Food Find: Noble Bars

When it comes to nutrition bars, there is a taste for everyone. From bars that are little more than a candy bar injected with a multivitamin to bars that have more protein in them than a baby calf, energy bars line grocery store shelves and promise you the convenience of fast-food eating with the nutrition of a balanced meal.

Noble Bars: The Food of Ancient Rome

So when I heard about the Noble Bar, an all-natural fruit, nut and whole grain bar that coins itself as being The Food from Ancient Rome, I had to give it a try. Then when all I had to do was send the company an email to receive a free bar, I really had to give it a try.

Just a few days ago, the whole-foods enthusiasts at Noble Bar sent me a sample of Centurion Fig in the mail. And quite different from the four lines of ingredients that accompany most nutrition bars, many of them unrecognizable, the ingredients of the Noble Bar contained only five items – organic figs, apples, walnuts, organic hard wheat berries and honey. Already, I liked it. And when I tasted it, it was like eating a sweet and nutty mixture blended up by Mother Nature herself. I loved it! The sweetness from the natural fruits, crunch from the wheat berries and figs and moistness from the all-natural goodness created a yummy bar that felt super healthy – in a good way.

The nutritional stats are quite comparable to other bars. One very generously-sized bar contains 230 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber and 3.5 grams of protein.

Noble bars come in six flavors: Centurion Fig, Spartan Pear, Viking Cherry, Samurai Persimmon, Kobukson Asian Pear and Han Dynasty Apricot. There are more flavors rumored to be on their way. All of them contain only a handful of ingredients and similar nutrition stats. Each bar is completely preservative free (except the Han Dynasty Apricot which contains sulfur dioxide to preserve the dried apricots) and they are all hand-crafted at the Noble Bar HQ in Tacoma, Washington. Currently, only select stores in Washington sell them but you can order them online through the Noble Bar website. One bar costs $2.

The mission behind the Noble Bar is to create a nutritious, whole-foods bar that is based on the foods our ancient ancestors like the Romans, Greeks, Vikings, and Chinese ate. To sustain the labors of our hard-working forefathers, they relied on foods that were natural, whole and healthy like dried fruits, nuts, and grains. The Noble Bar thus honors and remembers our ancient ancestors, their values and their contributions to our world today through its taste and pure ingredients.

A bar that tastes great, is great for you and takes us back to a time when life was a bit more natural, I can eat to that.

Happy Noshing!