What’s in my pack: CLIF Bars

Energy bars are in my pack on nearly every outing; Clif Bars happen to be a favorite.

I depend on complex carbohydrates and protein to fuel my body for adventures sports, but sometimes it’s a struggle to consume all that I need. To conserve space and weight, I look for compact sources of nutrients, such as energy and protein bars. However, I must be honest; some of them taste awful or are too dry to chew.

I discovered Clif Bars in the late ‘90s while camping in Alaska. I liked that they were tasty, mostly organic, and free of trans-fats, corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, I ate so many that I couldn’t touch another one for a few years.

Recently, they found their way back into my pack thanks to a variety of new flavors like white chocolate macadamia and blueberry crisp. The chocolate almond fudge is also a new favorite because of its moist texture. The funny thing is, I normally don’t like chocolate flavored products, but Clif’s chocolate flavored bars aren’t overly sweet and they have just enough chocolate to be interesting.

To get more opinions on the chocolate almond fudge and blueberry crisp flavors, I recruited additional taste testers. In my house, our un-scientific method includes placing products in the kitchen and seeing how long they last. Both bars vanished fast, with the chocolate almond fudge going the quickest. The only negative comment I got was that they are still a mouthful to chew. I find that any bar that contains plenty of complex carbs, protein and minimally processed ingredients tends to be a bit heavy.

Nutritionally, Clif Bars stack up well for an energy snack. The blueberry crisp flavor has 240 calories, 5g of fat, 43g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 3g insoluble fiber, 22g sugars and 16 other carbs), and 10g protein. The bulk of the sugar is from brown rice syrup.

I have a few other favorite bars that I regularly carry, such as the Luna Lemon Zest Bar and the Raw Revolution Bar (assorted flavors). I like the nutritional content of the Clif Bars a bit better, but I still need variety.

Since I’m always looking for something new to try, please share your favorite energy bars and snacks with me by leaving a comment.

I’d like to thank the kind folks at NutritionFix.com for providing samples of the blueberry crisp and chocolate almond fudge Clif Bars for us to try. As always, I only review products that I honestly feel are worth my reader’s time or money.