Clif Bars: A Nutritious Snack or Glorified Candy Bar?

After a hard workout I always want to fuel my body; the problem is I usually don’t have time. It’s hard enough to fit a long run into my crazy schedule as it is, so I often look to protein or energy bars to refuel in between meals. I am always looking for new tasty bars to try out, and one of my most recent encounters was Clif Bars.

When it comes to reviewing nutrition bars, I generally look at these basic categories: overall calories, nutritional value, protein to sugar ratio, taste, and flavor variety.

When it comes to overall calories, Clif bars generally run between 200-250 calories. This not too bad, considering the amount of calories burnt during my run just before this.

The nutritional value of the bar is questionable.  It contains over 30 ingredients with the first one listed as Organic Brown Rice Syrup – another form of sugar.

If you look at the sugar ratio it is quite high; most bars range between 12-23 grams per bar. The Clif Crunch bars usually are around 12 grams, while the regular Clif bars are typically closer to 23. The protein ratio also depends on what bar you look at. The Clif Crunch bars usually contain 2-3 grams of protein per serving, while the regular Clif bars tend to have about 10. 

When it comes to flavor, Clif Bars have just about nailed it. The Clif Crunch line runs 6 different flavors and the regular Clif line runs 22. There is literally a flavor for just about anyone. 

The problem with Clif bars is their flavors tend to be inconsistent. All of the Clif Crunch flavors that I tried including the blueberry crisp, white macadamia nut, and chocolate chip were delicious! But I was very disappointed with the regular Clif line. I am typically a chocolate lover, but not even I could finish their chocolate chip flavor. I ended up throwing over half the bar away! The texture of it was overly sticky and chewy. The Clif Crunch texture was much better; however a person should note it is very messy to eat.

Overall, it seems the Clif bar is lacking in crucial areas. While there are many flavor varieties and most of them seem to be tasty, the nutritional content of the bar is extremely low. With such a low protein count and high sugar content, Clif bars are nothing more than a glorified candy bar! Therefore when it comes to rating these bars I only give it two out of five stars.