What to Look for in a Nutrition Bar
Nutrition bars are great for filling the gap between meals or refueling post-workout (but not to replace meals!) In addition, nutrition bars are great snack options for travel, outdoor activities, or any time you need to refuel quickly. With the large variety of options on the market, it is important to pay attention to the nutritional facts and select a bar with the right balance of nutrients to keep you full longer.
What to Look for in a Nutrition Bar
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- Protein: Aim to pick a nutrition bar with at least 10 grams of protein, to make you feel full and satisfied.
- Fiber: Like protein, fiber also helps keep us full. Additionally, fiber aids in digestion, and balances our blood sugar. Aim to select a nutrition bar with at least five grams of fiber.
- Added Sugar: Limit the amount of added sugars consumed from nutrition bars. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar consumption to 25 grams/day for women and 36 grams/day for men. Keep these daily limits in mind when choosing a nutrition bar.
- Ingredient Quality: When choosing a nutrition bar, it is important to select bars with nutrient-dense ingredients such as nuts, seeds, or whey protein, and avoid ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
Top Nutrition Bars
Go Macro Organic Vegan Protein Bars
Go Macro bars are vegan and made from ingredients such as rolled oats, nuts, nut butter, coconut sugar, brown rice, and pea protein. Each bar provides 10-15 grams of protein and less than 15 grams of added sugar. They come in a variety of flavors from peanut butter to lemon to coconut and are also available in mini-size.
RX Bars are a great option due to their simple ingredient list. These bars feature an average of 12 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and 0 grams of added sugar. RX Bars are sweetened naturally with dates and fruit, and the protein comes from egg whites. You can find these bars in a variety of flavors from maple sea salt to blueberry.
Barebell bars pack in a whopping 20 grams of protein with 3 grams of fiber and no added sugars. These bars are great for when you are craving something sweet, with flavors such as cookie dough and caramel cashew.
Aloha Plant-Based Protein Bars
Aloha protein bars have 14 grams of protein, 6-10 grams of fiber, and only 2-5 grams of added sugar, making them a nutrient-dense and filling snack. These bars are plant-based and come in many great-tasting flavors, such as lemon cashew and chocolate mint. They are also available in mini-size.
This nutrition bar is the best tasting of the group, but is higher in fat and added sugar. As a result, these bars are a filling and satisfying snack. Perfect Bars feature 12-17 grams of protein, 2-5 grams of fiber, and 10-13 grams of added sugars. Perfect Bars are refrigerated and are available in mini-size. While they come in many delicious flavors, our favorites include salted caramel and dark chocolate almond.
If you are looking for a different type of nutrition bar, look no further than EPIC protein bars. These bars provide protein from various sources of grass-fed meat such as venison, bison, beef, and chicken. On average, these bars deliver 10 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and no added sugar. They come in a variety of flavors from Bison Bacon Cranberry to Beef Apple Bacon.
Kind Protein Bars provide 12 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber to keep you satisfied with only 6 grams of added sugar. Available flavors include dark chocolate nut and crunchy peanut butter.
These bars come out a bit short in terms of protein but deliver in terms of quality ingredients. These bars provide an average of 5 grams of protein, with no added sugars and minimal ingredients (no more than 9 ingredients per bar!). Larabars come in over ten different flavors, from blueberry muffin to almond cookie.