We’re hardly bashful here about digging into food. Anyone who’s been to Clif Bar knows that we love good food and a good time. But we’re also conscious about the bigger food picture and the importance of understanding where our food comes—including the social and environmental impacts of agriculture. For many farm workers, bringing food to our tables is no picnic. We’d like to see that change—and one way we’re doing that is by lending our support to grassroots organizations committed to creating a more healthy, just and sustainable food system through the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Our staff ecologist,…

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I get questions from parents all the time about how we decide what nutrients go into a CLIF ZBaR. A lot of people are surprised to learn that most nutrition facts on food labels are based on adult Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA). Parents reading these labels would naturally assume the percent daily values (% DV) are a reflection of their kids’ nutritional needs, but this isn’t always the case. Because of this labeling misnomer, I need to be keenly aware of the RDA for kids and their food intake patterns when formulating our kids’ bars. So, to solve for…

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So here we are, Thanksgiving already. Someone sent me a meeting request for November 24th, 2009 and I casually accepted thinking “oh that’s just weeks away,” when in fact it was today. Where does the time go? Alas, like many of you, this Thursday (day after tomorrow), I’ll be baking sweet pumpkin pies and bringing my contribution to the family potluck turkey dinner. Unless you’re a dietitian, a food scientist, or a nutrition know-it-all, you probably haven’t noticed how starchy the traditional turkey day meal is. So, let me lay it out for you: Sweet potatoes Yams Stuffing Rolls Mashed…

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Seth Warren and Baby. We can’t get enough of these two. A few months ago, we (re)introduced you to this dynamic duo. Seth, the adventure seeking environmentalist and the trusty (or not so trusty) Baby—a Japanese fire truck powered by veggie-oil, the wind and the sun—hit the pavement and the powder. Check out Seth’s adventures on the road and around the table in a short film series called The Elements of Food. Episode 1 was filmed in Baja and was about folks who celebrate food…Episode 2 heads north to the Rockies and is about folks who explore different types of…

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Many of our ultra-endurance athlete friends struggle with cramping issues that can put a serious wrench in their performance. In my opinion, hydrating properly is one of the most challenging aspects of being out on the road, trail, or in the water for more than an hour or two. You may have heard that dehydration of even 2-3% can slow you down. Dehydration and sodium loss is also the number one cause of cramping! When fluid and sodium losses are high, cramps can be on the menu. Replacing fluid and sodium is one of the trickiest tasks for an ultra-endurance…

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