Celebrate National Peanut Month!

That's right--March is National Peanut Month. This fact may have been obscured this year due to a certain peanut fiasco, but fear not: there are still plenty of ways to celebrate this most glorious legume, without endangering your health. The geniuses over at Peanut Butter & Company, for example, have provided us all with no less than EIGHT different varieties of peanut butter (not to mention their equally delicious peanut butter pretzel nuggets...we'll save that for another review). Thanks to the peanut butter fairy (aka VeggieGirl), I have had the good fortune of sampling five of these tantalizing flavors. Read on for the deets:


Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
It's like a cinnamon-raisin bagel in peanut butter form. Does it get any better than that?! Come to think of it, yes--spread some of this lusciousness on a Rudi's cinnamon-raisin bagel for double the delight.

Here are some of my other ways to enjoy it. The Banana Quesadilla (no cheese--just PB goodness) and the waffle-wich are two are my favorites:)


Dark Chocolate Dreams
Another match made in heaven: chocolate and peanut butter. It's like a Reese's cup without the guilt.
Serving suggestions. Note that it pairs especially well with raspberry oats and pancakes!


White Chocolate Wonderful
I'll admit it--I didn't like white chocolate...until I discovered this heavenly spread. I have big plans for this stuff; imagine the white chocolate macadamia Clif...in oatmeal form. Wonderful, indeed.


Mighty Maple
So autumnal, so sweet, so perfect. Who needs the syrup when you can put this on your pancakes?
Other ways to gobble it up:

Smooth Operator
Last, but not least: the classic original. I am very much a creamy girl, so this deliciousness goes down easy.
Yes, I am now a PB & Co. devotee: their cookbook is on my Amazon Wish List, and that "Heat Is On" variety is just callin' my name. Try them all for yourself--order online here.

Now you get your PB party on.

Bar-Hopping with Gnu and Odwalla

So I've been bar-hopping lately...snack bar-hopping, that is. Yep, I ventured beyond the confines of my beloved Clif world and taste-tested a few of those other treats you see lurking in the ever-expanding bar aisle. Here's a quick summary of my thoughts:
Gnu Bars
These bars have been getting major press lately: featured on the Today Show, Rachael Ray (A Broccoli Hut fave), and included in magazines like Real Simple and Prevention. A few months ago, Robyn from Gnu Foods kindly offered to send me a box of these fiber-packed bars for review. Due to my abundant snack bar stash, it wasn't until now that I got around to sampling them.

The Stats
-130-150 kcalories
-3-5 grams of fat
-3-4 grams of protein
-a whopping 12 grams of fiber
-7-11 grams of sugar
-fruit-sweetened
-vegan
-made with whole grain flour
-HFCS-free!
The Flavors (in order of preference)
*Banana Walnut: I have sample many banana-nut flavored bars in my day, and this rendition is one of my favorites. Quite banana-y, with no artificial aftertaste (after all, there are real bananas in there), and I like the texture that the walnuts provide.
*Cinnamon Raisin: Feeling like a cinnamon-raisin bagel? Grab one of these! Not only is the taste right on target, but you'll get a lot more fiber by chomping one of these instead of its more starchy counterpart.
*Chocolate Brownie: Quite the fiber-licious brownie, this one. I really enjoyed this variety thanks to its abundance of (dairy free) chocolate chips. If you're expecting a milk chocolate flavor, however, you should look elsewhere--this bar has a more intense cocoa flavor that I love.
*Peanut Butter: This flavor was pleasant enough--but NOT peanut-y. It was mildly sweet, but it earned only a "meh" response from my tastebuds. Not a winner. Re-formulation needed, ASAP.
*Orange Cranberry: I opened this bar with high hopes; I expected it to be similar in taste to the apricot Clif flavor (which reminded me of glorious orange marmalade). Not so. The orange flavor was not authentic, and it did not combine well with cranberries. This was by far my least favorite.
General Comments
I used these bars as a pre-workout snack. Not a wise decision. I had my suspicions that the high fiber content would not make them ideal for a quick burst of energy, but what's a Clif Z-bereft girl to do? Anyway, these bars are generally quite difficult to digest--generating fullness, but also causing some discomfort during physical activity. If you choose to try these bars for yourself, consider consuming them as a mid-day snack; avoid eating them before exercise or just before bedtime.
On another note, the wrappers of these bars are ridiculously difficult to open without scissors. Translation: not a good snack to throw in your purse for on-the-go snacking, unless you happen to carry some sort of cutting utensil with you.

Odwalla Bars
These bars are rather ubiquitous: on campus, in various Whole Foods locations, as well as in the food blogosphere. Thus, I just had to give them a try for myself. Unfortunately, I was unable to sample all of the flavors due to the peanut recall as well as the limited selection at my local Whole Foods. Where are those elusive Superfood bars?! Also, I am not including the Chewy Nut Bars...we'll save those for another review, since they're quite qualitatively distinct from the other flavors.

The Stats
-220-250 kcalories
-4-7 grams of fat
-3-4 grams of fiber
-4-5 grams of protein, although the Superprotein variety has a whopping 16 grams
-18-20 grams of sugar
-made with organic ingredients
-includes a few vitamins and minerals, such as calcium (25% RDA), vitamin A (20% RDA), and vitamin E (50% RDA)

The Flavors (in order of preference)
*Superprotein: Hello, giant protein oatmeal cookie! When I brought along this flavor for a quick pre-workout snack, it always disappeared far too quickly. I love its subtle cinnamon-y taste and the fact that one bar contains so much protein! They're even soft like a freshly-baked cookie.
*Choco-Walla: Alright, I am a bit biased in that I will pretty much eat anything with chocolate in it, but this was another winner. Delightful chocolate chips also provide unexpected hits of intense chocolate flavor throughout the bar. I bet this would be quite tasty warmed and dunked in rice milk:)
*Banana Nut: Yep, yet another banana nut bar. No points for creativity, but Odwalla does get some points for taste. This bar also lacks the artificial banana flavor that so many bars can have, but it does have visible chunks of walnuts inside. Delish.
*Berries Go-Mega: As a non-fish eating vegetarian, I am always looking for ways to fit in those omega-3s, so I appreciate products that provide an alternative to the usual flax and walnuts. Excellent berry flavor--it boasts cranberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Good, but not a favorite.
*Strawberry Pomegranate: Now this is a creative flavor. It's not too often that you encounter strawberries in bar form (why is that?). Anyway, the flavor reminded me of those Fruit Roll-Ups I used to stash in my lunchbox as a kid...not sure if that's good or bad. I didn't detect any hints of pomegranate, sadly.

General Comments
These bars have a texture similar but not identical to Clif bars; they are slightly softer and stickier, which can cause unexpected problems (read: sticky fingerprints on test papers). In addition, excepting the Superprotein variety, they lack the significant protein counts found in Clif bars. Most flavors have just 4-5 grams in comparison to Clif's 9-10 grams.
One of may favorite Odwalla products does not come in the full-size bar, but I highly recommend them if you can find them: Carrot Raisin snack bars. I featured them many months ago here at the Hut, but I still find them quite delicious. For those of you who found the Clif Carrot Cake variety so unpalatable, you might try this version as an alternative. These have 110 kcalories and lots of vitamin A.
I have previously reviewed Clif bars and Clif Z bars. Check 'em out!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Clif Bars: the Abridged Version

Ever since I first tasted a Clif mini last summer, my pre-workout snack has never been the same. Clif bars have come to be my perfect and thus preferred fuel before a run; their precise combination of protein and carbohydrates has been proven far superior to my former snacks. As a result of this discovery, I determined to sample each and every Clif bar flavor. My decision to take on this endeavor occurred before the peanut butter-Salmonella scandal, so my brief reviews below exclude the Peanut Butter Toffee and Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch varieties...keep your fingers crossed that they may safely return to store shelves soon!
General Info:
Nutritionally, all Clif bar varieties are equivalent; one bar typically contains 3-7 grams of fat, 9-12 grams of protein, and 18-23 grams of sugar. Each bar also provides a smattering of vitamins and minerals: 25% RDA for calcium, 100% vitamin C, 25% iron, and several others. For more specific information, click here.
Clif bars all carry the same price tag as well: my Whole Foods sells them for $1.19 each, and Target sells them for 99 cents.
With all that said, below is my take on each variety in terms of tastiness.
The List:
-Apricot: Oddly enough, reminiscent of orange marmalade--shall we call Paddington Bear? Very moist. Recently reformulated.
-Banana Nut Bread: Strong banana flavor, unlike many allegedly banana-flavor bars. Identical flavor to the real thing (i.e., banana nut bread), but much more nutritious!
-Black Cherry Almond: One of my least favorites. Although the package reads "cherry," the flavor was decidedly lacking on cherryliciousness. Bonus points for plenty of almonds.
-Blueberry Crisp: If you purchase this bar, prepare to unwrap a muffin-like treat. Softer than many varieties, with a suprisingly fresh blueberry taste.
-Carrot Cake: Another fabulous rendition of a favorite baked good. The only thing that could make this even better is a blob of cream cheese icing...I suppose that would detract from the bar's health benefits, however.
-Chocolate Almond Fudge: Reminds me of a milk-chocolatey brownie with a plenitude of nuts. I'd prefer a more intense cocoa flavor...see below.
-Chocolate Brownie: One of my top picks! This variety achieves an authentic brownie-like consistency with a deeper chocolate flavor. The only downside is its tendency to leave attractive black remnants in your teeth.
-Chocolate Chip: Hands down favorite. This is always the first variety to dwindle in my box of Clif minis. The soft texture makes it more like chocolate chip cookie dough than an actual cookie. I always look forward to eating these.
-Cool Mint Chocolate: I must reiterate what others have said of this bar--it is the closest one can get to Thin Mint flavor without hunting down a Girl Scout. It has the same effect of the Chocolate Brownie variety--it leaves you with a black-flecked grill.
-Cranberry Apple Cherry: No doubt my least favorite variety. This bar is just a melange of non-distinct flavors, none of which appreciably shines through on your taste buds. My advice to Clif: ditch this flavor and develop something with fewer ingredients in the mix. As a side note, its flavor reminded me of gummy fruit snacks. Weird.
-Crunchy Peanut Butter: This bar is the most protein-packed, lowest in sugar, and most peanut-tastic. A bite into one of these guys is like taking a spoonful of crunchy PB right out of the jar. The only drawback is its lasting breath effects--it always leaves me tasting peanuts mid-run.
-Maple Nut: Think pancakes 'n syrup...in bar form. Deliciously sweet, and I love its inclusion of chopped pecans.
-Oatmeal Raisin Walnut: The name says it all--it's an oatmeal raisin cookie! The raisin population was a little low in my bar, so it was more like a regular ol' oatmeal cookie, but the combination of cinnamon, molasses, and walnuts made for quite the pleasant flavor experience.
-White Chocolate Macadamia: This bar converted me. That is, I am no longer a white chocolate hater. I now embrace the wonders of white chocolate, especially in combination with hearty macadamias. This bar is quite sweet and the highest in fat (7 grams), making it quite cookie-like, so I would enjoy this variety with less regularity than the others.
I have previously reviewed the seasonal flavors; if you're interested in reading about my take on those, click here.
Clifs are for more than just pre-workout snacks...here are a few other ways to enjoy them:
That concludes this Cliff's Notes version of Clif (ha!). I'd love to know, what's your favorite flavor? Why? Which ones can't you stand?

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Be back tomorrow with a weekend recap!