Epic Bar: A 100% Grass Fed Animal Based Protein Bar

This is one of those blogs I write because I MUST share something I’ve discovered with you – Epic Bar, a 100% grass fed animal based protein bar.

My culinary friend Anna posted a photo of her road trip snacks on Facebook. I spotted an Epic Bar for the first time. There was a photo of a bison on the front of the package led me to believe that this bar might be meat based instead of grain based. The investigation began. Anna said that they could be found at Whole Foods so I made a trip the next day to try one for myself.

Epic Bar is a Paleo friendly, gluten free and low in sugar protein bar that aims to keep you full. They’re also 100% milk-free and soy-free. For people with nut allergies, like myself, I struggle with finding a protein bar (snack mix too) that doesn’t contain cashews, pistachios or pine nuts. While I really love peanuts the most, walnuts and almonds are OK in my book.

That’s how Epic Bar was founded – the owners were camping and longed for a whole foods snack that was low in sugar, high in nutrients, and loaded with protein and healthy fat. They created a delicious product along with a philosophy for sustainable, grass-fed protein. And I ended up with a protein bar focused on meat and not nuts – yay!

Epic Bars come in these varieties:

• Bison with Bacon and Cranberry (11g protein)
• Beef with Habanero and Cherry (13g protein)
• Turkey with Almond and Cranberry (14g protein)
• Lamb with Currant and Mint (10g protein)

All animals are vegetarian fed, humanely treated, antibiotic free and hormone free. Epic Bar’s website shares how all of the animals are raised, what they are fed, if they are organic and what the animal’s overall lifestyle is like.

The website also breaks down the nutrients in each bar along with explaining how they chose the flavor and texture combinations. Unlike jerky, Epic Bars are soft and break apart easily with your fingers. I like jerky, but the softer texture is a nice change. It feels more like a “bar” than a piece of jerky.

Above is the Beef Epic Bar with bits of of habanero and cherry flavors, torn apart so you can see the inside. It’s a gentle mix of sweet and savory flavors with a slight crunch from the walnuts and a small amount of heat from the habanero. This is my favorite Epic Bar out of the four.

I didn’t photograph each one because they all sort of look the same, but the bars are all generally 3-4 inches long.

The Lamb Epic Bar has the most seasoning. Sweetness and tang comes from currants, spearmint leaves, lemon peel, basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, red pepper, black pepper and sesame seeds. It is a little sweeter than the beef.

Slightly redder in color and a bit drier, the Turkey Epic Bar with almonds, cranberries, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, red pepper, garlic and paprika was the least favorite of mine but Rahul really enjoyed it.

Bacon, dried cranberries and apple juice transform the Bison Epic Bar, making it my second favorite flavor. A little tougher than the beef but less than the turkey, the bison bar is salty first, sweet second.

Epic Bars can be found at Whole Foods for $2.69 a piece. They are incredibly filling and delicious so if you are in need of a protein bar that actually fills you up, Epic Bars are for you.

Disclosure: I purchased these Epic Bars from Whole Foods to share with you on my own. All opinions and views are my own.