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Revealed: The best new raw food bars
by Mike Adams
from www.newstarget.com
With the public awakening to the health benefits of live foods (raw
foods), a number of impressive new companies have emerged, sporting
delicious new raw food bars that make the health food bars of just two
years ago seem outdated.
Today, you can find food bars made with
absolutely none of the "bad" stuff (refined sugars, etc.), but loaded
with all the "good" stuff (raw nuts, agave nectar, berries, raw cacao,
sesame, ginger, and so on). They're truly healthy food bars, and not
just gimmicky "energy" bars loaded with high-fructose corn syrup or
low-grade soy protein, for example.
When it comes to real food, these bars
are the real McCoy. They're so good that I'm buying them by the box
from Amazon.com and other online retailers. And in my opinion, they
make most of the food bars found at retail (even at most health food stores) look like candy bars. Of course, it won't be long before these bars also appear in retail, so watch for them there!
None of these bars have any of the following unhealthful ingredients:
- Refined sugars
- Trans fats / hydrogenated oils
- Artificial additives, colors or preservatives
- Dairy or soy products
Here's the list: (Oh, by the way, in case
you didn't already know, none of these companies paid me to be listed
here. These are all independent, unsolicited reviews.)
Raw Revolution Bars
Organic? Yes
Raw? Yes
Sweeteners? Agave nectar
Flavors: Chocolate, coconut, cashew, raisin, hazelnut, raspberry and various combinations
Highlights: Great choice of sweetener, premium ingredients, rich taste, generous bar size and fair price
This is among my top recommendations for new food bars on the market. This bar really gets it right with organic ingredients, raw food goodness and the perfect choice for sweeteners: Agave nectar. The taste is perfectly balanced (unless you're expecting it to taste like a sugary candy
bar, which it doesn't), and they're surprisingly affordable given the
expensive ingredients found inside. The portions are also generous: The
bars are 2.2 oz. of raw foods goodness vs. the 1.75 oz. that's typical of other raw food bars. So you simply get more health-enhancing food for your dollar.
This company is a great find! It was
founded by a registered nurse (R.N.) / Natural Foods Chef named Alice
Benedetto. Check their website (below) to read her full story.
I sure love these food bars. The brain-enhancing oils found in the raw nuts are good for everyone, but especially children who almost never get enough healthy oils. I'm ordering several boxes of these bars in various flavors so I can hand 'em out to friends. Five stars.
Learn more at: RawIndulgence.com
Buy at: www.Amazon.com or other health food retailers.
Pure Bar
Organic? Yes
Raw? Yes
Sweeteners? Dates, agave nectar
Flavors: Chocolate brownie (Yum!), apple cinnamon (Oooh!), cherry cashew (Wow!)
Highlights: Simply pure, healthful
ingredients. Tastes sinfully good. Slightly pricey but well justified
due to quality ingredients.
I'm really impressed with the Pure Bar.
Its slogan is, "Way too good to be this good," and I enthusiastically
agree. This is a truly delightful raw food bar that's not just organic
and raw, it's also vegan and certified Kosher. I took one bite of the
Cherry Cashew flavor and immediately had a taste flashback to grandma's
super-sweet cherry cobbler. Except in this case, there's no sugar, no refined grains, and none of the junk found in cherry pie recipes. Just pure ingredients in the Pure Bar.
The Apple Cinnamon bar tastes like apple
pie. I'm not kidding. I think it's the addition of the brown rice
protein (my top recommended plant-based protein source) that creates a
pie crust taste. It's out of this world.
Pure Bar gets an enthusiastic five-star
rating from me. Everything is right about this bar, and if I had the
cash, I'd buy one for every person on the planet. Nobody should miss
out on the pure goodness of this food bar marvel!
Information at: ThePureBar.com
Purchase at: Amazon.com or other health food retailer.
Smart Monkey Bars
Organic? Yes
Raw? Yes
Sweeteners? Dates
Flavors: Trail mix, ginger snap, carob brownie, sesame snap, cacao cookie, pecan pie
Highlights: All bars are made entirely with fruit, nuts and seeds. Great variety of flavors available, wrapped in Eco-Logic packaging.
These pioneering raw food bars are really
good for monkeys. As luck would have it, they're also great for people,
too. Smart Monkey Foods has come up with some really creative raw foods
recipes and managed to launch a whole series of enticing flavors like
Ginger Snap and Cacao Cookie. Who can resist?
The company, its bars and logo are also
memorable. Who can forget the words, "Smart Monkey?" Plus, it's
accurate: The healthy oils from the nuts and seeds in these bars really
do help build healthy brain function and nervous systems.
Some of the flavors from Smart Monkey simply can't be found anywhere
else. The Sesame Snap and Ginger Snap flavors, for example, are truly
unique. Stock up at Amazon or another retailer. The price is mid-range
for raw food bars, but the taste experience is truly a cut above the
rest. Five stars.
The only drawback I've found to these
bars is that if you don't eat them quickly, they can mold. I lost a
whole case of Sesame Snap bars to mold (inside the individual
wrappers). I don't necessarily blame the company, though: It's very
difficult to keep raw food from going bad, especially if you don't use
chemical additives. So just remember that this is real food, and it
doesn't have the shelf life of a Snickers bar or other dead, processed
foods. When you buy live foods, remember to eat them before you lose
'em!
Information at: SmartMonkeyFoods.com
Purchase at: Amazon.com
Think! Organic
Organic? Yes
Raw? Yes
Sweeteners? Dates, evaporated cane juice
Flavors: Cherry nut, chocolate coconut, apricot coconut, cashew pecan, cranberry apple, tropical nut
Highlights: Nice variety of flavors, wholesome organic ingredients, fair pricing. Slightly higher on the glycemic index than other bars mentioned here. Offers unique nuts like macadamias.
The Think! Organic line of bars is also
based on whole foods goodness. I tasted these bars at a trade show, and
they were rich with fruit and nuts, much like the other bars here.
They're vegan, 100 percent organic, and have no dairy, soy or refined
sugars. The only drawback is the use of evaporated cane juice in some
bars. That's a sweetener I don't recommend due to its high glycemic
index, but it's far healthier than refined sugar (and it's only used in very small amounts in these bars).
We have an interview with Think! Organic
that will be posted on Google Video shortly. You can watch the
interview to learn even more about the product.
Information at: www.ThinkProducts.com
Purchase at: Health food stores or www.ThinkProducts.com
Why buy?
It's not just your health that matters when purchasing food bars. It's also the fact that you vote with your dollars.
When you buy refined, sugar-laden candy bars (also called "energy
bars"), you're actually supporting the continued production of those
products. Food companies will produce whatever consumers buy, so when
consumer demand shifts to healthier, raw food bars, that's what
companies will gravitate towards! (Even the big food companies, too.)
By buying these raw food bars, you are
supporting small, passionate companies that are offering genuine food.
You're creating a marketplace that can have a positive impact on others
due to the success of these raw food bars in the retail channel.
Plus, you're supporting companies who
support organic farming. That has a huge impact on protecting the
environment. By simply choosing organic food products rather than
conventional, you're effectively reducing pesticide runoff by a
specific measurable amount. Remember: Every food item you purchase is
like an outward expanding ripple in a pond. Your actions impact the
whole world, and something as simple as buying a food bar speaks
volumes about who you are and what you believe (as well as the kind of
future you wish to co-create for your children).
Enjoy!
- Mike Adams
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