Energy bars have come on in leaps and bounds since the earliest incarnations some 25 years ago, which at first bite had more in common with packing board than food. Thankfully for on-the-bike eating needs there’s more choice than ever now and today’s offerings are a damn sight more palatable and digestible than those original bars.
Which brings us neatly onto Clif Bars. They’ve actually been around since 1992 when a bike and climbing enthusiast, Gary Erickson, thought that there must be a better alternative to the lacklustre choice at his disposal, and set about making his own. The rest, as they say, is history. Clif Bars have not had the most solid distribution track record in the UK, until recently making getting hold of them tricky, but now that 2Pure are handling matters, they’ve rapidly become a common sight in most bicycle shops.
What’s unique about Clif Bars is just how tasty they are. They’re also made from 70 per cent organic ingredients, including such things as rolled oats, organic roasted soybeans, organic milled flaxseed, organic soy flour and other wholemeal ingredients depending on the flavour, with a boost of some 23 vitamins and minerals to ensure your body is getting the nutrition it craves.
We’ve been munching quite happily on the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, a bar made from flaxseed, walnut and whole grains. Each Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut bar contains 31.6 grams of carbohydrate, to provide sustained energy to keep your legs working, yet contain only .7g of saturated fat. So you don’t have to worry about your waistline.
Organic ingredients and enjoyable flavours aside, perhaps Clif Bar’s best quality is just how easy they are to eat. They feature a soft chewy texture that is easy on the mouth and equally so for the digestive system, and are extremely nourishing. They don’t firm up in the cold like some too.
