Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Protein Bar Review #14: Kit’s Organic Fruit + Nut Bar – Peanut Butter

Posted: July 5, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 14 - Kits Organic

Brand: CLIFBar

Product: Kit’s Organic Fruit + Nut Bar –  Peanut Butter

Weight: 1.8z / 50g

Cost: $1.50/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 200

Total Fat: 11g, Sat. Fat 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat 4g, Monounsaturated Fat 5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 95mg

Potassium: 320mg

Total Carb: 25g

Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 15g

Protein: 6g

Protein per ounce: 3.33g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.25

Carb to Protein Ratio: 4.16-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 2% DV

Iron: 4% DV

Organic, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

Much like the Simple Squares I reviewed for posts three and eleven, the Kit’s Organic bar is amazingly simple and manages to have even fewer ingredients. This bar is nothing but dates, peanuts, almonds, and sea salt. The peanuts and dates take over the front half of the flavor profile and the almonds and salt round it out and give this very simple bar a lot of complexity. While the protein wasn’t all that high compared to most of the bars I have reviewed it is well costed and comes from macrobiotic sources (though the product isn’t labeled as such). The Kit’s Organic bar has a high amount of potassium which is good for people like me who are prone to cramps and need lots of potassium in our diet, especially around working out.

I like CLIF bar because they tell you how much poly and monounsaturated fat is in the bar; most of the other bars I reviewed contained comparable amounts but few brands actually record it. Poly and monounsaturated fats are the so-called good fats, though there is some debate over how good a diet high in monounsaturated fat is; to simplify things, it depends on your lifestyle and demographics, talk to your doctor for a better description of the various types of fats.

This would be a great protein bar for bringing to Burning Man because it has nothing to melt and every ingredient is self-stable, meaning this will never need refrigeration ever, even in the crazy heats of the Black Rock Desert. While this bar itself isn’t anything terribly special it would make a great base recipe for making your own protein bars (a teaser of things to come on this blog).

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Protein Bar Review #13: GoMacro Protein Paradise Cashew Caramel

Posted: July 3, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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 Post 13 - GoMacro Caramel Cashew

Brand: GoMacro

Product: Protein Paradise Cashew Caramel

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g

Cost: $2.89/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 260

Total Fat: 12g, Sat. Fat 3.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 10mg

Total Carb: 37g

Fiber: 2g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 12g

Protein per ounce: 5.71g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.24

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3.08-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 2% DV

Calcium: 2% DV

Iron: 15% DV

Organic, gluten free, non-GMO, sustainably sourced, macrobiotic, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

Very similar mouth feel to the other GoMacro bar I reviewed, kind of like the texture of a Clif bar but a bit chewier. This did not have the chocolate chips that the last GoMacro bar did, which makes it kind of mediocre by comparison. I had expected more out of the caramel flavor which was barely noticeable. The whole bar tasted rather bland, nothing to write home about on the flavor front but nutritionally this bar was pretty decent. Like the other GoMacro bar, this one had a significant amount of iron making it good for people who are iron deficient. Past the iron and protein there really wasn’t much going on. The protein to gram ratio and the cost were middle of the road, neither particularly bad but neither exceptional either. I would sooner pay the extra 10 cents a bar to get a 22 Days Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bar, which is better in all ways compared to both GoMacro bars I reviewed.

This would be a great protein bar to bring to Burning Man because it has no chocolate in it or anything to get melty (no liquid caramel).

Protein Bar Review #12: 22 Days Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bar

Posted: July 2, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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_MG_6676

Brand: 22 Days

Product: PB & Chocolate Chip Nirvana

Weight: 2.6oz / 75g

Cost: $2.99/per from manufacturer.

Stats

Calories: 280

Total Fat: 10g, Sat. Fat 2.5g, Poly Unsaturated 2.5g, Mono Unsat. 6.5%

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 0mg

Total Carb: 36g

Fiber: 10g

Sugars: 17g

Protein: 20g

Protein per ounce: 7.69g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.15

Carb to Protein Ratio: 1.8-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 2% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 35% DV

Fair Trade organic, plant based, vegan, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, Natural Food Certified, Produced with Solar Energy.

Not made in gluten free facility.

Flavor:

You might look at this and think it will be your standard, boring, peanut butter chocolate protein bar. If you do think that prepare to be totally wrong. This is what CLIF bars wishes it tasted like and what Power Bar wishes it could power up to be. The texture did remind me a bit of a power bar, really chewy but with a pleasant mouth feel. It did not have a shred of the dreaded chalky taste that typifies cheap protein; one of the major reasons I love this brand is they are entirely plant based without and cheap whey, wheat, or soy protein as fillers. The importance of this point cannot be overstated as most protein bars on the market are loaded with cheap filler proteins from China. Outside of the protein, there was a ton of iron, at 35% DV this would be the most iron-rich bar I have reviewed making it good for people who are iron deficient.

As I made note of in my first review on 22 Days Daily Mocha Mantra, 22 Days has some organic protein bars that pack 20 grams of protein into each bar. While they are a bit heftier than other bars by about half an ounce they still pack in more protein per ounce than anything else I have reviewed, even more than the Squarebar. Amazingly, these bars also have the cheapest protein per gram cost at 15 cents a gram. For the great flavor and nutrient density at the best price, I may have found my new go-to protein bar; at least when I don’t want coffee with my protein. I would totally bring this to Burning Man as well, the chocolate was mixed into the peanut butter base and I would not expect this to get melty in the desert sun.

Protein Bar Review #11: Simple Squares Ginger Coconut Honey Snack Bar

Posted: June 30, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 11 - Simple Square Ginger

Brand: Simple Squares

Product: Nuts, Ginger, and Honey Organic Snack Bar

Weight: 1.6oz / 45g

Cost: $2.49/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 230

Total Fat: 17g, Sat. Fat 5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 95mg

Total Carb: 16g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 6g

Protein per ounce: 3.75g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.41

Carb to Protein Ratio: 2.6-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 10% DV

Organic, gluten free, kosher, no refined sugars, soy and dairy free.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

It’s been a couple weeks since I last reviewed a Simple Square so it is time for another go, this time with the ginger flavor. The ginger one is just like the coconut Simple Square, but with added ginger which, as a fan of ginger, I thought I would like but I actually found it kind of off-putting. I love the Simple Square for it’s simplicity, even though this one is slightly less simple with seven ingredients. The flavor wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good, it was best described as mediocre. Maybe I had my standards set too high after the coconut Simple Square, but this one was a real let down, especially compared to the Squarebar. I would say the major selling point here is that it is kosher, which I imagine is a huge win for people who keep a kosher diet but I don’t so it’s not relevant to me.

Just like the last Simple Square reviewed, this one has nothing to get melted in high heat situations, which makes it great for Burning Man. Personally, I would still opt for the coconut one over this ginger one.

Protein Bar Review #10: NuGo Organic Dark Chocolate Almond

Posted: June 29, 2015 in Bike Culture, Cooking, Science
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_MG_6672

Brand: NuGo Organic

Product: Dark Chocolate Almond

Weight: 1.76oz / 50g

Cost: $1.83/per  from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 190

Total Fat: 5g, Sat. Fat 3.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 60mg

Total Carb: 26g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 13g

Protein: 10g

Protein per ounce: 5.68g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.18

Carb to Protein Ratio: 2.6-1

Calcium: 2% DV

Iron: 4% DV

Organic, low fat, non-GMO, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten-free facility.

Flavor:

It had chocolate and almonds and was kind of chewy, but mostly a mess of nuts inside of a chocolate shell. It should have been tasty, it had potential, but it was really quite dry and that was rather unfortunate. It could be that this particular bar just wasn’t that good, which is why I have another flavor of NuGo bar picked out for another review later on down the road. It was low fat, which is nice if that is a concern for you. It also was pretty high in protein compared to most other bars I have reviewed so far, but it didn’t come close to the Squarebar Cocoa Crunch in terms of protein per ounce. The only saving grace was that this had the cheapest protein cost out of any bar reviewed so far, making this the budget option. Otherwise, it was mediocre compared to the Squarebar and 22Days in all ways possible. Outside of protein, the NuGo Organic bar had pretty much no nutrients; no vitamins, and only trace amounts of calcium and iron (on par with a bottle of mineral water). I doubt I will ever get this brand again after this review, but perhaps the second NuGo bar will wow me.

Protein Bar Review #9: Amazing Grass Green Superfood Sweet and Savory Almond

Posted: June 22, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 9 - Amazing Grass Savory Almond

Brand: Amazing Grass (They don’t have a website)

Product: Green Superfood Sweet and Savory Almond

Weight: 1.6oz / 45g

Cost: $2.49/per, online (not from manufacturer)

Stats

Calories: 220

Total Fat: 13g, Sat. Fat 2.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 120mg

Potassium: 260mg

Total Carb: 21g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 12g

Protein: 6g

Protein per ounce: 3.75g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.42

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3.5-1

Vit A: 10% DV

Vit B12: 2% DV

Vit C: 6% DV

Vit K: 6% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 10% DV

Organic, cold processed, gluten free, non-GMO, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten-free facility.

Flavor:

Pretty tasty, better than most protein bars but nothing spectacular or memorable. The bar is a mass of nuts and chocolate chips mashed together with a superfood greens blend, it’s got rose hips, maca, acai, spirulina, and tons of other really healthy and tasty things in it…albeit in very small amounts. While this advertises being a superfood bar the only benefit it has over anything else I have reviewed so far is being cold processed. There really wasn’t anything remarkable about this bar but it would be pretty good for Burning Man since it isn’t a chocolate-heavy bar. I was pretty impressed that the company that makes this bar has no website of any sort for any of their products, it is all sold through third parties. Maybe I am weird but that makes me a bit skeptical of Amazing Grass and any other company that doesn’t have a website to provide information about them and their products.

Protein Bar Review #7: Raw Revolution Golden Cashew

Posted: June 18, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 7 - RawRev Golden Cashew

Brand: Raw Revolution

Product: Golden Cashew Organic Live Food Bar

Weight: 1.8oz / 51g

Cost: $1.89/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 230

Total Fat: 14g, Sat. Fat 2g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 0mg

Total Carb: 23g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 15g

Protein: 7g

Protein per ounce: 3.89g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.27

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3.29-1

Vit A: 2% DV

Vit C: 6% DV

Calcium: 6% DV

Iron: 15% DV

Organic, raw, gluten free, vegan, kosher, and dairy-free.

Made in USA in gluten-free facility.

Flavor:

It’s been a couple weeks since I had a RawRev bar and, since the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle was so amazing, I decided to try out another bar by Raw Revolution. This time I tried the Golden Cashew with very high hopes after how delicious the last one by RawRev was, but I was a bit disappointed. The Golden Cashew bar wasn’t bad, not by any means or measure, but it also wasn’t particularly better than anything else I have reviewed. It packed in less flavor than the other bar by RawRev which is nutritionally identical, which means this bar is rather mediocre by comparison, it tasted like a lame version of GoMacro’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip protein bar but with no chocolate chips. With no chocolate at all this is a very desert friendly protein bar, but it also doesn’t really have much flavor past the cashews.

This bar, like the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle,  is one of the few I have come across that was actually made in a gluten free facility, this makes it ideal for people who have extreme allergies to gluten and need to be extra certain that something is entirely gluten free. If nothing else, that is a selling point for the Golden Cashew bar.

Protein Bar Review #6: Keen-Wah Decadence

Posted: June 17, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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It's kind of blurry...no one's perfect!

It’s kind of blurry…no one’s perfect!

Brand: Essential Living Foods

Product: Keen-Wah Decadence Organic Raw Cacao Chia

Weight: 1.5oz / 42g

Cost: $3.29/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 195

Total Fat: 10g, Sat. Fat 4g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 57mg

Total Carb: 18g

Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 6g

Protein per ounce: 4g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.54

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 8% DV

Iron: 17% DV

Organic, non-GMO, gluten free, soy free, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

 Chocolate upon chocolate upon chocolate. It wasn’t bad but it also really wasn’t anything to write home about in my opinion. My girlfriend thought it was delicious, so there is some hope for it. I felt it was a little dry, reminiscent of that chalky cheap protein bar taste I am not a fan of.

The protein per ounce and carb to protein ratios were great but the cost per gram of protein makes this the most expensive bar I have reviewed so far (and I expect it to be the most expensive I will review, but time will tell). Given the high price, mediocre flavor, and lack of nutrients past the bare minimums, I personally would not recommend this bar. I especially would not advocate it for Burning Man given the chocolate upon chocolate; it is guaranteed to turn to a liquid clump of cacao in a foil bag in the heat out there.

Protein Bar Review #5: GoMacro Protein Pleasure Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Posted: June 16, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 5 - GoMacro Peanut Chocolate

Brand: GoMacro

Product: Protein Pleasure Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Weight: 2.5oz / 71g

Cost: $2.89/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 290

Total Fat: 11g, Sat. Fat 2.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 10mg

Total Carb: 38g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 15g

Protein: 12g

Protein per ounce: 4.8g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.24

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3.16-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 2% DV

Iron: 20% DV

Organic, gluten free, non-GMO, no refined sugars, sustainably sourced, macrobiotic, and vegan.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

It tasted like a peanut butter Clif bar with an almost identical mouth-feel, but with chocolate chips. I personally love peanut butter Clif bars for the flavor and mouth feel, I also love chocolate chips, so this was a win all around for me. In terms of nutrition, the GoMacro bar is one of the best reviewed so far. Next to the Daly Mocha Mantra, this bar has the highest protein per ounce ratio, the GoMacro bar also has a cheaper cost per gram of protein, making it a better buy for those looking to bulk up on a budget. The GoMacro bar has double the iron of the Daly Mocha Mantra which makes it ideal for people who need extra iron in their diet.

This would be a great protein bar to bring to Burning Man. While it does have some chocolate in it, the chocolate is minimal and a lot of it is inside the bar so it won’t become a gloopy mess all over the inside of the wrapper.

I talked to a friend who is a personal trainer and he suggested adding a ratio of carbs to protein, since that is required to properly process the protein. An ideal ratio is between 2-4 grams of carbs to each gram protein. I’ll work on adding it to all the previous reviews and it will be in all future ones.

Protein Bar Review #4: Evo Hemp Cashew Cacao

Posted: June 14, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cannabis, Cooking, Science
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Post 4 - Evo Hemp

Brand: Evo Hemp

Product: Cashew Cacao + Raw Antioxidant (Blueberries)

Weight: 1.69oz /48g

Cost: $2.25/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 185

Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat 1g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 0mg

Potassium: 300mg

Total Carb: 24g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 7g

Protein per ounce: 4.14g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.32

Vit A: 6% DV

Vit B1: 4% DV

Vit B6: 6% DV

Vit C: 4% DV

Magnesium: 15% DV

Zinc: 4% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 15% DV

Phosphorous: 10% DV

Manganese: 10% DV

Organic, raw, gluten free, vegan, and soy free.

Not made in a gluten free facility.

Flavor:

If you couldn’t tell from my previous posts, I love hemp, so the idea of a protein bar largely made of hemp definitely has some appeal. The flavor wasn’t particularly inspiring nor unpleasant in any way. It was somewhat sweet, yet savory, the dates that make up much of the bar are a large flavor component. The mouth-feel was totally awesome! It had a cake-like texture, reminiscent of a denser angel food cake or pound cake. There are many benefits to eating a raw diet and for those who choose to eat raw your options in terms of protein bars is very limited. Thankfully, you have the Evo Hemp Cashew Cacao protein bar, which has the third highest protein per ounce ratio out of the bars I have reviewed so far paired with one of the better flavors/mouth-feels. This is the only bar I have reviewed that contains any phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, zinc and B vitamins; this wide range of nutrients makes the Evo Hemp bar, perhaps, the overall most nutritious bar I have reviewed so far. This would also be a great protein bar for bringing to Burning Man as there is nothing in it to get melty and gooey inside the wrapper.

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