A prepackaged snack that is tasty, somewhat healthy, filling, individually packaged, within my calorie count and affordable is pretty hard to find. There is an assortment of granola bars on the market, but I’ve eaten them so many times over the years I just can’t do it anymore. I noticed this brand but usually passed because the ones I had seen were designed for athletes.

I first saw this box in the snack aisle at Target as a new item.  It seemed like a snack version rather than an energy bar so I decided to give it a shot and I’m so glad I did.  

Clif describes the bar in this way: Some adventures call for a lighter snack. With this in mind, we created CLIF CRUNCH®—a crunchy, all-natural snack bar that provides you with the natural energy you need whatever the adventure.

I always have a granola bar in my purse for “in case of emergency” situations where I shop for three hours too long and I leave the store starving. I find it a good policy to not drive on an empty stomach. The bar is sealed tightly in a foiled wrapper and stays together for the most part despite the bumpy ride in my purse. Sometimes the bar gets broken due to my own fault, but the pieces are still big enough to eat.

It’s snack time!

I have snacking standards. The Clif Chocolate Chip Granola Bar is the perfect thing to grab when I want something crunchy and sweet. The crunch is amazing. I look for things that seem like a snack in my mind. There are two bars in the package and it requires a lot of chewing and crunching so it's easy to register that I have eaten something and I'm pretty content. Between the grains and the sugar, I am a little thirsty when I’m done so I anticipate this and also carry a bottle of water.

Satisfyingly Sweet

This is a satisfyingly sweet treat without being sickening sticky sweet. The bar is sweetened with evaporated cane juice which is not as processed as table sugar. It also has honey which I think is a perfect match for oats. The bar has rye, oats and barley which blend nicely together.  The bar does have 11 grams of sugar but I’m eating it more as a dessert and never as a breakfast.

Where is the chocolate?

There are tiny pieces of chocolate in the bar but it is hidden really well in the granola so the chocolate is not very pronounced. The closest thing to compare it to would be a crunchy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Because the chocolate is so hard to find in the bar it doesn’t melt or make a mess

Fiber

Different types of granola bars have a varied amount of fiber in them. This has 3 grams of fiber in the bar which is about right for me. Too little and I’m not full, too much and I may become bloated. This is a safe number to eat in public.

Purchasing

The Clif Crunch Chocolate Chip Granola Bar sounds very similar to the Clif Chocolate Chip Energy Bar but they are very different. While it’s easy to find the energy Clif bars in stores, it’s more difficult to find this type of granola bar in my area.  There are currently four different flavors but this one is the easiest to find and still often out of stock.

The box says 10 bars as if....but really there are only 5 packages with 2 bars in each (2 bars is a serving size).  A box retails for around $3.00 - $4.00 and is comparable in price to other brands or even a candy bar.

Mostly Organic

The bar contains 70 percent organic ingredients. The remainder ingredients are not a cause for concern in my opinion. Organic means the ingredients were not grown with synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers. According to the package, the company also source ingredients that are not genetically engineered.

Who will eat these?

There is a huge selection on the shelves when it comes to a snack bar. This is not the tastiest of all I’ve tried, but it is one most versatile for our household because both the adults and kids will eat them. My kids prefer a chewy bar, but I find these to be more heat resistant for travel.

Ingredients

Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Sunflower Oil, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Rice Crisp (Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract, Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt, Calcium Carbonate), Honey, Natural Flavors, Organic Barley Flakes, Organic Rye Flakes, Oat Bran, Oat Fiber, Sea Salt (Real Salt®), Inulin (Chicory Extract)

Recommended: Yes