar Rob and I had the opportunity to test out was the gluten free Chocolate bar. This bar too contains no soy protein, no gluten and no casein.

I found love with Jigsaw's Coconut-Almond bar so I was hoping for the same with the chocolate.
These bars contain "powerful glyco-nutrients & heart healthy omega-3's". I think they taste fantastic and are low in calories and carbs but high in protein.

The Chocolate Jigsaw is a bit more predictable as a nutrition bar- meaning it tastes fairly similar to other bars I've tried. But this in no way means it doesn't taste delicious. It has a rich intense carob-chocolate bite to it with perhaps a bit of a marzipan after-taste. The chocolate like the coconut almond is smooth, soft and easy to chew. I also like the protein crisps that give it a crunch.
Again, you would never in a million years even know that this bar is gluten free.

So I guess I found love again (after Rob and the coconut almond). Definitely the chocolate eats more like a candy bar and has an intense dark chocolate flavor. You can be sure we'll ordering these regularly from now on.

Ingredients:
Protein Blend (Rice Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Crisps [Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Rice Flour, Calcium Carbonate], Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate), Maltitol Syrup, Unsweetened Chocolate, Xylitol, Almond Butter, Glycerine, Cocoa Powder (processed with alkali), Gum Arabic, Palm Kernel Oil, Natural Flavor, Meg-3R Omega-3 Powder (Refined Fish Oil, Fish Gelatin), OptiNutrin(TM), Mushroom Extract, Salt, Vitamin C, Natural Vitamin E (d-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Niacinamide, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thimaine Mononitrate, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12.

Nutrition Facts: Serv size: 1 bar (50g) Calories: 180 Fat Cal: 60 Total Fat: 7 g Sat fat: 3 g Trans fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 5 mg Sodium: 75 mg Total carb: 24 g Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 0 g Sugar Alcohol: 14 g Protein: 12 g

Allergy Information: Contains Almonds, Fish Gelatin, and Milk Products. Made in a facility that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy and eggs.

Please note: Jigsaw did provide free samples.

Jigsaw Bar- Coconut Almond

Celiac Rob and I were thrilled to receive our first shipment of gluten free Jigsaw bars. In the past I've stayed away from many of the protein/energy bars because of their high sugar content, their high carb content, their high caloric content, or their overly funky taste.

So I was sort of expecting the same with Jigsaw bars. But Yippee! I could not have been more surprised!

The coconut almond bar is smooth without a ton of sugar, though you can easily taste the coconut and creamy almonds. It's not too dense and is packed with flavor. Best of all the Jigsaw bar contains "glyco-nutrients and heart-healthy omega-3's". This is a truly satisfying and nutritious bar that is not parading as a glorified candy bar, and you would never even guess that it is gluten free. I'm not kidding when I say I could make a steady diet of the coconut-almond Jigsaw bar!

The coconut almond jigsaw bar contains no soy protein, no gluten and no casein.

Ingredients:
Protein Blend (Rice Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Crisps [Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein concentrate, Rice Flour, Calcium Carbonate], Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate), Maltitol Syrup, Almond Butter, Coconut, Glycerine, Erythritol, Xylitol, Gum Arabic, Palm Kernel Oil, Natural Flavor, Meg-3(R) Omega-3 Powder (Refined Fish Oil, Fish Gelatin), OptiNutrinTM, Mushroom Extract, Salt, Vitamin C, Natural Vitamin E (d-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Niacinamide, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12.

Allergen Information: Contains Almonds, Fish Gelatin, and Milk Products Made in a facility that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy and eggs.

Nutrition Facts:
Serv size: 1 bar (50g)
Calories: 190
Fat Cal: 70
Total Fat: 8 g
Sat fat: 4 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 65 mg
Total carb: 23 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 1 g
Sugar Alcohol: 14 g
Protein: 12 g

Please note: Jigsaw did provide free samples.

Breakfast Bars: Glutino Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars- Chocolate

Okay, so I didn’t give the apple and blueberry Glutino breakfast bars a very good review. I thought I’d try again with the Chocolate. Thanks to Nancy for the input on the Chocolate version- I completely agree with you (see November 8^th posting). On first bite, you may or may not be pleasantly surprised that the center of the bar is not chocolate at all but rather a mix of dates, raisins, and prunes. Only the exterior is chocolate which left a bit of a bitter taste compared to the moist interior. The chocolate is however, far superior than its apple and blueberry counterparts.

True, though the bars are not terribly sweet which is always a plus at breakfast time for me, and they did curb my hunger pang, I’m not sure I would call this a superior-tasting food product. In all fairness, the bars are a portable and convenient gluten-free snack made from very natural ingredients and very little fat all packaged in a box made from 100% recycled fibers. Hey how can you beat that? Also I believe these might be one of the only Celiac friendly breakfast bars available.

Glutino Gluten Free Breakfast Bars are made from:

Gluten-free flours (chickpea, corn, tapioca, rice), raisins, dates, fructose, pear juice concentrate, cocoa powder, cocoa liquor, inulin, canola oil, water, natural flavors, sodium bicarbonate.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 40 g

Servings Per Container: 5

Calories: 110

Calories from fat: 10

Total fat: 1 g

Sat. fat: 0 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 10 mg

Total Carb: 21 g

Dietary Fiber: 4 g

Sugars: 16 g

Protein: 3 g

Breakfast Bars: Glutino Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars Apple and Blueberry

Next on the Thanksgiving list of goods that Rob and I taste-tested were
Glutino brand Gluten-free Breakfast Bars in apple as well as blueberry.

So Rob happily rips open an apple breakfast far and hands me half. Hmmm I thought
as I took my first bites, I wondered how I might describe them.

As much as I loved the pretzels is pretty much how I loathed the breakfast bar. Now, I should make it perfectly clear that I don't normally like breakfast bars. They tend to be terribly dense, chock full of sugary sweetness, and end up sitting in your stomach like a can of lead paint. So I was not terribly surprised to find Glutino breakfast bars followed suit. There was nothing particularly repulsive about them, they were just too heavy and too sweet for me. Granted the bar might be the perfect energy pick-me up for a hike up Mt. Everest, but otherwise, I think I'll steer clear.

Rob on the other hand enjoyed both flavors and enjoyed them during his week in Dulles, Baltimore, and College Park.