You’ve probably been there…it’s about 10:00 am and you’re hungry. You want a healthy snack so you reach for a protein bar or a granola bar thinking it is a nutritious choice. But do you really know what’s in your protein bar?
Excellent Marketing
Protein bars are healthy, right? They’ll help you lose weight, feel better and have more energy. While this may be the case for some bars it certainly is not true for all of them. The marketing teams behind popular protein bars have done an excellent job making consumers think that these products are healthy. While some protein bars can be healthy others can be full of sugar with virtually no protein which makes it extremely important to read the label before you buy.
What to Look For
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Dried fruit
- Grams of protein (6-8 grams of protein for a snack bar, 10-15 grams of protein for a meal bar)
- Quality of protein
- Organic honey
- Less than 3 grams saturated fat
- Less than 12 grams of sugar
As a general rule of thumb you’ll want to avoid bars with a long, complicated list of ingredients that you’re unable to pronounce. Also try and avoid hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and GMO ingredients.
5 Quality Protein Bars
If you’re thinking this all sounds great but wondering what bar to choose you may want to consider one of these five bars from Natural Healthy Concepts.
1. fucoProtein by Garden of Life.
- Calories: 210
- Sugars: 11 grams
- Protein: 14 grams
- Fiber: 7 grams
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 grams
2. QuestBar by Quest Nutrition.
- Calories: 170
- Sugars: 2 grams (6 grams sugar alcohol)
- Protein: 20 grams
- Fiber: 17 grams
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 grams
3. Inbar by Inbalance.
- Calories: 170
- Sugars: 4 grams
- Protein: 10 grams
- Fiber: 10 grams
- Saturated Fat: 1 gram
4. Protein Fusion Bar by Metagenics.
- Calories: 240
- Sugars: 1 gram (8 grams sugar alcohol)
- Protein: 20 grams
- Fiber: 8 grams
- Saturated Fat: 5 grams
5. Ultrameal Bar by Metagenics.
- Calories: 200
- Sugars: 13 grams
- Protein: 17 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 grams
Whatever brand you choose to buy make sure to read the label and be aware of what you’re putting in your body.
Another great option is to make your own homemade protein bars. This way you have complete control over what ingredients and how much of  these ingredients are put into your bars.
What are your favorite protein bars? Have you tried making your own? Have a recipe to share? Let us know in the comment section below!
