Still talking about…Lara Bars.
Between various recent posts on Sugar Savvy and Fit Fare, there has been a good amount of weighing-in on the Lara Bar recently. See these links for reports on specific flavors, such as Cherry Pie, Pecan Pie, Apple Pie,Gingersnap, Cashew Cookie, Banana Cookie, Apple Pie, Cinnamon Roll, and the Lara Bar Jocolat. With so many flavors to review, the task was to be divided amongst us. I was sent the Pistachio, Lemon Bar and Key Lime Pie flavors.
I was first introduced to the Lara Bar almost 2 years ago, and have since sampled several (most) of the flavors available. I had not, however, tasted Pistachio, and was happy to see it included in my pack of samples.
Tasting notes, in a nutshell (ha):
Every Lara Bar I’ve eaten (beyond the following) has had a very pleasant cookie dough/raw meat texture. This, in my book, is a very good thing. I mean, if you shy away at the idea of sushi or steak tartare, at the very least you have love for cookie dough, right? Right?
PISTACHIO: Tastes like pistachios and cashews mixed with dates. Duh, right? I should say that while I have always enjoyed the idea and appearance of pistachios, I find them sort of bland and chewy, rather than crispy and full flavored like almonds or pecans. Ditto cashews. I don’t hate these nuts, but they would never be my first choice.
KEY LIME PIE: The inclusion of almonds, coconut and lime juice along with the cashews give this bar a more dessert-like quality and extra punch. It really did have a key lime pie hit, and I would gladly eat it for a snack or dessert.
LEMON BAR: Similar to the Key Lime Pie in sensation and taste. Yet another bar featuring the cashew. (What’s so great about cashews, anyway?) I’m not feelin’ the cashew, here, but the almonds, dates and lemon juice supplies the needed zip.
The Key Lime and Lemon Bar were my favorites of this bunch, but of the greater Lara Bar family, I favor Ginger Snap and Banana Cookie. There is not a lot more to say about these bars that has not been touched upon in the previous reviews. I do want to stress, however, that I am not generally a fan of nutrition bars. They are almost always laden with superfluous fats and preservatives, and the calories packed into one little bar far outweigh any nutritive benefit that might possibly be hidden in the paragraph-long list of ingredients. In many cases, you’re better off eating a Snickers bar.
Not so with Lara Bars. The ingredients are simple and few. In fact, the first time I ever tried one I turned the bar over and over in my hand, searching for the list of ingredients. “How can they not list the ingredients? This is crazy? Isn’t that against the law? Where ARE they?” The reason I couldn’t find them is because, like I said, the list is so (mercifully) short.
It looks something like this (in the case of the Pistachio bar): “Ingredients: Dates, Pistachios, Cashews.”
That’s it. Nothing else. In all of its brevity, I had trouble spotting it. Nothing unpronounceable, no added sugars or stabilizers of fats. The fact that this nutrition bar is an anomaly amongst nutrition bars is a sad fact. Welcome, but sad.
Oh yeah, it’s also RAW, if you care about that sort of thing. Which, apparently, a lot of people do. Lara Bars are “uncooked and unprocessed. The essential enzymes, which are necessary for the digestion and utilization of nutrients, remain completely intact in their most natural, powerful state.” (from the company’s website).
Available at natural food and grocery stores nationwide.
I think my favorite is Banana, but they seem pretty hard to find. Most of the time I eat the Cashew Cookie one, because they have them at Trader Joe’s. Seriously, I must eat three or four a week (it’s a good breakfast in the car).
I went to ExpoWest (natural products expo) and was talking to a guy who works for a company that makes a competing product. He seemed a little hostile about the whole marketing of two ingredient products on the whole. He said, “you’ve got a blender, why not just make them yourself for a fraction of the price.” He’s got a point.