San Diego is home to a growing number of specialty health-concious snack companies. Some have become so popular around the country and the world, that you might have assumed they were part of some faceless mega food producers. Turns out, these powerhouse snack makers are actually homegrown San Diego small businesses, all of which were built on a passion for living a better life through food. Especially dessert. From keto to raw, organic to gluten-free, there is a sweet treat for every San Diegan.

Shop local and stock your pantry with these five bars.

Rickaroons

Perfect Bars

These bars are packed with protein, gluten-free, and make with all-natural ingredients right here in San Diego County. Their most impressive feat might be the variety of flavors, which range from maple almond to blueberry cashew to lucious mocha chip.

You can find them at a lot of big box stores like Target and Von's, or order directly from them online: perfectbar.com

Rickaroons  

These bars start with ingredients that meet three key criteria: They are sustainable, nutritious, and taste great. With this ethos, they created a line of snacks that are organic, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and non GMO-verified. Rick developed his "super cookies" as a nutrient-dense dessert for the woman he loved when she was battling Multiple Sclerosis, and he and his son have continued to develop and expand their product line together here in La Jolla ever since in order to offer others delicious, slow-burning fuel to power them through their days. They offer mint double chocolate, peanut butter, mocha, and our favorite, the choclolate blonde, whose rich coconut texture brings to mind white sands and tropical beaches.

Find them at Jimbos, Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, Amazon.com, or on the Rickaroons website: rickaroons.com

Paleo Treats
Righteously Raw
Paleo Treats
Righteously Raw

Paleo Treats

Nik and Lee are all about the Paleo lifestyle, and after being more-or-less horrified by the state of paleo desserts, from the not-actually-paleo products on many store shelves to the not-actually-edible recipes floating around online, they decided to take matters into their own hands. The result are mouthwatering paleo desserts like honey espresso Rocket rounds, put-down-the-peanut-butter-candy Banditos, and chocolate and nut-studded Cacao Now! snacks. It’s not surprising that they now have an international fan base.

Buy them at their storefront in Normal Heights, or order online: paleotreats.com

Righteously Raw

The only thing better than diving into the smoothness of dark chocolate is knowing you’re putting pure, raw, organic ingredients in your body. Audrey Darrow launched her company in Vista, California in 2006 after battling breast cancer. She saw first-hand the way that a natural diet helped her fight and live a better life, and she is committed to helping others do the same with her affordable, "superfood truffle bars", which are vegan, soy-free, and all-natural. Rose, goji, caramel, acai, maca, and simple 83% dark chocolate varieties ensure you'll never get bored, though really, who could get bored with excellent chocolate?

Find them online: righteouslyrawchocolate.com

Julian Bakery

Julian Bakery

The Julian Bakery is a gluten-free, and non-GMO company dedicated to natural foods for optimum performance. And despite the name, they are actually located in Oceanside. The shop offers a huge lineup of primal, paleo, and insta-ketones protein bars in flavors like tart orange, sweet cream, sunflower butter (think creamy peanut butter), vanilla, and cinnamon roll. They are a natural, and way tastier, way to go when it comes to meal replacement and protein supplement bars.

Shop at their shop on Garrison Street, or online: julianbakery.com

Tags
No items found.
About the Contributor
No items found.