These days it seems that energy bars are occupying nearly the same amount of grocery store real estate as the floor-to-ceiling cereal aisle. Lengthy shelves are weighed down with an increasing stock of bars that offer everything from the protein equivalent of a t-bone steak and so-called lunchbox-friendly bars for kids, to those claiming the same great taste as a candy bar.

And it's no surprise, energy bars are a great idea — in theory. They are a portable, non-perishable, quick-pick-me-up for after the gym or that 4 o’clock crash. However, many have a lot of added sugars, often more than a serving of ice cream. Others are loaded with ingredients that are anything but whole foods, for example this list came from the back of one popular bar:

chocolatey coating (sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa, whey, nonfat milk, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), trisource™ protein blend (whey protein isolate, calcium caseinate, soy protein isolate), glucose syrup, caramel (corn syrup, sugar, cream, water, fructose, palm oil, soy lecithin, salt, sodium phosphate, natural flavor, carrageenan), high oleic canola oil, maltodextrin, evaporated cane juice syrup, peanut flour, natural flavor, glycerin, peanut butter, soy crisps (soy protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt), soy lecithin, salt, almond butter.

We decided to taste our way through many of the bars made with just real food to see if there was anything we could get energized about. By real food, we are referring to those predominantly made with some combination of dried fruit (usually dates) and nuts and without any added sugars or proteins. We took no offense to a little lemon zest or vanilla here and there, but by and large, these were just tiny packages of good ol' trail mix bound together in one way or another.

We tasted bars from the following brands: Larabar, Larabar Jocolat, Clif Nectar, Smart Monkey, Think Organic, Ruth’s, ReBar, Go Raw, Vega, Raw Organic Food Bar, and Gertrude & Bronner’s Alpsnack.

With a total of 35 bars to taste, we anticipated highlighting the best bars from each popular flavor category, which included chocolate, cherry, apple/pecan, cranberry, apricot, and the more nut-centric ones. However, in the end, we didn’t find very many that tasted good enough for us to want to buy them again and most were not any better than a simple bag of our favorite GORP (Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts). In the end our tasting was not for nothing, aside from the energizing jolt we got from munching our way through all the offerings, there were a few that received our Mighty Foods “Taste Tested" stamp of approval.

Larabar had an impressive five bars in their main product line that we liked. The Cashew Cookie had good distribution of cashews and satisfying balanced taste. The Lemon Drop was zesty, refreshing, and bright. The Apple-Pie was apple-y delicious. And the Pistachio was very good, though not screaming of pistachio.

In the chocolate category we were almost left thinking that it’s just best to enjoy a good piece of dark chocolate when you’re having that cocoa craving and have one of these fruity bars when you need a snack on-the-go. However, Larabar Jocolat’s Chocolate Coffee was a pleasant surprise and had a brownie-like enjoyment with a nutty finish. We did note that unlike the other bars we liked, Larabars are not certified organic.

Clif Nectar’s Cinnamon Pecan had real flavor dimension and tasted of pears and autumn. Their Lemon, Vanilla, Cashew tasted much more of vanilla than lemon, but was really delicious and had a nice distribution of nuts.

Think Organic’s Cranberry Apple was more subtle than the others, but pleasantly so and had a smooth taste that was refreshingly not cloying.

We were also inspired by a few creative cooks who took matters into their own kitchens and made some simple homemade versions of these real food energy bars. Here are their recipes as well as a few simple trail mix-type snacks.

- homemade Larabar
- homemade Clif Nectar bar
- homemade trail mix
- homemade GORP

And if you're still not happy with the ones we've tasted and you aren't up to cooking your own, You Bar, allows you to custom design your own bar with lots of choices to choose from, then they send you a case of your monogrammed munchies.

Comments (2) | February 8 - 11:51 AM

category: Lists, New Products