Is there a good-tasting (non-peanut) nutrition bar?

[Sir Gawain]

For various reasons I won't go into, sometimes I find myself consuming a nutrition bar (you know... Cliff, Luna, Zone, PowerBar, whatever). (Believe me, I do prefer normal food.) Most of them are disgusting or tolerable at best.

Are there any bars out there that you actually like, which do NOT contain peanuts? I'm not allergic but really hate the peanut flavor in absolutely anything except plain peanuts & peanut butter, and Thai food.

So far, my favorite is the lemon & poppyseed bar from Cliff, followed by Lime Cheesecake from Luna and Chai Tea, also from Luna (nice cardamom). The Carrot Cake Cliff is OK, better than most but not great.

Are there any products out there that you would actually consider relatively tasty? I am looking for "complete nutrition" bars, not candy bars or cereal bars. The protein content should be significant.

Thanks...

[Miss Tenacity]

Larabars. Expensive, but exquisite tasting.

Andrea
http://tenacity.net

Link: http://www.larabar.com

[breego]

Larabar, hands down. When you buy a box at Whole Foods they give you a 10% discount. Your tastes are very similar to mine and I love Larabars. All flavors. Pure food and no protein powder crap.

[sprout]

One possible drawback of the Larabar is that they are not very high in protein. They have around 3g fiber and 5g protein per bar. They are tasty, though, and if you need to eat a low-protein diet they are by far the best choice!

My personal favorite is the Powerbar Harvest bars. I like all of the non-dipped flavors very much. I liked the dipped ones too, though those are more of a candybar substitute than a meal substitute. These are between the Larabar and Luna bar in fiber and protein. Definitely worth checking out, I think.

Link: http://www.powerbar.com/Products/Harv...

[danna]

I'm sure they're delicious, but who needs a low protein, high fat nutrition bar? I'd just as soon eat a Baby Ruth....ummm....Baby Ruth :-)

[Miss Tenacity]

They're not high-fat, but they are also not high-protein, true. However, their spectrum of nutrients (micro and macro) is very similar to a "traditional" energy bar, like powerbar or clif bar, and they taste like real food because, well, they are. *grin*

I can't get enough of the banana cookie flavor... tastes like crumbly underdone banana bread. I've also be experimenting at home to make them myself in the food processor - after all, if their claim to fame is only having fruit and nuts as the ingredients, then why not make them yourself?

Andrea
http://tenacity.net

[Miss Tenacity]

Ok, I was mistaken. They are high-fat - looks like the range is 35-45% of the calories are from fat.

Being that it is nut fat, though, I tend to not care. *grin*

Andrea

[danna]

Genisoy Chocolate Mint

I like them so much I have to limit how often I buy them. I find myself trying to justify eating another one in the afternoon. I think it has 10-14 grams of protein and about 5 grams of fat.

Of course, our tastes may be different, because I really like peanut butter Powerbars.

[MidtownCoog]

Harvert Bar - Cherry

[wild child]

Luna Bar also makes a lemon that is very good.

[Emme]

Promax Cookies n Cream, Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Mint

Myoplex Cookies'n'Cream, Blueberry Cheesecake, Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Strawberry

Kashi Go Lean bars

Nitrotech S'mores

Tri-o-plex S'mores, Caramel Apple, Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin, and they have but I don't eat Chocolate Coconut and Chocolate Banana I believe.

[Miss Tenacity]

I second the ProMax brand. If you don't mind a nougatty texture and a LONG ingredients list, they are a nice option.

In that vein, when I have a sugar jones I reach for Lemon Meringue Balance Bars. Wow, those are sweet! I happen to like the pasty-nougat of many energy bars, so Balance bars are a staple in my collection.

Andrea
http://tenacity.net

[neighbor]

I honestly like PowerBar vanilla crisp and apple cinnamon flavors. Can't say whether they have nuts, but I don't think so. Once you get used to the texture they're good, when "real food" isn't an option (I first ate these when recovering from a bad collarbone break, flat on my back for a week).

[cheyenne]

My current favorite is the Berry Odwalla bar. I actually think they taste pretty good. Protein says 5g though--I don't know if that is a lot or not; I eat them mainly to maintain blood sugar levels during the day when normal food is irregular.

Other than that, I eat the Clif products only (due to allergy reasons). The Luna bars just came out with a lower-sugar variety of their normal flavors, which is great. Mojo bars are my other favorite; they don't taste pasty/energy barish and are geared more towards salty rather than sweet. They do, however, feature peanuty flavors on some (surely not all).

[danna]

do tell! are the lower-sugar Luna bars merely less sweet, or do they have scary ingredients? I like Lunas, but they are too sweet for me, and that's really saying something.

[cheyenne]

I have a Toasted Nuts and Cranberry (my favorite Luna flavor currently) and it shows 9g of sugars ('normal' Luna bars run around 12g) and 26 total carb. The ingredients still look pretty normal. You can get them at Trader Joes, for one.

Mojo bars run around 7g sugar for the nutty flavors (these are shockingly good too; especially if you have been exerting yourself on a hot day--SALTY). There are two not-so-nutty flavors and the sugar content is back up around 11-12 (Mountain Mix and Fruit & Nut).

[sprout]

I was hoping they'd be a bit less sweet, but I just tried an Orange Bliss bar and it seems about the same. Maybe a tad less sweet. I'm pretty sure that they decreased the sugar and increased the fiber by adding inulin (a high-fiber sweet-tasting substance usually obtained from chicory root). I don't think that's a particularly scary ingredient, though it can cause allergic reactions. I'm very glad they didn't go the artificial sweetener route. Those all taste horrid to me.

Link: http://www.lunabar.com/index_main.cfm

[Chowpatty]

I love Mojo! But I don't see them at all in Southern California anymore. I stocked up at the Berkeley Bowl when I was up north -- anyone seen them in L.A.?

[emdb]

Trader Joe's sells a whey-protein bar that comes in nutless varieties, which I can't remember the name of. They're smaller than other bars, but quite tasty and filling.

[Casey]

I really like the Mint Chocolate Pria Bar

[Chowpatty]

So do my daughter and my boyfriend, but nutritionally it's only barely better than a granola bar. Something like 5 grams of protein. But at around 100 calories, I figure it's slightly better for her than a cookie, anyway.

[Funwithfood]

The only good protein/low carb bar (only 2 net carbs!) I have tasted (and I've tasted lots) is the Think Thin, *Chocolate Fudge* flavor. (It has a 3-Muskateer-ish flavor). They sell them at Trader Joe's.

[Emme]

I like a few of the Think Thin flavors... Mudslide Espresso Mocha (and I usually hate coffee flavors), Caramel Swirl Lite, French Toast, S'mores, and French Vanilla Latte.

[Grace]

I love almost everything Clif makes. The chocolate chip Clif bar tastes a lot like an oatmeal cookie to me. The "cool mint chocolate" is very good also. And if you don't mind almonds, black cherry almond is good.

Clif also makes the high-protein Builder's Bar in three flavors, two of which (chocolate and cookies 'n' cream) are not peanut flavors. They aren't as tasty as regular Clif bars, but they give you 20 grams of protein.

[danna]

I used to love Cliff bars. Then, probably 6 years ago they changed the recipe to include chrunchy soy pellet things. They have never tasted as good to me since. Plus, I find the soy thingies sit undigested too long in my stomach, just like nuts would, and thus make me very quesey during athletic endeavor. I used to really love those cherry ones, it's a bummer.

[Jess]

I hate them all. Even if the flavor is tolerable, the texture is gross. I found this link to a bunch of recipes; I plan to try a few this summer.

I have not tried Snickers marathon bar: 13 grams protein.

Link: http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebo...