Snack Bar, Vol. 6: Chips, Bars and Cookies (Oh My!)

From the moment my Last Crumb box arrived, one thing was clear: they take cookies f*cking seriously. The packaging is sleek and severe, like a Hollywood fitness studio, and the cookies inside are almost impossibly thick, with nary a dull flavor in the mix. With names like Better than Sex (aka Chocolate Chip with Sea Salt), Not Today Mr. Muffin Man (Blueberry Muffin), and The James Dean (Oreo Milkshake), it's all a little ridiculous but tempting nonetheless. Unfortunately, the flavors were too unbalanced for me to go gaga over, with the sweetness levels in particular just wildly off the charts. Even a dependable home run like Peanut Butter tasted strangely synthetic. These felt like a perfect order for a Netflix corporate party rather than an at-home snack – especially given that price tag – but I have to give them props when even the unboxing is a full experience.

Last month, we named Alter Eco's truffles our new favorite chocolate product, but I'm here in the name of journalistic integrity to say one thing. We hadn't tried Honey Mama's yet. Honey Mama's Truffle Bars, made from an all-organic mix of honey, coconut oil, and chocolate, are so good it's almost jaw-dropping, with each flavor hitting harder than the next. The coconut oil brings a creamy richness that truly melts in the mouth, while additions like Lavender Rose and Oregon Mint are bold and potent without being overpowering. Because coconut oil reverts to a liquid at room temperature, Honey Mama's has to be stored in the fridge, which takes some getting used to but also lends a certain gravitas. Having tried all their Greatest Hits, I truly can't get enough of the Tahini Tangerine. It's earthy, fruity, and a total revelation.

Yo-yoing over to the savory side of things, ROOT Foods just dropped a whole new way to get your veggies. Their crispy chips made entirely out of vegetables are shockingly addicting, tasting like their own new, delicious thing instead of a potato chip substitute. The Zucchini Chips had a lovely natural sweetness that was perfectly offset by sea salt, while the SixMix served up bell peppers, asparagus, broccoli, okra, green beans and more zucchini all in one bag. I tried them all on their own as well as with various dips I'd ordinarily drag a wheat-based cracker through and found them totally versatile and fascinating in their novelty. For your vegetarian and vegan friends, or for any curious snackers you know, these make for a pretty fantastic new discovery.

Listen. I've done keto; I have plenty of gluten-free girlies in my life. I know the appeal of a snack that feels nostalgic while still checking the dietary boxes. But sadly Magic Spoon's cereal bars, which are all of the above in addition to being high-protein and low-sugar, just aren't very good. At our group taste test, the feedback from each editor was a variation on "I don't really taste… anything?" The ingredient list is mostly made up of different starches, crisps and protein, and that level of engineering comes through more than any distinct flavor. If you're deep in keto life and are craving a bar that won't spike your net carbs, by all means avail yourself, though tbh in that realm I'd be partial to a Quest Bar anyway.

Ines Rosales is that girl, and she knows she is too. She's perfected her recipe for over 100 years as a beloved Spanish brand. She's got the packaging, she's being sold in all the bougie food and beverage shops. And when it comes to flavor, she's got it in the bag. Both the sweet and savory tortas – or thin, crunchy, flaky cracker discs – are completely irresistible, with flavors like crystallized Seville Orange and or Rosemary and Thyme complementing the olive oil base. What I also love is that the sweet ones aren't dessert-like: a good friend put them out for me recently with cheeses as part of a charcuterie board. They've just got a crust of coarse sugar granules on the outside to add to the shattering texture, which makes them compulsively eatable but also so good you want to savor them. When every torta comes wrapped in its own individual sleeve, breaking one feels like the best kind of  indulgence.

If ROOT Foods had us saying, "Whoa, that's totally a green bean" after eating their green bean chips, WILDE had us remarking "Whoa… that's totally chicken" with a very different intonation. Yes, the number one ingredient in WILDE's chips is antibiotic-free chicken breast, supplemented with egg whites and chicken bone broth for a hefty serving of protein. It's just as bizarre as that sounds, all the more so because it's… actually pretty good? It accomplishes what it set out to do: deliver a high-protein, paleo-friendly snack that captures the flavor of chicken, but still begs the question if that's something anyone was craving. We honestly enjoyed the novelty and the WTF quotient of it all, but there's so much cognitive dissonance with tasting chicken in this format that it's hard to imagine coming back to it.

Last but not least, let's touch on an area we haven't covered in this column yet: the kind of drink you want in hand to wash all these snacks down with. BAWI's Aguas Frescas couldn't be a better fit for summer, with the Pineapple, Passionfruit and Lime flavors all getting a citrus hit to make them tart and refreshing. There's more water in them than juice, making them a light sipper akin to sparkling water, and keeps the nutritional impact low at just 60 calories per can. Those of us from LA might already be super familiar with aguas frescas, but if they're new to you, I suggest you run-don't-walk to get your hands on some BAWI.