Bar-Hopping (Part Two)
Since my last bar-hopping post, I’ve had several months to taste-test my way through the bar aisle even further. See below to read about my latest discoveries:
Mocha-walla
Odwalla has been cranking out the new flavors lately, for which I am genuinely appreciative—I am always looking for new flavors to carry around as my “emergency snack.” One of the latest additions to the Odwalla family is the Mocha-walla bar. As you might surmise from its name, the Mocha-walla bar features a coffee flavor with a dose of chocolate. While I am not a fan of coffee itself, I always enjoy coffee-flavored items (makes total sense, right?). Anyway, I was anxious to try this new java-infused bar, and I was not disappointed. It has a distinct coffee flavor, and the occasional chocolate chip adds some welcome sweetness. One caveat: this bar gave me serious coffee breath—I had some java-burps during my run as a result.
It was tasty and a good way to add some variety into my bar repertoire, but I am not sure I’d recommend it as a pre-workout snack due to the unfortunate coffee breath side effect. The protein content is a little puny (4 g), but each bar is fortified with a variety of vitamins and minerals.
Nutrition Information: 210 Calories, 4 g fat, 1.5 g sat. fat, 90 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 4 g protein. Also contains 22 mg caffeine.
The ingredients list is also a tad long for my taste, but at least they are partially organic (36%).
With all that said, my favorite flavor will always be Superprotein.
A few months ago, the folks at YouBar were kind enough to send me a sampling of their products. While all of their products are fully customizable, they also offer some pre-made items, including uniquely flavored bars.
Great Date with Chocolate
Dates? Chocolate? Yes, please. Any marriage of two of my all-time favorite ingredients is likely to be a hit. However, I was a bit disappointed by the too-subtle cocoa flavor. The dates lent significant sweetness to the bar, however, and the texture was soft and a little chewy, much like a Larabar.
The only ingredients are dates, whey protein, honey, and cocoa. Due to the whey protein, these bars are not vegan, but they do boast an impressive protein count.
Nutrition Information: 140 Calories, 1.5 g fat, 0.5 g sat. fat, 15 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 24 g sugar, 8 g protein, plus 35% RDA for calcium, and 10% RDA for iron.
Honey Cashew
Considering my love of honey-sesame cashews, I was pretty excited to sample this flavor as well. The taste? A+. It reminded me of a shortbread cookie! Very sweet and very satisfying. The texture? Uh, C-. In accordance with its cookie-like nature, this bar was on the crumbly side, making it inappropriate for eating on the run. I suspect that most bar-eaters are interested not only in its flavor but also its ease of transport; the Honey Cashew bar fails to meet the portability criterion. Take note that napkins a re required for optimal consumption of this bar.
The ingredients list is pleasantly short with only cashew butter, honey, whey protein, and nutty rice cereal. Each bar is a bit deficient in fiber, but there is a low sugar count and high protein content.
Nutrition Information: 220 Calories, 13 g fat, 2.5 g sat. fat, 25 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 10 g protein.
Cranberry Orange Nut Bread
As you are probably well-aware, I am a Clif bar devotee. I’ve tried and reviewed every single flavor, including the seasonal varieties. Clif’s balance of protein and carbohydrates provides the perfect pre-run nutrition, plus their variety of tasty flavors prevents taste bud boredom. Given my enthusiasm for all things Clif, I practically squealed with delight when I spotted a new seasonal flavor at my on-campus convenience store. This flavor features the ingredients of holiday nut breads: cranberry and orange. While I typically enjoy this combination of flavors, the bar version failed to impress me. The orange flavor seemed a bit artificial, and the bar was generally over-sweetened. While not inedible, I much prefer the other Clif bar seasonal flavors.
The ingredients list is relatively long, as are those of most Clif bars, but some components are organic, and many of them are vitamins and minerals added for fortification. Warning to the soy-averse: the protein content in this bar is derived from soy protein isolate.
Nutrition Information: 240 Calories, 6 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 70 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 23 g sugar, 9g protein.
Green SuperFood Whole Food Energy Bar (Original)
I’ve had good luck with Amazing Grass products in the past; their hemp-blend protein powders make for an excellent smoothie, and I buy their Amazing Grass Kidz (chocolate!) in bulk. Thus, I had high expectations for the bars produced by the same company…and my expectations were met and surpassed! These bars are composed of dried fruits, nuts, and a variety of superfoods, such as wheat grass and spirulina. The taste was pleasantly sweet, and no, you cannot taste the “greens.” The texture was again, quite similar to that of a Larabar, perhaps a bit denser. This made for a satisfying snack, as it held me over during several hours of shopping.
The ingredients list is long, but none of the components are of the “mystery” variety, that is, they are all easily pronounceable and healthful to boot. I quite enjoyed scanning the list for interesting ingredients—there’s everything from organic rose hips, to pineapple to pumpkin seeds in there. Way to pack maximum nutrition into a tiny space, AG!
Nutrition Information: 220 Calories, 8 g fat,1.5 g sat. fat, 25 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 25 g sugar, 5 g protein.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed this edition of Bar-Hopping. So tell me, which bars should I try next?
Filed under: Product Review
Hello and welcome! I have created this blog for people who love food, especially healthful, vegetarian food.
I currently attend college in North Carolina, where I am studying English and psychology, although I plan on pursuing an additional degree in nutrition after I graduate. Ideally, I would like to combine my love of food and the written word someday as a health writer.
AWESOME variety! I say review the One Lucky Duck bars I sent ya
I love the bar hopping!! My favorite bar is the Luna Toasted Nuts n Cranberry bar!! SO GOOD
O0o0 I’ve been meaning to try the Amazing Grass bars! They look so good and the nutrionals are awesome too.
Heheheh…bar hopping. Not what I expected!
Awesome choices. I like the bars that have the shortest ingredient lists(fortified vitamins and minerals aside)
great reviews! had that amazing Grass Bar the other day, loved it! and i bought the clif but i am a bit averse to soy protein now that i have become more informed about soy and its not so good aspects i am hesitant to try it…but hey maybe i will give it a try
xx
Eliza
Thanks for the awesome reviews!
I also sampled YouBars and this
The taste? A+. It reminded me of a shortbread cookie! Very sweet and very satisfying. The texture? Uh, C-. In accordance with its cookie-like nature, this bar was on the crumbly side”
was exactly what I felt. I hate crumbly otherwise that bar woulda been perfect. I love white choc in bars and/or white “yogurt” coating and that one was sooo close, but the crumble factor blew it.
I have never tried AG anything. I need to. I keep writing them to get some swaggie but they never write back. May have to break down and $ it on my own LOL
Have you tried those bars that they sell at TJ’s that are very similar to the Green Superfood but there is a berry one that I think is covered in yogurt and they have a green one that is chocolate covered? They’re really good.
A new reader of yours. Well, fairly newish.. I loved this entry . I look forward to reading more bar reviews and catching up on the ones I missed ,the Clif Bar ones in particular
I am new to the blogosphere as well as new to the ” bar ” world. I’ve recently ventured over to the bar side lol , and my first ones I ve tried have been Clif Bars. I can’t find all the flavors listed on their website but have tried 3 kinds and bought 4 more today at the grocery store. I contemplated some luna ones but the size deterred me
I’d be interested in you trying any bar really , as its all new to me .
Yum. Love hitting up multiple bars in one day
as for more creativity, I think you’ve got me beat. But I’m looking forward to seeing where your healthy snacks bring you next!
Yum. Love hitting up multiple bars in one day
as for more creativity, I think you’ve got me beat. Nothing else comes to mind. But I’m looking forward to seeing where your healthy snacks bring you next!
Great reviews, I wish I could find the cranberry orange bread Clif bar here, maybe it’ll turn up later on in the season. Some other ideas to try: Kashi bars, Luna/Z-Bars, and Zone bars.
awesome reveiws!!
I really reccoment you reveiw PURE bars!! I love them!!
they have a cranberry orange flavor as well.
chocolate brownie is my personal fav.
RAW, ORGANIC. DELICIOUS. dates and chocolate too
I’m going to look into those YouBars! I love larabars but their protein content is pretty puny!
Cool reviews!! I am glad to see a review of the mocha-walla, I spotted it at whole foods and it kind of called my name, as I do like the chocolate-coffee combo!
My favorite bar of all is also Odwalla SuperProtein, it is the best protein bar ever, I actually had 1/2 of one this afternoon with my snack! yum!
Ana
I haven’t ever heard of YouBars … sounds good!
I love Amazing Grass bars!
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yay bars!! the you bar- cashew is my favorite
I love those amazing grass greens bars, if they weren’t soo expensive i’d buy them all the time.
too bad about the seasonal clif – i bought that one but haven’t tried it yet. hopefully i’ll like it more than you did.
Yum! I’ve wanted to try Youbars for ages – but I’ve never had the chance! I might just have to now!
I always love your reviews – whatever you want to review, I’d love to see!
xo
Awesome review! I love Clif bars- maple nut is my favourite! I didn’t like the Youbars at all… Hmm, I say review Betty Lou’s products
love this post! really great review! I just had the chocolate green superfood bar for lunch today. You are so right- AG seriously packs so much nutrition into one bar. I love it.
I’ve wanted to try youbars for a bit now- thanks for the review!
I’ve been wondering about Amazing Grass…is the bar a snack or supplement??
Also, have you tried the KIND bars…I picked up a couple the other day and have yet to try them. I think they’re all natural and fairly healthy though (organic, gluten-free, good fats, etc….)
I’m with you liking some coffee flavoured things, but not coffee itself. I don’t think it’s weird at all
Hi! Just wanted to say that I tried two of the bars you posted here this past week.
I loved the amazing grass superfood bar, I tried the one you posted and also one that was berry flavor and liked both!
However, I was disappointed with the mocha-walla, the one I got was extremely dry, which is unusual with odwalla bars. It was dry and I found it a little bland in flavor, it didn’t hit me with the chocolate-coffee kick i was expecting.
I still love odwalla’s bar with the super protein being my favorite followed by the sweet and salty almond (have you tried this? it is suuuper good) and the berries go mega is also delicious!
Just wanted to tell you about the amazing grass, I like their pomegranate-mango amazing meal and was happy to find the bar too!
Ana