I had my first Powerbar when I was 15. I should amend that – I had my first bite of a Powerbar when I was 15. What can I say, I was young and naive…I thought if I ate like an elite athlete, I would be an elite athlete.
Turns out you have to train like an elite athlete to actually be an elite athlete…which, frankly, is a lot easier to swallow than a Powerbar. I remember that first bite. Blurg! It looked like vitamins that had been chewed up, partially digested, and then spit up back into bar form. And pretty much tasted like it looked.
I don’t think I’ve had a Powerbar since. I haven’t really tried many other energy bars since then since they mainly end up being gritty, vitamin-y variations on a theme. Chocolate chip Clif bars aren’t bad, mainly because they taste like chocolate chip cookies. With a vitamin aftertaste. Can’t get rid of that vitamin aftertaste.
So after picking up some actual vitamins (which ironically don’t leave an aftertaste) at the local Savemart recently, I noticed an entire aisle dedicated to row upon row of energy bars. Several brands I had never seen or heard of before. And I thought, what the hey…the law of large numbers should work in my favor, right? Somewhere out there is a healthy energy bar that actually taste great, and I am going to find it!
First up…the Organic Fiber Bar’s Cranberry Craze.
The smell – distinctly hippy health nut store. You know what I mean…musty aromas of dried fruit and nuts and people playing hacky sack. Not a good start. But in the end, it actually wasn’t that bad. Kinda like a fruit roll-up or one of Trader Joe’s fruit leathers (do they still make those?)…very definitely a lot of cranberry with the occasional chopped up nut for crunch and flavor. The texture wasn’t that great at first, but it still beats a Powerbar.
Plus, it has 14 grams of fiber packed into 200 calories! I’ve been finding it hard to get enough fiber and protein in my daily calorie intake, so this bar works great for me.
I give this bar five thumbs up!
