I know that eating Olympic swimmer Kim Vandenberg's favorite energy bar will not improve my race time. But this dose of reality doesn't prevent me from at least wanting to try the PowerBar Harvest ($1.15) she likes.
The first energy bar I ever tried was the original PowerBar, which I thought tasted like minerals and nothing at all like food. To see if the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Harvest bar tasted anything like those original bars read more.
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I liked the taste of this bar but would only eat half before my morning swim, which is considerably shorter than Vandenberg's morning workout. You can see the whole-grain oats in the bar and it wasn't too sweet. The bar had a pleasant soft texture and the first ingredient is whole oats — yay! The next two ingredients are brown-rice syrup and evaporated cane juice syrup, two forms of sugar. Upon reading those two ingredients my smile faded a bit. I just didn't expect sugar to be so high on the list. There are many ingredients in the bar, most of them familiar: honey, peanut flour, chocolate chips, and soy protein isolate. This is no simply-made, whole-foods LaraBar. Familiar minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, have been added to the bar as well as the less familiar selenium and chromium. The bar has been fortified with vitamins, too. To me, it seems like a revved up granola bar, but I do appreciate that the Harvest Bar is less processed than PowerBars.
I will keep some around for when I am in a pinch, but I still prefer to have a banana and some walnuts pre- or post-workout. Have you tried the PowerBar Harvest? If so, tell me what you think.
Monsoon
Petit Bateau
Camilla Skovgaard
I've tried the harvest bars before and like them much more than the original PowerBar. They do have a lot of calories, etc., so they aren't something I eat all the time, more like if I'm on a flight and need a good snack to get me thru until we land!
1I love Odwalla bars. They are sooo good! Esp the Berries-gO-mega
2I'm not a huge bar fan, but I do like Fiber One bars in peanut butter or caramel. One of these and an ice cold glass of milk is a nice pick-me-up!
3I love Fiber One bars, fuzzles --- but not before a workout!
4Cane juice and brown rice syrup are okay for endurance athletes because it gives us energy we need quickly before a workout. The whole grains will also help keep full longer and you definitely dont want something too high fiber before running, swimming, etc. That is why athletes eat sports gu, powerbar gel, and sports jelly beans.
5I have had these before and I like their taste but the amount of fiber sometimes makes me quesy while biking, so I prefer to eat them as a snack but not before a workout. I usually only eat half though because they are rather high in calories.
6I'm not a big energy bar fan, so I probably wouldn't buy these, but they look absolutely huge. I'd probably eat only half of one at a time.
7runningesq,
Clarification: they are a nice pick-me-up, but also a healthy sit-me-down!
8I prefer these to many other ones out on the market. And I find that, since I occasionally experience the not-so-fun symptoms of IBS, this aids in that.
9my boyfriend really likes these as an after workout refuel.
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