Because my typical “lunch hour” consists of a 45-minute mountain bike ride on the awesome trails nearby my office here in Draper, Utah, my body will burn through the calories that I eat for my actual lunch by about 3:30 pm. At that point, I’m usually reaching for that box of cereal on my shelf and eating dry Total flakes, or I just down more water.
Yesterday, I actually peered through the glass of the vending machines in the break room–hoping to find something that seemed healthy. “Hmmm… Cheetos… Doritos… Fritos and other greasy snacks–nah, that won’t do. Odwalla Bar? How did that sneak into the coffin of death snacks?”
I had never actually seen an Odwalla bar, but I’ve partaken of the forbidden Odwalla juice (forbidden because it tastes so good, but costs so much). A quick card swipe and I had in my hands an Odwalla Bar. I’ve been downing ProBar’s lately and really like them because you can see what you’re eating, they taste good and they fill you up.
Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar
So, how does it taste? Well, it’s not like a fat-laden and chocolatey-tasting Snickers Bar, but I think it tastes really good. It is soft and chewy (something ProBars aren’t) and has a good consistency. With 8 grams of protein and a mix of organic ingredients, everything seems to jive as far as a healthy snack.
Looks like there are four total flavors:
- Banana Nut Bar
- Berries GoMega Bar
- Choco-walla Bar
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar
Check them out at your local fine food retailers. I think Odwalla is onto something here.
Buy Now: Visit REI.com
June 24, 2008 - 11:01 am - posted by Brig Graff
I do love probars (cherry & pretzel) — I’ll have to try an odwalla. I just never take time for lunch, and I really should.
July 2, 2008 - 12:59 pm - posted by Brig Graff
I tried the Choco-walla this morning, and I’m munching on the Berry Go-mega now. Not bad — though the chocolate had a kind of powdery-baking-chocolate vibe to it. Not as good as the Probar Cherry & Pretzel, but the Odwalla bars sure beat anything else in the vending machine. Especially at the 50-cent price point, which the ones in machine are.
I will say that distributing their products in vending machines is a smart move in my book. I hope that I’m not the only one getting them — so that they will have success with the vending machine effort, and continue it. You think about how many energy bars are available in the candy bar section of the local 7-11, and it just makes sense to make non-candy stuff like that more prevalent in vending machines too.
July 2, 2008 - 4:22 pm - posted by Brig Graff
Ha! How about that? I didn’t even realize Odwalla bars were available on GEAR.com. Check it out:
http://www.gear.com/gear/rei/rei/shop.php/P-12552/Odwalla_Chewy_Nut_Bar.html
http://www.gear.com/gear/rei/rei/shop.php/P-12262/Odwalla_Bar.html
Pretty cool — then you can stock up on whole bunches at a time, have them shipped to the office, and stow them in your desk drawer…
July 11, 2008 - 1:24 pm - posted by Jason Mitchell
I just downed a Choco-walla bar… not bad! I’m not typically a fan of chocolate-flavored bars or anything for that matter, but this one was pretty good. Not super-choco-rama, but good. Yeah, it does have that baking chocolate kind of taste, but not bad.