Go Diary Free - February 19, 2009

Amazing Grass Bars

Whole Food Energy Bars - Original and Chocolate

My favorite beverage booster is definitely the Chocolate SuperFood from Amazing Grass. So, when they came out with a new line of SuperFood Energy Bars, I was very excited … but apprehensive. While the idea of powdered greens in my morning fruit or chocolate smoothie didn’t frighten me away, I was a bit concerned that these new bars might taste a bit too green, if you know what I mean.

Luckily, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I really, really liked them. In fact, I think I may have found my new favorite energy bar!

Since there are so many different types of energy and snack bar fans out there, I want to give you my “bar profile” and that of my fellow taste-tester (my husband) before I proceed, just so you know where this review is coming from. I have trialed perhaps a dozen different brands of bars on the market, but in terms of what goes in my cart on a somewhat regular basis, I am still fairly loyal to the Clif Nectar line. I definitely like Larabars, but I like the Nectar bars just a bit more; they seem to be slightly better with the spices / flavors in my opinion. However, sometimes I am not in the mood for the whole “date” thing, so I will turn to my homemade granola bars. My husband is not a date fan, so he passes up the Larabars and the Nectar bars. He likes Odwalla bars best, Clif bars second, but the Clifs are sometimes too sweet for his tastes. If available, he prefers nutty, granola bar types a bit better (back to my homemade ones again).

Now … back to these new SuperFood bars. The texture of the original (peaking out on the right in the pictures above) was Larabar-esque, only less chewy, a bit softer … quite nice really as they didn’t threaten to stick to my teeth. Bits of nuts throughout added some chunky interest to the overall taste and feel, without overwhelming. As for the taste, they were lightly sweet, but not sugary. I would say a notch or two sweeter than a Larabar or Nectar bar, as evidenced by the addition of some agave nectar in the ingredient list. Speaking of ingredients, OH MY! This bar read like a who’s who of the “top ten healthiest foods” lists.

As mentioned, this bar won the “new favorite” award from me, but as to be expected from my date-averse husband, they didn’t do it for him.

Of course, Amazing Grass couldn’t stop with one lone energy bar, they also came out with a chocolate version. Here is where my husband and I once again differ. He liked these much better, and actually went back each morning to have one for breakfast until they were gone. For myself, I am rarely a fan of the chocolate options (unless it is simply a chocolate bar). That said, I loved the cacoa beans in this. I think if they had stopped with the beans, or perhaps added just a bit of raw cocoa powder to the bar too, I would have been a happy camper. But, the thin milky chocolate coating just didn’t fit into place for me. Aside from the chocolate additions, the two bars were virtually identical.

Keep in mind; SuperFood Bars are not lowly 100-calorie snack bars. They are awesome energy or meal replacement bars. A single bar lasted me just over 2 hours before hunger struck … and I am constantly hungry. I was elated to see that the retail price of these bars is similar to Larabars, putting them as contenders for not only my favorite bar, but a healthy snack that will actually find a place in my shopping cart!

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