Snack bars, granola bars, energy bars, and the like have become a modern-day staple in many people’s diets. They emerged most prominently as candy bars and chocolate bars. Then, as consumers became more health-conscious, many shunned these and favored granola bars instead, whose popularity has risen drastically during the last few decades. However, the more consumers learned about sugar and paid attention to product ingredients, the more they realized that most granola bars weren’t much better than those candy or chocolate bars. From there health food bars emerged and took over the scene. They are commonly referred to as energy bars and protein bars. With their entry into all supermarkets and health food stores, it seemed that there was finally a type of bar that could be considered genuinely healthy. These so-called health food bars rose to popularity during the last two decades and today make up a large portion of the snack industry. There are numerous brands available throughout health food stores, grocery stores, and even convenience food stores today, with new brands popping up regularly. But are these bars really worthy of being considered healthy?

Unfortunately, for the most part the answer is no. As part of this article review, I will help you understand why and compare a few popular brands that make such bars.

What is for certain is that no processed, packaged product will ever be better than a homemade product that was created with fresh and wholesome ingredients of the highest quality. Even though such homemade bars are super quick and easy to make, the truth is that people today are addicted to convenience and most will not make their own snack bars. Therefore, it is valuable to know which ones can provide the healthiest suitable choices if you want to rely on any commercially-produced energy or protein bars.

1. Larabar

These bars were initially created by Lara Merriken in 2001 and became available on store shelves by 2003. Their popularity quickly grew and they became available in many countries around the world. In 2008, Larabar was bought by General Mills.

I created Larabar because a healthy body, mind and spirit are derived from what you eat. A magical harmony of fruits, nuts and spices, Larabar harvests only the best natural ingredients.

Lara Merriken

The fruit and nut Larabars feature wholesome, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, non-GMO and kosher ingredients. The bars are mostly a mixture of dried fruits ad nuts. Some include some spices and salt. While the bars themselves are not sweetened, those that include chocolate chips have sugar as one of their ingredients. As of the original date of this review (2008) and and review update (2018), the bars are not using organic ingredients or certified in this area. Aside from ingredients, the bars have an excellent texture that is quite tender, chewy and not sticky in any uncomfortable way for the teeth.

In 2008, the bars came in 14 different flavors: Key Lime Pie, Cherry Pie, Pecan Pie, Banana Bread, Cashew Cookie, Chocolate Coconut Chew, Cocoa Mole, Lemon Bar, Cinnamon Roll, Pistachio, Peanut Butter Cookie, Apple Pie, Ginger Snap, Coconut Cream Pie. The ingredients back then included no more than 6 whole, plant food ingredients.

The flavors of these bars are actually really good! I have had a chance to try almost all of them, and my favorites include: Key Lime Pie and Coconut Cream Pie. The Cherry Pie flavor was very pleasant, mainly because it did not taste like most artificial cherry flavored foods. The Apple Pie and Lemon Bar were equally pleasant and delicious, reflecting the delicious flavors of these fresh fruits. I was not particularly fond of the Pistachio and Coca Mole; the latter actually tasted spicy in an unfavorable way for this kind of bar. Of course personal taste buds and preferences will ultimately dictate which flavors you will most enjoy. Amongst so many flavors to choose from, there is something out there for everyone. Larabar also used to have Jocalat Larabars, which were less sweet and relied more on raw cacao powder, as a specialty line of bars that were eventually cancelled.

By 2018, the flavors and ingredients changed a bit, and the bars now come in 10 different flavors, as per the official website listing: Apple, Lemon, Blueberry, Cashew, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Cocoa Coconut Chew, Coconut Cream, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Larabar sometimes releases other, special flavors that are available for a limited time.

While they still uphold their commitment to whole, plant food ingredients, they use chocolate chips in several of their flavors that only recently became dairy-free and vegan. These chocolate chips, as mentioned above, are sweetened with cane sugar. Some of the flavors also contain other non-whole, plant food extracts, like added flavors and coconut oil. So it is clear that less favorable changes were introduced after the General Mills acquisition.

The ingredients now include no more than 9 plant food ingredients. Here is an example of the ingredients of the Coconut Cream: Dates, Unsweetened Coconut, Almonds, Cashews, and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Given the focus on mostly whole, plant food ingredients, you are guaranteed to get a dose of healthy nutrients and some good nutrient density, as opposed to empty calories, which is the case for most commercial snack bars. The calories from these bars will mostly offer wholesome carbohydrates (our body’s ideal fuel), along with an excellent portion of healthy fats and protein. The bars will also provide a good dose of vitamins and minerals.

However, the thing about Larabars is that they are the easiest to replicate and make at home. For the simplest flavors, you just need some dates and nuts. For chocolate flavors, you would add some cacao powder to that mix. For other flavors, you can add in some other non-sulfured dried fruits, spices, like cinnamon, and medicinal foods, like Maca.

Larabar Pros

  • Excellent variety of flavors
  • Delicious Taste
  • Great texture
  • Minimally processed
  • Not cooked or baked
  • Gluten-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Soy-free
  • Preservative-free
  • Non-GMO
  • No artificial colors
  • No artificial flavors
  • Vegan
  • Kosher
  • High Fiber
  • Fair Price

Larabar Cons

  • Not made from organic ingredients
  • Use some non-whole, plant extract ingredients
  • May be too sweet for some
  • Not an economical choice — you can easily make your own fruit and nut bars

2. Probar

Probar is a company that was started by Art Eggertsen, a natural food chef and snowboard fanatic around the year 2000. It prides itself on providing bars made from whole, organic, raw foods, and being 100% vegan. PROBAR considers itself a natural alternative to other nutrition bars which contain unrecognizable, hard-to-pronounce ingredients. The Fruition bars have joined the PROBAR line of bars in 2009.

In terms of taste, the bars tasted good, however they were too sweet for my liking. The strawberry flavor was very prominent also. While the bar packaging is beautiful and looks very natural, fresh and appetizing, we have to remember that foods like these should not be a substitute for real, fresh fruit.

In terms of texture, the bars were excellent. They were pleasantly soft and chewy, without being sticky.

In terms of nutritional value, the bars offer a good selection of nutrients with some protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and no trans fats. However, the nutrition labels never tell us enough valuable information. Instead, you must go straight to the ingredients where the really important information is found.

In terms of ingredients, there are a few pros and a few cons. The nice part about these bars is that they are mostly composed of organic ingredients (70%). The main ingredient is organic dates, which is great. Also nutritionally beneficial ingredients are used like cashews and chia seeds. The rolled oats are neither ideal, nor bad. The strawberry puree sounds nice, but there may be some sweeteners hiding in there.

Although the company states that their bars are from “organic and raw foods”, the bar is not 100% organic, nor was there any indication of it being a “raw-food” product, as on other truly raw bars.

In terms of sweeteners, opponents of agave nectar will be happy to see none here. There are also no artificial sweeteners or refined sugars, at least not directly added. (They may be indirectly used in the strawberry puree or the apple juice.) Another beneficial sweetener, brown rice syrup is used, which acts more like a complex carbohydrate, rather than a simple sugar. However in total, there are too many sweeteners. I have made date & nut or seed bars at home and they are sufficiently sweet. I don’t see a need to add the brown rice syrup at all, not to mention what may be hiding in the puree or apple juice infused strawberries.

Finally, the tocopherols (vitamin E derivatives) used to preserve the product may be an issue for some as it is unclear as to the source of those. Likewise, I do not like seeing “natural flavors” in my food products as those could be anything. While the ascorbic acid is vitamin C, citric acid has gotten some flack over the years as to its effect on our health and its purity. In the end, I think the idea of dates and chia seeds is great, but this bar needs some cleaning (no pun intended) of its ingredients before I will give it another look.

The Good

  • Good taste
  • Very sweet
  • Some organic ingredients
  • Some health promoting ingredients
  • Some nutritionally beneficial ingredients
  • Excellent chewy texture
  • Vegan & Vegetarian friendly
  • Fair price

The Bad

  • Contains too many sugars/may be too sweet for some
  • Contains too many refined strawberry ingredients/may be too strong for some
  • Contains some preservative ingredients
  • Product does not seem to last until expiry date