It’s no secret that I have some favorite go-to packaged real food snacks for when we’re out and about. It would, of course, be ideal if I could make all our food from scratch, but 1) that’s not exactly realistic, and 2) if there’s a decent store-bought alternative, why not? So I’m excited to partner with one of my long-time favorites in today’s sponsored post – LÄRABAR.
My Recent Dilemma
Now I’ve mentioned our love for the original (2 and 3 ingredient) LÄRABARs many times before, so that’s nothing new. But today I must make a confession. I think I’ve given those bars to my kids one too many times because they started craving something different just to switch things up. I guess we unintentionally got into a snack food rut! So my 11-year-old daughter started eyeing another brand of bars I’m not a big fan of. There are certainly worse things out there she could have wanted to eat, but I don’t like how these bars (even the ones that boast only 5 grams of sugar) contain 4 different kinds of sweeteners as well as natural flavors (why be so vague about what’s in there?) and soy lecithin (a food additive I don’t cook with at home).
So, I about fell over in the grocery store when I was shopping for our regular LÄRABARs and spotted these!
Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I hadn’t really noticed these before! They are a similar concept to what she was craving except they contain only 2 different sweeteners (not 4!) as well as dried dates (for extra naturally occurring sugar). They also do not contain any unwanted or vague additives like the other brands – score! I felt like this was the perfect compromise to give my daughter what she wanted but not have to give in too much on my “5 or fewer whole ingredient” packaged food desires. (Note: There are 6 grams of sugar in this ÜBER bar, but since the naturally occurring sugar in the dates accounts for some of that, I still think this is a better option.)
I got so excited I bought the few they had left then literally went to 4 other grocery stores (yes, I’m a nut!) to try to find more. The 4th store finally had some in stock, so after all that effort, I just bought the whole box, LOL. Maybe my friends at LÄRABAR will read this and send us some, haha. #kiddingnotkidding :) I’m not sure how long this rule-bending phase will last for my daughter, but we shall see.
#ShareRealFood Initiative
So, switching gears, I want to tell you about an important initiative that LÄRABAR is taking to heart. As you probably already know, hunger in America is an issue, and LÄRABAR wants everyone to have real food, whether it’s homemade or store bought. So they started an initiative called #ShareRealFood where they will donate $150,000 to help fight hunger. This partnership with Feeding America aims to help provide food banks with wholesome, nutritious food. Want to help? Then read on.
Support
Here are ways you can support efforts and raise awareness:
1. Spread the word by sharing #ShareRealFood @larabar posts from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
2. Get Connected – Donate, volunteer, learn more, and share facts, language, and hyperlinks.
3. Post a pic or video – Tag @larabar, @feedingamerica, and your friends to share your experiences on how you #ShareRealFood in your community.
Take Action
Support this mission to #ShareRealFood by:
• Donating to a local Feeding America food bank in your community
• Volunteering at a local Feeding America food bank
• Sharing a hunger fact on social media
• Learning more about hunger in your community
• Choosing other ways to help
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Did you know Lara bars have coupons on coupons.com? Great when you want to stick up!
Yes, yum! I had one of these Uber Larabars today. My daughter still loves the originals but these are my favorite!
I’m saddened to see that 100 days of real food is partnering/supporting and advertising for Larabars. Huge disappointment and affects her credibility, in my opinion. http://anewscafe.com/2012/10/02/breaking-up-with-larabar-is-hard-to-do/
I think it’s fabulous that General Mills (and other large companies, such as those mentioned in this article) are supporting real food… I hope it continues! “Big food” is changing, slowly but surely. If we continue to purchase whole foods such as Lara bars, and more organic foods, I believe companies will move in that direction.
Are there any good options for bars without nuts? This is such a struggle with 2 children with nut allergies.
I have yet to find any:( both of my kiddos have a nut allergy too, so I feel your pain! So frustrating! I usually just make my own with oats, dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax. (Maybe a few mini chocolate chips )
Great idea, sounds yummy! Would you share a favorite recipe? What do you find works best to bind it together? My high schoolers are at a nut-free campus and I’ve been trying to figure out options for them to take to school. I’ve made granola but not so easy to eat.
I would also love to see a recipe without nuts, with protein and just enough sugar so my son will eat it! Its literally impossible to find a healthy bar without any trace of nuts in the stores, although I’m still looking!!
Do you have an alternative bar to reccomend for my son who is allergic to Tree Nuts? (That takes Larabars out for him)
That’s It-they are fruit bars and are made with only fruit
They are fruit and nut bars. I checked the blueberry muffin, pumpkin pie, and cherry pie. They each had at least one type of nut. Sorry.
THAT’S IT ARE A BAR MADE WITH JUST FRUIT. THEY HAVE NO FLAVORS LIKE YOU MENTIONED.
Hi there. Lisa has a nut-free version here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/07/01/recipe-homemade-larabars-4-ways-including-nut-free/.
What about Kind bars?
Those were the “other” bars I was talking about! I’m not a fan.
Lararbar also makes a other type of bar that has extra protein in it. I bought one by mistake once bc the flavor was the same as some regular ones I buy a d the packaging just looked a little different. I thought they were just changing up the packaging. However, they have an ingredient or two in the more protein ones that I prefer not to feed my family. I am sorry, but I do not recall what these ingredients are at this particular point in time. It might be an ingredient that other people are fine with having, but not me. It was probably the type of protein, as if I am to add protein to my families diet in the form of powder it would only be raw whey protein or perhaps a plant based protein such as sun worrier that doesn’t have all sorts of other crazy ingredients. The reason for the raw whey protein is because once you have heated the whey (as in all other pasturised proteins) it bends the protein particles and your body does not use them properly. So just a word of caution on the verity of Lara bars out there. I was personally a little taken back by what I saw on the ingredient list, as I have always trusted Lararbar.
Alt bars use pea protein
Thanks so much for letting me know. At sec d glance of my message, I probably should have chosen better words! Lol I make it sound like lararbar is being sneaky…. and that was not my intention! You have me curious now though to know what form the pea protein is in.. I wonder if it’s just the protein taken from the pea (which might have caused me to say “I prefer protein from an absolutely whole protein food”) or if it’s just ground up dry peas. Either way! I still love Larabar and they are the only bars I buy for me and my family. I guess what I was getting at is, even if you fully trust a company, it pays to take a glance at the ingredients if you come across a new product… just in case! Thanks again for clarifying the ingredient for me!
This is so funny because when I read about Larabars on your post originally, the Uber bars are the ones I found and bought. I’ve been eating them for over a year because of you!
Just a note–I’m a big lover of Larabars and I love ordering them from Amazon—They are sooooo—much fresher and a great price! And with Prime i get it in 2 days with free shipping… I didn’t know the ones I was buying in the stores were not fresh till I ordered on-line—Big difference, and I love them even more…
Just checked out the uber bars online. They look delicious and include ingredients I’d be ok with. But, they advertise 9 g of sugar in the peanut and pecan bars (and 11! in the raspberry ones). I live in Canada. Is there a difference between the bars in Canada and the US?
Hi there. Each bar variety has different sugar content. I just checked the raspberry ones I have and they also have 11 g here in the US.
i never hear you mention That’s It-they are only made with fruit. nothing else.
and they taste good too
Hi Lisa!
I cannot eat Lara Bars because of a nut allergy but I am so happy to hear about the company’s initiative to encourage people to donate healthy food to food banks.
I have been following your blog for a few years now and have learned much about healthy eating. But I cringe every Halloween when I read all the posts about people giving all the nasty, sugary, processed candy to food banks. Why? Why are our society’s most disadvantaged and disenfranchised people any less deserving of healthy food than those with more resources? I know I am about 7 months early but I wanted to put that thought out there…
So hearing that Lara Bar is aware of the amount of junk food that often ends up in food pantries and food banks gives me hope. Everybody should have access to healthy, real food, and those of us who are lending a hand to those who need our help ought to remember that…
Hooray for Lara Bar starting this and bringing attention to the need of making healthy food available to all. I am blessed to live in a city that has an amazing food bank with a seemingly magical endless supply of healthy food for our community’s poor. I also work at a local non-profit and interact with families daily – they love the free homemade frozen meals we send home with them. People love real food – they just need the access.
I could go on, but I’ve soap-boxed enough. Thank you, Lisa, for sharing how people can get on board to help feed good food to our fellow citizens. :)
Compromise is a great thing!!
I buy those at my target in boxes of 4 or 5. Love them!
The uber nut bar is the BEST tho hard to find sometimes!