Organic Food Bar

Owner Review
March 23, 2006

Tester Information

Name: Raymond Estrella
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (193 cm)
Weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 

Backpacking Background: I have been hiking for over 30 years, all over the state of California. I have also hiked in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and put 555 miles (888 km) on my boots last year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

The product

Manufacturer: Organic Food Bar Inc.
Web site: www.organicfoodbar.com
Product: Organic Food Bar
Year manufactured: 2006.
MSRP: N/A
Size: 2 x 5 x 3/8 in (51 x 157 x 8 mm) My measurement
Weight listed, all flavors: 2.4 oz (68 g) Actual 2.5-2.6 oz (71-74 g)
Flavors available: Original, Vegan, Chocolate Chip, Omega-3 Flax, Active
                             Greens, Active Greens Chocolate, Blueberry and Cranberry.

Product description

The following are direct quotes from the Organic Food Bar Inc. website. I have edited it to remove anything sounding of too much hype, but still relaying their nutritional stance.

“This is the only line of organic food bars rich in phyto-nutrient dense sprouts and superfoods in a base of easy digestible, alkaline-forming vegetable protein for muscle and organ building, essential fats to promote a healthy cardiovascular and hormonal system, and complex carbohydrates for long lasting energy - without the 'crash' of most bars high in refined sugars.”

“All of our ingredients are certified organic, kosher and purchased as fresh as possible since we receive fresh ingredients every month. Unlike most companies we make our own Organic Food Bars "with lots of love" in house. Fresh product made on a weekly basis gives our customers fresh highest quality finished product possible. Our ingredients are mixed, blended, packaged and stored at room temperature to preserve the natural qualities and enzyme activity of the ingredients.”

“Our Organic Food Bars are sweetened only with whole-food sweeteners, including organic dates, organic raisins, organic honey, and low Glyecemic Index organic agave nectar to keep your blood sugar levels stable.”

“The Organic Food Bars follow the high Austrian Organic Certification Standards. They are the only USDA Certified Organic, non-dairy Certified Kosher, and Certified Vegan bars in the world. All of our ingredient suppliers are independently certified organic by both USDA and EU standards in their country of origin. Kosher certification is also performed by an international standard. Additionally, before we take delivery of any material, we have our own independent organic and kosher certifying representative review the material for a second time. This ensures our customers that indeed all of our ingredients are truly organic and kosher.”

The caloric content of the bars vary between 300 to 310 calories each. The calories from fat are 110 to 130, with the latter number being the norm. (12 to 15 g of fat per bar.) The carbohydrates per bar are 34 to 36 g each. Protein is 8 to 14 g per bar. The sodium content of all but the Active Green flavors are 25 mg each. The Active Greens have 40 mg each.

The bars come packaged in a loose plastic wrapper. The bar has room to slide around a bit in the package.

The main ingredients for these bars are almond butter and date paste. They are very soft to the touch, and feel somewhat squishy.

They are light brown in color, and oily to the touch. They are not sticky feeling.

Field Conditions

The highest point I have eaten the Original Food Bars is the top of Mount Whitney, elevation 14,496’ (4,349 m). The lowest was breakfast in Death Valley at 280’ (84 m) below sea level, and literally all points between. (I brought them on a hike from DV to Mount Whitney in 2004.) They have also been snacks on Mount Langley, Mount Shasta and White Mountain.

I have brought them on winter trips that saw lows of 9 F (-13 C), and desert hikes with highs of 118 F (48 C). In the past two years they have been along with me for over 900 miles (1449 km) of hiking.

Observations and Field Use

One thing I should disclose about myself is the fact that I do not have much of a sweet-tooth. A lot of bars these days taste too much like a candy bar to me.  

I have never liked to stop for lunch while hiking. In the late 70’s and 80’s I made gorp, or bought trail mix to eat between breakfast and dinner. In the early 90’s I started using the first of the PowerBars, and then some of the similar bars that started showing up. I always read the ingredients and the nutritional information, looking for the best possible balance of nutrition and flavor. I wasn’t too thrilled by the choices back then.

A few years ago I changed my hiking style. I hike lighter, faster and farther now. I stopped cooking breakfast to get a faster start to my day. I now eat two bars for breakfast and two more during the day as I hike. So the nutritional aspect of my choices has become even more important to me. And I now look at the calories per ounce/gram that any bar I use has. The most nutrition in the smallest package, the better. I also look for a good balance of protein, carbs and fat. Although I do not mind high fat contents when hiking (see my Larabar review), I prefer bars that lean more toward the carbohydrates.

I was introduced to the Organic Food Bars two years ago. I was very impressed by their calorie to weight ratio, which averages 128 calories per oz (4.49 per gram), the high carbohydrate percentage, and the relatively low fat ratio. They are also high in fiber, which can be important on a long hike with too many freeze-dried meals on the menu.

The Organic Food Bars are also very low in sodium. I eat freeze-dried meals just about every evening when I hike. They are very high in sodium, so I appreciate my bars being so low in it. The fact that they are raw makes it easier to take on the stomach, and to process in the field.

I have crunched the numbers long ago, but to give an example I took three other energy bars, and one meal replacement bar that I have here and averaged their nutritional information. After theirs is the averaged numbers of all flavors of the Organic Food Bars in bold.

Average weight per bar: 1.86 oz (53 g) OFB 2.4 oz (68 g)
Average calories per bar: 220, OFB 307
Average calories per weight: 118 per oz (4.15 per g) OFB 128 per oz (4.51 per g)
Average fat grams and percentage: 7.75 g, 17%  OFB 13 g, 21%
Average protein grams and percentage: 9.5 g, 21% OFB 11.25 g 19%
Average carbohydrate grams and percentage: 28.25 g 62% OFB 34.75 g 60%
Average sodium milligrams per bar: 237.5 mg OFB 28.75!

So by using the Organic Food Bars I get a 9% increase in calories for the weight I have to carry. That adds up to a half a pound (227 g) for a week long trip. And have sodium levels 12% of the norm. I like that a lot. Here is my take on the different flavors.

Original; the flavor I buy the most of. I always start the day off with one of this flavor, along with a chocolate chip. It has a nutty flavor, with date sweetness and a chewy slightly crunchy texture.

Vegan; to me it tastes and feels exactly like the original flavor. The numbers are the same also.

Omega-3 Flax; normal almond and date but can really taste the raisins in this one. The sharp raisin taste balances the sweetness of this bar. Very high in fiber because of the flax seeds.

Blueberry; the company says that this bar contains 20 percent blueberries, but it does not come across very much to me. I can barely taste the berries. It is one of the sweeter tasting bars to me.

Cranberry; this is one of my favorite flavors. It also contains 20 percent cranberries and the balancing effect of the tart berries works very well for me. With its high carbohydrates and lower protein levels, I like this one for my mid-day meals.

Chocolate Chip; these are the bars that I eat most often for breakfast. Since in my normal every-day life I do not eat anything until late morning, it is hard for me to get the calories I know that I need to have a good day’s hiking early in the morning. These are tasty enough to look forward to eating.

Active Greens; this flavor is very dark in color from the addition of superfood, a high chlorophyll nutritional supplement.  The superfood is what gives it the “green” name. This is my brother-in-law’s favorite flavor due to its high nutritional value. For me the bar is too sweet, as it has more of the “sweet” ingredients to help mask the cut-grass flavor of the superfood. It seems to be more oily than the other bars to me.

Active Greens Chocolate; the same as above with the addition of non-dairy chocolate. I never buy this flavor.

In winter these bars work very well with freezing and thawing repeatedly. I keep two bars in the tent next to me, and put them in my sleeping bag around 3:00 am. By 5:00 am they are perfect to eat, which I do in my bag. Before starting down/up the trail I put another two frozen bars in my coat pocket. If they feel too hard I transfer one to my pants pocket to finish thawing before eating during the day.

They do not handle high heat as well. They become very oily at high temps, but do not get as messy as the chocolate and yogurt covered bars do.

They never crumble. I do not have to worry about them breaking apart, and finding crumbs in my bag the next night.

While I do use other bars to keep the boredom factor down, the Organic Food Bars are the mainstay of my breakfast and lunch menu. I even eat them when I am not hiking as a quick meal.

Pros: High nutritional value, great weight to calorie ratio, good taste.
Cons: Oily when warm, not a lot of difference in taste and texture between flavors.