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

From the Jones Soda Company comes… tea! Jones Organics are ready-to-drink teas are organic, come in nice 14oz bottles, and you know what, they’re pretty good!

They do lack the obscure flavors of Jones Soda (such as green apple and fufu berry,) but they also lack the high fructose corn syrup, so it’s a fair trade.

These Jones teas are a little higher in sugar than Honest Tea, but there is way less sugar than Steaz green tea soda. This gives them a good, natural tea taste that’s just a little on the sweet side.

To give you an idea of the ingredients, here is the short list from the label…

White Tea – Cherry Ingredients: Water, Organic Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors, White Tea Solids Brewed From Tea Leaves, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid.

All the calories come from the cane sugar. With 15g sugar per serving, you get 60 calories per serving, for 105 total calories per bottle.

And of course, a few more details on the taste…

Jones Organics Taste Test

For this test, I tried two white teas and a red tea.

White Tea – Cherry – This starts off with a very powerful, authentic white tea flavor. Then there is a very strong and sweet cherry flavor on top of that.

The cherry is so sweet that it makes the bold white tea kind of bitter, but I really like how you’re tasting the true ingredients. It really does taste natural.

I wouldn’t mind if it was a little less sweet, but overall, it does have a good natural taste that I’d love to drink again.

White Tea – Strawberry – This tea has a pleasant taste that’s definitely not as strong as the cherry. The white tea was less pronounced, and the strawberry flavor was much more mild than the cherry.

It reminded me more of a home-brewed white tea with strawberry flavor than a ready-to-drink tea, but that made for a very easy-to-drink beverage. I went through the 14oz bottle in no time. Normally I really like strawberry white tea, but in this case, I think I’d choose the white tea cherry over this.

Red Tea – Tropical – I’m really not a big fan of red tea, but I tried this anyway… and it made for a good combo!

The red tea has a stronger flavor than white or green tea, but it’s not quite like black tea. That robust flavor means it goes great with the lighter, fruity flavor they call “tropical” (I’m thinking pineapple, mango, and something else.)

So I was kind of surprised how good this was! Certainly an interesting choice if you’re used to white and green teas!

Other flavors I haven’t tried include: Red Tea – Peach, Green Tea – Mandarin, and Green Tea – Berry.

My final verdict is…

Health-wise, this is pretty decent for a ready-to-drink tea, especially from a soda company. If you are weening yourself off soda, this tea could help you switch to healthier drinks.

But if you’re already brewing your own tea or drinking Honest Tea, Jones Organics might be a tad too sweet. Stick with your regular tea unless you need something sweet on a special occasion.

Official website: www.JonesOrganics.com

Honest Tea doesn’t really stand out on the convenience store shelves, which are cluttered with jumbo-size Rockstar and Monster energy drinks, plus a few juice drinks in bright, colorful bottles that are more sugar than anything else.

But Honest Tea does stand out once you compare ingredients. It is one of the few drinks out there that has health benefits and contains a minimal amount of sugar. Out of all their flavors, my favorite is the Pomegranate White Tea With Acai.

This is “a delicious, lightly sweetened blend of antioxidant-rich organic white tea, pomegranate and Brazilian Açaí.”

Your sense of smell is treated to a pleasant aroma, which is more like the fruit than tea. But the taste is the perfect combination of white tea and berry flavors. It actually tastes a lot like white tea I would brew from tea leaves at home, which is a good thing.

The slight pomegranate flavor is kind of like how you can get white tea with peach, pear, plum, and other flavors, except this time you’re tasting white tea with pomegranate and the acai. (I’ve had a few of those antioxidant drinks based on acai berry juice, so I think I know the acai taste… although it’s similar to pomegranate anyway…)

Overall, it’s very nice how that works out. With some pre-brewed teas, the fruit flavor is nonexistent, or it overpowers the tea. Honest Tea gets it right.

Honest has the perfect sweetness, too. This tea is sweet enough that it’s really good, but not overpowering. Any sweeter and it would taste like the crap other companies pass off as tea.

Being organic and natural, it’s just about as healthy as what you’d brew yourself. (Honest Tea white teas have 70-95mg of the antioxidant EGCG per bottle.) It uses organic cane sugar so it could possibly have more sugar and calories than how you’d drink tea normally (if you drink tea without sugar, that is,) but for most people this will probably be just right. Convenient, too.

I enjoy drinking this white tea, and I might even buy it sometimes when I’m on the run. What I don’t like though is anything that comes in 20oz plastic bottles. What a waste of plastic…

Sure it’s recyclable, but that requires that your city or town has facilities for that. My hometown only has recycling facilities for paper, aluminum, and glass, so plastic usually gets thrown out and ends up in a landfill…

So mostly I brew my own tea, and only buy these drinks if they’re on clearance sale or if there is no bulk alternative.

My final verdict is…

This is pretty good stuff, so if you like good tea, you should like this. I won’t be drinking it much, though, because I prefer to brew my own green and white teas at home. (Brewing your own tea is cheaper, fresher, and doesn’t waste little plastic bottles.)

So I will stick with just a few Honest Ades and teas on occasion and focus on brewing my own tea. But for tea drinkers who want real tea and prefer the convenience of a bottle, I can’t think of a better choice than Honest Tea.

Official website: www.HonestTea.com

When it comes to healthy refreshment, one name that comes to mind is the Honest Tea company. They produce a variety of organic teas and other beverages, with one being Honest Ade (which is a great addition to their teas.)

The two flavors I’m testing today are Orange Mango and Limeade.

Both of these drinks are certified organic and contain just a few, all natural ingredients. You won’t find high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, or other garbage in these.

The ingredient selection also yields a mere 48 calories and 12g sugar per serving. That’s a fairly low amount of sugar compared to similar drinks.

Honest Ade Orange Mango

The mango is such a delicious fruit and is probably one of the best flavors you can have for a fruit drink, and the Honest Ade Orange Mango does not disappoint.

This is a great compromise between something strong and sugary like Gatorade and the various flavored water drinks. It’s stronger than flavored water and tastes a heck of a lot better, too. The strong flavor is similar to Gatorade, although it’s definitely not as sugary. It just has a full, tasty flavor.

I’d recommend this to pretty much everyone!

But don’t forget the ingredients… take a look at this list and you’ll see that the great flavor is accompanied by great health benefits:

Ingredients: Purified water, organic cane sugar, organic white grape juice concentrate, organic lemon juice concentrate, organic orange flavor, natural mango flavor, mized carotene (for color), organic orange juice concentrate, organic mango blend, Vitamin C (asorbic acid.)

Plus it contains a small amount of Mangosteen for some antioxidants and a natural energy boost!

Honest Ade Limeade

“With twice the fresh-squeezed flavor and half the sugar, our organic limeade is sweetened the natural way.”

I’ve been drinking lemonade my entire life, and I know I’ve had limeade, but I don’t think I’ve had limeade that actually tastes like lime. Until now…

This Limeade from Honest Tea is the real deal – I could actually see the lime pulp settling at the bottom of the bottle!

But even then I wasn’t quite prepared for what I was about to taste. I don’t drink soda, but I am used to sports drinks like Gatorade while I’m riding, so I crave strong flavors. Limeade just didn’t have that strong flavor.

All the Honest Tea labels say “just a tad sweet,” but in this case, I’d say the limeade is “just a tad sour.” It certainly wasn’t bad, especially since I like limes, but it didn’t catch me as something I’d drink all the time.

So if you’re used to other fruit juices that aren’t actually fruit juice (but rather high fructose corn syrup with some added flavoring,) this flavor might seem odd. But have a few sips and you’ll probably like it, once your taste buds get past the lack of sugar.

If you’re an existing Honest Tea fan, though, this should be right up your alley. (Assuming you like lime.)

It seems like an acquired taste, because it grew on me as I drank more. By the end of the bottle, I was a full-fledged fan of Limeade! I’m sure I’ll drink it again, but I’ll still go for the mango most of the time.

As expected, the ingredients here are as simple as possible. It is basically water, organic cane sugar, and lime juice.

My final verdict is…

It’s a good bet that anything from Honest Tea will be healthier than the standard drinks and taste good at the same time, and the Orange Mango and Limeade are certain winners.

I would recommend the Orange Mango (my personal favorite) to anyone. If you like the crispness of flavored water, this has it. If you like the robust flavor of Gatorade, this has that, too.

Hard-core fan of all-natural flavors? Try the Limeade – it’s as real as you can get.

Official website: HonestTea.com (or go direct to Honest Ade)

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!