Product review : The Chapul Bar
Hello everyone!
Today is the review of my second product : “The Chapul Bar”. These bars are not available for the moment in France, so I ordered 6 Chapul bars directly from the official website (with an amazing shirt!).
For the moment, when you live in France, it is quite expensive for 6 bars and a tee-shirt, the shipment is quite long, but I really wanted to try these famous bars. More than the product itself, I really like the image and the message of Chapul, they are making a great work for developing and promoting entomophagy.
Who is Chapul?
Chapul is the first company who brought back again the cricket energy bar in America. (The Ute ate some “prairie cake” made with mormon cricket in the late 1800’s)
As an environmentalist and hydrologist, Pat Crowley, the CEO of Chapul, has always been concerned about water usage and its scarcity. In 2011, after watching the TEDTalk of Marcel Dicke about entomophagy, he started exploring the potential of insect protein as a solution to the overconsumption of freshwater in the industrialized agriculture sector.
In the Western, the main problem with edible insects is the “Yuck factor” and the acceptability, so they choose to use some cricket flour and mix it with other natural products into an a energy bar. The result is amazing!
Even if they are just starting their business, Chapul already donates 1% of their sales to water sustainability projects.
Here is an inspiring speech of Pat Crowley during a TED talk in Salt Lake :
The product : “The Chapul bar”
So, here are our lovely “Chapul bars” with the shirt. For the moment there are 3 recipes, all made with cricket flour and other natural products : (I would even used the word “native” or “original” rather than “natural”, what do you think of it?)
- The Chaco bar : Peanut butter and chocolate
- The Aztec Bar : Dark chocolate, coffee and cayenne
- The Thai bar : Coconut, ginger and lime
– The original recipe with peanut butter and chocolate, for us, it’s the typical “American” recipe!
– For a hot and nutritious snack!
– For an instant ride to Thailand (or Strasbourg during Christmas period!)
The packaging
A book is always judged by its cover and for this product I want to eat the book!
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Just the right amount of product
Mention about dairy, soy and gluten
Fits in my pocket[/column][column size=”one-half” last=”true”]
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Nutritional values
These bars are all made with natural non-GMO products. Some ingredients are organic(It would have been so shameful spoiling delicious cricket flour with artificial chemicals…). They are also all dairy-free and soy-free.
The ingredients of the Chaco bar : Organic Dates, Peanuts, Organic Raw Honey, Chapul Cricket Flour (Brown Cricket, Acheta Domestica), 100% Cocoa Powder, Oats, Flax Seed, Salt.
The nutritional values for 1 bar : 220 kCalories (Carbohydrates : 27 grams, Fats : 8 grams, Proteins : 8 grams)
The carbohydrates come mainly from the dates, the honey which have both a high glycemic index. The fibers, the oats and the fats will lower this value. So, this will be perfect for refilling your glycogen stock after an intense effort like a cricket hunt for example! It will give you also some useful energy before a rafting session in the Colorado river or at any time for a delicious pause in the dangerous urban jungle.
The fats are coming mainly from the flax seed and the cricket flour. So, you will find a lot of healthy Omega-3 in your Chaco bar. It will bring you some concentration for whipping with precision your nest and make a successful cricket’s hunt!
The proteins are coming from the cricket flour. These proteins contains all the essential the amino acids and have some high digestibility.
The cocoa powder is a good source of magnesium and antioxydant. So relax, breathe and enjoy your Chaco bar!
The ingredients of the Thai bar : Organic Dates, Almond Butter, Cashews, Chapul Cricket Flour (Brown Cricket, Acheta Domestica), Organic Raw Honey, Organic Coconut Flakes, Ginger, Salt, Sunflowers Oil, Lime Oil
The nutritional values for 1 bar : 220 kCalories (Carbohydrates : 27 grams, Fats : 8 grams, Proteins : 8 grams)
The carbohydrates come mainly from the dates and the honey which have a high glycemic index but the fibers and the fats will lower this value. So, the Thai bar will be here to give you some energy when you will be searching the best insects on the shelves of the Bangkok’s market or for a simple pause in front of a temple in Chiang-Mai.
The fats are also coming from healthy sources : Almond, cashews and cricket flour for some good mono and poly-unsaturated fats and the coconut for an healthy saturated fat source. You will have a strong immune system for the monsoon period!
Guess from where are coming the proteins? Crickets! A perfect source of complete proteins with high digestibility. You will be ready for going into the ring in the Lumpinee Stadium!
This bar is also gluten-free.
The ingredients of the Aztec bar : Organic Dates, Cocoa, Chapul Cricket Flour (Brown Cricket, Acheta Domestica), Organic Espresso Roast Coffee Beans, Cayenne.
The nutritional values for 1 bar : 150 kCalories (Carbohydrates : 36 grams, Fat : 1 grams, Proteins : 5 grams)
The carbohydrates come mainly from the dates have a high glycemic index but the fibers will lower this value. A lot of energy for going straight to the top of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan.
With only 1 gram of fat per bar, the Chaco bar is a perfect snack if you want follow a low-fat diet.
As usual, The proteins are coming from the crickets.
With the cocoa and the cricket, you will also have a good intake of iron and magnesium.
The chili pepper,the coffee, the chocolate are full of antioxidants. Coffee beans contains some caffeine and cocoa some theobromine which will give you a natural boost! You will turn red like a hot Chapùlin of Oaxaca!
This bar is gluten-free too and also nut-free.
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Dairy, soy, gluten and nut-free (depending on the recipes)
Proteins are really coming from the cricket flour!
Interesting general nutritional values and “paleo-friendly”.[/column][column size=”one-half” last=”true”]
A little bit more proteins would have been perfect.
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Tasting review
Sorry, but this part will be shorter than I planned… The reason is simple : I preferred sharing the bars during my first activity than eating them by myself, but they were so enjoyed that I didn’t have some left overs…
I should have eaten one piece instead of taking this photo…
I could only taste a bit of the Chaco bar. And I have to say that I really liked it. The mix of the peanut butter, the chocolate and the nutty cricket flour are perfect. The texture is also very good, quite smooth and you can put it in your back pocket and go for an adventure without risking it breaks into pieces!
I asked the audience and my family and the majority preferred the Thai bar : “It tastes like gingerbread“. I could have bet it! In my region, gingerbread is often eaten during the Christmas time and as everyone love this period… Thank you Chapul, it’s like we were in our Christkindelsmärik! (Genius marketing idea already copyrighted : When it will be available here, a special packaging “Christmas Strasbourg bar” with the Santa sleigh drawn by crickets© could be interesting)
Some people found the Aztec bar a little bit too spicy but loved the strong chocolate taste.
The local TV came during the activity and interviewed one man : “Well, I can’t say which one I prefer everything is delicious around here!”
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The cricket taste is very subtle
The ginger taste of the Thaï bar[/column][column size=”one-half” last=”true”]
I can’t wait to try some new products and recipes (THIS TIME, I WILL KEEP THEM FOR MYSELF!)
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Overall
For a global review, I can say that the audience, my family were not disappointed at all by the Chapul bars!
The 3 recipes of Chapul bars are very good with three different and remarkable tastes. The ingredients are well chosen and suit perfectly with the cricket flour.
I hope that they will be soon available here. With a new low-carb recipe, it would be perfect!
As expected, it is a perfect first step for people who are interested in entomophagy but are not ready to see the insects.
I didn’t talk about the price because it isn’t available here. Secondly, I know that there are some websites making comparison between Chapul bars and other “traditional” products. They are complaining that it’s too expensive, but I personally think that they are missing the point. It’s more than just an energy bar. There is a valuable and strong message inside this product. (It’s not in the ingredient list but I hope you will taste it!)Moreover, it’s only the beginning of the entomophagy journey.
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Very tasty product
Interesting nutritional values for a snack
Made with only good ingredients
The perfect jump into the entomophagy world
1% of the sales are donated for ecological projects[/column][column size=”one-half” last=”true”]
No low carb-recipe for the moment
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If you too, want to feed the revolution, you can order the Chapul bars on their official website and taste them by yourself. Feel free to give me your feedback!
Just click on the image for the official website!
For ending, I will say that I was proud and happy to “FEED THE REVOLUTION”. It was a pleasure that people eat their first insects inside a Chapul bar.
For me, Chapul is developing entomophagy in the right way and is sharing a strong message. I hope I will be soon able to meet the Chapul team!
The Chapul shirt on local the local television!
Well, that’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed this review, if you too tried the Chapul bar you can leave a message a give me your personal review!
See you soon and take care!
Florian
That is a great and detailed review! I just tried them for the first time a week ago myself and think they have a fantastic product. Hope you get to continue to “feed the revolution” 😉