A review of two different bars...

'Ello
Today, I feel like reviewing two rather different bars, which are very similar in the overall aims and principles but quite different in taste and texture/appearance.

The two bars you will now read about are presented below! :3

Nākd- Caffé Mocha

LoveRaw- Coconut Chia

So... I'll evaluate each bar and provide you with a review, and then I'll compare them. Sounds good? YES. Now let's get going ^-^

Caffé Mocha

A rather recent coffee flavoured bar by the company Nākd. 

Ingredients- I have no problems at all with the ingredients used in this bar. The bar is approximately 67% dried fruit and 26% nuts. It is around 7% flavouring agents used to give it the unique, coffee taste. Don't get scared off by the term 'Flavouring Agents!'. What this means is ingredients that give this bar the unique taste that sets it apart from other bars. This is 6% cocoa to give it a chocolate touch, and 1% of what is listed as 'natural flavours'. In this case, there's a 99% chance that this contains some form of coffee extract, which is rather amazing because although the bar has a distinctive flavour, it is only about 1% 'Natural Flavours'. If you want to know how small this is, divide a Nākd bar into 10 pieces. Now divide each of those pieces into 10 again. Take one of those pieces, and that is how much 'Natural Flavours' the bar has. The ingredients are very impressive. Mainly dates and raisins, which come with benefits of their own. Dates and raisins are both very nutritious and boost the value of this bar. The high nut content, in the form of cashews in this bar, is also impressive and delivers healthy fats often found in nuts and some other nutritional benefit as well. Finally, cocoa is only around 6% of the bar but does contribute to the total antioxidant content of the bars. 

Appearance and Texture- I have to admit that for me, this is the most boring area to cover. However, the appearance of the bar is quite nice and not repulsive at all. It is a very nice bar shape, quite dark in colour and the appearance also shows just how raw the bar is. You can see the nut pieces inside quite clearly, too. The texture is fairly soft and moist, chewy but not too chewy- just right. 

Nutritional Value- Alright, again, I find this a fairly dull area to cover so... 

Let's just get to the parts most people are going to want to know. The bar clocks in at 130 calories (which is about 6-9% of most people's daily calorie intake recommendation). 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of Fibre which is approximately 12% of most people's suggested intake. 

Taste- Well, it's healthy, but how good  is the taste? There is no point of making a healthy food if it tastes horrible, so how does this particular bar stack up in terms of flavour? Well. Since I'm not American or English, I may not be able to make the same comparisons as you, so it's up to you to try it out and see what it tastes like :D In other reviews, I have seen comparisons to brownies. The bar has a strong coffee smell, and taste too. It is very sweet, and to be honest if you were to ask me what it reminds me of I would say... well...

You know how sometimes you have coffee flavoured chocolates with those coffee fillings inside?

Well... I have to say this particular bar reminded me of just this filling on its own in both taste and texture.

Coconut Chia

The first bar I have tried from the company LoveRaw. It is intended to be coconut flavoured. 

Ingredients- As with the Nākd bars, I have no problem at all with the ingredients used in this bar. The ingredients are as follows; Almonds, Dates,Coconut, Figs, Chia Seeds, Cinnamon.

Almonds contribute to the nutritional content and are high in positive nutrients such as Vitamin E. Dates , as previously mentioned, are quite nutrient-dense and so are the figs. The coconut is very healthy and makes sense to be the third ingredient, Chia seeds are a very popular 'superfood' that make up approximately 10% of the bar and cinnamon contributes to the unique flavour. No problem at all, every ingredient is very healthy and something I approve of ^o^

Appearance and Texture- Very similar to the Nākd bar in texture but much lighter in appearance (which is actually quite obvious). However, apart from that, both bars actually look very similar to each other. In texture, this bar is quite hard and stable to the touch and soft once you start to chew it. This bar has a different shape- it's wider and shorter. You can literally see the almonds and chia seeds in there :)

Nutritional Value- Unfortunately, I threw away my wrapper and was unable to find the information online. There are  213 calories (which is 10-15% of most people's suggested allowance) and about 6 grams of Fibre, which clocks in at about 25% of the suggested intake! :) Omega-3 content is 1272mg and there are 1997mg of Omega-6. 

Taste-  Coconut flavour is quite subtle but still detectable. The sweetness is at a good, balanced, level- not too sweet and not too...well...bland. The cinnamon flavour really does stand out and makes this bar taste great. Overall, I do like the taste of this bar and since I never had Chia seeds before, I cannot really comment on how much the Chia flavour stands out. However... I do know that the balance of ingredients used is surely good! Although the cinnamon is the last ingredient, it stands out quite strongly. 

Now, here goes the comparison ^-^

Similarities-  

• The overall aim of both bars is the same. A healthy snack bar that provides sufficient energy. 
• Main ingredients are also very similar. Fruit and nuts make up the base of both bars.
• The appearance is also almost identical except for colour and shape.
• Texture and taste is quite similar, with the flavour differing (obviously).

Differences-

• The flavour, quite frankly. Nākd is also sweeter.
• The shape- the Coconut Chia bar has a wider and shorter shape.
• Nākd is more suitable for a younger market because of the bright, appealing packaging and language used on the wrapper (for example; the encouraging messages  are very casual and user-friendly)  
• LoveRaw focuses more on the super-food content and health of the bar, and Nākd focuses more on taste than LoveRaw does. However, both companies appear to have both the taste and health in mind. 

That's it for today!

What am I reviewing next?  

Raw chocolate covered Goji Berries- predicted date for the review is Thursday

Other Notes:

• My birthday is coming up on Friday, and as a special (okay...that's a bit of an exaggeration but ya gotta learn how to exaggerate if ya wanna survive in today's world) treat, I think it won't do any harm to reveal my age. I already revealed that I live in London, so I assume I can also reveal my age. I won't get any more personal though. At least not now, anyway. 
• This blog is going to get an autumn make-over just in time for October. Actually... it would make more sense to switch it to a Halloween look for the month, and then in November back to autumn. I know I'm a little late since Autumn started over a week ago, but hey. 
• I'm finally going to comment on this for the sheer pleasure of whoever the heck posted that comment. M'kay, I got my first hater the day before I left for vacation, and yes, I DID anticipate this coming. Anyway, the exact comment said ''You have a horrible life. And you suck.'' Firstly, what do I suck? I'm actually sucking a hard candy right now UoU So if that was your intention, gee, surprisingly accurate. At first I didn't want to bring this up, I was just like.. ''Alright, haters gonna hate, move on.'' So I did, and managed to forget about it. In future, I probably won't bring up any more hater comments in the blog, but this was my first one. Anyway, moving on; okay, you can't really say I have a horrible life because what I wrote down was just a very vague outline of ONE day, which is in short about  0.02% of my entire life so far. Dude, you can't just make a judgement based on just over 0.01% of my life, and since that post wasn't even THAT detailed, you probably only got a glimpse of LESS than 0.01%. Logic in that? I doubt the commenter is even reading this blog unless they're really sad and are looking for more ways to envy me (oh yes, I'm that vain). Anyway, the hater is also very stuck-up and I can tell because they said I have a horrible life. Did I mention bullying, threats, abuse, violence, racism, slavery, captivity, murder, starvation, poverty etc. etc. ANYWHERE in the post? NO, I DID NOT.And those things are the defining parts of a truly horrible life. If you think my life is horrible, I dread to think how cold-hearted you are. Bottom line- I was not at all impacted by your comment and I find it funny you commented anonymously :) You are a very cold-hearted saddo that I don't want to get into any further contact with. Gee, I don't care who you are. For all I know, you could be the same person as one of my ''friends''. I don't even care x3

                                                                           

Food Serving Sizes-Doritos,Oreos,Cereal,Soda and Prepared Mac&Cheese

Hello! ~(⦿⟒⦿)~
How much soda do you typically drink after buying a bottle? Every single millilitre of the 500 in there? What if you were told this is double the serving size defined by the manufacturer?
Oh yes, ridiculous food serving sizes. What a juicy topic!
As you read this post, I have picked out many popular foods and compared the serving size listed on the packaging to what an average person would typically eat in a single serving. However, don't slash your consumption of Doritos just because the serving size is that small; one of the reasons for tiny serving sizes is the fact more people are scrutinising labels and no company wants to lose customers through seemingly scary nutrition information. (OH NO! TOO MANY CARBS! -faints-)

It's all marketing, children.

Okay seriously, back to reality now. Sit comfortably kids...

Doritos

What is it about Doritos that people love so much? I never liked them (mainly because I never even ate them in my whole life, and for some reason I just don't intend to).

What an average person would eat in a serving: Umm, the whole bag. Like, if you buy yourself a bag on the way home from work, what are you gonna do to the leftovers? O_O

An actual serving: Nope. The manufacturer disagrees. They expect you to stop once you reach 11 chips. Uhh...

Much more tiny than you thought it was.

Irony, please? The commercials show people wolfing down way more than 11 chips.

Oreos

The average person would eat: Once you eat one, it's hard to stop,right? Well,I don't know, but the average person eats 6-20 Oreos in a serving. Yes. 20. T-W-E-N-T-Y. Some people are that amazing.

An actual serving: Nah, the company is going to spoil your fun by declaring a serving is THREE COOKIES. THREE. SERIOUSLY?

Admit it- this is about how many Oreos you eat in a serving

Ha, no. Because Nabisco are all 3 year old toddlers with stomachs too small for anything above 3 (sarcasm). Gee, I  bet even a 3 year old would be shocked if they saw this midget serving size!

Froot Loops and most other cereals

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG.

That's your alarm clock, waking you up for the first day of school after a long Summer off.

Exhausted, you trail out of bed; depressed, exhausted and downhearted. The next summer is a year away. Hang on, only one thing raises your spirits...

GEE, THERE ARE FROOT LOOPS IN THE CUPBOARD!

You technically jump down the stairs and dig into your bowl, until...

Okay, from what I've seen ,this is how much most people eat.

Even Kellogg's say so! Why? This picture belongs to their website.

Let's see.... the serving size is 30g (or 3/4 cup)

WHAT?

No pictures anywhere, but I can tell you it's very small compared to that huge bowl you see above.

Here is 30g of other cereal brands;

Cheerios.

Okay, to be honest, this looks a bit bigger (but not too much) than what I would eat on a regular morning.

However, the person who owns the picture says the usually eat around this much;

A similar amount to that shown in most commercials! I assume that the owner of that picture isn't the only one who eats that amount.

SHOCK. CEREAL BRANDS. WHY?

Curiously Cinnamon.

I like those little guys, but haven't had them for a while O_o

This is meant to be 30g, which looks roughly the same, maybe just a bit bigger than what I would eat.

However, most people eat about 2-4 times that size, then again...

WHY CEREAL BRANDS?

Try weighing out your cereal, and see for yourself the serving sizes set by the companies!

Ha, not enough to stop me eating more than 30g of cornflakes though :P

Soda

Umm, what a tiring day! Thank Panda there's a Tesco right around the corner...

You grab a 50cl bottle of cola and gleefully sip it- great reward after such a long day, right? 

Though not all at once, this seems like the serving size... right? I mean, it's one bottle, so...

WRONG.

Coca Cola expect you to know where half of the bottle is as a serving is 250ml, and let's be honest- drinking is easy. You can easily drink 400ml without even noticing.

Finally...

Prepared Macaroni and Cheese

How much do you eat in a serving? The whole bag, perhaps? Nah, Kraft doesn't doubt your amazing visualising abilities as they expect you to know how much 1/3 of a bag is exactly!

Yup, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

You ate the whole package?

Kraft says you're a greedy pig because it's 3 servings.

Ignore them! :O

Yup, tiny serving sizes. See you all tomorrow, don't forget there might not be a post on Friday! 

-Queen Pickle

Smoking in public :(

Hello!
Today's post is basically going to be a rant- prepare yourself for this.
Oh yes, I hate smoking in public. I hate it so much. It's SELFISH,IGNORANT AND JUST IMPOLITE.

Credit to Google Images.

Now, let me tell you why I hate smoking in public that much. Enough to make an entire post about it. 

If it wasn't for 5-a-day week next week, I would have been posting about my love of fruit, really.

Why I hate smoking in public places

It's bad for the environment- Oh yes. It is. You see, when a smoker lights up that sinister combination of tobacco and paper, the fumes emitted are the real hazard. Not only to humans, but  to the environment. Do you really want to leave the earth as a horrible,polluted place to future generations? If yes, quit reading my blog- I beg you. Now, you may be wondering HOW exactly  smoking is bad for the environment. The fumes emitted by the cigarette escape into the air, and there's nothing good in that smoke. Nope, definitely not. If smoking wasn't bad for you, cigarette packets would have no warning labels on them. It's about time I show you a picture of what is IN cigarette smoke... 

Scientists have identified a LONG list of thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke. Amongst those, there are over 70 carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals)

Credit to Google Images

If you would like to learn more about chemicals found in cigarette smoke, click here,here,here,here and here. Please note that ALL LINKS in this post are not owned by me and credit goes to the original creators respectively. Now, back to the point...

A lot of those chemicals can potentially damage the environment. The environment is not only damaged by the smoke- think of how economically unfriendly it is to manufacture so many cigarettes. The government puts warning labels on, sure, but they cannot stop the production of cigarettes. Why? Cigarette companies- they make money out of this. If they can no longer produce cigarettes, what happens?THEY GO BANKRUPT. Just like that.

The governments of the world may have the POWER to stop it, but if they do, they may just as well be spammed with all sorts of complaints, rants and petitions.

Since I am getting off-topic, let's just get to how cigarettes damage our environment. Approximately 600 million trees are cut down annually to provide trees to dry tobacco! (Source)Trees play a HUGE role in our environment, which covers things such as helping reduce global warming, providing us with oxygen and resources. Plus, trees are important to maintain many forms of life. Wait, there's more. What do you do with a cigarette once you finish with it? Yes, you discard it. How many times did you see a pavement full of cigarette butts? There are plenty of bins to discard them, but no- people still do not dispose of them properly. Personally, I believe action could be taken. There are already fines in my area for dropping cigarette butts- but people still ignore it. Disposing of cigarette butts properly should be strongly encouraged and it should be much easier to spot offenders. This is important, because dropped cigarette butts account for a lot of damage. Who would know that such small pieces of rubbish could do so much? First of all, bush and forest fires CAN be started by cigarette butts being discarded while they are still alight. This is damaging to the environment and the habitat of many animals.Bush fires can also KILL. Not only that, but it looks extremely unpleasant. What else can those butts do? They can be swallowed by innocent animals- and since cigarette butts STILL have chemicals and tobacco in them, it damages their health too. In fact, they have been found in stomachs of numerous animals including birds. How could a bird know the difference between edible food and carcinogenic litter? Finally, cigarette butts can even progress to the ocean and rivers. How? By falling and being washed down gutters. They make their way into the oceans, polluting them, which in turn affects marine life AND our water supply. How selfish can that be? I could say more, but I do not want to make a post too long. However, learn more about environmental damage from cigarettes by clicking one or more of the following 5 helpful links, and do some more research if you are very curious.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5

Note I only used Source 1 for this article.ALL links in this post open up in a new window.

I trust all sources and believe they are of good quality.

Also, did you know that smoking could contribute to global warming? This may be because of chemicals such as carbon monoxide and methane, and the impact cigarettes have on trees. Learn more here! However, the effect smoking has on global warming is small, compared to other causes. If you wish to read more, there are many sources on the internet available.

On to health. Smoking doesn't just harm the smoker's health- it also harms whoever inhales the smoke.

Credit to Google Images.

While there are so many sources online , I will outline the main offenders as this post is starting to get very long, and it's Summer.

Anyway, here are the main health risks posed by inhaling cigarette smoke;-

-Increased risk of many cancers due to the carcinogens found in the smoke.

-Possible brain damage if exposure is severe due to chemicals such as lead and toluene.

-Smoke includes nicotine which can reach the brain in 30 seconds, is harmful, and also addictive.

Cigarette smoke can wreck your health, especially if you smoke yourself or are around smokers VERY often. If you would like to learn more, here are 5 sources; here, here , here, here and here.

Pregnant women should not smoke because it can seriously damage the developing foetus. I find that smoking in public is very selfish, as it harms other people who did absolutely nothing. There are COUNTLESS of harmful effects of smoking, to both the smoker and anyone breathing in the smoke.

There is a lot more I could say, and you can let me know if you need me to expand on anything because I'm quite sure I can. I avoid cigarette smoke as much as I can, which is really difficult and irritating. I need to watch for smokers and hold my breath- if I have any more to say, that will be another post.

Again, thank you so much for reading this post. Please click here :)

-Queen Pickle