Vega Whole Food Energy Bar: Chocolate Flavor

As the label states, this bar is made from “raw, alkaline, plant-based superfoods.” So what’s in this bar? Key ingredients include dates, sprouted flax, cocoa powder, almonds, sprouted mung beans, and wheat grass. The resulting product has a decidedly earthy but fruity flavor to it, with a soft but dry base that’s has big notes of cocoa, dates, and sprouted flax. The bar has a nice balance to it, with just the right amount of chocolate to level out the other flavors. It’s really easy on the palate, making it a pretty easy bar to scarf down in a hurry. Nutritionally, this 240 calorie bar has 6g of fiber, 10g of protein, vitamins, minerals, potassium, omega 6, and omega 3. It’s enough to help tide you over in between meals – or to give you a boost before a workout (our preferred use). Packaging is clean and easy to understand, but it lacks in the “biteability” department (meaning it doesn’t whet the appetite). Regardless, this is a bar that we’d pick up again and again for both flavor and to satisfy our hunger.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Bora Bora Organic Snack Bar: Almond Sunflower

The Almond Sunflower variety of the Bora Bora Organic Snack Bar line is an extremely enjoyable bar. It’s made with only a few simple ingredients, including raisins, nuts, seeds, rice, agave syrup, and brown rice syrup and it’s certified organic. From a flavor point of view, the product actually has a lot more peanut flavor than it does almond, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. That’s followed by a touch of salt, some sweetness from the brown rice and agave sweeteners, and a fair amount of crunch from the nuts and seeds. Wellements’ effort is extremely well executed, with just the right amount of sweet & savory as well as a nice balance of chew & crunch. Nutritionally, the bar has 180 calories,, 2g of fiber, 5g of protein, iron, and calcium. Lastly, there’s the packaging, which is appealing and lets you get a good look at the bar before you open it. Overall, a very palatable and nourishing bar that looks great to boot.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Honey Stinger: Chocolate Coated Peanut Butta Pro

This is one of those bars that really “tastes too good to be true” (Or, in bar terms, it tastes too good to be good for you). The flavor of this bar is just plain awesome, with a candy bar like flavor that is extremely palatable and has no protein flavor. The lack of protein flavor is impressive, especially considering that the bar has 20g of protein. The soft but chewy peanut butter flavored base is coated with chocolate, resulting in a very indulgent flavor. Ingredients are pretty straightforward as well, with honey, milk chocolate, peanut butter, whey protein isolate, and vitamins & minerals giving the bar its flavor and nutrition. Packaging is wholesome, but has energy, with the aggressive looking Honey Stinger logo providing a nice splash of personality. It’s a 2.85 ounce bar that’s fully wrapped, which is fine by us since the label is very attractive. Overall, this is a really great product that deserves its place in our “Hall of Fame.”

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

WildBar: Mountain Mint

Made with raw cacao and wild blue green algae, this gluten free, vegan, and USDA Organic bar is designed to be the “ultimate meal in a bar.” The bar, which is dark in color and has a dry but chewy consistency to it, has a lot of flavor to it, including cacao, mint, and macadamia nuts. Unfortunately, these flavors aren’t balanced well, resulting in a harsh, almost off putting, mint flavor that leaves a bad taste in your mouth (and a lingering aftertaste). Conceptually, we think it’s a good one, and some refinement to the recipe might make this a better tasting product. Otherwise, this bar is likely going to appeal to someone who’s really hell bent on adding blue algae (Crystal Manna and Blue Manna) to their diet. On the packaging front, this product’s wrapper design made us expect something very different than what was inside it. Specifically, the bright colors and emphasis on the mint leaf seemed to be somewhat of a head scratcher, while there are no visual aides to call out the other ingredients in the bar. That seems like a big mistake, especially since mint isn’t something that’s likely to whet the palate of too many bar shoppers. Overall, this bar needs work, both in packaging and flavor.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Calories: 185
Fat: 2g
Fiber: 14g
Protein: 5.5g
Vitamins: Vitamin B5: 9%, Vitamin D 3%, Vitamin E 8%, Magnesium: 2.5g, Copper 26%, Zinc 12%, Selenium 16%, Molybdenum 37%, Phosphorous 60%

ProBar: Maple Pecan

ProBar has achieved perfection again, this time in the form of their Maple Pecan bar. It is a splendid mixture of nutritious organic, whole foods that deliver enough substance to replace a meal and plenty of enjoyable flavor to satisfy your palate. On the flavor side, there’s a slight note of maple to it, but the base of the bar is the classic ProBar style formula (nuts, dates, seeds, peanut butter). As the name suggests, they’ve added pecans, which combine nicely with the maple, giving the bar an almost butterscotch-like note. The pecans, as well as the nuts and seeds, also create the “savory” flavor that the bar advertises. There’s a nice yin and yang thing going on inside this wrapper – and it’s definitely one of the best bars that we’ve ever had the pleasure of testing. On the outside, they’ve done a great job as well, presenting a design that’s an accurate portrayal of what’s inside the wrapper. Plus, the combination of nuts and maple graphics makes our mouth water. Overall, if there were a bar “hall of fame”, this one would certainly deserve to be in it.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Calories: 400
Fat: 22g
Total Carbs: 44g
Fiber: 6g
Protein 9g

Honest Foods: Apple Ginger

This is a nice tasting bar, with notes of oats, apple, ginger, raisins, and seeds. It’s moderately sweet and somewhat sticky, with a fair amount of chew to the bar. The result is something that’s quite palatable and provides just the right amount of substance to supplement a meal or act as a snack. At 210 calories and 9g of fat, this vegan bar delivers 4g of fiber, 5g of protein, whole grains, and 190mg of omega-3. Honestly – and no pun intended –our biggest complaint about the bar is how quickly it disappeared. A hungry person could certain devour this in only a few bites (as we did). Packaging is simple and effective, with a name that lines up nicely with the whole foods that are inside this wrapper. Overall, a very enjoyable product.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Weil by Nature’s Path Organic: Banana Manna

Billed as a bar that’s flavored with pure fruit and nuts, this product is, unfortunately, not much more than a mushy mess of dates. Yes, it’s vegan, organic, made with only a handful of ingredients, and has no sugar added, but it just isn’t an enjoyable bar to eat. There’s a little bit of banana and almond flavor, but not enough to make it a palatable experience. Really, this bar is going to sell because of its affiliation with Dr. Weil and the implied credibility that comes with that. Otherwise, there’s not really much to like about this product.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Eat Natural: Macadamia and Fruit Bar

This bar is billed as a “luxurious bar full of premium quality ingredients and nothing else.” It delivers nicely on that promise, with a soft base of puffed rice, coconut, and sesame seeds, followed by some sweet apricot flavor before having just a touch of crunch from the nuts (macadamia and Brazil nuts). We really enjoyed the layers of flavor, especially since the bar tastes very raw and natural. They’ve carefully balanced the various flavors, resulting in something that gives your palate just the right amount of savory and sweet. From a nutrition point of view, this gluten free bar has 243 calories, 15g of fat, 3g of fiber, and 4g of protein. It also has 22g of carbohydrates, 8% RDA of iron, and 35mg of sodium. The packaging is straight forward and easy to understand, although it lacks the visual pizzazz that you’ll find in some competing bars (e.g. KIND). Punching up the look seems like the biggest opportunity for this bar. Otherwise, we wouldn’t change a thing.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honest Foods: Apple Ginger

Honest Foods bills its bars as “baked whole food bars”, which appears to refer to its soft oat and nut base. The bar has a soft but slightly chewy texture, with a heavy amount of oat flavor. There’s a hint of almond butter to it, but otherwise we do not taste any of the other nut ingredients that are in the bar. Then there’s the apple, which hits your palate in a big way. Really, we think there’s too much sweet apple flavor relative to the base grain flavors. Plus, it almost completely hides the ginger, which seems like a bit of an afterthought. Packaging wise, we like the look of the bar and the Honest name (hey, it worked for Honest Tea). Definitely worth a try.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Clif Kid Z Bar: Chocolate Brownie Bar

The Clif Bar “kid” line has been an intriguing one to us, mainly because the concept of creating a bar that satisfies the finicky palate of kids while still providing nutrition seems like a difficult task.  In the case of their “Z-bar Organic Chocolate Brownie” bar, we think they’ve made a valiant effort.  The moderately sweet bar has a noticeable whole grain flavor to the body.  Between the chocolate in the body and the drizzle on top, there’s enough chocolate flavor to satisfy the palate of kids of various ages (at least in our sampling).  However, the consistency of the bar was a bit dry, leaving the bar with a slightly tough mouth feel.  Nutritionally, this 120 calorie bar has 3g of fat, protein, and fiber.  It also has vitamins A,C, and B as well as calcium, and iron.  Packaging relies on the established Clif name, but otherwise has competing text modifiers in “Clif Kid” and “Z Bar.”   Removal of one of these would certainly make the presentation cleaner.  Overall, a nice tasting kids bar that achieves a good balance of flavor and functionality.