SnackFace Review: SMPL Bites

Now that I’m a student again, I run all over Los Angeles with a backpack stuffed with notebooks, pens, highlighters, laptop, iPad, headphones, and computer glasses. Within that backpack, I also always have at least one snack and lately it’s been these SMPL bites. I found the brand on—where else— Instagram, and reached out for samples to potentially bring in-store at Hi-Lo Liquor Market, where I’m the market buyer. (Oh, yes, btw, I’m a professional snack buyer now. A lifetime in the making, no? I’ll get more into this later!)

I tend to shy away from nut and date-based snacks simply because they all taste the same after a while, but I was drawn to these based on their looks and the benefits each bag boasts. SMPL Chill Bites have 20mg of CBD and prominently feature peanut butter. The Detox Bites have charcoal and coconut to help, well, detox. And last but not least, the Beauty Bites are packed with collagen and cacao for a skin and hair boost.

The second I bit into the peanut buttery Chill Bites, I knew I’d found a new go-to snack. They’re like little balls of peanut butter cookie dough that happen to made with all-organic ingredients I can pronounce. Detox Bites are like little, delicious coconut macaroons. Beauty Bites took me by surprise with the crunch of the cacao and its cacao-forward flavor. My favorite part about all of them (which I keep all three in my bag…never know which beauty/chill/detox mood I’ll be in) is how easy they are to stow in my bag and I don’t have to worry about them getting smushed.

Part of what makes each of the flavors unlike other nut-seed-date balls is that they’re made with almond flour, not just ground up almonds, which makes for a smoother bite and helps reduce that overly almond-y flavor. Other common ingredients in the bites: cashews, coconut/coconut nectar, coconut oil, and Himalayan pink sea salt. Beyond that, each has its own proprietary wellness blend.

THE SNACKFACE STATS

FLAVOR: 5/5
I genuinely love the flavor of each of these with Beauty and Chill being my two favorites.

TEXTURE: 5/5
Each bite is pleasantly chewy with zero crumble.

INGREDIENTS: 5/5
The SMPL team killed it with these thoughtful, organic, simple ingredients.

SNACKABILITY: 4.5/5
My only slightly negative thing to say is that if the bites get too warm, you will have a little coconut oil film on your hands. It’s very minor. Aside from that, these are the perfect throw-it-in-your-bag-and-go snack.

WHERE TO BUY:
We are fully stocked at Hi-Lo in Culver City! I’ve also spotted them at Erewhon in Venice, and you can buy these online.

Happy snacking,
Kailey