I've Found My Bars!

After tireless taste testing and untrackable expenditure I have finally found protein bars that meet my strict criteria of being:  
     *vegan
     *soy-free
     *non-GMO
     *organic
     *high in protein (15+ grams preferred)
     *low in carbs (under 20 gm preferred)

Here is my review, in the order tested.

Dr. Mercola Pure Power Protein Bar

Mercola Protein Bars

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip

220 cal, 9g fat, 22g carb, 4g fiber, 0mg, sodium, 14 g protein 

Taste: meh. Started kinda funky & I got used to it after a few bites.

Texture: mushy & oily 

Available only in boxes of 12 online.

While it fits pretty well into all the parameters I set, I just don't love the taste, and there is only one flavor. I will not be buying more of these.

Vega Sport Protein Recovery Bar

VegaSport

Chocolate Coconut

240 Cal, 8g fat, 28g carb, 4g fiber, 40 mg. sodium, 15 g protein

Chocolate Saviseed

230 cal, 7 g fat, 29 g carb, 6 g fiber, 65 mg sodium, 15 g pro

Taste: Delicious, but in hot weather the chocolate would be melty in my pack

Texture: firm

Available at my local Sprouts and Jimbo's stores as single bars. I will buy these again, but won't rely on these as my main go-to bars because of the melty chocolate coating, the higher carb count (fine if I'm cycling), and the limited choice of flavors.  

Square Bar

SquareBar

Cocoa Crunch

200 Cal,  9g fat, 20g carb, 2g fiber, 35 mg sodium, 12 G protein

Taste: very strong cocoa flavor,  sweet, I don't care much for it.

Texture: hard & squishy at the same time. 

Cocoa Coconut

220 cal, 11g fat, 18g carb, 2g fiber, 25mg sodium,  11g protein 

Taste: very sweet. Less intense cocoa. Better than Cocoa Crunch.

Texture: soft but dry

Cocoa Almond

210 Cal, 10g fat, 19g carb, 2g fiber, 20 mg sodium,12g protein

Taste: fairly intense cocoa flavor, sweet

Texture: chocolately coating, soft center, almonds are chopped fine.

Available online in boxes of 12, and they do have a variety pack. 

I probably wouldn't order these again. The flavor is very strong, they don't have quite enough protein compared to the calories for me. 

22 Days 

22DaysNutrition

PB Chocolate Chip Nirvana

290 cal, 10g fat, 24g carb, 9g fiber, 280mg sodium,  20g protein

 Taste: mild flavor, pleasant but not WOW

Texture: soft & chewy. No coating. Heavy. A few small chocolate chips inside.

These do have the right protein and fiber counts, but the calories are high. The flavor is not great, but not bad. If I were out somewhere and hungry, and these were in a store, I might pick one up, but I wouldn't seek them out.

Daily Mocha Mantra

220 cal, 12g fat,  21g carb, 5g fiber, 20mg sodium, 10g protein

Taste: pretty good. Can definitely taste the coffee. 

Texture: firm. Chocolatey coating is messy. 

These are a bit low on protein, and high in fat, considering the calorie count. Also, you really gotta love coffee to like this one.

Zing 

ZingBars

Cashew Cranberry Orange

200 cal, 7g fat, 26g carb, 4g fiber, 100mg sodium, 10g protein 

Taste: yummy citrus flavor, tangy, not too sweet

Texture: soft & chewy. No coating little bits of fruit & nuts inside. 

While these are too low in protein for the criteria I set, I will buy them again as a snack/energy bar or to stick in my pack when I'm cycling. They are delicious!

Almond Blueberry

220 cal,9 g fat, 23 carb, 6 g fiber, 130 mg sodium, 11 g protein

Taste: delicious nutty flavor, not too sweet, pleasant.

Texture: soft and chewy, no coating. Little bits of fruit and nuts inside.

Again, I would buy these again for cycling, my kids' lunchbox, etc., but won't rely on them for protein. Delightful. They are available in several flavors and a vegan variety pack. I want to try them all!

Organic Food Bar

OrganicFoodBar

Protein

330 cal, 9g fat, 33g carb, 8g fiber, 5mg sodium, 22g protein

Taste: sweet/tart, fruity

Texture: soft and chewy and little gritty. Tiny bits of seeds and/or nuts inside.

Well they are high in protein, but also very high in sugars and calories! I appreciate the "greenness" of the company and the quality ingredients, but this is not what I was looking for. I won't buy them again. I will try to sneak them in my kid's lunch (she can use the calories!), but I have a feeling she won't care for them. I may eat one if I do a long and hard bike ride, but they really are very sugary. I wonder why they felt the need to include blue agave nectar when they are already full of dates? 

GoMacro Macrobar Protein Replenishment

GoMacro

Peanut Butter

260 cal, 10g fat, 34 carb, 2g fiber, 5mg sodium, 12g protein

Taste: gross! Like sad peanuts...

Texture: heavy, chewy, crunchy bits of peanuts inside

I do not like this one.

 How can you seriously call this bar "protein replenishment" when it has only 12 g protein and 34 g carbs! For 260 calories I could have so much more protein and much better flavor. Yuck.

Dale's Raw Protein Bars

DalesRawFoods

Here we have our hands-down winner!! Dale's has many interesting flavors to choose from, and they have regular and lower-carb protein bars. They are all vegan, non-GMO, soy-free, 90% organic and raw. They also happen to be gluten-free and do not contain agave.

Here's a video by Dale about his ingredients: Dale's Ingredients

I've tried several flavors, and liked them all--so much that I've placed another order already so I can try more flavors! I stocked up because there was a recent sale of buy 2 get 1 free and free shipping with orders over $150. That brought the price down from somewhere around $4 a bar to just over $2 each! They freeze well! So, here are the pros and cons:

Vanilla Cashew

259 cal, 15g fat, 16g carb, 7g fiber, 100mg sodium 22g protein

A bit dense & dry but seems to soften up and be more moist and chewy when brought to room temperature.  Flavor is good and no messy coating. Just the nutritional profile I was looking for!

Carrot Cake

282 cal, 11g fat, 33g carb, 8g fiber, 22g protein 

Wow, delicious. 

Not one of the lower carb bars, but I love it so much I don't care!

Raspberry Hazelnut

280 cal, 10g fat, 33g carb, 7g fiber, 100mg sodium, 22 g protein

Yummy and moist. I ate this one at the movie theater during Captain America. Way better than candy! Again, not one of the lower carb choices, but yummy and high protein.

Cafe Mocha with Chia Seeds

264 cal, 16g fat, 15g carb, 7g fiber, 100mg sodium, 22g protein

The lower carb choices are not that much lower in calories. So far I prefer the regular bar flavors, but I haven't tasted them all---YET. This one is good. I enjoyed it with a cup of maté tea. mmmmmm....

Chocolate Chia Maca

252 cal, 16g fat, 13g carb, 8g fiber, 100mg sodium, 22g protein

Another winner. Straight out of the frig they are a bit hard and dry, but left out for a bit to warm up they are delightful. Great numbers here...almost all protein after subtracting the fiber!

Dale's Raw Food Bars need to be stored in the refrigerator. They are fine to put in a pack, purse, lunchbox, etc. but because they are raw, if left out for a couple of weeks they could start to ferment. They are made fresh WHEN YOU ORDER THEM so they may take a little longer to arrive at your door, but they are worth the wait for freshness and they all taste delicious. They keep well in the freezer, so you can stock up on sales or with the coupons you will receive via email when you sign up on their website.

I just received and email that said my next order has been shipped. I can't wait to try some more new flavors!

Knowledge is HEALTH

I'm working my way through all those protein bars and taking notes. There will be a review post soon!

Meanwhile, I'd like to share a link to a scary article about chicken. 
 7 Horrifying Truths About Your Chicken Dinner 

What are you reading these days? I'm about 40% through My Beef With Meat by Rip Esselstyn. It's a quick read, with many diverse reasons to cut meat and animal products out of your diet. There are health and environmental reasons, all backed up with scientific evidence. While I agree with much of what the author says, I have found one "beef" of my own. While he recommends breast feeding infants for as long as possible, he also advocates soy-based formula for infants that must be weaned or can't nurse and tofu as an introductory solid food. WUT I do NOT agree. He also hates all plant oils, calling them overly processed, prone to rancidity, empty calories, and referring to them as snake oil. He also points out just how many olives it takes to make one 32 oz bottle of EVOO. It takes 1,375. It strikes me as contradictory that he is against processed oils, but not processed, fermented soy. Otherwise, I'd say that I've gleaned a lot of great information from the book so far. 

Yesterday I went to the local chain supermarket. I just needed one item, but I though I'd browse around. I was reminded why I hardly ever shop there anymore. The aisles are chock full of processed, chemical-laden, factory-made food. Much of the produce looked less-than-fresh, and I couldn't even find organic vanilla yogurt for my daughter (were not ready to go full vegan yet) that didn't contain questionable chemicals. Mainstream food in America: made in a factory, or on a factory farm, and shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to a big box grocer. 

A little research could change your life. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is HEALTH. 

Sure it takes a little more effort to feed yourself and your family at first, but just like anything else, a little practice makes perfect, and you'll soon it will become second nature...just like opening a bag of chips in front of the TV used to be!  Just remember, any small change, applied consistently over time, will bring results. The more small changes you can add, the more benefits you will see!

Today is Farmers' Market day in my city. Yay! I get my CSA box every other week, and this is my in-between week, so I won't get much. My plan is to pick up some organic strawberries and heirloom tomatoes, and meet a friend for a glass of wine at a local wine bar that happens to have outdoor seating on the same block as the market. 

My Quest for Vegan, Non-soy, Non-GMO, Protein Bars

Since it took me a couple of hours of googling, I decided to put all this research into a blog post.

IF I would have been keeping up with my blogging, you would all know that I've been on a fitness quest and have lost about 65 pounds over the last couple of years. More importantly than the weight loss, I've also made great improvements in general health and fitness through exercise and gradually changing my diet.

In case you missed this on Facebook, Twitter and G+
This is me on the left in January 2012 and on the right in October 2013

I'm not a vegetarian...yet...but my daughter is, and so I've been cooking and eating a lot of new plant-strong meals. While she is mainly a vegetarian for moral reasons, I have researched a lot about the health benefits of cutting out animal based foods from our diet.

While I have occasional meat, I feel less enthused about it and really don't crave it at all. It's mostly a matter of convenience: we still have a full-on carnivore living with us in the Alien. Treklet is by no means a vegan. She eats organic yogurt and eggs and cheese, but I'd like to steer away from dairy for various reasons which I will save for another post. (Steer away...see what I did there?)

I eat a lot of protein bars. They are convenient to keep in my car for snacks when I'm out and hungry. They help me fill in that protein serving that I'm usually short on by the end of the day because I still kinda suck at this vegetarian thing. I really love Quest Bars. I've been a big fan of them for a couple of years now. I need to replace them, though, because their main ingredient is isolated whey protein.

So my project today was to find vegan, non-soy, non-GMO, and, hopefully, organic protein bars. Here is what I found. They all have higher calories than Quest bars ( did I mention I LOVE QUEST BARS?) but Quest has isolated whey protein and isolated milk protein, which I'm not crazy about these days. I’m ordering the ones I haven’t tried before and will update later on my preferences. (I suck at blogging, too, so that's not exactly a promise)

I love Perfect Food Bars, which you can buy at Costco. They must be refrigerated, and they are high fat due to them being full of nut butters. The light bars are lower in calories and fat, but also only have 10 gm protein. 

http://www.perfectfoodsbar.com/pages/nutrition-facts

22 Days has a protein and energy bars. You can save quite a bit by buying the Mocha Mantra bars via Amazon Subscribe and Save. I don’t see the Peanut Butter and Chocolate available for Subscribe and Save, though, and they have the highest protein. Again, these bars are high calorie at 290 with 20 gm protein, but they are lower in fat (10%) than the Perfect Food Bars. 

http://www.22daysnutrition.com/pb-chocolate-chip-nirvana.php

Dr. Mercola’s Pure Power Protein Bars are only available online in boxes of 12. They offer free shipping, but they are $1 cheaper on Amazon, also with free shipping. Their website has a lot of information on ingredients found in other protein bars, such as soy, whey isolate, casein, sweeteners, and on their own ingredients (brown rice protein, pea protein, tapioca syrup). They have 14 gm. protein, but I can’t find the full nutrition facts for a calorie and fat count. I can update when I receive my order. 

http://proteinpowder.mercola.com/protein-bar.html

Organic Food Bar Protein has 22 grams protein and 300 calories. They have several other varieties, including raw varieties, but they are all around 300 calories, with varying amounts of protein from 8-14 grams. It’s about $11 cheaper to buy a box through Amazon’s Subscribe and Save. I would have liked to try a variety pack, but that isn’t available on Amazon. Besides, for the same calories, I’ll take the extra protein. It just works better for my metabolism.

http://shop.organicfoodbar.com/ORGANIC-FOOD-BAR/c/OrganicFoodBar@Organic

Dale’s Raw Protein Bar boasts a whopping 22 gm. protein with 280 calories. They boast that they’re the only raw food bar with 22 g protein. Um, OK…  they have lots of yummy-sounding flavors.If you sign up for their mailing list you can get discount codes via email periodically. They are not available on Amazon! You have to spend $150 for free shipping on their site, and they offer no variety packs.

 http://www.dalesrawfoods.com/classic-protein-bars

Dale’s also offers Raw Reduced Carb Protein Bars http://www.dalesrawfoods.com/reduced-carb-protein-bars

Vega Sport Bars are available as a Recovery Protein Bar. They come in 2 flavors, and are available at Jimbo’s and Sprouts. They contain 15 gm protein and 230 calories with 7 gm fat.  They also make an Endurance Bar with only 8 gm. protein and 180 calories.

Square Bars are “rectangle free” and a combo pack is available! They are a little low on protein at 12 gm., but they also have only 200 calories. I’m trying they, because… no rectangles. If you like them on Facebook you’ll get an instant 10% code and they are offering free shipping.

http://www.squarebar.com/products/combo-pack

Go Macro Protein Pleasure Bar offers 12 gm. protein in a 290 calorie bar. It boasts fair trade chocolate chips. Available through Amazon Subscribe and Save
http://www.gomacro.com/#/products/protein-pleasure

Good On Ya bars have too little protein for me, but they are probably a good snack for a bike ride or something, when you need more carbs. They are a San Diego company, so I’ll support them here, as an energy bar.  Also, they are available at Jimbos. ;-)

http://www.thegoodonyabar.com/

Zing Bars look like a well balanced bar at 200 calories and 10 gm protein and 7 gm fat. Not as much protein as I'd prefer, but again, a good balanced and clean snack after exercise or mid-ride. I love that they have a vegan variety pack. Amazon's price matches the website, with no Subscribe and Save option, but if you have Prime, you could save on the shipping there.
http://zingbars.com/



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