A Little Picky

It takes a lot for me to find a breakfast/energy bar that I like.  I eat them a lot, mostly as a post-run breakfast on the go.  So many bars masquerade as being “healthy,” but I find myself struggling to pronounce the majority of the ingredients.  That doesn't seem very healthy to me, so I steer clear of those.  I have found several that I really like: LÄRABAR, Clif Kit’s Organic, and most recently, Picky Bars.  The downside of these healthier versions is that they tend to be more expensive.

I was thrilled when I opened up the April issue of Women’s Running and found “Raise the Bar,” which featured several recipes for do-it-yourself energy bars with healthy ingredients.  I decided to try the PB&J bars first.  My mind jumped ahead to “no more store bought bars” and “I bet my kids would love these!”

There was one downside right from the start.  These bars use 11 ingredients, many of which I did not have on hand.  It ended up being a fairly costly trip to several stores for things like raspberries, quinoa flakes, dried plums, unsalted peanuts, and sunflower seeds.  On the flip side, it gave me the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen with help from my best girl.

The recipe itself wasn’t hard at all to make.  Honestly, the most time consuming part was washing the food processor after blending the raspberries and chia seeds.  We followed the directions and in no time, were pressing a mixture into the pan that smelled great and looked exactly like the picture.  Success!  We made them last night, and I decided to try one for breakfast today post-run.

I’ll put a disclaimer on this and say that perhaps the raspberries I used were not as ripe as they could have been (I didn’t try them first – I’m just giving the recipe the benefit of the doubt).  However, I took the first bite and didn’t have any desire to finish the rest.  I don’t like too much sweetness, but these had absolutely none.  In fact, they really had no flavor whatsoever, and it was a chore just to get the rest of the bar down.

I may have been putting a bunch of healthy ingredients into my body, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it.  I knew at that moment my kids (or my husband, for that matter) would not be eating them.  Again, it could have been the raspberries, but I will not be making these again.  I’m not even sure I’m going to eat any more of them, which bums me out because I spent the money.

The fig almond bars are next on the WR bars list to try, and I’m hoping they will be better.  They use cocoa, coconut, and walnuts – how bad can they be with those ingredients, right?  I have a new respect for companies that produce healthy food AND make it taste good.  I’m so thankful I made the decision to join the Picky Bars Club and that my order shipped yesterday.  It cannot get here soon enough!