Chocolate of the Day:
GoodOnYa
Superhero bar
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 283 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA
Today was Day #2 of Chocolate, Coconut and Vanilla Theme Week.
There are many bars now made with raw, organic, gluten free and other natural ingredients. Coconut oil/butter, and shredded or toasted coconut*; cacao nibs or dark chocolate; and vanilla, are popular inclusions.
It's hard to put a name to this growing category of all natural bars that has encompassed energy bars, health or healthy snack bars, protein bars and granola bars in the past. The newest generation of bars often offer more nutrient dense ingredients (often raw or less processed, with no/fewer preservatives) and gluten-free formulations that also taste good. (All welcome trends for someone like me who wants to eat whole foods and can't tolerate gluten.)
I'm thankful for bars like today's Superhero bar from
GoodOnYa (Encinitas, CA); it seemed very satisfying to me. Made with raw ingredients, this gluten-, dairy- and soy-free, Non-GMO bar contained cashew butter, honey, coconut flakes, chia seeds, goji berries, and lucuma, as well as ground vanilla pods and maca. (Yes, whole vanilla pods in the mix!) It was the kind of bar I'd feel confident eating during a long hike on a hot (or cold) day.
And speaking of "kind," I paired this GoodOnYa bar with an Almond and Coconut bar from Kind LLC (New York). While this bar packed a sweeter, coconut crunch, this Non-GMO, gluten and dairy free bar was made with whole, identifiable ingredients (I didn't need a label; I could see the ingredients); and it was marketed as very low sodium, and low-glycemic. Again, not your father's candy bar. (Note: There was no chocolate in this fruit and nut bar; but dipping pieces of this bar into chocolate fondue is not out of the question.)
*Note: In fact, this is third coconut-related theme week this year (2014) on ChocolateBanquet.com