Welcome to “McDaniel’s Bite-Sized Reviews” | Clif Whole Lotta Bars
It’s a weekly series we’re calling “McDaniel’s Bite-Sized Reviews!” Each Thursday, we’ll share a popular food, drink or supplement one of our MNT Registered Dietitians tried, reviewed and rated. With the growing number products on the grocery store shelves, figuring out which items are getting you the most nutritional bang for your buck can feel overwhelming? Our hope is that we can make grocery shopping at least 0.5% easier!
FYI – these posts aren’t sponsored. They are opinions of unpaid tastebuds.
Check Out Our Past Reviews:
- Week One: Banza Elbow Pasta Made with Chickpeas
- Week Two: Lifeway ProBugs Organic Pouches
- Week Three: Sports Research Collagen Peptides
- Week Four: Lúvo Planted Power Bowls
- Week Five: Kodiak Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix: Buttermilk
- Week Six: Beyond Meat Burger
- Week Seven: Litehouse Cilantro Greek Yogurt Dressing
Product: Clif Whole Lotta Bars
The Whole Lotta bar is an energy bar consisting mostly of fruit, seeds, nuts and pea protein. The bar is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, contains 10g of plant protein and has no added sugar. An appropriate tagline by Clif, “the bar is filled with a whole lot of what you want and whole nada of what you don’t want.”
Why Did We Try?
In an ideal day, snack choices would include whole-foods: nuts, fruit, or vegetables. But let’s be honest, many times you don’t have time to plan a healthy snack for yourself because you’re too busy packing lunches or cleaning smoothie up from the floor. Having a healthy, packaged options made with whole-food ingredients are often worth the higher price tag. There are couple of bars I keep on regular rotation: RX Bar, Larabar or Kind Bar. But, if I could I would make slight alterations with each: I don’t love the RX bar consistency, Larabar doesn’t have much protein, and the Kind bars tend to have more added sugars. Clif’s new product, the Whole Lotta Bar fixes each one of those issues. It tastes and looks a lot like the Larabar but with 10 grams of added protein.
Nutrition Facts Label
Where to Find & Cost the Whole Lotta Bar
You can find the bars at Target and online at Thrive Market, Amazon, and the Clif Bar Website.
Worth the Bite? Our 5 Star Rating
Taste: 5/5 stars
I tried all 4 flavors, and my kids tried the chocolate ones. Each bar contained whole nuts and seeds, with the primary flavor coming from the dates. If you’ve had a Larabar, these taste and feel very similar. Of the four, I enjoyed the Spiced Ginger Almond the most. There is little hint of any added pea protein, and I enjoyed the crunch-factor. It felt like I was eating “real” food. The Whole Lotta bar is dense both nutritionally and physically. The 240 calories plus 10 grams of protein kept me full a good three hours. While my boys enjoyed trying the bars, they got tired of them 1/4 of the way through. The bars aren’t designed for young kids anyway.
Nutrient Density: 4/5
Nutritionally speaking this bar is well-rounded and similar, nutritionally speaking, to the other natural food bars. I’ll knock one point off the bars for its sodium content. The sodium in the brand we selected to review (Salted Dark Chocolate) has a bit more sodium compared to other flavors (170 mg in the Tart Cherry Almond/ 230 mg in the Spiced Almond Ginger).
Comparison for Similar Types of Natural Energy Bars
Value: 3.5/5
The average cost of one bar ($1.99) is in line with other whole-food bars. However, like other DIY options, making your own energy bites or bars makes a bit more “cents.”
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
How We Took a Bite:
Unwrap, and enjoy! It’s a calorically-dense snack, so especially appropriate for the times when you don’t know when you’ll be getting your next meal!
