In the past, PowerBar hasn’t exactly been known for their healthy energy bars. They were generally filled with high fructose corn syrup, and high in saturated fats. Those are two deadly combinations and are the exact opposite of what your body craves after a long ride. Not too long ago PowerBar released the Harvest line of energy bars. The Harvest energy bar was designed to compete with organic type energy bars like Clif. While the PowerBar Harvest isn’t even partially organic, it does cut the original PowerBar’s ingredient list in half, leaving out a lot of unhealthy ingredients. A quick glance at the nutrition facts and you will see a vast improvement over the standard bars.

The first thing you will notice is the low amount of saturated fat, but there is also a decent amount of fiber and protein without going overboard on the calories. Also, PowerBar has done an upgrade to their ingredients list:

Whole Oats, Brown Rice Syrup, Dried Fruit Blend (Strawberries, Cranberries, Apple Juice Concentrate, Sugar, Rice Flour, Sunflower Oil), Soy Crisps (Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt, Salt), Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Almond Butter, Soy Protein Isolate, Honey, Inulin (Fiber), Glycerin, Natural Flavor, Roasted Soy Beans, Oat Fiber, Nonfat Milk, Peanut Butter

This ingredients list is for their Strawberry Crunch bar (my favorite). The big thing that is gone from this list is high fructose corn syrup. Your body needs sugar during and after a workout, not hfcs. Another favorite test of mine is to make sure that I can pronounce every word in the ingredients list, and this list doesn’t have anything unusual. The final test is the taste. This bar tastes great, and is another example of a quality guilt free energy bar.

Get more information on the Harvest Energy Bar here. [powerbar.com]