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I am usually wary of most health bars. While they’re marketed as healthy, there are some bars that have lots of added sugars and preservatives so that they taste better and have a longer shelf life. So I approached the Garden of Life’s Organic GOL Bars with caution.
Researching the creator of the company, I found out he is a writer and motivational speaker who promotes something called the Bible Diet, which marks certain foods as forbidden or acceptable according to certain passages from the Bible. Not only are these claims unconfirmed by scientific journals, but the FDA even ordered the company to stop making these claims.
So does this mean the bars are bad? If someone isn’t religious, should they avoid buying them altogether? Truthfully, even though the creator of the company made some outrageous claims, the bars themselves are very healthy and honestly taste pretty good.
Starting with the packaging of the bars, the ingredients are listed right on the front: milk protein, cashews, pecans, dates (for the maple flavor), chocolate (for the chocolate flavor) and sea salt. That’s it. No added sugars, no preservatives you can’t pronounce. All of the ingredients are good for you, and it’s a nice touch that they also included how many nuts, fruits, and grams of milk protein are included in one bar.
On to the most important part though: how do these bars taste? I tried the chocolate sea salt and the maple sea salt and personally preferred the chocolate flavor. The texture for both bars is kind of chewy, and the taste is slightly sweet and nutty. I liked the chocolate one more because there were actual dark chocolate chunks in the bar, making it taste like a more bland but healthier version of your traditional fudge brownie.
Overall, even though Garden of Life’s Organic GOL bars aren’t as sweet as other bars you would see on the market, I would definitely go for them as they are a cleaner and healthier option perfect for a quick snack or on-the-go breakfast.