Outdoors with Clif Bars... and Drinks!
Clif Bar, the company, makes many products. Sure, they include the eponymous Clif Bars, but also several other related lines, including Luna, Mojo, and a kid’s line called Clif Z. Recently, they’ve even started making cookies, and we didn’t realize that there is also a Clif Family Winery in St. Helena.
We’ve been trying out some of their new flavors, White Chocolate Macadamia and Blueberry Crisp, and have been pleasantly surprised by both. We’re used to Peanut Butter and fudge-y flavors, and these brought Clif Bars closer to trail mix-type bars and fruity ones. If we had to choose, we’d take the Blueberry Crisp. It wasn’t perfect (it didn’t taste quite like the real thing) but was quite good for an energy bar. As with most bars, they are pretty filling, and these have around 240 calories, 7g of fat, a nice 9g of protein, and plenty of carbs (~40g from various sources, including fiber). Made from 70% organic ingredients, the two new flavors should be available in many stores now. About $1 each, depending on quantity.
The Shot Bloks are a different product category- basically, just gelatin-like blocks with an oddly medicinal flavor. We tried Mountain Berry and Black Cherry, and though the caffeine boost was nice (50 mg in three of the flavors), we weren’t ready to begin tossing back these shots regularly. The texture is just a bit too weird, the flavor just too unappealing, but we suppose that some folks out there simply want carbs without the vitamins or extra stuff. They are close to bite-size, and typically come in a pack of 6, for around $2.
Finally, we’ve also gotten to test the as-of-yet unreleased Clif Quench drinks. Four flavors are available, and we liked the packaging and slightly smaller bottle sizes. Also, no artificial colors, no high fructose corn syrup here, and the drinks definitely seem an excellent brand extension. We tried comparing with a few other vitamin and sports drinks, and plenty of folks felt that Quench drinks… well, were more thirst-quenching than others. Most folks liked the flavors too, though none were particularly different or interesting: the usual citrus, orange, lime-ade, fruit punch, and strawberry citrus (which taste-tested best). 88% organic, the label is a bit deceptive, as it lists the fairly small 16 oz drink as containing two servings- par for the course, except that the small text excerpt from Gary, the founder, leaves out any mention of “per serving”. According to their PR department, they’ll be available soon for $1.50 each, and we’ll definitely be on the look out for these.
