Food Review: Clif Bars

Clif Bars has a wide assortment of energy, protein and healthy snacks for both adults and kids to get the nutrition we need in easy to carry packages.

Clif Bars has sent me a whole box of bars, protein snacks and more to get a good variety to my snacking and nutritional needs before and after activities. Clif started when an avid athlete tried a nutrition bar during a long distance bike ride and knew he could do better at creating an tasty energy bar.

Today Clif has adult and child snacks, nutrition bars, energy products and more with a good assortment for your full energy replenishment and healthy snacking needs. Clif sent me some Mojo and Dipped Mojo Trail Mix Bars, Crunch Granola Bars, Builder's Protein Bars, Energy Bars, Shot Roks Protein Bites, Shot Bloks Energy Chews and Shot Energy Gels.

I am not an avid outdoorsman or athlete but I do ride my bike in nice weather and try to get my exercise either riding my recumbent bike, the Gazelle as well as an occasional yoga routine on the Wii. Clif bars, energy snacks and protein snacks are not just for the athletes as you can use them as a healthy alternative to candy bars or other sugar filled snacks.

They also included a couple of kids healthy choices with the Z Bar Organic snack and the Twisted Fruit snacks made especially with kids nutritional requirements in mind. The kids snacks were pretty good but not exactly a candy bar taste but I am sure kids would enjoy them.

The Mojo Bars tasted much like granola bars with an extra taste treat with the added chocolate and other things like nuts and pretzels for that just right mix of sweet and salty. The Clif Crunch bars are a granola bar with a good blend of nutritious rye, oats and barley to give you a snack that will boost energy levels as well as give you needed fiber.

The other snacks, health bars and energy products were a rather hit or miss affair but all of them are more than palatable, I did enjoy several but a few were just okay. The Shot Roks are a protein snack you take to help recover from your exercise routine but are the more average tasting product.

The Shot Roks were okay and tasted more like a healthy alternative than a snack but when exercising the more important factor is a better and quicker recovery after vigorous exercise. The Energy Gels were good and reminded me of ice cream topping more than an energy boost but did give me a boost while on a recent trip to a conference.

All the snack, energy and protein bars tasted good as well but did taste rather like a healthy snack or granola and less like a sweet treat. I have lately been trying hard to get healthy and lower my bad cholesterol and with both good healthy eating and exercise have done a good job at it.

Eating healthy and getting the right nutrition before, during and after exercise does not have to be a tasteless affair and with the Clif line of products you do get at least decent tasting treats. All the treats I received aside from being good for you tasted good enough to enjoy as both a treat and healthy snack.

Clif has done a great job of keeping the healthy snacks and bars tasty and good enough to eat as well as enjoy while a few did taste more like the healthy than great tasting snack. The kids selections I received, Z Bars and Twisted Fruit also tasted good but would not be a fair swap for a candy bar in a kids opinion.

With the adults around them eating a healthy snack instead of candy bars kids will get the idea that we have to do things like eating healthy even if we have to sacrifice a little of the sweet candy taste. Clif bars and snacks are not all that much of a sacrifice though and do taste good with only a couple, the Protein Shot Roks and the Builders bars having more of a health food taste.

Check out the healthy alternatives for snacks, energy boosting bars and recovery products for your workout and exercise routine to help you in both performance and healthy snacking.