Product Review: Weil by Nature's Path Organics Pistachi-Oh! Pure Fruit and Nut Bar

Andrew Weil, M.D. is expanding his health empire with a business pairing with Nature's Path Organics. Say hello to a bevy of new products bearing his name, produced by Nature's Path Organics. I'm a regular consumer of Nature's Path Organics Products, mostly their cereals. But I'm a relative ignoramus about who Dr. Weil is, what his agenda is, and what products he's pushing.

I went to the Nature's Path website, scrolled down to the Weil by Nature's Path and ended up scoping out Dr. Weil's website and that of his non-profit organization, the Weil Foundation. Other than being a proponent for integrative health, Dr. Weil isn't doing anything all that new or different from many other physicians that I have worked with in my own personal health regimen. Mind you, I think integrative health is becoming more and more acceptable as a form of medicine for many health practitioners. But I digress.

The Pistachi-Oh! Pure Fruit & Nut Bar comes in a small foil-wrap package bearing the image of Dr. Weil and is pistachio green coloured. I like that all the ingredients in this bar are organic, including the spices (I noticed traces of cinnamon). I'm also pleased that Nature's Path managed to make this a completely vegan product, and that it is Kosher. Cool. Finally a food that just about anyone can eat... oh...sorry... if you have a nut allergy, you can't touch this. Definitely has nuts.

This bar weighs in at 190 calories, which to me says that they're not looking to tap into the dieting/ single serving snack frenzy. It's loaded with iron, 4 g of protein, and 20 g of sugar. Did I mention that 70 of those calories come from fat?? Thankfully, they're not transfats, but still, that seems pretty high to me. I'm not sure where to place this product. Do I consider it a snack bar? Yes, absolutely. Do I consider it a health bar? No.

My husband (a chef who hung up his hat a while ago) and I both tested this product. We're both heavily into organic cooking and into extreme sports. We're pretty demanding about the foods we eat. We expect food to nourish us in a wholesome way and to taste good. Sadly, the Pistachi-Oh Pure Fruit & Nut Bar did not meet our high standards. We found that the only thing to break up the smooth, thick pureed date consistency of the bar were the soft partially-cooked nuts. The sweetness of the bar mostly comes from the pureed dates, combined with coconut and a bit of lemon juice concentrate. I'm sure that's just to preserve the otherwise non-acidic product and keep it fresh. But in terms of oral satisfaction, we give this bar two thumbs down. It's not texturally interesting, there is too much sweet, and it is not balanced with other flavours to enhance the date/nut combination.

While we aren't all that keen on this product, some campers and hikers may like to carry this product with them during their expeditions. The sugar alone would be a good option for those emergency snack fits on the trail. Just be certain to pack out what you pack in, because the packaging isn't recyclable.

The product is a bit on the pricey side for us at almost $2.00 per bar, but then we're notoriously frugal too. It might be the product for you.