The trend toward organic and raw foods is fast underway, with many snack bars and health drinks offering these more natural versions. One bar that has gone all the way is the Raw Revolution Organic Live Food Bar, which is made of raw, living foods, rather than cooked and processed ingredients.

Raw Indulgence was created by a Registered Nurse and Natural Foods Chef who developed a passion for preparing and eating raw foods.

Why raw foods? In general, raw foods contain more nutrients and enzymes than cooked foods, which usually lose a certain amount of nutrients during the preparation process. Also, a raw food is almost always the healthiest choice. Think about it – you can eat a raw apple but you can’t get a raw Snickers bar!

I am not on a strict raw food diet, but like to eat as naturally as possible, so therefore I do include many raw foods in my diet. I highly suggest replacing any processed foods with raw foods. (If you are interested in a raw food diet, just Google for “raw foods” and you’ll find tons of info.)

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

Here are the ingredients from the Spirulina & Cashew Raw Revolution bar:

INGREDIENTS: CASHEWS, DATES, AGAVE NECTAR, ALMONDS, SPIRULINA POWDER, SPROUTED FLAX SEED.

And the nutrition facts:

Calories 280
Total Fat 18g
Sat. Fat 3g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholest. 0mg
Sodium 20mg
Total carb. 29g
Fiber 3g
Sugars 17g
Protein 7g

The bar isn’t that big, so 280 calories seems high, but that’s mainly due to the healthy fat content of the cashews and almonds. Some people may feel that 17g sugar is a little high, but I bet most of that comes from the dates, rather than the added sugar (in the form of agave nectar.)

With a product like this I don’t worry too much about the label (since the ingredients are natural,) but regardless, I’d say that’s a good mix of carbs, fat, and protein for a snack. It’s also low in sodium, which is a big plus for anything that comes individually wrapped!

The one thing I do like about the Lara Bar compared to this is that Lara Bars have no added sugar. These Raw Revolution bars contain some agave nectar, which isn’t terrible, but it’s not something you need in your diet.

*Note that the ingredients and nutrition facts are very similar amongst all the Raw Revolution bars.

Raw Revolution Taste Test

Here are my thoughts on a few of the flavors:

Chocolate & Coconut – At first I really tasted the cocoa powder (kind of a bitter chocolate taste,) but then bits of coconut came in to sweeten things up.

There was certainly not as much coconut as in a Mounds bar, just some finely chopped pieces. The bar was mainly a cocoa flavor. I would have liked more coconut flavor!

Overall, the Chocolate & Coconut is not bad, but not a flavor I’d buy again.

Raspberry & Chocolate – With this bar, you still get a little bit of that bitter cocoa flavor, but not much. The raspberry seems blended in very well and adds flavor and sweetness to each bite. So it’s a good mix of chocolate and raspberry flavors, without being too sweet or bitter.

If you like dark chocolate (especially flavored dark chocolate,) I recommend this bar.

Cashew & Agave Nectar – This bar is so soft and sweet. It really, really does have a cashew taste! Smells great too. And none of the ingredients are even close to being bitter!

If you like cashews, you’ll love this bar! It’s like a bar of robust cashew butter!

Spirulina & Cashew – I got really excited about this bar, especially when I saw it was completely green! (Spirulina is basically seaweed!)

This is another sweet flavor. You can taste the cashew but with some “green” flavor to it as well. It’s hard to describe if you’ve never tried spirulina or something like Barlean’s Greens, so I’ll just say, I think it tastes awesome!

Overall, the texture of these Raw Revolution bars may be a bit softer than Larabar, but it is similar. However, it is more oily than any other bar I’ve had! As in, don’t touch it directly, because your hands will become coated in oil!

And don’t expect the chocolate ones to be sweet like candy bars, or you’ll be disappointed.

My final verdict is…

The Raw Revolution food bar tastes good, if you get the right flavor for your taste buds. If you like the idea of raw, natural bars, and you can afford them, this is a pretty good choice. Just remember that these should be a supplement to your normal diet full of raw foods; don’t base your whole diet on these snack bars.

I will definitely buy the cashew-based flavors again when I’m in need of a healthy snack bar.

Official website: www.RawIndulgence.com

Buy online: www.Amazon.com

As soon as I saw those bars, I was sure I was staring at what could be called “the low-price LARA BAR.”

According to the label, it’s an “all natural fruit and nut bar.” When you see the ingredients, you’d swear it was a LARA BAR – it’s a date bar with some nuts added in. Some of the ingredients are even organic, which is pretty sweet when you consider how I found these on sale for $4 a dozen! (At 33 cents each, I got these cheaper than most candy bars!)

The two flavors I tried are cocoa coconut and cashew, pecan, and honey. At first I thought both of them were kind of bland, but after having a few, I’m beginning to enjoy them.

Continue reading for flavor and nutrient comparisons…

Cocoa Coconut

Ingredients: Dates, almonds, walnuts coated with rosemary extract, honey, coconut, cocoa powder.

Simply put, this tastes like a chocolate bar. One of those semi-bland, organic types of chocolate bar. The first time I had it, I thought it was very bland and dry. After having two or three, the taste began to grow on me. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate, so I don’t love these, but they’re not bad. You do taste a little bit of coconut, too, so that adds to the flavor.

As for the texture, it’s more like Chunks of Energy than the LARA BAR, because these Simple Harvest bars are packed with walnuts and other goodies. The nuts and other additions overpower the date flavor and smooth texture. (I prefer the smoother, more ‘date-like’ texture.)

The best way to describe it is a combination of both; not quite as smooth as the LARA BAR, but not as grainy as the Chunks. It’s decent though (and I’d still prefer this over a Clif Bar or Powerbar.)

Coming in at 200 calories, it’s right on par with most energy bars and granola bars.

Cashew, Pecan, and Honey

Ingredients: Dates, pecans, cashews, honey.

On the other side of the taste spectrum we have the Cashew, Pecan, and Honey bar. It is much better, and sweeter, than the Cocoa Coconut, but I wish it had a shorter name. I think something more concise like “Honey Cashew” would do the trick.

Anyway, this bar tastes great and it’s sweet, which must be because of the added honey. I love cashews, too. But even with the nuts, the bar is still moist and chewy.

The soft texture is nice, but it sure goes down quick for being 240 calories. That’s great on the bike, though, when you just want a good source of energy that’s easy to eat. (Don’t you hate it when you waste energy trying to chew an energy bar?)

Overall I loved this flavor and will be buying as many as I can find at 33 cents each!!

Nutrient Comparison: LARABAR vs Simple Harvest Bar

Considering how similar these bars are, I thought it would be interesting to do a little nutrient comparison. On the chopping block we have a Pecan Pie LARABAR vs the Cashew, Pecan, Honey Simple Harvest bar:

Calories:
LARABAR 200, Simple Harvest 240. The 40 calorie difference looks substantial, except that a lot of energy bars vary from 190-240 calories based on the flavor, so this isn’t surprising.

Total Fat:
LARABAR 14g, Simple Harvest 14g. Exactly the same.

Sodium:
LARABAR 0mg, Simple Harvest 5mg. Practically the same.

Total Carbs:
LARABAR 22g, Simple Harvest 29g. This is about the only place they differ. The Simple Harvest bar brings 7 more grams of carbs to the table, which, again, is great for on-bike eating.

Sugars:
LARABAR 16g, Simple Harvest 21g. 5 of those 7 more grams mentioned above come straight from the sugar. (Which would be from the honey in this case.)

Fiber:
LARABAR 4g, Simple Harvest 4g. Exactly the same, once again.

Protein:
LARABAR 3g, Simple Harvest 3g. Exactly the same, yet again.

So overall these bars are pretty close. The LARABAR has a few more vitamins and minerals listed, but perhaps the Simple Harvest bar has them, too. It might just not list them all, because they aren’t that high in any certain mineral. (Plus, the ingredients are so similar, it would make sense.) The only real difference is that the Simple Harvest bar has more sugar content, but it has honey as an ingredient.

Based on that comparison, I’d actually recommend the Simple Harvest bar as an on-bike energy bar. The honey will go to good use, fueling your muscles!

My final verdict is…

These Quaker Simple Harvest Fruit and Nut Bars have a pretty good taste, they’re healthy, and they’re cheap. That’s perfect for me! As much as I love the LARA BAR, I’m always looking for the cheapest option! So, for $4 a dozen, I’m not passing these up!

I highly recommend the Cashew flavor. (But if you like chocolate, go ahead and try the Cocoa Coconut.)

Website: www.QuakerSimpleHarvest.com

* Although I don’t see these bars mentioned anywhere on the site… (Perhaps they were just test marketed and discontinued because they are too much like health food?)

4/2/2008 Update:
I just got word from Quaker and unfortunately these bars have been discontinued!! My advice is to make your way to a Big Lots department store and buy all that you can for $4/dozen!

Being an endurance athlete, you probably consume energy bars, right? I know I do. They are full of carbs, electrolytes, and calories, and they are easy to eat while riding. What’s not to love?

Well, in some cases, the taste!

For the most part, energy bars are a vital component in the endurance athlete’s arsenal. However, they aren’t the best idea for meal replacements. There is no substitute for healthy, unprocessed foods, (and I think we would all agree on that, even if we don’t always take our own advice.)

And that’s why I hate people saying that energy bars are terrible, like Dr. Weil does in his article, “Are Food Bars Food?”

At the beginning of his article, he even admits that the bars were created for endurance athletes. But then he goes on to say that the bars are unhealthy choices for regular people… I agree with that, but he makes it sound like the energy bars are the devil, which I wholeheartedly disagree with.

You can’t blame the energy bars for making people unhealthy. You have to blame the people that eat the energy bars and then sit around on the couch. These bars aren’t meal replacements, they are to be consumed in addition to a healthy diet by people that need the excess calories.

Hell, when I’m looking at an energy bar, I think “the more carbs the better!” (Obviously this sentiment applies to endurance athletes and not dieters, so if you are just looking for someone to bash sugar and energy bars, you’ve come to the wrong place.)

Now, maybe Dr. Weil has a grudge against high fructose corn syrup. That’s fine, because I do, too. But where are you going to find high fructose corn syrup these days?

It’s certainly not found in the new Powerbars, Cheetah Bars, Detour Bars, Chunks of Energy, or LARA BARS.

So it seems Dr. Weil is just attacking our beloved energy bars in order to promote his own line of food bars geared towards regular people who need a quick and convenient meal. (Go ahead and promote your stuff, but don’t knock our energy bars because some people use them incorrectly.)

I don’t think I need to go any further for you to realize what’s going on here. (If I had my name on energy bars, I’d promote them everywhere, too!) But as you can see, I didn’t have to look far to find numerous examples of healthy energy bars.