What's your favorite (Nutrition) Bar?

Question: Which sports nutrition bar should I use?

Answer: What are your goals?

Really, the bar you choose depends on a lot of factors. Taste, texture, sport specific, or in between meetings are just a few factors in choosing a bar. No doubt bars are popular, but it is easy for a bar to look healthy on the outside, but have the same amount of calories and sugar as a candy bar.

If you wonder why nutrition bars are so popular it comes back to research showing we are snacking more than ever. In Nutrients, 2017 research shows that snacking is a significant amount of calories for Americans and that the foods in these snacks (desserts, sweets, salty snacks) are not promoted by the Nutrition Guidelines. Bars can be a great bridge meals when you have a long meeting, or after a tough workout before you drive home to make dinner.

How to choose a bar:

1) Look at the ingredients. My general recommendation is to have as many ingredients in their whole forms as possible instead of more processed foods and preservatives. For example, look for more whole grain oats, blueberries, cashews instead of chocolate flavored coating or whey protein isolates.

The ingredients will dictate the taste and flavor profile of your bar. Your sport and activity can lead you to different tastes. For example, if you are doing long cycling ride, you may crave more salty bars instead of all the sweet bars available.

2) Look at the calories. Ok, please don't count calories, really. But if you are looking for a little snack to get you to lunch, you might not want the 480 calorie nutrition bar. On the other hand, if you are backpacking for days on end, you are looking for those high calorie bars.

3) Look for the fiber. If you are depending on bars for your snacks and to increase meal size you may want to avoid high fiber bars. Too much fiber can lead to indigestion. If you are training, that can be VERY uncomfortable. We need about 25-38 grams of fiber a day, which is easy enough with fruits, vegetables, whole grains at our meals that we don't always need fiber in our bars.

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To demonstrate choosing a bar, let's say you are heading off for a backpacking trip and you will be bringing your own food with you. Nutrition bars are a great idea. Although there is temptation, and I've seen it first hand, to just eat "snickers bars" or candy bars on the trail you may want to reconsider. First of all, you get a great boost in energy for a short period of time, then in 1-2 hours you are craving more foods. This may leave you cranky and not thinking clearly, not a great benefit to a backpacker out in the wilderness days from civilization. So, to avoid the bonk, keep in mind the tips above and choose a bar with a more whole foods base. Better yet, make your own to pack on the trail.

Here is a quick and easy guide to some of the popular bars that are low in ADDED sugar and don't use soy protein isolates. There are a lot of vegan, gluten free, peanut free options out there. I put in bold my favorite tasting bars:

Bars with high protein:

Caution, these bars start to become more like a meal replacement than a snack. Some of these you can have with a piece of fruit for a tough post workout snack. I always keep a few handy for emergencies when I have extra clients and no snack or lunch break. These can have 10-21 grams of protein per bar.

* RxBar

* Rise bar (peanut free options)

* Vega sport bar

* Warrior bar

Bars with the most "whole food" ingredients:

* Lara bar (many varieties including "nut and seed" or "fruits + greens")

* Simple Square bar

* Kind Bars (careful, some of these are coated in chocolate)

* GoMacro (also comes in a micro size)

* Happy Kid organics (peanut free options)

* Pure organics

Highest Energy:

* CLIF bars

* Kind bars

* Stinger brand waffers

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Making my own bars has always been my favorite, I can control the type of ingredients as well as the flavor. When I was working at UC Davis we created this recipe in the Teaching Kitchen, it was always a favorite. If you are backpacking or have access to a vacuum sealer you can seal them individually for taking on the trail. Yum!

Apricot Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried apricots

• ¾ cup almonds

• ¾ cup walnuts

• ½ cup honey

• ½ cup wheat germ (substitute 1 1⁄3 cup whole wheat flour)

• 2/3 cup flour

• 2 Tbs of oil

• 2-4 Tablespoons of orange juice (or any juice you would like)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Blend the apricots, almonds, walnuts in a blender

3. Put blended ingredients into a bowl and add honey, wheat germ, flour, oil and orange juice

4. Mix well and place in a 8x8 inch pan and press down. Bake for 30 minutes

5. Wait for the bars to cool, then cut into 12 bars and freeze or refrigerate to take to school with you. Enjoy!

Just remember, nothing is a substitute for the synergistic properties of REAL food. Contact me to learn more about how nutrition can give you more energy and help you feel good. Cheers!

-Ryann