I didn’t plan on going to McDonald’s today.The day started with a glorious amber light, sifting through the netted windows of my bedroom . I made a cup of coffee and ate a hearty bowl of cereal with low-fat milk. I felt healthy and happy. It was all good.

At about lunch time, I decided to do a snack review. As I’ve started the day on a healthy note, a wholesome energy bar sounds like just the thing to continue my healthy streak. Little did I know that it was this decision that led to a total downward spiral to fast food.

Go Natural Yoghurt Almond & Apricot Snack Bar. The name sounds healthy and the tag line — “Tastes good, naturally” — convinced me that the product would score high on the taste department too. But health food usually taste like cardboard or sawdust so I proceeded with caution.

The yoghurt looks dry and crumbly and tastes like sugar frosting that had been standing in the open for a few hours. But that is not the bad part of this bar… nooo…

I don’t have a problem with coconuts. I love them in curries and biscuits and young coconut juice is a refreshing treat on a hot day. I don’t have a problem with coconuts provided I know that I’m going to eat coconuts. The wrapper on this say almonds & apricots in yoghurt, so I expected a fair amount of almonds, apricots and yogurt, maybe a touch of honey as energy bars are inclined to have. But what do I get when I bite this mother? Coconuts. Specifically desiccated coconuts, the worst form a coconut could exist as. What looked like apricots tasted like coconuts and what I supposed are almonds tasted like, you guessed it, coconuts. This tasted a lot like a Bounty bar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that this is supposed to be a yoghurt-coated fruit and nut bar! For your information, coconut is NOT a nut. And it doesn’t end there – the coconuty after taste lasted even after I drank 2 cups of water and sucked on a Mentos. What will it take to drown this horrible taste?

Which brings us to McDonald’s. I’m sitting down in the cool air-conditioned comfort of this fast-foot outlet with a coke and large fries. My healthy day ruined by a health bar.

Photo: Go Natural

Apricot & Almond Yoghurt Bar? More like Desiccated Coconut in Sugar Frosting.