I never Met a Clif Luna Bar I Didn't Like
Written: Jun 14 '00 (Updated Oct 10 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Naturally sweetened, light, relatively low calorie, taste fabulous!
Cons: Marketed "for women" which may scare off men
The Bottom Line: Ten flavors give you a nice variety to choose from. Light and crunchy, these are a great snack or even a light lunch. My favorite energy bar!
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| WorkingMomof2's Full Review: Luna Bars 1 Bar |
Introduction
This is part of my ongoing analysis of the protein/energy bars out on the market. As part of my attempt to maintain my “girlish figure” (GRIN). I workout 3-5 times a week, and try to eat in a relatively healthy manner. Nonetheless, I have what could be described as a “healthy appetite” – especially when I’ve been exercising. I also can’t eat a big meal before exercising, so I often have a protein bar in the morning, or as a mid-afternoon snack.
Over the last few years I think I have tried almost every protein bar on the market. There are some relatively recent additions that have taken basic energy bars to a new level. Some, like the Promax bar, are simply a basic energy bar, with a little upscale presentation. Others like the Clif Luna bar and Balance Outdoor bar have integrated unique flavors, nuts, grains, etc. to appeal to a broader market. Finally there are a series of bars that have come out relatively recently that tap into this market, by offering healthy snacks or nutritional supplements in a bar, like the Jenny Craig bar and the Think bar.
In this series, I will attempt to look at each “line” separately. Please forgive the redundancy in the introductions, everything beyond this point is original!
History:
The Clif Luna Bar was launched by the Clif Bar company to address the many requests they had for a lower calorie version of their Clif bar, without losing the “homebaked” taste. In addition, they had read a number of studies that indicated that 80% of all women do not get enough of many key nutrients, and they decided to integrate this need into their new product.
Details:
The Clif Luna bar has 23 vitamins and minerals, contains soy protein, and is a great-tasting snack alternative for both men and women. They’re sweetened with brown rice syrup, and contain several anti-oxidants as well (Vitamins A, C and E, Selenium and decaffeinated green tea extract). They are also dairy-free.
Each Clif Luna bar meets the RDI of Vitamins E, C, and K, the B-complex vitamins and folic acid. In addition, each bar includes: Soy Protein, Calcium, B-complex vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folic acid, biotin and pantothenic acid) , Antioxidants (vitamins A,C,E and the mineral selenium) , Iron, Zinc, Vitamin K, Iodine, Copper, Phosphorus, Manganese, Chromium and Molybdenum. The complete list of vitamins and minerals, along with their nutritional value and more information on the list above, is available on the company website (http://www.clifbar.com/clifproducts/lunafaq.html). There are ten different flavors now, but I'll just cover the ones that I've tried personally.
Bar by Bar Analysis
Clif Luna Bar: Nutz over Chocolate Flavor
Tagline: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women
Appearance: Looks like a rice crispy/granola bar on top, with a chocolate coating on the bottom. Aha, now I get the “Nutz over chocolate” name – it’s nuts, over the chocolate. (I’m a little slow sometimes).
Taste: Wow, this is nice. A strong honey flavor, like a granola bar almost. The chocolate on the bottom is good, but not overwhelming. The chocolate is actually like a dip, on the bottom half, so it’s a very small amount and not an overwhelmingly sweet taste (much nicer than the Chocolate Power Bar Harvest). Less oat flavor than some of the other grain-type bars. Less salty than the Luna Trail Mix flavor.
Texture: Crispy and crunchy, a lot of chewing required. The chocolate coating on the bottom gives it a smooth effect, which is a nice contrast. Much better than the mushy bars. Fewer oat and more rice krispies than some of the other bars I have tried in the “granola/grain” class.
Overall Satisfaction: Very good. Took me several minutes to eat this, and helped motivate me to drink a lot of water. It’s not dry, it just takes a while to chew it all up. A very nice mix of flavors and textures, if I didn’t know better I would have thought that this was a healthy version of a rice krispie bar. Very good, this one definitely goes on the “buy again” list.
Cost: 1.29
Nutritional Info:
Package says it contains 23 Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and folic acid. Soy protein.
Serving: 1 bar (1.69 oz)
Calories: 180
Calories from fat: 40
Total Fat: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium 100 mg
Potassium: 105 mg
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 10g
Other info: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Breast Cancer Fund.
www.clifbar.com
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Clif Luna Bar: Lemon Zest Flavor
Tagline: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women
Appearance: Looks like a rice krispy bar on top, with yellow “spots”, and a thin light yellow “frosting” dip on the bottom. Intriguing, you can smell the lemon just looking at it.
Taste: Oh, YUM. I broke my rule and bit in while I was still writing up the appearance, because it smelled so good. Okay, that lemon “frosting” stuff on the bottom is fabulous. This is sweet but tangy, a nice mix of the rice krispie/oat flavor and the lemony flavor. The “zest” in the title is definitely accurate, probably from the bright yellow “lemon nuggets” in the rice part.
Texture: Crispy on top, where the oat/rice mix is. Smooth and rich on the bottom, the frosting (dip) literally melts in your mouth. A really nice blend of textures and tastes.
Overall Satisfaction: Excellent. This has a wonderful blend of tastes and textures. If you are a lemon fan like I am, this is a great change of pace. It is light tasting but pretty satisfying; it takes long enough to eat (due to the chewing involved) to be satisfying. This is definitely on the “Buy Again” list.
Cost: 1.29
Nutritional Info:
Package says it contains 22 Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and folic acid. Soy protein.
Serving: 1 bar (1.69 oz)
Calories: 180
Calories from fat: 35
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium 50 mg
Potassium: 90 mg
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 10 g
Other info: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Breast Cancer Fund.
www.clifbar.com
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Post evaluation note: This bar makes the first “repeat” buy – I liked this well enough to pick up another one even though I haven’t finished my evaluations of the other brands yet!
Clif Luna Bar: Toasted Nuts & Cranberry Flavor (Formerly known as Trail Mix Flavor)
Tagline: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women
Appearance: Looks like a rice krispy , with large cranberry chunks, as well as nuts poking through. I see green nuts – pistachios maybe? Very appealing look.
Taste: Mmmm, sweet, tangy and rich. There are tangy bites from the fruit (cranberry)and a nutty taste from the nuts (I had to look at the label, it turns out these are cashews, almonds and pumpkin seeds). The oat mix tastes really buttery, and a little salty.
Texture: This is a very crunchy bar, but not overly chewy. It has nice crunchy texture from the rice and the nuts, but it dissolves well enough that you don’t have to chew until your jaw is sore.
Overall Satisfaction: This is a great bar. It may be my favorite so far, but the competition with the other Luna bars is stiff! I love the mixture of the tangy cranberries with the crunchy nuts and rice, and the buttery taste. I will definitely buy this one again, and soon!
Cost: 1.29
Nutritional Info:
Package says it contains 23 Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and folic acid. Soy protein.
Serving: 1 bar (1.69 oz)
Calories: 170
Calories from fat: 30
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium 130 mg
Potassium: 100 mg
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 10 g
Other info: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Breast Cancer Fund.
www.clifbar.com
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Clif Luna Bar: S’Mores Flavor
Tagline: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women
Appearance: Looks like a rice krispy bar on top, with a chocolate coating on the bottom half. I see some oats and grains mixed in with the krispies on top, it’s a nice honey color.
Taste: Okay, that’s good. The first flavor you get is the chocolate, it’s strong enough to have a little zip but not overpowering. Then there is a honey flavor, in the rice-krispie part, probably like a graham cracker but it tastes a lot like honey to me. There is also a more mellow taste that I guess is the marshmallow, this is a very nice blend of flavors. It is just a little bit salty, as well.
Texture: Very chewy, with a smooth texture in the chocolate. The body (krispie part) has lots of little krispie bits in it, but isn’t overly chewy. No nuts or over-abundance of grains to prolong the chewing, it’s a quicker eat than some of the Luna bars, but still has enough chewiness from the rice krispies to make it last and be fulfilling.
Overall Satisfaction: I really enjoyed this one. I like the combination of flavors, and would say it’s an ideal afternoon snack. The chocolate has a lot more kick than some of the other brands I have tasted, and it blends well with the honey and marshmallow flavors. I will definitely buy this one again.
Cost: 1.29
Nutritional Info:
Package says it contains 23 Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and folic acid. Soy protein.
Serving: 1 bar (1.69 oz)
Calories: 180
Calories from fat: 40
Total Fat: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium 125 mg
Potassium: 125 mg
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 10 g
Other info: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Breast Cancer Fund.
www.clifbar.com
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Clif Luna Bar: Chocolate Pecan Pie Flavor
Tagline: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women
Appearance: Honey colored rice krispies on top, with a couple oat grains visible, and a chocolate coating on the bottom. A few little nut chunks peeking through the krispies as well.
Taste: A nice flavor, it has a cinnamon graham cracker taste that I didn’t expect. Chocolate from the bottom is distinct but melts away nicely in your mouth, the top tastes a little salty, with the honey/cinnamon flavor and occasional sparks of pecans.
Texture: This is very crispy, with lots of little rice puffs and oats, but not as grainy as some of the other Luna bars. The chocolate is smooth and melts away, and the pecans add a nice hard crunch but are few and far between. Very nice flavor, with just a tinge of a chalky aftertaste (probably the soy protein).
Overall Satisfaction: Very good, with a nice blend of flavors. I like the chocolate and krispies combination, as always, and the honey/cinnamon is good with this. I wish there were a lot more pecans (but of course, that would probably push the calories and fat way up as well!). Nonetheless this is a nice blend of flavors, a little too salty, but very good. I will probably buy this one again.
Cost: 1.29
Nutritional Info:
Package says it contains 23 Vitamins and minerals, including calcium and folic acid. Soy protein.
Serving: 1 bar (1.69 oz)
Calories: 180
Calories from fat: 45
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium 125 mg
Potassium: 105 mg
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 10 g
Other info: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Breast Cancer Fund.
www.clifbar.com
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
Well, these are clearly my favorite of the currently available energy bars. I have yet to find a flavor I didn’t care for, and my only complaint is that my two-year-old daughter likes to steal these and snack on them too! One fun thing you can do on the website is suggest a flavor combination - if you win, they'll custom make you a case of Luna bars!
If you're looking for these and can't find them, try your local Trader Joes. I also found that my local Costco sells them in a variety pack at a remarkable savings. That doesn't stop me from picking up new flavors here and there to try them though!
Clif Luna Bars are really good, great as a snack, grainy enough to work for me for an early morning meal before exercising or a late afternoon snack. The flavors are distinct, the grains and rice are sharp and crisp, and the textures are really nice. These are just a really great bar, and my husband liked them as well (although I didn’t tell him that these are marketed “for women”). I will be buying these by the box from now on, and continually looking for new flavors. Clif has a hit on their hands with this one!
Post note - October, 2001: Well, I did find a couple that I wasn't crazy about after all. Okay, let's be accurate - these were *still* far better than most "energy bars" but I won't be buying either the Sesame Raisin Crunch or the Chai Tea flavors again anytime soon. On the other hand I greatly enjoyed the Tropical flavor, and now they have an Orange Bliss and a Key Lime Pie that I'm going to look for. Yum!
Recommended:
Yes
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WorkingMomof2
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Member: Amy
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 313
Trusted by: 539 members
About Me:
Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.
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