New Irresistable LARABAR Flavors

I remember when I first heard of LARABAR.  My friend Nate was going off to climb Denali and told me that the only energy bars he could stomach after days in the mountains were LARABAR’s.

A few weeks after talking with Nate I went to the Outdoor Retailer show and found their booth (it was in the old outdoor tent) and tested a few of the flavors.  I was instantly impressed.  Then when I found out that they were a raw, organic, vegan bar made from just a few simple ingredients and on top of it all they taste great, well, I was sold.

So it was while at the Outdoor Retailer show this past month that I made my way to the LARABAR booth and was pleasantly surprised to find out they had four new flavors for my tastes buds.

The guy at the booth gave me samples of two of the flavors – the first being from their Snack Bar line up – Peanut Butter Crunch – and the other was from their Jocalat line up – Chocolate Cherry.

The other two flavors that I wasn’t able to get my hands on (yet) are Coconut Cream Pie and Chocolate Hazelnut.

Review of the LARABAR Jocolat Chocolate Cherry

When a product as good at LARABAR dedicated a line of bars to the delectable ingredient of chocolate but kept it nutritious, the heavens parted and the earth stopped rotation for a slight moment.  Jocolat as they call it consists of 5 different bar flavors that embrace every chocolate lovers craving while still keeping it under 190 calories.  This new flavor of Chocolate Cherry is just as tasty as those that proceed it.

I couldn’t resist and ate this bar in the car on the way home from the OR show.  Delicious.  Ok, so it passed the snack criteria.  Could it measure up in the field?

While out on a 80 mile bike ride I reached for the Jocolat Chocolate Cherry bar around mile 50 when I had 3000′ of climbing left to go.  The day was hot and my energy level waning.  Chocolate Cherry wasn’t too sweet that I couldn’t stomach but rather it tasted quite good which after 3 hours of biking is a good sign.  It was exactly what I needed to pick up the natural sugars and the nuts provided some needed protein and “good” fats my body was craving.  Score!

From LARABAR:

Each JOCALAT bar contains at least 20% of the recommended daily value of fiber, along with a healthy dose of Omega 6 essential fatty acids, which help keep your heart healthy. Also in JOCALAT are 13 essential vitamins and minerals, which decrease stress and increase energy. Resident phytonutrients promote a healthy immune system.

Review of the LARABAR Peanut Butter Cookie

Like the Chocolate Cherry I first tried the Peanut Butter Cookie as a snack and once again, love at first bite! A couple of weeks ago I went backpacking in the Uintas and midway through the second day and a number of miles to go I at the Peanut Butter Cookie bar and as anticipated it was a real treat.
That’s the beauty of the LARABAR, it gives the impression that you’re eating some sugar laced super “energy” bar when in this case you’re eating a simple yet healthy food. Cookie Monster would be proud of this bar!

Bottom Line on the new LARABAR flavors

The bottom line on these new flavors from LARABAR is that they are not only great tasting for snacks but during or after strenuous exercise they taste great and go down easy which is more than I can say for most of the bars out there.

The fact that they are vegan, organic, soy free, dairy free, raw and made from 4-7 ingredients that keep it simple – well, it’s easy to both eat and feel good.  Add to that it’s a simple 180 calories and you’ve found a winner!

REI still doesn’t have these new flavors live but they have all of the other flavors, including my favorites Chocolate Mint and Ginger.

Buy Now: Pick up some LARABAR Snack Bars or some LARABAR Jocalat from REI and never go hungry on the trail.