Thursday 22 August 2013

A gluten, nut and dairy free bar thats yummy enough to eat.

I was offered a chance to try out Frank Snack Bars  and so in the interest of scientific research could I really say no?

I find it very difficult to find snacks that are suitable for Bob, that fulfil all his allergy/intolerance criteria, but are still healthy enough that I actually want to feed the snack to him in the first place. Well I have found one.

So what are Frank Bars?

FRANK bars are a deliciously indulgent snack bar made with 100% natural ingredients such as wholegrain oats, dates & dried plums and topped with a delicious dairy free Coconut Cream chocolate. FRANK bars are gluten, nut, & dairy free and are a source of protein, with each bar containing almost 4g of protein per 35g bar. FRANK bars also contain ENERGYSMART®, which is a patented, all-natural combination of carbohydrates from select fruits (apple, grape & pear) plus specially developed natural dextrins from grain which together provide longer-lasting energy. ENERGYSMART® is a a registered trademark of Advanced Ingredients Inc. (USA)




Not only are FRANK* Bars free from Nuts, Dairy, Wheat and Gluten, but we also don’t add sugar to FRANK* Bars – ever! We don’t need to because they are sweet enough from the blend of dates and prunes we use!

The chocolate you find a top a FRANK* Bar is actually Organic Raw Probiotic Chocolate (try saying that in one go!) made of coconut cream and cocoa butter blended to create a deliciously smooth chocolate topping. We also have a double chocolate bar which gets its great chocolaty taste from dates, plums and cocoa.


THE FRANK BAR IS HIGH IN FIBRE AND SLOW-RELEASE CARBOHYDRATES WITH A LOW GLYCAEMIC INDEX. AS AN ENERGYSMART® PRODUCT, IT OFFERS SUSTAINED ENERGY OVER A PROLONGED PERIOD, MAKING IT IDEAL FOR GYM BAGS, LUNCH BOXES AND GUILT FREE INDULGENCE.



So what did we think of them? Bob and I have shared the three bars we were sent this week. Firstly I have to say Bob queried it when I gave him as it had chocolate on the top, I was told "I'm not allowed this" and I had to reassure him that is was safe for him. I think it is really good that he will query new foods even when a member of family gives him something. 

The bars were sweet without being too sweet, were a nice texture, especially the oat and chocolate, with it having a slightly higher oat content it was slightly drier than the others. The "chocolate topping" was a good thickness and for us as a family they are brilliant, something we have found that Bob can safely snack on that can be thrown in a handbag if we are going out. 

Luckily for all Bob is allergic to some legumes ( peanuts in particular) and intolerant to others (soya)   he is ok with peas and I see these contain pea protein, might be a problem for some peanut sufferers though so be careful.

I was impressed enough with these to order up 2 cases, and my daughter is also going to be ordering up some as well. Also apart from being an allergy blogger I have also become a diabetic blogger, and with these having slow release carbs and and a low GI they are great for a diabetic as well - win win all round for us in this house. 

confirmation of my order. 


PS. they have a summer sale on right now, boxes of 20 bars are reduced for £17 to £10, sale price as long as stock lasts. 


6 comments:

  1. Interesting! They won't be on my shopping list since both E and me are allergic to peas- but i'm really glad you've found a handy snack for Bob! I understand to some folks having a snack to grab is an everyday event, but for us allergic types it really is a minefield!

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    1. I saw the peas and thought of you!! But I know there are a lot like you that cant have nuts that also cant have peas. I can eat cooked peas but not raw, allergies are wierd

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  2. Bit of a cheeky request, but is there any way you could you list all the ingredients please? so I can work out if they are low iodine or not? They sound a bit like Nakd bars, which I'm allowed on low iodine, but a lot of stuff I'm not. xx

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    1. Emma each bar has a full list of ingredients, this is copied from the orange one. NGREDIENTS
      FRUIT 47.5% (Dried Dates 34.5%, Dried Plums 13%), Fruit Juice Concentrates (Concentrated Apple, Grape and Pear Juices, Rice Starch), Gluten Free Oats 10.4%, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 8.6%, Organic Raw Probiotic Chocolate 7.4% (Cocoa Mass 47%, Coconut Blossom Sugar, Coconut Cream, Cocoa Butter 4.3%, Ground Vanilla Pods, Bacillus Coagulans GB1-30 6086 0.45%), Pea Protein, Pea Fibre, Natural Cocoa Extract 0.173%, Natural Orange Oil 0.022%.

      but I have no idea what you get iodine in hun, really sorry, have you tried contacting them? Their contact details are hello@thefrankfoodcompany.com
      Tel: 01423 798204

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  3. Thankyou Elaine, that's great. Yes that looks like they'd be suitable for a low iodine diet.

    Iodine is found in nearly all foods but has high levels in:
    salt, dairy, soya, eggs, fish, red colourings and a few other things. It's hard to find things that don't contain any of the first four! x

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    1. thank you very much for that Emma, sadly most dairy free foods contain soya and it is getting harder and harder to feed Bob with each new allergy/intolerance.

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