You may have seen it at Whole Food or other grocery stores, but when competing against larger companies like Clif Bars, Quest Bars, or KIND Bars, Squarebars don’t get nearly as much hype as they deserve. You may have seen Squarebars on Instagram, where they display the most creative uses of Squarebars I’ve ever seen: throwing them in smoothies, on toast, on oatmeal, and even plain with oozing almond butter all over it (*drools*).
But have you ever tried a Squarebar? Did you know that Square Organics (the company behind Squarebars) pride themselves on all organic natural ingredients?
Let’s begin with a little history: Squarebars was started by a couple, Sarah and Andrew Gordon. Growing up with asthma her whole life, Sarah found that cutting out inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, soy, and processed sugars out was enough to be taken off medication. After dabbling around in the kitchen, Squarebars was born on the belief that “ingredients matter most.” Thus, you’ll never see weird, unpronounceable ingredients on the wrapper of Squarebars, just unprocessed, natural ingredients.
After having tried Squarebars a couple times, I was intrigued and wanted to try all the flavors. Lucky enough for me and the rest of the Stanford staff, Squarebars was kind enough to send us a sampler pack for us to try.
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
The box came in the mail one Friday morning and I could barely contain my excitement. It came equipped with a lovely card, laptop stickers, and all six current Squarebar flavors. At our next meeting, Spoon staff tried every flavor and ranked each flavor. So without further ado, I present the definitive ranking of all Squarebar flavors.
6. Chocolate Coated Cherry
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
All Squarebars have a delicious texture and crunch and Chocolate Coated Cherry is no exception to this rule. Also, you know that taste that most protein bars have? That mildly artificial vanilla taste and smell and the slightly chalky texture? I guarantee you that you will never get any of that junk with a Squarebar.
The only problem with the Chocolate Coated Cherry (and why it ended at the bottom of our list) was that there was no strong taste of cherry. As one writer put it, “I got the slight whisper of Benadryl and a whole lot of chocolate. I was just expecting more overpowering cherry flavor.” Sorry, but Chocolate Coated Cherry, I’m not sure if I’d buy you again.
5. Chocolate Coated Mint
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
This Squarebar was certainly a boat-rocker. There were some (myself included) who loved this bar, which tasted like a healthier Thin Mint. The Chocolate Covered Mint has the same crunch and thick chocolate layer, but the aftertaste is like an icebreaker. For me, this was the dream combination of health and Girl Scout Cookies.
For others, the taste of mint was just too overpowering. To them, it was almost as if you had taken a Thin Mint and added some Crest Toothpaste on top. Thus, Chocolate Covered Mint remains on the bottom half of our list.
4. Chocolate Coated Peanut Butter
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
Combine chocolate, peanut butter, healthy, and protein in one bar and you already have some instant fans. This bar is reminiscent of a Reese’s peanut butter cup. It definitely didn’t fail on the flavor side of things. It brought a punch of peanut butter and a punch of chocolate, perfect for any PB&C fans like me.
On the other hand, this Squarebar did not have the typical texture that I was looking for. Unfortunately, it was a little tougher to chow down on than other Squarebars. But if you’re a peanut butter fan, I would definitely recommend this bar as a perfect treat between classes.
3. Chocolate Coated Crunch
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
What is this mysterious “crunch” you may ask? The crunch in these Squarebars is made of rice krispies. Although the plainest of all the Squarebars, the dark chocolate coating around the Squarebars made us huge fans. Sometimes simpler is best and I think without any other distracting flavors, you could really savor the texture and intense taste of this Chocolate Coated Crunch Squarebar.
Fun fact: this bar (and all of them) uses coconut nectar as their sugar source which has the same glycemic index as an apple, meaning, your body processes it a lot slower than traditional sugar sources.
2. Chocolate Coated Almond Spice
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
We are now approaching the Squarebars with unanimous votes for their placements. This Chocolate Coated Almond Spice was insanely popular with the Stanford staff. One writer described it as, “Just as good as the Chocolate Coated Crunch but packed with flavor.” She wasn’t kidding.
The base of these Squarebars is almonds (which already has a different unique flavor to rice krispies) and a dash of cinnamon. The combination of cinnamon, almonds, and dark chocolate is to die for. I think we all could have taken 10 of these home and eaten them on the spot. And of course, as always, the texture and portion size was perfect.
1. Chocolate Coated Coconut
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
The unanimous winner of the Squarebars ranking. One writer actually sighed and said “It’s like an Almond Joy but I feel so much better about eating it.” These Chocolate Coated Coconut remind me of sitting on a beach, sipping on a coconut with a bar of chocolate in the other hand. Although (as I’ve said many times before), Squarebars have fantastic texture, the Chocolate Coated Coconut takes the cake. Its texture is a little crunchy on the outside with the soft chew of coconut on the inside.
These are the bars that you eat and you cannot believe are all natural, all organic, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free. It’s so delicious and good for you (in moderation), that you realize you really can have your cake and eat it too.
All in all…
Photo by Sayuri Sekimitsu
These Squarebars definitely beat your Average Joe protein bars. With 11-12 grams of protein per bar and healthy vegan ingredients, they make for your perfect snack in between class or after the gym. Take it from me, these underrated Squarebars are truly incredible and your body will thank you for them.
But hey, why don’t you try them out for yourself? Click here and use the code “SPOONSTANFORD” for 20% off your next purchase. Once again, thank you Square Organics for the generous sample!