Eating homemade meals is always best, yet having an energy bar in your arsenal of go-to snacks seems practically essential these days. I have been on the quest for my “perfect” healthy bar for some time now, and have found a few that come pretty darn close … including the Gnu Bar.

Completely different from any other bar I have ever tried, the Gnu Bar is made not just for those who need fiber, but for those who love it. Rather than going for crispy, or chewy, or soft and smushy, the Gnu Bar has a myriad of textures that allows you to actually taste the different ingredients. Crunchy bits of gently cooked millet, soft and chewy bits of fruit, and a hearty-chewy base of oats and wheat all rolled up into one bar.

But aside from the fiber, what I loved most was the complete lack of added sugars in these bars. Gnu bars are sweetened only with fruit juices and dried fruit. No sugar, agave, or evaporated cane juice (no matter how you look at them, they are still sugars!) to be found, yet both my husband and I found each bar to be perfectly sweet.

The lighter sugar content also translates into a lower calorie bar. On average the bars have 12 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, just 4 grams of fat, and around 150 calories. Not bad!

As for the flavors, we taste-tested and enjoyed 5 of the 7 flavors:

Orange Cranberry – The orange and cranberry scents literally burst from this bar. I was immediately smitten by the orange essence and the jam-packed fruity flavor. Honestly, I hadn’t expected this bar to dazzle me; though I love oranges, orange-cranberry-flavored baked goods have just never done it for me. But the natural tasting zest of this bar was unique, intriguing and delicious. Bites of sweet cranberry contrasted the citrusy orange nicely, while the backdrop of raisins, apples, and sweet plums increased the indulgence factor.

Cinnamon Raisin – I was certain this flavor would be my favorite; I am a bit of a cinnamon raisin freak. But honestly, it was just okay when compared to the Orange Cranberry. I enjoyed it, but for some reason the whole cinnamon raisin theme didn’t jump out at me. I did taste the raisins, but perhaps my cinnamon overloaded taste buds were just yearning for a bit more. My husband disagreed; he liked these as is, and had no problem in trading me his Orange Cranberry for the Cinnamon Raisin.

Peanut Butter – This one wasn’t as intensely peanut butter as I had expected. It had a different fruity-PB vibe that I had yet to taste in another bar. Most seem to really let the PB stand out, but this bar made the peanut butter a piece of the flavor puzzle, which included apples, raisins, and of course, the whole grains. Once I got past the whole traditional peanut butter bar concept, I really enjoyed this one. So much so that my husband never got a bite!

Chocolate Brownie – I was hungry, saw the brown color on the wrapper, and assumed it was chocolate, but didn’t take the time to read the label before tearing into it. The first note I wrote down was, “This bar has a very pleasant chocolate brownie flavor that didn’t grab me on the first bite, but as the first bite gave way to the second a deep chocolate flavor emerged.” I later looked at the wrapper to discover it was called “Chocolate Brownie.” I must say, it is aptly named!

So, will this satiate a chocaholic? Probably not. Does it have a nice brownie vibe? Most definitely. That said, my husband loved this bar, and of the two of us, he is much closer to a chocoholic side than I am. It is definitely a treat, but rather than being overly sweet, it plays off of the natural flavors and it does let the dark chocolaty taste take center stage.  Plus, how many brownie-inspired treats contain a whopping 12 grams of fiber?!

Banana Walnut - I loved the fresh, ripe banana scent. This one is a definite contender with its solid wheat and banana flavor and hint of nutty and bitter walnuts. The Banana Walnut bar is more on the fruity side, and slightly reminiscent of a hearty piece of banana bread. In terms of my favorites, this one fell in the middle of the pack, but it received top marks from my banana bread-loving husband.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet gotten my hands on their newer flavors, Espresso Chip and Lemon Ginger flavors, but I will be on the hunt to finish my taste-testing since both sound scrumptious!

Our final votes …

Alisa (this order completely surprised me; I thought my favorites would be the reverse!):

1. Orange Cranberry
2. Chocolate Brownie
3. Banana Walnut
4. Cinnamon Raisin
5. Peanut Butter

Husband (didn’t try the PB one):

1. Chocolate Brownie
2. Banana Walnut
3. Cinnamon Raisin
4. Orange Cranberry

Mind you, I would gladly devour any of these flavors any day!

Ah yes, where to buy? You can buy direct form the Gnu Foods website, on Amazon, and thankfully, I have seen them in natural food stores such as Whole Foods.

This is a third party review by Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide & Cookbook. For more information on this product, see the Gnu Foods website.

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