{"id":501,"date":"2008-11-19T15:51:57","date_gmt":"2008-11-19T21:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allclimbing.com\/?p=501"},"modified":"2024-02-01T05:18:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T12:18:46","slug":"climbing-food-review-clif-zbars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allclimbing.com\/climbing-food-review-clif-zbars\/","title":{"rendered":"Climbing Food Review: Clif ZBars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s guest post is from Ryan Wanger, a climber who writes at The Reluctant Eater<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"PictureClif. The name is synonymous with climbing (perhaps it’s the logo?). If you’re like me, then you’ve always enjoyed Clif Bars<\/a>, but rarely buy them because frankly, you’re a cheapskate. Nutritious? Yep. All natural? Absolutely. Tasty? You betcha! In fact, it’s amazing that anyone can successfully sell any product to a bunch of jobless, dirtbag climbers like ourselves, right? We’d rather just eat the dust of last weeks trail mix!<\/p>\n

In recent years, Clif has been on a tear to diversify and expand their product line, releasing 9 new food products since 2004. However, since I’m rather oblivious to that sort of thing, and haven’t spent much time in climbing gyms recently (traditional Clif strongholds), I failed to notice…well…ALL of them. A recent sample of Clif Shot Bloks<\/a> at an ultimate frisbee tournament piqued my curiosity, inspiring a flurry of research (read: tasting).<\/p>\n

Today, we discuss: Clif Kid Organic ZBar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My first thought? Clif has a line of kids products? Well, they do now, having released a second item, Clif Kid Twisted Fruit, last year.<\/p>\n

I eat local, organic, non-processed food almost exclusively, so I’m always a bit skeptical of anything in a package, and generally that means foods with as few ingredients as possible (especially those ingredients that sound like they came from a laboratory: monogluxysodiobenzoate?). However, it’s hard to argue with the ingredients of the Peanut Butter ZBar:<\/p>\n

Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Peanuts, Salt), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Fig Paste, Organic Peanuts, Organic Oat Flour, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Natural Flavors, Organic Chocolate (Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin), Salt, Baking Soda.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let’s just call it: a bunch of whole food ingredients pressed together.<\/p>\n

What do they taste like? Basically ZBars are smaller, less dense (more bread-like) versions of Clif Bars, with a little drizzle of frosting on top. And tasty! Yes, I’m an adult, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying food aimed at children. Right?<\/p>\n

My thoughts on the 6 different flavors, listed in order of preference:<\/p>\n