Today's entry is the beginning of a series (that may or may not continue) called Bar wars! I'm not talking pub-bars, or dive-bars, I'm talking about 'breakfast' or 'energy' bars that us vegans, in a world of non-vegan foods, are given a plethora of at fairly high availability.
Now, not all of us are as lucky to have a local Deals and Steals which is a local food store that sells organic and 'natural' foods at overstock prices, but lucky for you, dear reader, I do, so I can try a whole bunch of these bars at half the price.
Enough talk, let's begin.
1.) Last weeks acquisition-the Shakti bar -in raspberry pomegranate. This is one of those bars that touted as mostly 'raw' meaning the ingredients did not undergo some sort of cooking process (often a nut would be roasted, a berry cooked into a juice or a jam, etc, etc.) I suppose I should use a scientific process here to analyze each bar, so here we go.
Appearance: Shakti bars come in attractive plastic-single-serving packaging that most of these bars come in. There was a new-agey blurb on the back about the philosophy of the company along with the pre requisite ingredients and nutritional info Ruddy burgundy color with lots of brown flecks and seeds. The seeds, according to the ingredients are the growing-in-popularity chia seeds-yeah, that's right, the ones you used to make terra cotta pets out of.
According to info here,:
Chia seeds are hydrophilic, making them water loving and thus a great help to hydrate the body, as well as a good source of omega fatty acids.
Ingredients: (unavailable)
Nurtitonal Info:(unavailable)
Flavor: Like burnt berries with a nutty background, totally edible, but not the best thing I've ever eaten either
Texture/ease of eating: Chewy, but the chia seeds make little popping and cracking sounds that make you fear that you might of split a tooth in half.
2.) One of today's finds-The Cherry Pie flavored LaraBar. The LaraBar has been touted across the vegan blogosphere as a favorite for vegan lunch boxes, quick breakfasts and snacks. This is another of the 'raw' bars. Larabars are so good and simple that I think I might of just hopped on the bandwagon.
Appearance: Again, LaraBars come in attractive plastic packaging, and new age-y jargon on the back. The brand name as well as the words 'raw, vegan, no added sugar, unprocessed, dairy free, no gmo and kosher' are emblazoned. As for the bar itself, what's really cool is that LaraBars are so simple that you can see almost all the ingredients included.
Flavor: Bright bright flavor of fresh cherry and nuts. No strange aftertaste. Like fresh good trail mix, or a handful of fruit and nuts.
Ingredients:Dates, Almonds, Unsweetened Cherries
Nurtitional Info: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/larabar/cherry-pie
Texture: Soft and with sizable chunks of nuts. Easy to eat.
3.) Cocoa Mole Larabar . I was extremly excited about this as one of my favorite flavor combos in the world is the 'Mexican chocolate' or 'Aztec chocolate' cocoa-chili conglomerate. There is evidence that cocoa has immense nurtitional benefits, as well as chilies.
This is not new news. The chili chocolate connection has been used for over a thousand years.
Description and appearance: Same as above, but browner. This bar is only '90 percent raw'
Flavor: Deep chocolate and light fruit, with intense cinnamon and a hint of chili. This could become a quick favorite.
Ingredients: Dates, Almonds, Walnuts, Fair Trade Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon, Chili
Nutritional Info: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/larabar/cocoa-mole
Texture: Soft and nutty.
That's it for now! More later!
No comments:
Post a Comment