I recently went on a trip to Idaho to visit extended family, and I was pretty worried about it. My Google searches for gluten-free restaurants in the Idaho Falls area weren’t exactly encouraging, and I just had no idea what to expect. I wanted to make sure that I had some food that I knew I could eat, knew I could get fast, and not have to worry about it. So I bought a couple of Bumble Bars and a couple of Larabars to see what I thought.
They’re both okay, but I have a strong preference for Bumble Bars. Larabars are soft (from the dates and fruit, etc.) with nuts in them. The dislike stems from the same source as my not liking nuts in brownies. The nuts just interrupt the texture. They might be okay as food storage (except they have expiration dates only a couple of months in the future), but I’m not one of those (and there are a bunch…) who just loves Larabars. The Ginger Snap flavor’s alright (give it a chance past the first few bites), and the Chocolate Coconut’s okay, but the Cherry Pie, I thought, was nasty. Ick. It upset my stomach.
I’m much more of a fan of Bumble Bars. Their basis is sesame seed. (If you do a Google image search of Bumble Bars and Larabars, you can see their textures.) There’s flaxseed, almonds, other nuts, and all of that is held together with the flavored stuff. It’s not the feature, like the Larabars. They’re not crunchy and crumbly, which can be annoying, but they’re pliable. I like them. So far, I’ve had the chocolate and lemon, and I like the chocolate better. They’re not replacing candy bars, I don’t just crave them, but they’re good for trips and food storage (again, as long as they’re rotated).
Ultimately, in an ideal world, I prefer “real” food over “travel” food. If you check out the ingredients of these bars, they’re very natural, but I prefer some fruit or veggies or something. I get sustenance from the above if needed, and they do travel better on the whole, but there’s something about real, unprocessed food that makes my life better.