Being a Washington State native I grew up on Liberty Orchard’s Aplets and Cotlets – and their extensive candy collection. I love the mix of gummy candy and chopped nuts. Yum!

This week we had samples of a newer line, The Orchard Bar, show up for review. Imagine if I had my favorite fruit and berry candies made over into a tasty energy bar? Well, this is it. The bars come in three flavors:

Orchard Bars Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Bars – sweet and tropical.

Orchard Bars Strwberry, Raspberry & Walnut Bars – summery berries.

Orchard Bars Blueberry, Pomegranate & Almond Bars – fall harvest.

Unlike their candy counterparts, the Orchard Bars are full of nuts, seeds (even my favorite flax seeds!) and soy protein nuggets. The Pineapple bar has 200 calories, 8 grams fat, 100 mg sodium, 5 grams protein and 2 grams fiber – making the bars a great snack when out hiking or well, doing anything that works up hunger! The bars are sweet, unlike so many energy bars that taste more of flours, these you get the thrill of a candy experience with a boost of energy. And as a bonus the bars are also high in Omega 3, giving one a heart healthy choice. The bars are vegan, kosher, non-GMO, Gluten-free, made in the US and all natural.

Keep an eye out for the bars and if you like sweets, give them a try! And PS: Check out their website for 2 new flavors, available through their online store. Yum indeed!

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received product samples for review consideration.

Yum! A Chocolate Peppermint Stick bar and ooh….a matching all natural lipbalm. Lets just say that the “seasonal flavors” of the bars are some of my favorite and the lipbalm is even better. The bummer is it doesn’t appear teh balm is sold, it is promotional only. HintHint Lunabar – this stuff needs to be sold! It is smooth, tasty and has no petroleum products in it. Now to hide it away for this winter where no else can find it……

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received these products complimentary.

The Omega bars are in the 250-ish calorie range (some more than others) and come in 5 varieties to choose from:

The bars are hefty, moist and with my favorite..lots of filling:

The Attack Snack are truly snack size at 150 calories each and come in two flavors:

The snack bars are nice and compact, soft and with plenty of fruit filling:

The bars are a good source of Omega-3, fiber and protein and are made naturally with no preservatives.The Marionberry bar was a treat, outside of the PNW one rarely sees Marionberries used. The Peanut butter & Strawberry Jam tastes like fresh natural style PB, a treat for me as I don’t eat partially hydrogenated peanut butter and many energy bars don’t spring for the good stuff. Toddler recommended as well – the baby enjoyed nibbling on the Marionberry and the Attack Strawberry bars.

For best results the bakery does recommend eating them within 2 weeks when stored in normal temperatures or storing in the refrigerator (due to the Omega) for up to 6 months. So while not easy to take say on a long trip or a thru-hike, for the average hiker out for a day or a weekend they are a new choice to add to the snack bag.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We were provided with samples for potential review.

Got that craving for summer night treats? You know what I am talking about! S’mores! All wrapped up in an easy to not and non-sticky mouth sensation The Luna S’Mores bar is perfect for tossing into one’s snack bag.

And it has everything we need (guys, you can eat these bars. You won’t turn into a chick!)

What does the bar contain?

LunaPro ® (Soy Rice Crisp [Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Rice Flour], Organic Toasted Oats [Organic Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour, Organic Flaxmeal), Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Coating (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa, Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, , Organic Soy Lecithin, Organic Vanilla), Marshmallow Flavored Nuggets (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Cocoa Butter, Oat Fiber, Oat Flour, Fructose, Natural Flavors, Gum Arabic, Soy Lecithin), Inulin (Chicory Extract), Organic Soy Butter, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Oat Syrup Solids, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt.

Vitamins & Minerals

Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Ferrous Fumarate (Iron), Niacinamide (Vit. B3), Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Zinc Oxide, Molybdenum Glycinate, Pyridoxine (Vit. B6), Calcium Pantothenate, Beta Carotene (Vit. A), Manganese Sulfate, Selenium AAC, Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Chromium AAC, Ergocalciferol (Vit. D2), Thiamin (Vit. B1), Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12), Folic Acid, Cupric Oxide, Phytonadione (Vit. K), Biotin, Potassium Iodide.

Luna bars can be found at Trader Joe’s, Target, REI, C-stores, grocery stores – nearly everywhere these days! And unlike many “energy bars” they chew easy, taste great and don’t sit like a lump in your stomach for hours!

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received samples of this product.

After all, how often does one see recipes for Pemmican anymore? (Lets just say that I have never been able to eat Pemmican without gagging….) Especially pemmican made with lard. Yum! (I am being sarcastic here)

Real Pemmican by Dennis Schmitt (see here for original article)

Ingredients:

• ¾ pound caribou jerky (or other jerky)
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 ounces raisins
• 2 ounces cranberries
• 5 ounces lard

Directions:

Run the dry jerky through a food grinder or food processor until shredded. In a loaf pan mix together the shredded jerky, brown sugar, raisins and cranberries. Melt the lard and stir it into the jerky nmixture. Once the loaf cools, cut itionto small pieces, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Yield 6 bars.

I considered making it. But I couldn’t bear wasting the raisins. And besides that….where the heck-o-la was I going to find caribou jerky (Oh wait. I am sure I can find it online if I cared enough.)

Now you know to be wary of going down memory lane….thanks a lot John for making me laugh.

~Sarah

That has spilled over into hiking – once you make your own raw “energy” bars you won’t want to buy another overpriced (and semi-stale) bar unless you are lazy or have run out of time! There are good commercially made bars but finding them is a real issue – especially when they run $1 to 4 a BAR.

I buy the majority of the ingredients I use at home and on trail at Costco – something I never thought I would be using my membership for. Nuts and fruits are not cheap but at least more affordable there – and they are way more cheaper than buying premade bars!! Not only that, but they tend to be fresher, due to the high rate of turn-over. Once home I store the nuts tightly sealed in the refrigerator till needed. The other items I use vary from the grocery store to Whole Foods or similar for getting them. Make just what you need, right before you need them for the best results (and freshness) and keep tightly wrapped and sealed. (PS: Costco has the best juiciest Medjool dates in the produce department. They are beyond good.)

The one downside is you need a food processor to handle the ingredients. The food processor that sat collecting dust in a cupboard is now being used almost daily in our kitchen. If you don’t have one see if you can borrow one!

Ideas to get you going:

Date Walnut Energy Bars

Raw Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Cake

These Easy Nut and Chocolate Truffles can be adapted to be healthier:

Chocolate Energy Balls

Raisin and Almond Bars

Chocolate Chia Energy Bars

There will be more coming – it is an interesting way of eating to say the least.

~Sarah

Each bar is 25 grams or a shy .9 of an ounce. 100 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 35 mg sodium (yay!), 3grams fiber and 3 grams protein with only 4 grams sugar (that is good!).

The bars have the scent of sesame oil oddly enough but not the flavor. The smell is pleasing, the taste is a wow moment. It is easy to think chia seeds will be weird (kind of like eating flax seed really, once you get over the weird factor it is great). The ingredients are:

“organic chia seed, organic oats, brown rice syrup, organic peanut butter, organic whole grain brown rice crisps, organic agave syrup, brown rice syrup solids, natural peanut extract, organic cocoa powder, peanut flour, organic vanilla extract, sea salt”

The bars are thin and flexible. Not sticky, those with dental work can enjoy it but do mind the seeds if you have braces. The brown rice crisps are tasty (think if you could have a good for you Crunch type bar that didn’t leave you jittery after) and the little chia seeds pop. Did I mention tasty?

There isn’t any strong flavor – which is nice, just a mellow chocolate and light nut. No fake or overly sweetened flavor. It is mellow and tasty. You don’t feel sugared out nor salted out when done. Once these get out to the market (very soon according to the companies Facebook page) these will be a great bar to add to your snack bag.

Health Warrior also carries 1 lb bags of whole chia seeds online and on Amazon (they are a Prime shipping eligible item as well) Health Warrior Premium Chia Seeds, 16-Ounce Pouch. We were sent a bag of their chia seeds to try out and I will be working on some chia seed recipes in the near future, which will be posted on my personal blog, Gazing In. (Don’t worry, I will post links on our Facebook page when I do!)

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received review samples for potential product review.

One of the now gluten free Luna Protein bars in Cookie Dough. Yum! The same tasty bar, just now made with a few tiny changes to be gluten free. Do make sure you look at the label, the new bars state “gluten free” at the top of the package.

~Sarah

While they look like cookies they are not quite that. A blend of savory and sweet in a cookie shape that is more like a biscuit. Gluten free and vegan, they are packed with the power of quinoa flakes and flaxseed meal. Find the recipe for Quinoa Raisin Drops on my personal blog, Gazing In.

For those of you retching into your wastebasket over the prospects of eating quinoa n’ flaxseed fiber-fest you can go make the piggy worthy Cran-Mac Caramel Bars instead:

Somethin’ fer everyone!

~Sarah

From the March/April 2011 issue of Washington Trails Magazine are these two new recipes -

Savory Tuna Salad:

Peanut Butter Granola Cups:

~Sarah