high_jinx

hi, i'm using bars for breakfast nowadays and wanted to hear people's opinions on favorites.
here are some categories that are important to me...

1) taste
2) calories
3) how long till you feel hungry again
4) effect on metabolism
5) how "healthy" they are for you
annnnd anything else you can come up with to rate them.

thanks in advance!

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tecoyah

I recommend the Luna bars....for daily use. But Cliff bars for backpacking, Climbing etc.....

Both are easily digested, and don't require you to drink a full Nalgene bottle of water to eat. Cliff bars aren't by any means delicious, but they pack alot into a small package, whereas the Luna bar tastes damn good.

kurty[B]

I'm a fan of Lara bars. Even backpacking I can't force down a ClifBar, and Luna bars are alright, but I prefer Larabars. Either way, whenever the grocery store does a 10 for $10, or even better box of 12 or 16 for $10 I go clear out the racks and ask for a rainy day check because they are out so I can come back in a month and clean them out again. I don't use them for daily use, but for bike rides, hiking, or as backup for backpacking (when my homemade GORP runs out).

It really depends on the activity how long it will last before I'm hungry. If I go for a bike ride/workout after work. I'll snag one, eat it on the way, and it will hold me over until I can make dinner two hours later. Since I don't eat breakfast I'm sure one in the morning would give me an extra hour before my stomach starts grumbling in the early afternoon.

If you're using the bars as a cheap option for breakfast can I suggest granola, milk (or yogurt) and a banana or some other fruit for breakfast. Cheap, delicious, and fueling. I'll take that as a breakfast meal on any backpacking trip over a bar.

snowy

I don't know what you guys mean about Clif Bars not tasting good--the banana nut bread flavor is delicious. I also really like Luna Bars. Both rate highly for nutrition.

For a good guide to meal replacements, high_jinx, here is a link to a feature recently in Women's Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/artic...eals.On.The.Go

I go through about a box of Clif Bars every week and a half or so.

Kashi Go Lean bars are pretty good too.

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Plan9

SO GOOD: I want to have sex with Clif bars... but they're just food items.

Food Network's "Good Eats" with Alton Brown had a great "protein bar" recipe you can make at home. Excellent nutrition, custom-to-you taste, and ultra cheap to make.

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Baraka_Guru

People are recommending Luna/Clif bars here, so I will comment from what I've read about them. I haven't actually tried them, so I will only comment on what I know:

2) calories:
Under 200 calories isn't enough to comprise a meal. You said you use protein bars for breakfast, do you eat anything else with the bar? Do you eat more than one bar for one breakfast? Consider your daily caloric intake. If it is 1,200 (which is considerably low, even for women), your breakfast is only around 16% of your daily intake if you only eat the bar. That sounds pretty low. (Read below.)

4) effect on metabolism
A 200 calorie "meal" will get your metabolism going, but it will be a false start unless you can eat more within a couple of hours or so. Your body is overcoming a night-long fast and will hungrily take in the breakfast calories and will burn them fairly quickly. If, however, you don't give your body more to process, it may hinder your metabolism.

5) how "healthy" they are for you
Although Luna bars are around just 4g of fat per bar, being that they are only 180 or so calories, this puts the calories from fat to over 40%. This is above the generally recommended 30% or less.

Also, the oil in the bars is typically sunflower oil. Although tasty, and not necessarily bad for you (like, say, coconut oil), it is a primarily omega-6 fat. If you don't know what this means, generally speaking, omega-6 is an abundant polyunsaturated fat found in many products containing oils such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, and certain margarines. The North American diet has an out-of-whack ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 already, and the countless products containing these oils keeps the ratio this way. What you need more of is canola and olive oil, amongst other things, and a reduction of omega-6.

Also what I've seen is that nearly half the carbohydrates come from brown rice syrup. Although this is a healthier kind of sweetener (nearly half of it is complex vs. simple), it is a sweetener nonetheless. This means that it will burn much faster than the (mostly) rice and/or soy that will make up the rest of the carbohydrates.

So, given the 40%+ calories from omega-6-rich fat and the nearly 50% sugar from carbohydrates, I give this bar a mediocre rating. And, a single bar on its own does not make a good breakfast. They're a fine supplement for hiking and other sports, but I wouldn't use them as meal replacements.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen otherwise, the Luna bar really is one of the better commercial bars out there. This is the main reason why I make my own bars. Sure they don't taste as good but the vast majority of the ingredients is a mixture of rolled oats (i.e. non-instant), whole-wheat flour, oat bran, and protein powder. The rest of the ingredients include non-fat plain yogurt, demerara sugar (or honey or molasses), and canola oil (or natural peanut butter). You can spice them up with cinnamon or what have you. They are palatable and you get real used to them because they're filling and you can taste the wholesomeness. It is a true cereal bar.

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StanT

Cranberry Odwalla bars are pretty much the only ones I'll eat. I have no idea what their nutritional value is; but at least they are edible.

highthief

?

I learned there are 9 calories per gram of fat.

9 x 4 = 36

36/180 = 20% from fat.

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Baraka_Guru

Sorry, you're right. I stand corrected. I misread a label I was looking at. It is 20%. But it's still mainly from sunflower oil.

Thanks, highthief.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

snowy

The Clif Bar I just ate has organic soy butter--no oil. Plus, it's 250 calories, only 6g of fat (and it has chocolate chips!), 5g of fiber, and 10g of protein. They can be pretty lastingly filling--the main problem is that it takes so little time to eat them that sometimes your satiety reponse doesn't kick in until about 10 minutes after you've finished it.

I wouldn't eat it alone for a meal--I usually pair it with a piece of fruit or a non-fat yogurt. But I always keep a Clif Bar in my backpack in case I need something to eat on the go or as a snack. Plus, there are Clif Bars that are like candy--but much, much healthier than a chocolate bar, which is awesome.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

locustsday

I have learned to like the new c2 powerbars, a great pre-workout carb loading bar. they are average on taste, rather chewy in texture, but I don't get hungry mid-workout any more with them, and they are excellent on nutrients.

For recovery I'd go with something with more protein. I like Zone bars, but they are very artificial on the ingredients .The snicker marathon bars are a decent option for taste and not terrible on nutrition.

Baraka_Guru

Yes, I agree that they are better than chocolate bars, for sure. I was simply outlining all the implications of consuming them regularly (i.e. nearly everyday).

Soy butter is mainly soybean oil. It's basically soy flour and soybean oil. Soybean oil is amongst the omega-6-rich oils, which should be consumed in moderation, especially if your omega-3 intake is low (in North America, it almost always is). It's not that much different from sunflower oil. Soybean oil is 51% omega-6 (poly-unsaturated), whereas olive oil is 71% mono-unsaturated, and even has some omega-3. Only 25% of soybean oil is mono-unsaturated. But don't get me wrong. Soybean oil is a "healthier" oil. It's better than butter, coconut oil, or palm oil. You should just be aware of the differences in fats, since there are so many types out there.

I think olive oil is more expensive than soybean oil, which is why you might see a lot of the latter in commercial products. Although, there might be other reasons, such as flavour.

The 6g of fat and 5g of fiber is pretty good for filling the hunger gap, so I can see how useful they would be as a snack. I haven't tried them, but I certainly would.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

newtx

My vote for taste goes to the Snickers Marathon bar. (caramel nut rush) Too much sugar but fairly high in protein. IMO not too bad if you eat only one in the morning. Very filling. Add a large glass of water and you are full for 2/3 hours.

Grasshopper Green

I've never used energy bars as a meal without a piece of fruit or something, usually just as a snack when I know I'm not going to eat for awhile. My preference is Luna Bars as well, but I like certain flavors of the Lara bars (hello apple and cherry pie!), and the Powerbar Marathon bars are pretty good too. I once found an organic apricot/coconut bar similar to Lara bars (nothing artificial, just the fruit and nuts) by Nature's Path that was absolutely delicious, but alas, I haven't seen them in awhile

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snowy

You can order them off of the Nature's Path website, under granola bars.

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Grasshopper Green

Thanks for the tip, snowy

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Formerly Medusa

thingstodo

Why not just eat a banana, a glass of skim milk and some OJ for breakfast? You get a lot of the good with none of the bad, processed stuff.

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noodle

I make my own sometimes. They're the best.

1/2 c EACH raisins, assorted dried fruits (diced), carob chips, granola of whatever kind, cashews and almonds (chopped) and anything else I feel like adding that day.
1/2 c organic honey
1c smuckers natural crunchy peanut butter.

press it into a pan with cooking spray and chill for several hours. i usually cut them into a bout 2-3" squares. they'll keep me full for 3 hours or so and ad a great burst before the gym. i like that i can tweak it for carb, for sugar or for increasing protein by choosing what to put in. You can also add a little protein powder and increase the honey a bit.
If buying ready-made, I live by Kashy Go Lean bars and the TLC granola ones they make, too.

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maleficent

Kind makes a Fruit and Nut Delight bar and just a Nut bar that are under 250 calories have some fiber in them, and are just nuts, and honey as a sweetener.. If the temps outside are really really hot they do hold up pretty well in a backpack - better than sme of the chocolate coated bars... and are really quite tasty.

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