The Good: Very healthy, Not the most inaccurate flavor
The Bad: Very expensive, Does not actually taste like peanut butter or chocolate!
The Basics: Doing what it claims on the filling and energizing fronts, Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are more what we expect than anything exceptional or exciting.
I have a lot to be thankful for in my life right now. Near the top of the list has got to be my employment situation. I am once again happily self-employed and doing well enough to support my family . . . on our own terms. Just a year ago, I was working for a big mega company I absolutely hated and completely devalued me and being empowered enough to leave them and succeed without the hoops they made me jump through is pretty wonderful still. It also means that I am no longer compelled to eat things like the Clif Builder's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars for survival and a cheap source of food while being overworked each night!
These bars are not remarkable enough to enthusiastically recommend, though they do live up to their promise of being filling and loaded with some essential nutrients.
Basics
Clif Bar is the company that merchandises its foods for active people who are on the go and need a lot of nutrition in light, convenient form that travels well. For exercise enthusiasts, outdoorspeople, and/or dieters, the Clif Builder’s Bars can be a real asset.
The Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars come in a 2.4 oz. chocolate bar that is foil-wrapped. Each bar represents a single serving and Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter bars are a smooth chocolate coated bar 4 1/16” long by 1 5/8” wide by ¾” thick. The very slightly textured top of the bar contrasts the smooth rest of the bar. One bar is one portion, so this is very easy to get into on the portion front! These snack bars come sold as single bars or in boxes of 12.
Ease Of Preparation
Eating Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars is not a real challenge. After removing the wrapper, simply pull out the bar and take a bite off it. There is no particularly complicated equation to eating this chocolate bar. This is an entirely ready-to-eat food!
Taste
The Chocolate Peanut Butter Clif Builder’s Bar smells surprisingly little. Removing it from the wrapper at room temperature, my nose had to really search for the scent of peanut butter in it. It has a vaguely nutty aroma that is not distinct or aromatic.
On the taste front, the chocolate that surrounds the bar tastes vaguely sweet. Like so many of the sports-oriented bars, this tastes more mealy and like a slightly chalky granola bar as opposed to a delightful blend of chocolate and peanut butter that one might actually want to consume. That said, the chocolate coating is sweet and the peanut butter layer actually bears a flavor pretty close to that of peanut butter!
This bar has a strong nutty and (oddly) sour aftertaste that lingers in the mouth after eating it. It persists withy a strong, dry aftertaste in the mouth and I found myself drinking a considerable amount of water while eating it and afterward, despite the fact that most of that water did not actually reduce the dry aftertaste!
Nutrition
Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars are intended as a supplemental food or to replace a full meal when one is on the go. These 2.4 oz. bars represent a single serving and they have a boatload of nutrients in them. Made primarily of soy protein isolate, beet juice concentrate, and organic brown rice syrup, the ingredient list does become a mess of preservatives and vitamins near the end. This is not an all-natural food product and these snack bars were produced on equipment that forces them to add a disclaimer about peanuts, dairy, soy, wheat, and almonds.
Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars have a stunning 270 calories (which, to be fair is pretty much what consumers of this type product want from them!), only 70 of which are from fat. A bar represents 25% of one's RDA of saturated fat, though they are cholesterol free. As well, they are surprisingly low in sodium, having only 210 mg per serving. They also have twenty grams of protein and at least ten percent of twenty-three different vitamins and minerals! These are not vegan compliant, but they do not use any genetically engineered ingredients.
Storage/Cleanup
Clif Builder’s Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars do not vary in taste regardless of when they are eaten or how they are stored. Unopened, they have a decent shelf life around eight months, though they seem to last much longer on the shelf after that (i.e. in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, these will be very safe to eat!). If they melt, they will stain, so consult your fabric guide if that happens. Otherwise, cleanup is simply throwing the foil wrapper away when you are done with the chocolate bar.
Overall
Clif Builder’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars are not the worst protein bars I have yet tried, but they are hardly going to thrill those who love actual chocolate and/or peanut butter!
For other reviews of Clif's products, please check out:
Crunch Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Builder's Chocolate Mint Protein Bar
Cool Mint Protein Bar
5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment