Energy bars...activity....nutrition.......

I'm pretty sure I posted about this some time ago (probably last year) when I was looking at energy/nutrition bars for cycling.  What prompted me to write again about it?   A new product I happened to see mentioned in comments on an on-line article.  It was a Yahoo article about energy bars, and someone mentioned a bar by Active Health Foods.  Never one to take someone else's word regarding anything, I went and checked them out myself. 

They are called ActiveX Bars, and they sound and look great.  They come in four flavors: Almond Chocolate Delight, Cashew Berry Dream, Coconut Cocoa Passion, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Joy.  They are also all-natural, non-gmo, soy-free, organic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free and raw.  Some of those attributes matter more to me than others, but wanted to list them all anyway. 

I'm kind of excited about them and am going to order a variety pack from the website linked above.  They don't seem too much different than the other assorted bars that I was eating last season.  And, truthfully...I think I was starting to get a little bored of the same ones over and over last year.

Here are the bars that I was eating last year: ProBar Meal, Bonk Breaker, and That'sIt! Fruit bars.  I used them in a variety of situations as I felt my they met my needs while cycling.  Like everyone, I have my favorite flavors of each brand.  I also read the labels everytime...some of the ProBar's have soy and some don't, so I only buy the ones that don't.  I am also considering keeping them in the refrigerator this summer (or just not buying so many ahead)...towards the end of the riding season I was finding that some were on their way to going bad when I opened the package. 

I'll have to figure out how many a week I'll be eating and tailor my purchasing around that.  To start I'm going to get a small variety of all of them.  I received almost $32 in REI Dividends Bucks so that will go a good way towards the initial purchase.  I am hoping to find stores to buy them all in, in order to avoid ordering them online.  The fruit bars were getting tough to find last fall, but had the best luck with Whole Foods.  I was able to find the ProBars and Bonk bars at REI and Whole Foods.  Hopefully I'll be able to find the ActiveX in stores too.  There are some 'health food' stores around my area that I can call and see if they carry them.

I put a little comparison chart together comparing the different brands and thought I'd share it.  I didn't compare the Fruit bars, because those are basically just pure carbs, and I mostly use them at the beginning of a ride and when I need a carb boost.

	ActiveX	ProBar	Bonk Bar
Calories	240	390	250
Fat (g)	12	22	9
Carbs (g)	24	43	35
Protein (g)	8	10	8

~Chelle