Good Earth bars

I recently discovered Good Earth "meusli bars", and I love them! They are made on a farm on Bannerghatta Road, which I gather is owned by the movie legend Waheeda Rehman.

The bars are made from dates, raisins, almonds, cinnamon, orange peels... The taste is grainy and moist, and may remind you somewhat of the unde eats last generation grandmothers used to make. A bar costs between Rs 9 and Rs 15.

Chewiness sets Good Earth apart from your regular chocolate, and I am sure the ingredients are much healthier than the sugar and soya lechitin that you find in those aggressively marketed chocolate bars. But I would still hold back from declaring Good Earth is for everyone: I read regularly about the dangers of carbohydrate for diabetics. Meusli may have less carbs than milk chocolate, but still, you would be well advised to check your nutrition allowances before you gorged on these bars.

(On a related note, have you noticed that Cadbury is now trying to grow its market for chocolate in the towns and villages? In their TV spots, you even find cows and folk music, till now considered too unglamorous to sell "upmarket" products. One ad for Cadbury's chocolate drink Bournvita, aired repeatedly on kids' channels like Pogo and Cartoon Network, shows a Rajasthani folk singer holding his own against a city slicker-dancer!)

And thanks Good Earth for the nutrition information. Some of India's biggest chocolate makers still don't think it necessary to provide such information on their products.