NEW! Bodhi Date & Cacao Cricket Paleo Bars (Online)

Have you seen snippets in the news over the past few months about how insect protein is due to rise in popularity? Indeed The Guardian reported on Friday that there are at least six insect farms either in development or under consideration in England. Why would you want to eat bugs though? Well, one of the biggest benefits is that they are an environmentally friendly alternative to meat.

Bodhi is a new UK based company who have just starting selling Paleo bars made with cricket flour. When they offered to send me some samples, I accepted, thinking that I'd take the opportunity to try something utterly different -I'd like to think that I'd try most things at least once. Each bar contains 10g of protein, and is gluten, soy and dairy free.

 A little more info on the company:

"Here at Bodhi we like to keep an eye on our diets, and make sure we're getting enough protein. While protein bars are a handy way to do that, we found most bars available were packed with sugar, artificial ingredients, and the source of protein was not a natural one. We set out to create something new, innovative and effective. We wanted to develop a bar that combined a natural protein source, all-natural raw ingredients, that fit into a paleo lifestyle.  

That's when we stumbled across a new and exciting ingredient... Cricket flour. We say new, but eating crickets and other insects is already considered completely normal in many countries around the world. However, it's only recently countries like the UK, USA, Australia and many countries in Europe are coming around to the many benefits. Crickets are actually part of the same animal family as prawns and lobsters, so the idea of eating them shouldn't be so strange."

The brown, rectangular shaped bar looked similar to a Trek bar, although it had a definite earthy aroma. The texture was firm and dry to the touch, but when I bit into it I discovered that it was crunchy. Immediately the thought of a mouthful of crickets entered my mind, and I found the bar difficult to swallow. I thought I'd got over the mental hurdle of eating bugs, but it cropped up right at the wrong moment and I couldn't continue.

I had been documenting my journey with these paleo bars on instagram, when one of my followers (macroswithmeesh) expressed an interest in trying them. I offered to send him one, curious to discover whether it was just the thought of eating crickets that prevented me from enjoying it...

His review: 

"...Having tried a fair few of the 'natural'/'raw' paleo bars it is about on par with most other products...

On the plus side, the extra protein (10g) is a good selling point and coming from crickets, it is more resourceful and what not..."

So there you have it. Two reviews in one. Macroswithmeesh may have been able to stomach it, but I woosed out. Since I stumbled at the first hurdle it seems unfair for me to score it.

Thank you to Bodhi for me the samples. If you're braver than me and are intrigued by the sound of these new Date & Cacao Cricket Paleo bars, please head on over to their website where you can find out more about the company and buy some for yourself.