No bar to unwinding with these chocolate treats

 No bar to unwinding with these chocolate treats

Back in the day, nature laid it on the line: the sky darkened and it was time to slow down, to stop, to gather round the fire together and tell stories, then off to sleep. Now we’ve got I-Pads and Smart Phones and more TV channels than we know what to do with and sleep has become more elusive for some of us.

Dee from Unwind, a real life night owl, has spent a lifetime curious about the best natural ways to achieve that zen feeling of total rest and relaxation.Her answer? Pretty straightforward really; a well balanced diet and lifestyle, and prioritising Time To Unwind every day.

And part of that diet could be these chocolate bars.They sent me a sample of each recently: Unwind Malted Milk and Chocolate; Unwind Dark Chocolate and orange;  and Unwind Roasted Nut and Chocolate.

For me, the main question was, what do they taste like? On a recent Monday evening, we did the trial run with three of the Evening Snack Bars, each 40 grams..

First up was the Malted milk and chocolate. Must say, I was quite at home with the malty aromas and enjoyed it, or at least my share! The Unwind description is: a malty, light, crispy, chewy mix of grains and seeds, all tucked up together and drizzled with Belgian Milk chocolate.

Then we were on to the Dark Chocolate and orange bar, again very tasty and a favourite of my partner in crime. Unwind says this is a light, crispy, chewy mix of grain and seeds, with an exotic burst of Brazilian chocolate, again all tucked up together and drizzled this time with Belgian dark chocolate. Quite a lovely bar, especially if you like the chocolate and orange combination as many people do. More crunchy texture (granola like), with the orange more in the background than upfront.

We finished with my favourite. Of course, the Roasted Nut and Chocolate was always in pole position with me. And all those sweet roasted nuts confirmed that. Again the crunchy mix is much the same as the others with the exception that instead of orange you get lots of  roasted hazelnut and almond chunks drizzled with Belgian Milk chocolate.

What I haven’t mentioned so far here are the ingredients that could help you relax and sleep. They are common to all three bars and are Montmorency Cherries, Chamomile and L-Theanine. Below is some rewritten info from the Unwind website.

These Montmorency Cherries have, in recent studies of this specific tart cherry,  been associated with naturally increased levels of melatonin. Melatonin is often called, ‘the sleepy hormone’. Chamomile has been associated with enhanced sleepiness for centuries. 

The L-Theanine is the strange one, isn’t it? But not as strange as you might think. This naturally occurring amino acid is actually most commonly found in green tea, and is often associated with enhanced feelings of relaxation and focus.

So did we sleep better? One of us slept very well, the other not far behind. But obviously it would take a longer trial to come to a conclusion there! Enjoyed those bars though.