Candy Bar Review: Mounds

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Delicious candy bar

Cons: Come on, it's dark chocolate and coconut.  What's not to love?

The Bottom Line: 

Rich dark chocolate

Paired with crunchy coconut

Delicious candy

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut.  For All the Other Times, There's Mounds

Isn’t it amazing how advertising can stick with you?  I remember years ago (and I’m about to show my age), there was an advertising campaign for Almond Joy and Mounds with the jingle “Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut.  Sometimes You Don’t.”  And I’m very thankful for the Mounds option since I discovered a tree nut allergy several years ago.

The Mounds bar contains a coconut center surrounded by dark chocolate.  I didn’t realize it was dark chocolate until recently, and that might be a good thing.  I’m more of a milk chocolate guy, but the dark chocolate here isn’t too bitter, probably because they use semi-sweet chocolate. In fact, it’s the perfect compliment to the coconut center.  Yes, that coconut gives you a bit of texture and crunch most candy bars don’t have.

I happen to love coconut in lots of things, and this combination of coconut and dark chocolate tastes amazing.  You’ve got a hint of sweetness, a hint of bitter, and a little crunch.  When you want a slightly different candy bar, these are the way to go.

So, what about the comparison to Almond Joy?  Those candy bars include an almond in them.  I do remember enjoying them years ago, but now I stick with Mounds.  It’s got just as much goodness without the added risk of making my nut allergies worse.

Not that these should be indulged in very often.  Why is that?  They’re candy.  They aren’t remotely good for you.  Even with the coconut, look at the ingredients.  The first four ingredients are corn syrup, semi-sweet chocolate, coconut, and sugar.  It really doesn't get better from there.  These are made on machines that process almonds and peanuts, at least according to the allergy information on the package.  I'm not that surprised.  They probably use the same machines they use for the Almond Joys.  So if you have a severe nut allergy, even these will be dangerous for you.

Since the bars are made up of that stuff, is it any wonder that the snack size bars contain 80 calories, half of which are pure fat.  They've got no nutrients at all, so you are eating these just for the taste.

If you are looking for a healthy treat, these are definitely not them.  But if your sweet tooth is calling, consider answering with a Mounds.  The coconut is a nice addition to the chocolate candy bar.