You probably know the giant Clif company who makes all-natural (mostly organic) energy foods and drinks.

This page is dedicated to all the Clif and Clif Mojo bars I’ve had a chance to review. You can find ’em all in your local grocery store or health food store for ~$0.99 each.

Clif vs. Clif Mojo Bars

Clif  Bars – Higher in calories and carbohydrates, mainly in the sugar department (average ~20g plus sugar per bar), and hence has a much sweeter taste. Chewier and denser texture that can get a little too sweet and monotonous if you don’t pick the right flavor for you. Lots of fun seasonal flavors to choose from. 70% of ingredients are organic!

Mojo Bars – Slightly lower in calories per bar (most just under 200 calories), less sugar, and has a blend between sweet and salty flavors. It also has a higher “crunch” factor because they are topped with nuts and pretzels.

My pick: Mojo bars all the way! For the same amount of protein (avg 9-10g per bar) and lower calories, I love the interesting flavors and texture of the Mojo bars more than regular Clif bars, but I do have to say that Clif seems to have more fun seasonal flavors that Mojo’s don’t have. (P.s. Mojo’s also have a shorter ingredient list!)

***

Clif Bar – White Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Stats (1 bar): 240 Calories, 7g fat (1.5g Saturated), 160mg Sodium, 41g Carbs, 4g Fiber, 21g Sugar, 9g Protein

Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Organic Rolled Oats, Soy White Chocolate (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Cocoa Butter, Soy Flour, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Organic Toasted Oats (Organic Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, ClifCrunch® (Organic Oat Fiber, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Bran, Psyllium), Macadamia Nuts, Organic Soy Butter, Organic Macadamia Nuts, Organic Date Paste, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.

Picture courtesy of Freckle Foodie

Tastiness: 7/10. This doesn’t taste “bad” per se, but I would have never guessed that white chocolate macadamia was it’s actual flavor title. This reminded me much more of a much more dense and chewy oatmeal cookie that had exactly 2 bites of macadamia flavor throughout the entire bar. I enjoyed the fact that it powered me well through my workout, but it’s not my favorite Clif bar yet. While it’s sweet, it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet like the carrot cake flavor.

***

Clif Bar – Blueberry Crisp (Mini)

Stats: 100 Calories, 2g fat, 62mg sodium, 100mg potassium, 18g carbs (2g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 4g protein

Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Organic Rolled Oats, Blueberry Fruit Pieces (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Blueberry Puree Concentrate, Brown Rice Syrup, Pectin, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavor), Organic Toasted Oats (Organic Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice), Organic Dry Roasted Almonds, ClifCrunch® (Organic Oat Fiber, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Bran, Psyllium), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Blueberries (Blueberries, Apple Juice Concentrate), Organic Date Paste, Almond Butter, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt, Citric Acid.

Tastiness: 8/10. This was a decadently sweet and sticky, chewy bar with a little bit of crunch to balance it out. You can see visible chunks of smeared blueberry bits and crumbled pieces of almonds. The “crisp” in the bar were small and light, offering a fun textural element to the bar. The bar base had a slightly gingery, cinnamon, spicy base with a nutty and oat-y after taste which was the highlight of the bar for me. I am in love with the mini size as it is perfect for a pre-workout energy snack! Any bigger and the bar would have been too overwhelmingly sweet.

***

Clif Bar – Spiced Pumpkin Pie (seasonal)

Stats: 240 Calories, 5g fat (2g saturated), 140mg sodium, 250mg potassium, 45g carbs (5g dietary fiber, 23g sugar), 10g protein

Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Soy White Chocolate (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Cocoa Butter, Soy Flour, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Toasted Oats (Organic Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Dried Pumpkin, ClifCrunch® (Apple Fiber, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium), Organic Dried Apples, Organic Raisins, Organic Date Paste, Organic Soy Butter, Organic Dry Roasted Almonds, Natural Flavors, Organic Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Colored with Annatto.

Picture courtesy of Elllie (one of my faves!)

Tastiness: 8/10. The pumpkin pie is probably one of the Clif flavors that I enjoy most because: (1) it smells so darn delicious and well-spiced; (2) the orange color just makes me happy, (3) The thin white coating of soy white chocolate put the bar over the top; (4) It really does taste like it’s spiced, albeit not as pumpkin-y as I like.

Like all Clif bars, this one was extra sweet (like dessert, but I suppose I’m eating “pie”) and has a super chewy, hearty consistency stuffed with bits of grains, oats, and random pieces of dried fruit. . It got way too overwhelmingly sweet for me toward the end of the bar. I was almost glad there wasn’t more to it…haha. The bar fueled my work out SO well though…I’m sure the carbs helped. Overall quite tasty! I’d buy it again despite the long ingredient list.

***

Clif Mojo Mountain Mix (almonds, peanuts, raisins, & chocolate chips)

Stats: 180 Cals, 8g fat (1/5g saturated), 220mg sodium,, 240mg potassium, 21g carbs (2g fiber, 12 g sugar), 9g protein

Ingredients: Organic brown rice syrup, O dry roasted peanuts, O raisins, Dry roasted almonds, Soy rice crisps, O chocolate chips, O pretzels, O peanut butter, O dry roasted soy beans, Dry roasted pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, O oat syrup, Vegetable glycerin, O sunflower oil, Sea salt, O gum Arabic, Natural vitamin E.

Picture courtesy of Healthy & Sane

Tastiness: 9/10. I would consider myself a bar veteran, and this one meets my entire criterion for a delicious and nutritious bar. The bar has a layer of soft, chewy soy crisps held together by various syrups as a base, holding up generous amounts of nut pieces, chocolate chips, and pretzel bits packed on top. Almost candy bar-like in flavor, you get the saltiness purely from the pretzels and the nuts. I love the contrast in textures of the chewy base with the crunchy toppings. I would buy this again! For 9g of protein, fewer calories, and only half the sugar in a regular Clif bar, I would totally buy the Mojo again!!

***

Clif Mojo Honey Roasted Peanut (Roasted Peanut & Pretzel Pieces)

Stats: 200 Cals, 10g fat (2g saturated), 200mg sodium, 20g Carbs (2g fiber, 9g sugar), 10g protein

Ingredients: Organic dry roasted peanuts, Brown rice syrup, honey roasted peanuts, pretzels, dry roasted soybeans, peanut butter, oat syrup, honey, vegetable glycerin, sunflower oil, sea salt, gum Arabic, vitamin E

Picture courtesy of Nattietian

Tastiness: 6.5/10. Decent, not great. This bar was far too sticky to eat with my fingers, but chewing it was fun nonetheless. This is a highly peanut-flavored bar with pieces of nuts wedged throughout. It was definitely a blend of sweet and salty, and I’m glad it’s not as CRAZY sweet as regular Clif bars. A light honey flavor enters your mouth, but a nuttier salty aftertaste remains toward the end of the bite. Paired with the random pretzel sticks over the top, this was a chewy bar with an occasional crunch to it. I definitely missed the tartness you get from dried fruits and found the bar a little monotonous.

Product Reviews

, , , , , , , , , ,

December 22, 2009

29 Comments