Recently I took a part time job working at REI. While there, I learned about backpacks, clothing, shoes and food bars. Some of that experience has paid off in my hiking and packing ability, but the biggest takeaway for me has actually been the ProBar. I live in Northern California, and out here, there are a lot of healthy eaters, vegans, and vegetarians. We have plenty of cultural influence with lots of restaurants to choose from, but people are also very active, and food on the go (or in storage for the next earthquake or brown out) can be essential. This is where ProBars really shine.
Art Eggersten invented the ProBar while he was living in Snowbird, Utah working as a natural foods chef and spending his spare time snowboarding the resort. If you’ve never been, Snowbird is an advanced-oriented resort with more than 3,000 vertical feet, black-graded trails in virtually every direction and more snow than most other resorts in the country. In short, it’s the type of place where you work up a major appetite but don’t always want to waste time in the lodge. Eggersten was no exception and he knew he needed something convenient, packed with nutrition and tasty (being a chef and all). That last point was pivotal because, while there are plenty of nutrition and energy bars, many of them taste worse than sweetened plasterboard. After a few trips to the health food store, Art created Art’s Original Blend.
I love ProBars and carry them around with me for several reasons. First, I can share them with anyone–vegans, veggies, whatever. Everyone can join in and know it’s healthy. Second, they have a shelf life of nearly one year despite being cold packed! Cold packing foods means they aren’t processed to death and the nutrients and vitamins remain intact. Third, they provide plenty of calories and taste great! Each bar contains between 300 and 350 calories.
Since 2001 when it first took off and Art began distributing bars to friends and family, the company has grown and struggled to keep up with demand from nationwide retailers like REI and Whole Foods Market. At ~$3 a bar ($2.50 ea. in 12-packs), and with three categories and more than 20 flavor choices, there’s something for everyone here. My personal favorite is the cranberry lemon twist but Art’s Original Blend is good too–it has a bit of chocolate for all you chocoholics. You can’t go wrong with cherry pretzel, either.
Now ProBars aren’t perfect; they are individually wrapped. But I have ordered them in bulk directly from the company using WorldPantry.com, and they come in environmentally friendly packing materials including Renature, a natural vegetable starch loose fill that is 100 percent biodegradable, and Flo-Pak, a 100 percent recycled polystyrene.
If you’re looking for a convenient snack that is easy to share with friends and super healthy and tasty then ProBar’s are a great choice. Thanks for such an awesome product Art!
For other healthy granola bars consider:
Kate’s Real Food:
Not many ski resorts are more intimidating and challenging than Snowbird, but Jackson Hole, Wyoming is one of the few that is. So it should come as no surprise that Jackson has its own ski-inspired nutrition bar. Kate’s Tram Bar and the other bars that followed were created with the philosophy that “being outside shouldn’t mean settling for a boring food experience.” Toward this end, the company uses real, organic ingredients like organic sesame seeds, organic almond butter and organic hemp seeds. The “Caz Bar” even offers organic cayenne pepper and garam masala seasoning.
Kate’s bars come in five different flavors, and each offers between 190 and 360 calories. The bars are available at a variety of health food stores and outdoor sports retailers around the country or online at her website. http://katesrealfood.com/ They sell for around $3 per bar.
Core Foods
Think an energy bar inspired by steep mountains and deep snow is intriguing? How about one inspired by health and nutrition practices the world over?
Before creating the Defender and Warrior bars, Core Foods’ founder trained with top athletes, studied food science and lived with 12 tribes around the globe to get an intimate understanding of raw, healthy food. Both the Defender and Warrior are made from carefully chosen organic ingredients so hearty and nutritious Core calls them “meals.”
The Defender is a vegan bar that promotes “health and longevity”. It is aimed at lower intensity, everyday use. The Warrior offers 18 grams of organic protein designed for high-intensity exercise and activities. Because Core uses fresh ingredients, the bars have a short shelf life of ~ one month in the refrigerator and ~ six months in the freezer. And they don’t come cheap–$5 per bar in a three-pack or $4 per bar in a 10-pack.
Core’s responsibility doesn’t stop at providing a healthy, natural food source. The company is a registered B corporation that promises to donate all its net proceeds to charity, pay living wages to its employees and offset its carbon footprint. While it’s still working on a greener type of packaging, you can send your used wrappers in and they’ll give them a new life as advertising materials.
Journey Bar
Journey Bar didn’t just strive to make a better tasting or more nutritious bar; it worked to redefine the energy bar entirely. As the company describes, the problem with other energy bar choices is “THEY’RE ALL SWEET!” So Journey Bar filled in the void with savory nutrition bars in four unlikely flavors: Mesquite BBQ, Coconut Curry, Parmesan Romano and Wasabi Ginger. The bars use a variety of organic and natural ingredients and offer between 180 and 220 calories.
After trying all of the flavors, I’d have to say that these are an acquired taste. The Coconut Curry was pretty good and the Wasabi Ginger wasn’t bad, but I didn’t care for the other two. Of course, they’re the type of novelty that you should at least try once if you get the opportunity. Their retail availability is limited to stores in a handful of states like New York and Illinois, but that’s why genius minds gave us the Internet. At $19 for a 12-pack, these are under 2 bucks a bar.
