RawRev Glo Bar

So a few days ago, I officially ended the semester by finishing my last final exam (HALLELUJAH).  Upon excitedly speeding (er... safely driving at a moderate pace) up the highway to stay with my family for the holidays, I walked in the house to discover that RawRev had sent me two 12-packs of their new protein bar to try!  These babies haven't even gone on the market for commercial sale yet.  Talk about ending the semester with a bang!

A few basics about the company and bars first:

RawRev is a snack and energy bar company that is committed to making delicious, healthy and organic bars that anyone can enjoy.  Every flavor is also vegan, gluten free, non-GMO and includes raw-sprouted super foods.  What started out as Alice Bendetto's hobby of preparing good food for her family has now burst into a family-owned factory that produces millions of these bars a year.  By sticking to the core values that started the company, RawRev has emerged in the last ten years as a leading competitor among snack bars of all kinds.  If you'd like to know more, I highly encourage you to visit their website.

So about this new protein bar.  The Glo Bar is another revolution in itself, considering the fact that it packs 10 grams of protein into a bar that still fits all of the other RawRev requirements I just mentioned.  What's more - it also contains 10 grams of fiber, only 4 grams of sugar and 45% of your daily iron intake.  Those are some VERY impressive macro and micronutrient levels for any bar, let alone a raw vegan one.  I will include a full list of nutrition facts and ingredients at the end of this post for those who are interested, but first let's talk about flavor.

The flavor I received is called "Mixed Nuts Caramel & Sea Salt."  Uh, YUM!  I'll admit, I've never been much of a caramel lover, but this healthy version has me regretting having ever said such a thing.  It is not as terribly sweet as "normal" (AKA highly processed, full-of-refined-sugar) caramel, which is nice.  The flavor of the cashews and almonds mixes perfectly with the sea salt, but it can sometimes overpower the caramel.  This flavor overall isn't as strong as what I'm used to when compared to their other bars, either.  However, there is some vegan chocolate thrown in there, which can never be a bad thing in my book!  I also brought one of the boxes into work with me (I work at a gym) and the trainers devoured the entire thing.  So that's got to say something!

Flavor rating: 7 out of 10,

because I think that overall it could be stronger.  That might be difficult with trying to keep net carbs down and abide by non-processed ingredients, though, so this is an exceptional bar with those parameters.

As far as texture goes, these bars stand out even from the other types of RawRev bars.  The non-protein RawRev bars have a chewy, yet still crumbly texture that I assume is due to the date mixture they use as their base.  However, dates are not included at all in Glo Bars.  The high fiber content, which comes from a tapioca extract, may be why they hold together better than their non-protein relatives.  The resulting texture is thicker and chewier, again resembling caramel, but nothing gets stuck in your teeth or breaks off retainers (I would know; I have a permanent one on my lower teeth).

Texture rating: 9 out of 10

Bottom Line

For my Paleo followers, here is the rub: these particular bars are NOT Paleo.  They include soy, peanuts, rice products and pea derivatives.  However, many of the other RawRev bars are 100% Paleo while still meeting the company's other standards.  So for you, I highly recommend grabbing one of those as a snack next time you get a chance.  My personal favorites are the Cranberry Almond & Coconut, Spirulina Dream, and Chocolate Coconut Bliss.

For my vegan followers, these babies would be perfect for you!!  A high-protein, high-fiber bar is incredibly hard to find in the vegan world, and especially in the raw vegan realm.  These would be great as a snack, pre- or post-workout, for the kids to pack with lunch, anything.  The sprouted, non-GMO super foods are just gaining even more by being packed with protein and fiber.

I would also recommend these bars to anyone just trying to live a generally healthy lifestyle.  The sprouted super foods along with high protein and fiber contents are a great thing to add to any diet.  If you know you have a sensitivity to some of the ingredients, of course, then proceed with caution.  Listen to your body and know what's best for you.

Glo Bar Nutrition Facts:

Serving size = 1 bar   Calories = 190   Fat Cal = 100

Total Fat = 12g (2.5g saturated, 0g trans)  Cholesterol = 0mg   Sodium = 40mg

Total Carb = 20g (4g sugar, 10g fiber)   Protein = 10g

Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 0%, Calcium 2%, Iron 45%

Ingredients:

Cashews, Almonds, Peanuts, Organic Vegan Dark Chocolate (Cane Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin-NON GMO, Vanilla Extract), Sprouted Flax Seeds*, Chia Seeds*, Blueberry Powder, Isomalto-Oligosaccharaide (prebiotic fiber from Tapioca), Pea Protein Crisps, Pea Protein, Brown Rice Protein, Hemp Protein*, Coconut Oil*, Brown Rice Syrup, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.

*Organic & Raw