We could go back and forth forever about whether a healthy protein bar could be considered candy.

Let’s look at the definitions.

Candy: “Any of a variety of confections made with sugar, syrup, etc., often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.”

Protein Bars: “Are targeted to people who primarily want a convenient source of protein that doesn’t require preparation (unless homemade)…Protein bars may contain high levels of sugar and sometimes are called candy bars in disguise.”

DEBATE OVER. I WIN.

Oh wait. I didn’t tell you which I side I was on.
Well I’m on the side that likes protein bars when we’re talking about Larabar’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

Why? Because as it says in the above definition, candy is “often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.” And that’s what Lara did.

Now, the look and feel of these little darlings won’t have you giving up your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups any time soon, I’ll grant you that…

They’re natural ‘feeling,’ which means the texture is a tad chalky. Yet the flavors are real. You will taste the peanuts – not just a really good approximation of a peanut-like butter. The Larabar is super dense, which is what I want when my diet has me eating salad every day for lunch.

I love that the package says it’s made with four ingredients, and it is in fact made with just four ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate, salt, sugar and peanuts. Thank you Lara.

Oh did I not mention Lara is a real person? She is. She was an athletic type, living in Colorado. She made up batches of these bars for friends, then started selling them in Whole Foods. Lara’s dad gave her a loan, said ‘let’s make this a business together’ and the long and short of it is now we’re writing about her on Candy Gurus. (Listen to How I built this with Guy Raz about Lara, for more details.)

For those of us who care about what we’re eating. These bars are gluten-free, ‘free trade’, non-GMO, vegan and dairy-free.

More hippy these could not be.

But I like. You will too. Don’t poo poo the protein bars. They can be good for you and taste enough like candy that maybe they’re even a little bad for you. The ‘going out on a school night’ bad for you. The ‘flirting with the cute server’ bad for you. The ‘bailing on Sunday family dinner to watch the game alone” bad for you. Sometimes bad, is good.