Friday, July 18, 2008

clif nectar lemon, vanilla & cashew

clif nectar lemon, vanilla & cashew ($1.79, harris teeter)
1.6 oz / 45 g

Calories: 160
Cals from fat: 50
Total Fat: 6g (9%)
Sat Fat: 1g (6%)
Sodium: 5mg (0%)
Potassium: 310mg (9%)
Total Carb: 27g (9%)
Fiber: 6g (24%)
Sugar: 17g
Protein: 4g

Ingredients: organic dates, organic goji berries, organic lemon juice concentrate, organic vanilla.

This is a compressed date bar, but without the dark cocoa color it really looks sort of strange. This had a really tangy, almost overpowering zing when I bit into it. I'm not sure the lemon helps the case here; the plain date and cashew bar was really similar but didn't have the lemon taste getting in the way. I had sort of high hopes for this bar, and it seems quite nutritious and light, but there's just too much lemon flavor, I'd say. I wish the milder vanilla flavor came through a bit more. The lemon leaves a bit of an aftertaste which isn't really that tantalizing.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

soyjoy apple

soyjoy apple ($0.80, target)
1.06 oz / 30 g

Calories: 140
Cals from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 6g (10%)
Sat. Fat: 2.5g (11%)
Cholesterol: 20mg (6%)
Sodium: 50mg (2%)
Potassium: 230mg (7%)
Total Carb: 16g (5%)
Fiber: 3g (12%)
Sugar: 10g
Protein: 4g (9%)

Ingredients: whole soybean powder, raisin, butter, sugar, walnut, frozen egg, dried apple, maltodextrin, dried pineapple, salt, parmesian cheese, natural flavors.

Hard to believe my breakfast bar has parmesian cheese in it, but hey, its 2008 and I'm not as young as I used to be so you kids just shine on and do whatever crazy stuff you want to do. This bar smells like a sour apple jolly rancher; i was immediately transported to my days as a curious youth, riding my bike all over a rural indiana town, coming home with jolly ranchers from who knows where? I really don't ever remember buying that stuff but I obviously had enough of it. kids today don't get that kind of freedom, what with the crazies everywhere. The taste of this bar is sort of cookie-ish. This bar is not quite so dry and tough as yesterday's, and really isn't bad. It still seems like something you'd get on a european airline flight but you'd probably be happier with it today. no noticable parmesian cheese flavor, just a reasonably good mix of mild fruit and some walnuts. I have to admit when I saw this bar at the store I didn't think I'd like it as much as the berry, but its really a lot better. which is funny, because that sour apple jolly rancher was probably my least favorite flavor. red, baby. everyone loves 'red' flavor, right?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

soyjoy berry

soyjoy berry ($0.80, target)
1.06 oz / 30 g

Calories: 130
Cals from Fat: 40
Total Fat: 4.5g (7%)
Sat. Fat: 2g (10%)
Cholesterol: 15mg (4%)
Sodium: 50mg (2%)
Potassium: 240mg (7%)
Total Carb: 17g (6%)
Fiber: 3g (12%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 4g (8%)

Ingredients: whole soybean powder, raisin [sic], sugar, butter, dried hawthorn berry, dried wolfberry, brown sugar, maltodextrin, frozen egg, red bean paste, salt, natural flavors.

The ingredients make this sound sort of like a cookie, made perhaps by people who don't speak english. Its in a heavy foil wrapper so it might be slightly more perishable than a normal granola bar. It smells pretty good when you open the wrapper, like dessert rather than like a nutrition bar. It looks sort of like a bar cookie. Its extremely dry, but not bad tasting - for some reason I thought of something I might be served on a foreign airline flight. Something never sold in the US and that the allure of is slightly lost in translation to the american palate. Somewhere, someone in the world probably loves this thing. Me, I think its just sort of 'meh.' Its not really offensive; the flavor is slightly tangy and not unpleasant, but the texture is a bit dry and tough and it really seems like a fringe item of some kind.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Kashi Crunchy Honey Toasted 7 Grain

Kashi Crunchy Honey Toasted 7 Grain ($2.94 for 6, target)
1.4 oz / 40g

Calories: 180
Cals from Fat: 50
Total Fat: 6g (9%)
Sat. Fat: 0.5g (3%)
Sodium: 160mg (7%)
Total Carb: 25g (9%)
Fiber: 4g (18%)
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 6g

Ingredients: oats, hard red winter wheat, rye, barley, triticale, long grain brown rice, buckwheat, sesame seeds, evaporated cane juice crystals, expeller pressed canola oil, soy protein isolate, chicory root fiber, honey, rice starch, wheat germ, gum arabic, evaporated salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor, sodium bicarbonate, mixed tocopherols, natural roasted almond butter.

This is almost identical to a nature valley granola bar - rock hard, two to a pack, granola bricks. Not quite as sweet, but really so close that it would be difficult to tell the difference in a blind test, I'd think. It seems like these might have more protein and fiber, looking over the nutrition info, but I couldn't be sure. Other than that I see no real reason to buy one or the other, if you like/dislike them.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Clif Mojo Mountain Mix

Clif Mojo Mountain Mix ($0.99, Target)
1.59 oz / 45 g

Calories: 180
Cals from Fat: 70
Total Fat: 8g (12%)
Sat. Fat: 1.5g (8%)
Sodium: 220mg (9%)
Potassium: 240mg (7%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 9g

Ingredients: organic brown rice syrup, organic dry roasted peanuts, organic raisins, dry roasted almonds, soy rice crisps, organic chocolate chips, organic pretzels, organic peanut butter, organic dry roasted soybeans, dry roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, organic oat syrup, vegetable glycerin, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, organic gum arabic, natural vitamin e.

This is pretty good - a bit dry. It is basically a peanut-bar style thing, though not quite as tooth-wrenching as the classic peanut bar. Its basically trail mix (peanuts, pretzels and chocolate chips are the dominant flavors) stuck together with some sugar and gelatin (though there must be more to it than that given the ingredients list). Sort of salty, sort of sweet, sort of sticky. I'm not sure it has much going for it over some regular non-stuck-together trail mix but its tasty and has a good texture, and makes a nice snack.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

balance bar yogurt honey peanut

balance bar yogurt honey peanut ($1.39, harris teeter)
1.76 oz / 50 g

Calories: 200
Cals from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 6g (9%)
Sat. Fat: 3g (15%)
Cholesterol: <5mg (1%)
Sodium: 160mg (7%)
Potassium: 150mg (4%)
Total Carb: 21g (7%)
Fiber <1g (2%)
Sugar: 17g
Protein: 15g (29%)

Ingredients: soy protein isolate, calcium caseinate, whey protein concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, high maltose corn syrup, roasted soybeans, sugar, roasted ground peanuts, fractionated palm kernel oil, nonfat milk, honey, natural flavor, nonfat yogurt powder, soy lecithin, dextrose, maltodextrin, salt, caramel color, canola oil, sunflower oil, fish gelatin, oligofructose.

Why do I keep eating these bars with the scary ingredients? I do it all for you, internet, I do it all for you. Anyway, this is presumably the same bar as this one but with a yogurt coating instead of chocolate. I think that will be an improvement. I actually once mailed about a dozen of these to a friend living in Italy because it was her favorite and was totally unavailable there. I'm thinking they might be onto something. I think I'd prefer an espresso and biscotti too, but here I am with this and office coffee, so lets make the most of it, shall we? Its basically nougat covered in yogurt. It has a chemical taste like most other balance bars, but the yogurt is a lot better than the chocolate coating - it tastes less fake. I'm not a huge fan of the nougat texture, but that's probably a personal preference rather than an objective flaw. There are some nuts in the bar here and there, which again doesn't really do it for me with the soft nougat. Still, if I was hungry and alone in a foreign country and this arrived in the mail I'd probably go for it, if I was out of biscotti.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

balance bare sweet & salty yogurt nut

balance bare sweet & salty yogurt nut ($1.39, harris teeter)
1.76 oz / 50 g

Calories: 210
Cals from Fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g (14%)
Sat Fat: 3.5g (18%)
Cholesterol: <5mg (1%)
Sodium: 290mg (12%)
Potassium: 135mg (4%)
Total Carb: 23g (8%)
Fiber: 3g (12%)
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 13g (23%)

Ingredients: soy protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt, whey protein isolate, high maltose corn syrup, whole grain rolled oats, roasted almonds, roasted peanuts, evaporated cane juice invert syrup, sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, nonfat milk, corn syrup, malitol syrup, natural flavor, nonfat yogurt powder, oligofructose and inulin, milk protein isolate, whey, protein concentrate, soy lecithin, cream, high oleic sunflower oil, maltodextrin, glycerin, salt, butter, dextrose, palm oil, fructose, caramel color, heavy cream, carrageenan, sodium phosphate, erythritol, fish gelatin, mixed tocopherols.

How can it be cheaper to mix up that chemistry set than to just press together some dates and cashews? I don't get it. This is a really traditional looking bar, grainy on top with a white icing (yogurt, presumably) on the bottom. It has a satisfying if dry granola texture, and a surprisingly small amount of chemical taste given its ingredient list. The yogurt coating on the bottom is not bad - it helps with the overall dryness of the bar. Overall a decent breakfast, though I'm scared of the ingredients.

Monday, July 7, 2008

clif nectar cacao

clif nectar cacao ($1.79, harris teeter)
1.6 oz / 45 g

Calories: 160
Cals from Fat: 50
Total Fat: 6g (9%)
Sat Fat: 1.5g (8%)
Potassium: 370mg (11%)
Total Carb: 27g (9%)
Fiber: 6g (24%)
Sugar: 18g
Protein: 3g

Ingredients: organic dates, organic walnuts, organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cocoa, organic vanilla.

Yet another compressed date bar. This one looks and smells really brownie-like when you open the package. Its a bit drier and stiffer than some of the others. The taste is an extremely rich chocolate flavor. Really a nice flavor for a bar like this - the richness sort of distracts you from the fact that its a fruit bar. No chemical / nutrition bar taste at all. By far the nicest of this sort of bar I've had yet.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Larabar Cashew Cookie

Larabar Cashew Cookie ($1.79, harris teeter)
1.7 oz / 48 g

Calories: 210
Cals from Fat: 110
Total Fat: 12g (19%)
Sat. Fat: 2g (11%)
Potassium: 320mg (9%)
Total Carb: 23g (8%)
Fiber: 3g (10%)
Sugar: 14g
Protein: 6g

Ingredients: cashews, dates

Wait, what? Cashews and dates? That's it? Whoa. Compared to those balance bars these are positively primitive. So of course the $64,000 question: how do they taste? Well, lets start with how they look. They look like a bar of homemade soap. I'm not kidding. The dates and cashews have been ground up and pressed into a semi-translucent bar that really looks like some fancy soap you might buy at whole foods. I'd be proud to display this in my bathroom. The taste is, well, cashews and dates. It almost begs the question of why I'm not eating a handful of cashews mixed with dates, which would surely be less than $1 per ounce. That said, its a pretty good ratio of dates to cashews, and the whole "bar" concept is pretty cool - they managed to press it without making it too dense or rubbery. I'd sort of expected some of the dryness of the other pressed date bars, but this is a step above most of them. As you might expect, there is no "nutrition bar" taste whatsoever, delicious. A good bar.

As a fun bit of research, I found that chopped dates happen to fall around $0.30 an oz, and cashew pieces about $0.50 an oz, so you could approximate the experience of this bar for about $1.36 plus a bit of squeezing. I guess the squeezing is worth $0.43.