Melanie Gomez
Energy bars can be a smarter choice for a snack before you’re active (working out/going for a run) or a mini meal if you’re on-the-go, if they offer healthy amounts of protein and fiber, and are low in sugars and saturated fat. I personally would eat these as a snack or if I’m in a rush, since I currently do not work out much. I would treat these as a healthier chocolate bar. I wouldn’t grab it every single day, just when I feel I needed it. I feel like this might be good to bring before a concert so I have some extra energy and won’t be as hungry throughout the show. Sometimes you can’t lose your spot at a show, so this would come in handy, if the venue allows it inside.
NOTE: Energy products are not a substitute for regular food.
No Cow Coconut Almond Energy Bar VS. Snickers Almond Bar
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The key words were “can be a smarter choice.” I can’t tell you how many bars that appear to be “healthy” contain a bunch of chocolate coating or vanilla icing. They are basically candy bars with extra protein. That isn’t the healthy snack you were going for, right?
Thanks to No Cow, I found a bar (Coconut Almond Energy Bar) that taste good, has protein, is dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, is made with all-natural caffeine from patented coffee bean flour, and has 1g of sugar. YES, 1g!
It also has ingredients that I can recognize and actually pronounce such as:
ALMONDS, PROTEIN BLEND (BROWN RICE PROTEIN, PEA PROTEIN, FABA BEAN PROTEIN), WHOLE GRAIN OATS, GLYCERINE, SOLUBLE CORN* FIBER, WATER, COCONUT, ERYTHRITOL, COFFEE BEAN FLOUR, FLAX SEED, NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT, STEVIA LEAF REB M. ALLERGEN STATEMENT
This vegan bar is not another candy bar in disguise. I personally love that it taste like chocolate while being dairy-free, and tastes like a more natural chocolate, compared to a more artificial taste. It isn’t overpowered by a bunch of artificial sweet flavors. I also loved the cookie dough texture of this bar, mixed with the unique texture that comes from the coconut pieces and the almonds. For me, the almonds were the “icing” on top!
This bar has 45mg of caffeine per serving which, is the equivalent of 1/2 a cup of coffee. I enjoy coffee, so I’m a fan of this ingredient. If you’re not a coffee person, you may not enjoy this. I do not think the coffee overpowers the rest of the flavors though. So you might not even notice it too much if you don’t care for it.
Now let’s compare the No Cow Coconut Almond Energy Bar to a bar that’s similar in flavor. It even has caffeine too. If you compare all 3 bars I mentioned, the sugar in this Clif Vanilla Almond Latte Bar has almost as much as the Snickers Almond bar!
Now what’s the best choice? That’s for you to decide. But I would always pick the No Cow Coconut Almond Energy Bar over the other two.
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At just 18 years old, No Cow founder Daniel “D” Katz became passionate about his health and fitness. He was always on the go and pretty much lived on whey protein bars, but they gave him horrible stomach aches. Turned out, like a lot of people, he had issues with dairy. When he couldn’t find dairy-free protein bars that were also low in sugar, he made his own in his mom’s kitchen and called them No Cow. Now, we’re confident that we have the best dairy-free fuel you need to get through your routine.
These energy bars also come in Peanut Butter, Chunky Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Sea Salt. They are all $23.99 for a pack of 12 1.77 oz (50g) bars for one time, and $21.59 for the 12 if you subscribe for your boxes. So you’d save 10%.
Have you tried a No Cow Energy Bar yet? Which flavor would you choose?
Let us know on Twitter.
