Over the past 10 years Clif Bars have set the standard for hiking, and backpacking energy bars. Despite everyone around me raving about them, they never really excited me since despite the good flavors I still felt like I was chewing on a brick. (The brick metaphor could be extended to how it felt sitting in my stomach)

You can imagine my apprehension when my Mother presented me a large Ziploc bag overflowing with Clif Kids Zbars, shortly before I left on my internship.

Let me state this very clearly:

Clif Kid Z bars are a whole different story. They are quite possibly the best health/energy bars that I have ever had.

Evidently, Clif developed these bars for the California school system to serve their grade school students in after school programs. The state was looking for a health, tasty, alternative to the typical
candy or granola bar.

First, let’s address my brick anxiety: These bars are lightly baked so they are not very dense, but still chewy. When I saw chewy, you won’t make your jaw sore chewing, but they won’t fall apart on you
either.

Second, is the flavor. Since they were developing these for kids, Clif kept the flavors simple: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Brownie, Peanut Butter, Honey Graham, Apple
Cinnamon, and more. All of these taste great. The chocolate drizzled over the top of the bar tastes like REAL chocolate, not the fake soy stuff that can tend to taste slightly “off”.

Clif Kids Zbars

Ok, about right now you’re thinking “Great, maybe I’ll pick some up for my kids.”

STOP!!

If you only get these for your kids, you’re going to be missing out. These bars are perfect for taking to work. I keep a bunch in my desk and like to use them as an afternoon snack. At 130 calories, they are
the perfect snack bar. There is just enough to them to keep you satisfied, and are sweet enough to quite even my sweet tooth!

Ok, now the downside. Z bars run a little more expensive than your typical granola bars. A box of 36 is going to run you about $25. At that price it can be tempting to skip over them and go for some
Nature’s Valley or Quaker Oats bars, but here’s what you are missing if you do.

Clif Kids Z bars contain:
•       100% Organic ingredients
•       Whole oats and grains (not processed or refined)
•       No Hydrogenated oils
•       No High Fructose Corn Syrup
•       No preservatives
•       No artificial flavors or colors
•       12 vitamins and minerals
•       Less than 35% sugar (all sugar is from natural fruits, no refined)
•       Crazy low levels of fat, sodium, and sugar

So while it might be tempting, especially when wallets are tight, to go with a some of the cheaper options out there you are sacrificing a LOT of quality. If you don’t believe how good these bars, try just
getting a small box of 24, which costs about $15 over at Amazon.com, and comes in  several of (in my opinion) their best flavors.

Try them and leave a comment, or if you have already had them, speak up and let us know what you think of them!

Tags: Clif Bar, fitness, Health, Nutrition

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