What do you do when your 10 year old son gets 'addicted' to energy bars (specificly to Clif Bars)?
First he tried them on Earth Day a few years ago in San Diego. They were giving samples away - another term for sample marketing.I let him try it because I like that Clif Bars are made with organic ingredients (70%), vegan (there are no ingredients derived from animals) and very important that Clif Bar sources ingredients that are not genetically engineered (GMO).
My son was demanding/requesting to buy him Clif Bar every week, sometimes even a box (6 bars) a week. Foolishly and igonorantly I was buying Clif bars because I thought (assumed) that the company is fully Eco friendly ('Eco Peaceful'). After getting my Toxic Plastic Life wake-up by watching the documentary Plastic Planet I realized that every time my son was throwing away or even? recycle the plastic wrappers I was absolutely not being Eco-friendly!
Each Clif Bar is very small (2.4 oz/68g) and individually rapped in non-biodegradable, non-recyclable*, toxic plastic wrappers.
Click image to see BIGGER http://www.clifbar.com/food/did_you_know
*The only way is to recycle is to ship the wrappers to Terra Cycle (Sure... how many people have or will do that?)Here's the BIG question! How many people are going to do that?
Reality Check: I wonder what is % of wrappers actually get "upcycled" (recycled). I am sending an email February 18, 2013 to find out. When and if I get responce, I will update here: __________________________
One small box (6 bars) has 0.3 oz plastic wrappers. So if eating those bars for a year at 1 box a week will generate 15.6 oz (16 oz = 1 lb) of non-biodegradable pollution/waste. One little kid will generate around a 1 lb of waste in just one year just from these little bars.
In my quests to eliminate plastic wrapped bars, I tried many raw desserts recipes to substitute his addiction, but he did notany of them to give up his Clif Bar addiction. So I stepped out of my raw-food ideals and made it with a combination of cooked and raw ingredients, all 100% organic, which I purchased from Whole Food Market in glass jars and from the bulk bins using my own biodegradable/compostable BioBags (also sold by Whole Foods), or my 100% organic cotton produce bags or reusable containers.
To lower the transportation impact I refill peanut putter instead of buying every time in a glass jar, (products weight less without glass jar, so it saves?? on fuel..)
The Clif Bar replacement recipe WINNER that is approved by our son!
Recipe Ingredients:
The recipe can be totaly raw and/or whole food if you use raw oats, raw almond butter and date suryp (blended dates with water in a high speed blender). This recipe is not health recipe, but substitution for the peanut butter chocolate Clif Bars.
4 cups rolled oats
1/4- 1/2 cup grounded cacao nibs/beans or raw cocoa or carob powder
1 cup peanut butter or any nut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil or coconut butter
3/4 cup browen rice syrup or any other syrup, avoid corn syrup* or bee vomit (honey)
1-3 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scrape seeds inside from the inside or 1-3 Tbsp vanilla extract* (optional)
*corn syrup and vanilla extract, if not organic can be GMO.
Recipe Steps:
1) Mix very well all ingriedients In a large mixing bowl
2) Form balls using ice cream scoop
3) Refrigerate or freeze for 20-30 min.
Makes 16 cookies when using 3 Tbsp ice cream scoop, about 2lb 10oz
Recipe Cost (approximate) using 100% Organic Ingriedients
| Amount | Ingredient | Approx. |
| 4 cups | rolled oats | > $1 |
| 1/4- 1/2 cup | ground cacao nibs/beans or raw cocoa | $1 |
| 1 cup | peanut butter | $3 |
| 1/2 cup | coconut oil | $2 |
| 3/4 cup | brown rice syrup | $2 |
| 1 | vanilla bean (optional) |
Total approximate cost of recipe 2 lb 4 oz (36 oz / 1020 g) at $9-$13 vs. Clif Bar at $1 (2.4 oz / 68 g)
 |
 |
| Quick Ball 100% organic and without plastic! |
Clif Bar Not 100% organic, with plastic! |
*size based on cost of ingredients
When I told my son that he could eat almost 2x more Quick Balls (based on just the cost) it was the last thing needed to convince him to stop asking me to buy any more Clif Bars!!!
