Cocomo Joe's Paleo Joe Bar
It is hard to find a good Paleo bar out there. Although there are a lot of options, the problems I have with packaged Paleo energy bars are: I find most to be pretty disgusting, too sweet, too carby (and not enough protein), or just way too expensive. You know they are bad when you don't want to keep the samples! This is why I prefer make my own energy bars: Primal Energy Bars and Coconut Bars. They are delicious and convenient, especially with my busy schedule. I would have them all the time if only I had time to make them!
Lately, I have been consuming the Oh My Bars. They are probably my favorite packaged Paleo bars to date, but at $5 a square for a tiny un-filling piece, it adds up. Recently, the awesome team at Cocomo Joe Foods hooked me up with some Paleo Joe Bars to try out (thank you!!). I was happy to see that the main ingredient is not honey!
Cocomo Joe is a newly launched organic foods company. They specialize in completely organic and vegan products. According to the company, the Joe Bar has become increasingly popular among the CrossFit community because it is raw, organic, gluten-free, and PALEO.
Each Joe Bar is 2oz and contains less than ten ingredients. The Paleo Joe Bars come in six different flavors: cocoa, coffee, cranberry, fig, green and mango. The base of each bar is coconut and walnuts. It is actually mostly coconut as it contains coconut flakes, coconut oil, and coconut nectar. Also common across the six flavors are chia seeds, which complements the coconut pretty well.
Lately, I have been consuming the Oh My Bars. They are probably my favorite packaged Paleo bars to date, but at $5 a square for a tiny un-filling piece, it adds up. Recently, the awesome team at Cocomo Joe Foods hooked me up with some Paleo Joe Bars to try out (thank you!!). I was happy to see that the main ingredient is not honey!
Cocomo Joe is a newly launched organic foods company. They specialize in completely organic and vegan products. According to the company, the Joe Bar has become increasingly popular among the CrossFit community because it is raw, organic, gluten-free, and PALEO.
Each Joe Bar is 2oz and contains less than ten ingredients. The Paleo Joe Bars come in six different flavors: cocoa, coffee, cranberry, fig, green and mango. The base of each bar is coconut and walnuts. It is actually mostly coconut as it contains coconut flakes, coconut oil, and coconut nectar. Also common across the six flavors are chia seeds, which complements the coconut pretty well.
Awesome:
- Paleo and raw.
- Gluten-free.
- Minimal ingredients. All of which are organic.
- The flavors actually taste different from each other and are not overly sweet (unlike Larabars). My favorite flavors are coffee and surprisingly, fig. I'm not a huge fan of figs or dates.
- Actually convenient, portable bars. A lot of PALEO bars out there need to be refrigerated or else the excessive amount of coconut oil melts everywhere. This causes the bars to wilt and lose flavor, and worst of all, the bars become so difficult to eat! You can leave your half eaten Joe Bar in your gym bag, in the hot sun, whatevs, and they still hold form and taste fine.
Some things that could use improvement:
- Dry. Maybe this is why they hold up so well.
- The use of walnuts as one of the main ingredients. Don't get me wrong, I love walnuts but it was a bit overpowering. Paired with the three forms of coconut, there could have been a better match.
- Carb to protein ratio is low. It would be awesome if these bars had a carb to protein ratio closer to 1:1.
- Slightly pricey. $3/bar for a pack of 12. But this is pretty typical for Paleo/raw/gluten-free bars out there.
The Joe Bars:
3. Probably my 3rd favorite flavor.
4. Thin bars. You can see all the coconut, walnut chunks, and mango pieces.
5. Bailey and I enjoying the fig flavored Cocomo Joe bar, post WOD.
$36 for a pack of 12 is a little pricey for me to order online, but if they had a stand at a competition, selling single bars, I would snack on them. Except for the Oh My Bars, the Joe Bars tasted better than any bar at the CrossFit Games. The bars are slightly dry, but it is a step in the right direction. The coffee and the fig bar are my favorites of the six flavors. I recommend trying them out.
