When I first saw a LARABAR, I thought it was a new offshoot of the CLIF BAR, kind of like a Luna bar. The packaging was similar and even included a story on the back of the wrapper. I bought a few to try without knowing anything about them. At first I was shocked, but that shock quickly turned into a pleasant surprise.

See, as I examined the package, I found a weird ingredients list - there were only three of them! They were dates, pecans, and almonds. I wondered where all the other “necessary” ingredients were to actually make an energy bar. The stuff about being “raw” also puzzled me. Then I was shocked when I looked at the thing!

It turns out that the bar was made mainly from a date paste with chunks of pecans and almonds thrown in, then formed into a nice rectangle. (I was expecting something like an oat bar with small pieces of dates in it.)

So once I understood, I was hooked! It turned out to be really, really good. Too bad I didn’t come up with the idea myself, though ;).

Here’s what was on the wrapper: No added sugar - Unprocessed - Raw - Non-GMO - Gluten Free - Dairy Free - Soy Free - Vegan - Kosher. Quite a nice list!

I’ve had a bunch of LARABARs since that first one, including Banana Cookie, Cherry Pie, Cinnamon Roll, and Chocolate. Banana Cookie is my favorite because it tastes just like fresh-cooked banana bread. Pecan Pie and Cherry Pie were good along with Cinnamon Roll. I wasn’t too fond of Cashew Cookie, though. I like cashews but that bar just didn’t seem to have that much flavor. The chocolate Jocolat bar interesting; it was certainly a raw, bland chocolate, which was pretty good, although I preferred the other bars.

So the bars taste good, but do they make good energy bars?

They are great for snacking since they’re all-natural and deliver some fruit and healthy fats, but I have yet to try one during a bike ride. However, I assume they will work just fine. Dates are full of carbs for energy, and that’s all that really matters, right? Sure all the good fats and protein come in handy, but we need energy to ride. Looking at a Cherry Pie wrapper, I see 190 calories, 28 grams of carbs, 4 grams of protein, and a total 8 grams of fat. That sounds good to me. Granted a Powerbar usually has 230 calories and 45 grams of carbs, that’s all from high fructose corn syrup.

If you’re just looking for lots of carbs and nothing else, the Powerbar might be the way to go. But I recommend checking out the LARABAR if you want a healthier option for on-the-go snacking. It is “energy in its purest form” according to LARABAR.

My final verdict is…

Try a couple LARABARS - I suggest a Banana Cookie and a Cinnamon Roll. Based on the ingredients (or lack thereof), I can actually suggest this bar easily since it’s real food and not full of processed crap! You might even like these if you hate all the other energy bars.

Since they’re only a buck or two each, it’s not a huge loss if you don’t like them. And if you do like them, it’s a great way to get a serving of fruit during your ride.

Go ahead and learn more and shop online at the Larabar site.

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Normally a new granola bar from General Mills would not warrant a review on my site, but after trying these, I had to write about them.

This one is a bit different though. More than just a new flavor, these chewy granola bars are made with real Caribou Coffee. (I had no idea, but it turns out that Caribou Coffee is a big company that makes specialty coffees. I’ve never had the coffee, but these bars are good, so I bet their coffee is, too!)

The coffee gives these bars a unique taste and a unique kick. I could actually feel an effect from eating one of these. I’m not sure how much caffiene is in each bar, but it’s there.

The bars look pretty healthy too. High fructose corn syrup is high on the ingredients list, but things look pretty good otherwise. Not the greatest, but far from the worst.

Learn more and shop online at the Caribou Coffee site.

My final verdict is…

I’m going to keep eating these. If you want a really good and chewy granola bar that gives you a bit of a caffiene boost, this is perfect. Plus, they’re easy to eat while driving, unlike hot coffee!

You can find them in grocery stores, so availability shouldn’t be a problem.

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