Cliff Bars Chocolate Variety #1

Sometimes your Chocolate Priestess's local coop has a sale that I want to take advantage of either because I like the products or because it gives me a chance to try something new. If that something is chocolate, I get to share it with you, Sisters and Brothers. I’ve never had “Cliff Bars” before since their individual costs always seemed a bit high to me. When these went on sale though I bought five chocolate varieties which I will reveal to you one at a time.

Cliff Bars are energy bars, not breakfast or snack bars which simply means their claim to fame is that they will give you energy. I’ve always found this idea very silly. All food containing calories, and I can’t think of a food that doesn’t, will give you energy, that is really what a calorie is measuring. I think that “energy bars” or much like “energy drinks” in that they play on the notion that you need a pick up at some point during your day. Perhaps if people ate more healthy, ate enough, and got sufficient sleep they wouldn’t feel like they needed that pick up.

Cliff Bars are a member of the “1% For the Planet” organization. These companies, less than 1300 world wide, donate 1% of their annual profits to various environmental organizations. I realize that 1% does not seem like much in an era where we routinely hear and read about companies making billions in profits but it is a start. If you think that's a start worth supporting, buy their products but also write to them and let them know it was a factor in your decision to purchase.

The “Chocolate Brownie” Cliff Bar, has 23 different vitamins and minerals listed, each with between 10% and 100% of the USA daily recommendations for adults. One bar also has 240 calories made up of 1.5g saturated fat, 150mg sodium, 340mg potassium, 5g dietary fiber, 22g sugars, and 10g protein. The package says it is 70% organic, made from organic oats and soybeans so be wary if you are allergic to either of those. Chocolate chips are the fifth ingredient on the list; not cocoa, but baking chips so consider the full ingredient if you watch this sort of thing.

As you can see it doesn’t look much like a brownie, more like an unbaked cookie bar would. In fact, that’s exactly what it tastes like, an unbaked, very lightly chocolate cookie. Given the name of this bar that is very disappointing. Primarily it tastes like rice with some fats and little cocoa flavor. It isn’t bad but it isn’t particularly chocolaty or brownie-like either. It has a bit of a crunch mixed in with the chewiness that gives it an interesting and pleasant texture.

Stay tuned for more revelations about the other four chocolate varieties of Cliff Bars I recently tried. Until then, Sisters and Brothers, may you too take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.

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