Photo by M. Barber

If you’ve been keeping up with our our nutrition coverage, you know we always have our eyes out for bars made of real ingredients to supplement the sugary-sweet things we need in order to keep turning out the miles. As in our last post on the topic, here are four new bars to add to your arsenal of on-the-fly options.

Health Warrior Mini Chia Bars

Might as well start with the little guys. These 100-calorie minis make the perfect pre-swim fuel for when you just can’t stomach something heavy. It can be frustrating to snack smart when so many of the best-tasting bars out there come dangerously close to the 300-calorie mark. (And who ever eats just half? I’ve tried, and it never works.) These bars—laced with health food superstar chia seeds—passed our test with flying colors.

Learn more about Health Warrior’s mission and founders (football superstar Nick Morris and tri-geek Dan Gluck) at healthwarrior.com, or purchase a box on Amazon. They also sell raw seeds if kitchen experiments are more up your alley.

Nutritional Information (per bar): 100 calories, 4.5 g fat, 35 mg sodium, 15 g carbs, 3 g protein, 1000 g omega 3′s, 700mg omega 6′s

Vega Vibrancy Bar

We told you about Vega’s sport line in one of our Holiday Wish Lists, but Simon Whitfield’s favorite fuel source has much more to offer than just drink powders. If the words “raw,” “sprouted,” “gluten-free,” and “vegan” mean anything to you (and even if they don’t) you have to try these bars. They’re unlike any bar I’ve tasted; rather than just wolfing them down, I found myself savoring them and trying to decode their flavors nuances.

Black cumin seed oil and sorghum puffs? Pea and and brown rice protein? I’ll take it. The addition of 70 percent cocoa dark chocolate ensures that every bite is as rewarding as your last mile split, while sprouted buckwheats, dates, hemp seeds, acai and white chia will try to keep you as healthy as Mr. Whitfield himself.

Learn more about everything these bars have to offer your bod at myvega.com, or purchase a box to try out on Amazon. (Also available in Green Synergy and Wholesome Original.)

Nutritional Information (per bar): 210 calories, 10 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 110 mg potassium, 9 g protein

Bonk Breaker Apple Pie

One of the best-tasting bar offerings on the market, biting into a Bonk Breaker mid-ride evokes the textural sensation of a rich, chewy brownie. With the flavor of a good old PB&J sandwich. Or blueberry scone. Or, as their latest flavor would have it, a slice of grandma’s apple pie.

This new flavor is comfort food in a wrapper (which, by the way, pops open with a simple squeeze—great for one-handed calories on the fly). With the addition of the … wait for it … yes, chia seeds again, BB’s newest bar flavor comes with a healthy dose of omegas a la carte. Brown rice protein keeps these gluten-free bars also free of soy and whey. Buy the bars at BonkBreaker.com, or at your favorite online retailer.

Nutritional Information (per bar): 220 calories, 34 g carbs, 7 g protein, 6 g fat, 140 mg sodium, lots of omega-3′s

Thunderbird Energetica Energy Bars

We discovered these through our gear columnist, Gordon Yeager’s Twitter feed, where all the cool cycling kids ’round here get their news. A bar company whose creators go by the names of spirit animals, Thunderbird appealed immediately to our hippie sides. A self-professed “artisan manufacturer committed to producing powerful sources of human fuel” that strives to “push the limits of nutrition, packaging, and community involvement,” this company is carving a place for itself in the bar landscape.

Two out of three of Thunderbird’s bars are free of grains and dairy, making them Paleo-diet friendly. (Paleo is a growing movement, see here for more information). Inspired by “the world’s first energy bar” (Native American pemmican), these bars are as primal as you can get off a shelf. You won’t find any bison meat in them, but  with ingredients like sweet potato, Hawaiian black lava salt, and organic nuts and seeds, they’ll get you through your next battle, whether it be at the office or on the treadmill. Click here to find them in a state near you.

Available in Cherry Walnut Crunch (our favorite), Cashew Fig Carrot, and Cacao Hemp Walnut.

Nutritional Information (approx. per bar): 210 calories, 36 g carbs, 4 g protein, 8 g fat, 2o mg sodium

Rise Bars

Just last summer, Divine Foods (makers of PranaBar and Boomi Bar) rebranded their bar line-up. As soon as we took our first bite, we kicked ourselves for not having discovered them sooner.

And when we say line-up, we mean the equivalent of a full-on team of flavors and nutritional profiles. First there’s the Breakfast Bars, whose chunks of fruit and nuts will remind you of a hearty bowl of crunchy granola made to toss in a bag. This line offers Cashew Almond, Cranberry Apple, Honey Walnut, Macadamia Pineapple and Perfect Pumpkin.

Then come the Protein+ bars, designed for post-work out nutrition, and available in available in Almond Honey and Crunchy Carob Chip. Up next? The Energy+ bars for munching on throughout the day, or for when you don’t have time for a real lunch. These come in Apricot Goji, Blueberry Coconut, Cherry Almond, Coconut Acai, and Raspberry Pomegranate, and are a softer, chewier texture. All contain antioxidant superfruits blended with a variety of toasty nuts and seeds.

Rise Bars are 100 percent vegetarian, Kosher and gluten-free, and do not contain GMOs, preservatives, soy or peanuts. They’re available at natural food and grocery retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, and online.

Nutritional Information (Average Breakfast Bar): 160 calories, 17 g carbs, 2 g protein, 10 g fat, 45 mg sodium

Nutritional Information (Average Protein Bar): 270 calories, 20 g carbs, 20 g protein, 16 g fat, 25 mg sodium