This review originally posted in 2018 takes a look at a popular ‘healthy’ candy we all see at our grocer’s cash register. Still relevant. Still right on? You tell us. 

It’s about time we reviewed barkTHIns. I’ve seen them at Target and all my other local grocery haunts for years. Not sure how the packaging design geniuses at the company have done it, but when I’m thinking of buying something sweet, and I look at BarkThins on the shelf  – I think, “well there’s my healthy option…”

But really? Are they good for you?

What’s in them?

barkTHIns are filled with Fair Trade ingredients and they are “non-GMO Project Verified.” Fair Trade means fair prices were paid for ingredients from developing countries, and non-GMO certified means they weren’t made with genetically modified organisms. Which is good I guess.

The key point for me with regards to healthy? Calories-meet-fat-and-sugar vs. other candy bars.

Let’s compare to a Snickers, and let’s use the fun size, since it’s closest in size to a few pieces of barkTHIns, which is the minimum amount most of us would eat at one sitting.

Snickers fun size bar (one is .6 oz): 
– 74 calories, 3.58 grams of fat, 7.6 grams of sugar

barkTHIns suggested serving size (1.4 oz): 
– 220 calories, 13g of fat and 11g of sugar.

So two Snickers fun sizes are less cals and fat, with a bit more sugar than barkTHIns.

This tells us?

• Food is good.
• Candy is yummy.
• Don’t worry about it.

The key with barkTHIns? They’re good. The pieces are the perfect size. The chocolate tastes real, not too sweet and not too dark. Slightly chalky. The sea salt always wins, and the almonds are money — many small pieces completely throughout each piece. Great if you can eat nuts, terrible if you are allergic. In fact, the package warns us the candy contains soy and tree nuts, and may contain eggs, milk, peanuts and wheat. Be aware.

I like how they call this “snacking” chocolate. Hey, go ahead and eat all you want!

barkTHins taste good enough to do that.

Just don’t get sucked into thinking these are some kind of good-for-you candy.
Although they are good.
They are for you.
And they are candy.