Do ever ask yourself which snack bars are best???
Here are some helpful tips- compliments of the Fooducate app.
How to Choose a Snack Bar:
There are many reasons for the success of bars:
Bars are very convenient foods. Individually wrapped, they can be thrown into your bag, kept in the glove compartment, locked in the office desk drawer, etc.
They taste good. That usually has to do with their high sugar content, which we'll get to in a minute.
It's relatively easy to manufacture bars. The ingredients mix well together, and the machinery required to produce rectangular shaped glop is fairly standard.
Bars have a long shelf life and require no refrigeration.
The problem with most bars is that they more closely resemble Snickers than they do a healthy fruit or nut combo.
What should I look for in a snack bar?
A relatively short and understandable ingredient list. It can be as short as: Almonds, dates, bananas. Some products list over 40 ingredients, many of them lab created. Stay away from such products.
Sugars from fruit. Many bars add 3 or more teaspoons worth of sugars in the form of evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, and honey. A little bit of added sugar is not the end of the world, but you need to be watchful.
Nuts and seeds. They are a great source of protein and healthy fats.
Whole grains. Bars made with oats, for example.
What about protein?
Americans get more than enough protein in their diet, so buying a bar that has been pumped up with soy and whey protein isolates makes no sense.
Is 200 calories too much for a bar?
Many dieters are enamored with the concept of 100-calorie snacks. Bar manufacturers have catered to this notion in several ways:
shrinking the bar size
using artificial sweeteners
limiting the use of healthy nuts and seeds because of their fat content
While a bar with 200 calories may seem excessive for a snack, what you should consider is the ingredient list. If the bar contains a mix of nuts and fruit, chances are it will keep you satiated for a longer period of time and help you avoid noshing again after 45 minutes.
What bars does Fooducate recommend?
A good bar is really a trail mix that has been pulverized to some degree. Making your own trail mix is simple and saves money. If you have some time on your hand, we recommend buying bulk quantities of your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruit and mixing them up. Pack them into individual Ziploc bags and you're set!
OK, but when I'm in a rush, what bar should I buy?
You can browse the bar category using your Fooducate app to see which bars we rate the highest.
Bottom line
Choose bars with a short, understandable ingredient list.
Homework
Grab your favorite bar (or look it up on the Fooducate app).
How many teaspoons of sugar does it contain? (Reminder: every 4 grams of sugar is 1 teaspoon).
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