The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
47°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Check out the details before buying energy bars

Hammer Food Bars come in two flavors, Chocolate Chip and Almond Raisin. (Photo courtesy of E-Caps and Hammer Nutrition / The Spokesman-Review)
Stephen Regenold Special to Outdoors
Hammer Food Bars come in two flavors, Chocolate Chip and Almond Raisin. (Photo courtesy of E-Caps and Hammer Nutrition / The Spokesman-Review)

In a recent column, I gave a subjective overview of a handful of energy bars I’ve been field testing. It was mostly a taste test.

This column is a more objective look at five types of energy bars.

Hammer Food Bar comes in two flavors, Chocolate Chip and Almond Raisin, reportedly no refined sugar or artificial ingredients. Certified organic, kosher, dairy-free and made with stuff like almond butter, date paste, flax, quinoa, Belgian chocolate, wheat and barley grass juice. The 1.7-ounce Hammer Food Bar contains 220 calories, about 25 grams of carbohydrates, about 10 grams of protein, and 9 grams of fat at $2.49 apiece. ( www.e-caps.com)

Larabar wins the minimalists award, containing just two to six ingredients per bar. The Cashew Cookie bar, for example, is made ever so simply with just two ingredients: Dates and cashews. That’s it. Fruits, nuts and spices are the only ingredients the company employs.

All the 10 flavors of bars – including Lemon, Apple, Cherry Pie, Cinnamon Roll and Ginger Snap – are 100 percent raw and unprocessed. No sweeteners or nutritional supplements.

Average bar weight is 1.8 ounces, and most bars contain around 220 calories; 25 grams of carbohydrates; 3-6 grams of protein and about 10 grams of fat at $1.70 each. ( www.larabar.com)

ProBar is an unbaked granola-bar-type package made with constituents like pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, corn flakes, hemp seeds, almonds, apples, oat bran and crisp brown rice.

The company eschews the term “energy bar” when referring to its product, which comes in Original Blend and Whole Berry Blast. Instead, it’s marketed “whole-food nutrition bars.”

ProBars weigh 3 ounces each, containing about 380 calories with 18 grams of fat, 50 grams of carbohydrates and about 9 grams of protein at $2.75. ( www.theprobar.com)

HOOAH! Bars contain “a mix of complex carbs, simple carbs, lipids, and proteins,” according to the company’s distributor, who noted the mix was created to deliver a slow, continuous conversion of glycogen to glucose that helps provide steady energy while delaying the onset of fatigue.

Soy and whey protein, as well as 17 vitamins and minerals, are included in the HOOAH! bar, which comes in Chocolate Crisp, Peanut Butter and Apple Crisp.

The 2.2-ounce bars, have about 270 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein, and 9 grams of fat at $1.49 each. ( www.hooahbar.com)

Big Sur Bars come in Original, White Zest and Blind Date flavors. They include ingredients like pecans, almonds, raisins and coconut as well as butter, eggs, honey, vanilla and baking soda.

Big Sur Bars average more than 100 grams of carbs and 8-10 grams of protein. They are the heftiest snack by far in this review, with each 5-ounce bar containing about 27 grams of fat and nearly 700 sweet and gooey calories at $3 each. ( www.bigsurbar.com)