Lara Bars are awesome! They are definitely my favourite gluten free bar in the US so far. When I received a few samples earlier this week I was very excited. I’ve been looking for a delicious, safe and healthy substitute for my Eat Natural bars which I adore in the UK (but which sadly aren’t available here in the US) but up until now I haven’t been able to find it. I’ve found plenty of safe bars which is great but many of them are mediocre taste-wise or yummy but filled with lots of bad things which make them yummy. Luckily for celiacs, Lara Bars fill our tummies with lots of good things whilst still tasting great too. They make me happy.
The best thing about Lara Bars are their exciting flavours. Peanut Butter and Jelly, Coconut Cream Pie, Carrot Cake, Pecan Pie. These flavours make us think of desserts filled with gluten not to mention lots of unhealthy ingredients but their makers have somehow managed to find a way of making these bars taste like desserts using little more than nuts, fruit and spices. When I bit into their Peanut Butter and Jelly bar for example I was amazed to discover that this bar does in fact taste just like peanut butter and jelly. But how? Dates, peanuts and cherries and sea salt, that’s how. Awesome, right!? The Coconut Cream Pie bar is another of my favourites. The strong, sweet taste of creamy coconut shines through making me think it must be filled with a multitude of unhealthy things but then I look at the label to discover dates, coconut, almonds, cashews and coconut oil are what make up this bar. Delicious!
According to their website, Lara Bars have no gluten-containing ingredients, and they have manufacturing controls in place to ensure that there are no cross-contact concerns. They also periodically verify their practices using Gliadin gluten testing. Yay for another celiac friendly company who makes delicious products! I’ve tried a whole bunch of their flavours but I haven’t made it through them all quite yet. There are 19 different bars in total, each of which is made from nine ingredients or less. I certainly intend to work my way through all the flavours I can find!