2018 UPDATE: This product has been discontinued, and is no longer available.**

A while ago I shared with you one of the best whole natural food bars out there today, called LaraBars. Larabars are minimally processed, wholesome, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, kosher, and very delicious.

However as my taste buds continue to change on my whole-food, plant-based journey, I have noticed that those bars have become almost too sweet for me. As I explored other Larabar options, I learned about Jocalat Larabars. These are based on organic cocoa powder and are much less sweet.

Jocalat is a fair trade certified chocolate in its purest form. Each bar brings together a variety of fruits and nuts alongside the cocoa bean, and each flavor contains no more than seven simple ingredients. The bars are of the typical high natural quality that Larabars are known for up to this point. They are rich in flavors, all organic, and like the regular fruit and nuts Larabars have no directly added sugars, nor do they contain any dairy, soy, or gluten. The bars also provide one serving of fruit, are 90% raw, non-GMO, kosher, and of course vegan friendly.

The bars come in 6 different deluxe flavors, which are as follows:

  • Chocolate
  • Chocolate Mint
  • Chocolate Orange
  • Chocolate Coffee
  • Chocolate Cherry
  • Chocolate Hazelnut

So far I have only tried the orange and mint flavors and enjoyed them both equally. The cocoa taste is more on the natural bitter side, without any added sugar, but it is balanced out well by the dates and other flavors to produce a delicious result. The mint flavor was especially pleasant, as chocolate-mint usually goes. In many ways they remind me of the chocolate version of the Weil bars. Keep in mind that these bars do taste a little different than what many people are used to, in terms of their sweetness concentration.

The bars have a somewhat drier texture than the original Larabar, but it is still enough chewy, tender, and a little crunchy thanks to the nuts.

The list of ingredients is great and all of the sources for the ingredients are explained in detail on the Larabar site, except for the actual sources of the orange, mint, or vanilla flavors.

While I do not feel that we should be relying on any commercial bar on a regular basis, no matter how minimally processed or healthy it sounds, these do make a great option to have on hand, as they are highly nutritious.

Ingredients (Cocoa Orange)

  • Organic Dates
  • Organic Almonds
  • Organic Cocoa Mass
  • Organic Cocoa Powder
  • Organic Orange Flavor

Nutritional Information (per 1 bar – 48g)

  • Calories = 190
  • Fat = 10g
    (Monounsaturated = 5g, Polyunsaturated 2g, Saturated = 2g, Trans = 0)
  • Carbohydrate = 25g (Sugars = 18g)
  • Fiber = 5g
  • Protein = 4g
  • Cholesterol = 0g
  • Sodium = 0g
  • Potassium = 290mg
  • Iron = 10%
  • Calcium = 4%

Ingredients (Cocoa Mint)

  • Organic Dates
  • Organic Almonds
  • Organic Cocoa Mass
  • Organic Cocoa Powder
  • Organic Vanilla Flavor
  • Organic Peppermint Flavor

Nutritional Information

(per 1 bar – 48g)

  • Calories = 190
  • Fat = 9g
    (Monounsaturated = 5g, Polyunsaturated 1.5g, Saturated = 2g, Trans = 0)
  • Carbohydrate = 25g (Sugars = 19g)
  • Fiber = 5g
  • Protein = 4g
  • Cholesterol = 0g
  • Sodium = 0g
  • Potassium = 280mg
  • Iron = 10%
  • Calcium = 4%

Packaging

The bars come individually wrapped in multi-layer wrappers that keep the bars fresh for about 12 months. The bars come in roughly 50g sizes.

Price

  • $2.00-$3.00 CAD per bar at local health food stores across Canada
  • $33.78 CAD/$25.99US for a 16 pack on Drugstore.com
  • $26.39 – $ 35.92 CAD/US

Availability

  • Health Food Stores across Canada, US, Europe and other countries in the world
  • Amazon.com and other online stores

The Good

  • Excellent variety of flavors
  • Pleasant Tastes
  • Good texture
  • Raw
  • Organic
  • Minimally processed
  • Gluten-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Soy-free
  • Preservative-free
  • Sugar and Sweetener-free
  • Non-GMO
  • No artificial colors
  • No artificial flavors
  • Vegan
  • Kosher
  • High Fiber
  • Fair Price

The Bad

  • Taste and texture will not be enjoyed by everyone
  • Source of flavors is not clearly explained
  • No longer a small family-run company