I will not be posting for the next few days, instead focusing on writing a story on a dream to be a food chemist, passion, and a love of healthy food. This can be found on the My Story page, and will be up soon! Meanwhile, check out the newly finished Yasso Bar Survey!

Bye for now,
Jessica

​Survey

Has there ever been a dessert you loved so much that it completely changed how you think about snacking? The day I discovered Yasso Bars, my life honestly changed forever. Our family eats them on an almost daily basis, and they may soon become one of your favorite desserts.
Yasso bars were created by two childhood friends in Massachusetts who  had a shared love of sports and a healthy lifestyle. After receiving degrees from "Ice Cream Camp", taking countless road trips and spending over a year of research and development, they executed their first production run of Yasso Bars in 2011 and began building loyal fans across the country. The Yasso website says the company is committed to creating flavors that are delicious, nutritious, and authentic, and the creative team has come up with some amazing flavors.
In this review, I am blogging about the flavors Sea Salt Caramel, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Fudge, Mint Chip, Peanut Butter Cup, and Cinnamon Bun.**

Top Choice: Sea Salt Caramel
Sea Salt Caramel might be my favorite flavor, especially because it’s really sweet and who doesn’t love really sweet things (especially when they're super healthy at the same time)? What is so unexpected about this bar is how milky it is; it almost reminds me of dulce de leche. Upon the first bite, how refreshing and smooth it tasted first entered my mind. Sea Salt Caramel also has a huge caramel swirl in the middle that brings a whole new level to it. Despite this, a few downsides to this bar is that it tastes a little frothy, and it’s right on the border of satisfying sweet and sickly sweet. All in all, this is definitely one of my favorite flavors and it is highly recommended.

Best Texture and Balance: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
The Yasso Bar with the best balance and flavor contrast is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Besides from being a little bland and the fact the chocolate sticks to your teeth, it was not overwhelmingly sweet, and cookie dough balls are distributed throughout the bar evenly, which adds an astounding amount of inner complexity. The balance between the "toppings" and the ice cream is absolutely perfect! Overall, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has an extremely elaborate taste, and is definitely one of the more interesting flavors. FoodSmart tip-- If you are nervous about trying Yasso Bars for the first time, I recommend sampling this one first (I think a large majority would like it).

Attention Chocolate Lovers: Meet Chocolate Fudge
The Fudge flavor, even though it may seem like heaven for fans of chocolate, was a little disappointing for me. This is due to the fact I’m not a huge chocolate ice cream fan in the first place; however, I think it may be really enjoyable for devoted chocolate lovers. For example, the combination of bitter V.S. sweet is balanced perfectly, giving this bar a smooth richness that is rare in regular ice cream bars (especially for one made with greek yogurt). To make this bar better I would recommend adding chocolate chunks to it, but for the anyone with a love of chocolate, Fudge may be perfection.

Honorable Mention: Mint Chocolate Chip
I am rating Mint Chip the most satisfying and refreshing of these six, and in a close second on the favorites scale to the Salted Caramel. It literally melts in your mouth, and the mint isn’t so strong that you wince with every bite, but it’s definitely there. Even though it’s so unbelievably simple, it has a very sophisticated taste. In contrast, one suggestion might be to add a few more chocolate chips, but otherwise, no words can describe how utterly delicious it is. Mint Chip creates a burst of flavor on your tongue that is very lasting, and I find myself eating these more than any of the other kind because of its superior refreshing taste. FoodSmart tip-- Because it's so refreshing, I think this is the best to indulge in after a visit to the gym or any other kind of physical activity.

Most Fun and Playful: Peanut Butter Cup
I absolutely love  that Yasso added this flavor to their collection. It was definitely daring to try and take on the task of trying to transform the widely known Reese's Peanut Butter Cup into a greek yogurt bar. And, in speaking, they did it very well. This bar consists of peanut butter greek yogurt dipped in a hard, chocolate shell. The chocolate is very rich, and although I can tell it is trying its best to counter the strong peanut butter, it isn't there quite yet. The shell is paper thin, and doesn't wrap all the way around the bar, unfortunately. On the other hand, I do believe the concept of this flavor is excellent and will be a big hit among Reese's fans such as myself.

NEW! Cinnamon Bun
I completely do not understand how Cinnamon Bun can be healthy in any way. If you set out a Yasso Cinnamon Bun and an ice cream version of it in front of me, and I had to taste them both and tell the difference between them blindfolded, I could not pinpoint which one was the Yasso. This bar perfectly tackles the unique flavor of a cinnamon bun and completely reinvents it.  If that's not enough, there's a "frosting" swirl in the middle, a melt-in-your-mouth-incredible addition. To sum it up in one word, Cinnamon Bun is power. Simply put, it is highly recommended that you run to the nearest Costco, Heinen's, or Mariano's this instant and buy some (this is not an exaggeration, this may be the best healthy dessert I've ever had).

Please comment below if you love these Yasso Bars as much as I do, and are looking forward to more flavors to come.

​**Not mentioned-- blueberry, chocolate chip, coconut, coffee chocolate chip, cookies and cream, strawberry, vanilla bean.**

Yesterday, my family and I visited Heider's Berry Farm in Woodstock, Illinois. They offer raspberry and strawberry picking June through September (or until the weather gets too cold), and their products aren't sprayed with chemicals. The second I popped one of the raspberries in my mouth, I let out a big sigh. They taste exactly like candy! For the next hour, I indulged in picking two cartons worth of fresh raspberries-- and maybe ate a whole one myself.
One of the reasons I love fruit picking is because you know that everything you are taking is natural, and completely organic. You don't have to worry about what was added to it-- you know it's farm-to-table. Speaking of which, I have a strong belief that everyone should live close to where their food is coming from. Therefore, everything is more fresh. For example, if you eat something that is imported from a different state or country, it is more likely preservatives were added to make sure the food didn't spoil before reaching you. However, if it comes from a farm less than a hour's drive away, you know what you are purchasing doesn't have many (or any) additives or preservatives.

Fruit-picking tips:

>>> The good fruit are the ones on the backside of the next row over. These are the ones everyone tends to miss. I found lots of good berries this way!
>>> When picking raspberries, take ones that look like they are ready to fall off. If one looks decent in color but is difficult to pull off, it doesn't taste as good as it looks!