Snacks- Quaker Chewy Chocolate Swirl granola bars

I promise I'll stop with the granola entries after this.  Most of them don't count as junk food, but as far as "healthy" snacks go they're pretty junk-y  But anyway, they looked fantastically delicious so I grabbed a box.  Although my realistic expectations were kind of on the low side (which I will explain in a bit) I have to say I was disappointed with these.  Here's why.

Let me start by explaining my qualm with things that are made with "real cocoa."  With the exception of Cocoa Krispies and Cocoa Puffs, I don't believe I've ever tasted a satisfyingly chocolatey wheat or oat snack.  Quaker's caramel mini rice cakes have always been a favorite of mine, but I've always found the chocolate flavor to be lacking something.  This was probably the most direct source of my immediate skepticism, but I can never forget the disappointment of the double chocolate Fullbar, and the "chocolate" Chex present in various varieties of Chex Mix are always the pieces I avoid.  So despite how delicious these granola bars looked on the box, I knew going in I was taking a risk.  I tried not to let this get in the way of my analysis...I was hoping to perhaps be pleasantly surprised.   ....No such luck.

First off,  I detected not a hint of cocoa in the smell of the product.  As I predicted, the deceptively chocolate-colored granola carries no particular chocolate flavor at all, and is barely even distinguishable from Quaker's regular granola.  The only thing that saves these bars in terms of chocolate flavor is the chocolate-and-white-chocolate swirled chocolate chips that are embedded within the mediocre granola.  I find it kind of silly that they named these bars Chocolate Swirl, when the only thing that's "swirled" is the tiny chocolate chips...although considering those chips are the saving grace of this otherwise mediocre snack I guess naming the product after them wasn't the worst way to go. 

I guess I should just stick to bona-fide junk food, because this wannabe chocolate thing is really bringing me down.  I try to incorporate as many healthier alternatives into my diet as possible, but as far as this blog goes I think I'll lay off of the fake shit and reserve my reviews for things that are actually coated in chocolate, not drizzled in sticky brown stuff that's infused with an almost undetectable amount of cocoa. 

All in all I would much rather just eat a s'mores flavored Chewy, or even regular chocolate chip...I'm positive the chocolate chip flavor has more actual chocolate chips than this one.  Quaker seems to think that they can get away with fewer chocolate chips because the bar is coated in chocolate, but GUESS WHAT, QUAKER OATS GUY?  That chocolate coating has almost zero flavor, thus making the shortage of chocolate chips all the more devasating.  If this bar were to be reversed and composed primarily of these swirled chocolate chips with little pieces of granola here and there, I'd be a lot more thrilled with it.  But I guess that goes without saying.