Bite Off Energy with PROBAR

Yesterday you met Holly from PROBAR® so today you're going to learn about some of their bars. We have samples from several lines so we're going to publish article about each line over the course of several months in 2017. Today we're looking at two flavors from the bite organic energy bar line: Chocolate Cherry Cashew (left bar in the photo) and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (right bar in the photo. These look homemade to me, you can see the ingredients inside the bite, they aren't hidden under a coating of chocolate or candy as many energy bars are. Both bars we were sent have 190 calories so a good sized snack without overindulging. On Monday, The Chocolate Cult will host a CONTEST where you could win a sleeve of 12 bars of any one variety you choose from their website. The giveaway will run for one week so be sure you come back to enter it. The Chocolate Cult was sent 12 bars from different lines from PROBAR® all in chocolate varieties so that we could test them out and write a series of feature articles about them in an honest and objective fashion; no other form of competition was received.

We'll start with the PROBAR® bite Chocolate Cherry Cashew. This includes chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, and cacao powder on the ingredient list. The very first ingredient is tapioca syrup which helps explain the 10 grams of sugars the bar has. It also has 7 grams total fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 6 grams of protein, and 3 grams of dietary fiber. The first scent I note is the cherry a general grain and sweetness fragrance. You can see the dried cherries, the different grains, the cashew pieces spread throughout the bar. Take a bite makes a crunch and it stays crunchy as I chew. It is not sticky as I thought it might be from just looking at it. The flavors are varied depending on where I bite. A burst of tart cherry, some sweet grain, a hint of chocolate, the cashews are subtle as well but definitely there. Each bite is a different taste experience, too. The texture is also interesting depending on the bite -- the dried cherries are actually chewy, the cashews crisp, and the grains soft. The size of the bar makes this easily an eight-bite snack. While I'd like the chocolate to be more intense (this is The Chocolate Cult after all) I still like this bar a lot.

Now we'll turn to the PROBAR® bit Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. The ingredients and nuttirional values for this bar are very similar to the previous with just 1 gram more total fat, 0.5 grams more saturated fat, 1 gram more sugars. However this has 15% more iron and that might be important to some of you. This has a strong peanut fragrance to it. As you saw in the first photograph of this article, this bar is a little smaller in terms of measurements but in terms of weight it is identical at 1.62 ounces or 46 grams. If you have ever cooked or baked with peanut butter by weight, you know it is a hefty ingredient. A bite of this bars makes a softer crunch and it is more chewy than crunchy as I eat it. The peanut butter is not as intense as the scent had me thinking it would be but the chia seeds are obvious in flavor. It is only when I hit a mini chocolate chip that I get a burst of the chocolate flavor in this bar. In terms of flavors and textures it is not as varied as the previous bar but still more interesting than many other energy bars I've tried before.

Of the two bars, I have to say that the Chocolate Cherry Cashew is definitely my favorite. I think having the chocolate liquor, the cocoa butter, and the cacao powder helped make it more chocolatey as well. I would certainly buy this variety in the future.  How many of your have tried the PROBAR® bite products before? Which ones have you tried and liked? Please leave a comment and let us know.