Larabar Review

The first time I tried a Larabar I melted. I was on a hiking trip up in Algonquin Park one summer pausing to look at the beautiful view and refeul. I thought, "how can something that tastes this good be good for you?" Easy. They're made from whole foods including unsweetened dried fruits, nuts and spices. It's as simple and pure as that. Larabar's are one of my favourite snacks because they're so decadent and indulgent tasting, yet they're unprocessed and made with no more than 9 ingredients. They're gluten free, vegan and vegetarian and also make a good occasional snack for low carbohydrate diets, containing 23-32 grams per bar.

When the mailman arrived with my box of samples to sample and review, I did a little happy dance.

Larabar has 19 flavours including some mouth watering one's we don't get here in Canada such as Peanut Butter & Jelly, Lemon Bar, Chocolate Chip Brownie, Cappuccino, and Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte. Aside from the originals they also have a line of Jocalat bars (an organic chocolate bar), Uber bars (sweet and salty granola bars) and their relatively new line of ALT bars (a vegan, gluten free protein bar that uses pea protein).

I was sent the Cherry Pie, Chocolate Chip Brownie, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars. My personal favourite is the Peanut Butter Cookie, also know as just Peanut Butter in Canada, but Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip follows closley behind. I love that each bar contains at least 1/4 cup of fruit. Some even half a 1/2 cup of fruit! Those varieties would be Apple Pie, Tropical Fruit Tart, and Cherry Pie.

Here's the rundown of each bars nutritional content:

Peanut Butter Cookie

Just 3 ingredients: dates, peanuts, and sea salt. This one is super moist and chewy. It really does taste like it just came off a cookie sheet.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Same ingredients as Peanut Butter Cookie with the addition of mini chocolate chips. Oddly though this one isn't quite as moist, but it's still delicious.

Chocolate Chip Brownie

Made with dates, chocolate chips, walnuts, almonds, cocoa powder, and sea salt. If you love chocolate this one's for you.

Cherry Pie

Just dates, almonds, and unsweetended cherries - that's all she wrote. This bar has one full serving of fruit. It's good, but not my favourite. It's quite tart and chewy.

The Good:

• Free of preservatives and food colourings. Non-GMO. No junk!
• Dairy-free with the exception of the chocolate chip varieties, which may contain trace amounts.
• Healthy, natural, simple ingredients.
• Vegan and gluten-free.
• Great tasting...these things are like candy bars! You have to control yourself.
• Provides a good dose of fiber, healthy fats, iron, potassium and other vitamins and minerals.
• Free of sulfites, low sodium and no cholesterol.
• Shelf Life of 12 months (look for the best before date on the package)
• Kosher

The Bad:

Really? Is there anything bad about these bars? They are a perfect clean eating snack/food. I'd just like to mention a few things:

• Calories range from 190-230, so I prefer to eat one when I know I'm going to have a busier more active day or if I'll be going to the gym. Just don't forget that these calories and fats are coming from real fruits and nuts which are good for you. Perfect for a quick boost of energy.
• Those with nut allergies unfortunately miss out, however those with specific peanut allergies may be able to enjoy the bars without peanuts.
• The only other thing to mention is for those who may follow a raw food diet. They are not labelled as Raw because the nut igredients in some of the bars are either steamed or roasted. The bars themselves though have not been baked or cooked. 

A huge thanks to Larabar for sending me samples to review. I really love this company for their quality product, their commitment to nutrition, and use of non-GMO ingredients. I hope you guys enjoy their products as much as I do!

Tell me; what's your favourite Larabar flavour? 

Great Grains: Amaranth

Spring has sprung! Well...sort of...that's what it feels like these last few days. Last week was another story. I think it snowed a little bit every day...just to anger me. For now the sun is shining, snow removal is in the works (yes you heard me right) and it's 5*C, woohoo! I'm itching to get back on my bike and hit some trails. Le sigh. At least Spring is making promises.  Let's just pretend it's not supposed to snow tomorrow mmmmk?

Good. First I have some news to share. I've finally created a facebook fan page for edible sound bites. If you'd like to follow me you can find the link to the side of the page under the Subscribe & Follow heading. Please follow, I'd love to hear your feedback if your a fan! 

The second bit of news is a little more exciting; I've been choosing from a select few to appear in the next FOODIE iPad Cookbook App. My recipe for Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter will be featured along with 40 other recipes. I'm not sure how much info I can giveaway, but the FOODIE cookbook app has previously been featured in USA Today, Mashable, and Consumer Reports. I'm super excited! I will definitely post a link when I have one.  

Now let's get to the next post in my gluten free Great Grain's series. If you aren't caught up yet here are my previous posts on Buckwheat and Millet. 

Say hello to Amaranth.

Amaranth Notes

This tiny little seed is one highly nutritious gluten free grain. While it may look like millet or quinoa, I assure you it's not. Amaranth is actually quite smaller in size and whiter in colour. We're talking teeny tiny! It has a slightly sticky texture when cooked the traditional way in liquid, is nutrient rich, and high in fiber. It also has a high concentration of lysine, an essential amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein). For a bit of historical fun, it dates back 8,000 years to when it was used by the ancient Aztecs as food staple.

Personally it's one of my fave gluten free grains. I love the texture, taste and versatility of it. Even more so I love it's nutrition. You've gotta love slow digesting carbs for stable energy and blood sugar.

Nutrition Facts

Here is the nutrition profile for 1 cup of cooked amaranth (1/4 cup dry):

With high amounts of protein, fiber, calcium, lysine, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B2 and folic acid you can't go wrong. It actually contains more protein than any other gluten free grains and more protein than wheat. In fact, the protein content of amaranth is similar to the proteins found in cow's milk. It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all essential amino acids, including lysine, which is lacking in most other grains. Bottom line - amaranth is an excellent plant source of high quality proteins that are well absorbed when eaten. Take that quinoa! Just kidding, I still love you quinoa.

With a low glycemic index, amaranth is also slightly lower in carbohydrates than other gluten free grains.

Where To Buy Buckwheat

Like other gluten free/ specialty grains it's not easily found in grocery stores. I find it in the healthy food store or of course Whole Foods and specialty grocery stores like Nature's Emporium. Here the link to buy online from one of my favourites Bob's Red Mill; buy organic amaranth online.

Preparing and Cooking

Just prior to cooking, rinse and strain your amaranth throughly in cold water until the water runs clear to remove any dirt. To cook, boil 1 cup of amaranth in 2 1/2 cups of liquid such as water, vegetable or chicken stock, or milk of any kind (cow's, coconut, almond etc). Reduce heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes until tender. Fluff with a fork a serve. Take care not to over cook it as it can become "gummy" in texture.

Keep amaranth stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, out of direct light. When stored in the fridge it will keep for 3 to 6 months.

Uses

Get grinding and make some flour! Amaranth makes a sweet, spicy, earthy, nutty flavoured flour best used in waffles, pancakes, cookies, muffins and quick breads. Just don't use amaranth flour exclusively in gluten free baking because your end result will be too dense. You'll need to blend it with a variety of gluten free flours, especially for baking yeast breads and cookies, pancakes should be okay though. 

By nature, amaranth absorbs water very easily making it a good thickener for soups with added nutrition.

It can be cooked as a cereal and used as a replacement for oatmeal. Sprouted and placed in salads. Toasted is another great way to use amaranth. Just toast and add to yogurt, smoothies, trail mix etc. 

My personal favourite is popping the tiny seeds like popcorn... Post to come!

Happy Easter everyone!!! Have a great weekend.