Protein Bars-Protein Snacks

[grlNIN]

Last weekend i tried a Luna Bar that was given to me. It wasn't bad, actually it was pretty good aside from leaving me a bit thirsty.

Anyway i was wondering if anyone has heard of them and what do they think?

I also wanted to know if anyone's tried the new line of Special K products-more specifically the protein waters.

Thoughts?

[Thebazile78]

Read the labels.

Most "energy bars" and "protein bars" are glorified candy bars. ESPECIALLY the Special K snack bars! You get a very small number for what you're paying, even when they are on sale, and they are tiny little things! They have more in common with a Whatchamacallit bar or a Nestle Crunch than they do with good nutrition. And I usually feel hungrier afterwards, not sated. Save your $$.

If you liked the Luna bar (and I do agree, they are best consumed with lots of water) try Odwalla bars. They cost about the same in cash and in calories, but you get better ingredients in the Odwalla bars than you do in the Luna bars.

Alternately, you could try making them yourself.

Here's Alton Brown's recipe. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31336,00.html)

I don't know about the protein waters, but most "energy" water (etc.) has more sugar and crap in it than is good for you. Again, read the label.

The only exception I make for fitness drinks is Gatorade or PowerAde. And I have to drink Gatorade as an 80-20 dilution or else I get tummy trouble. (Ick. I have to start getting used to it again . . . I will be a Walker for my charity walk this year.)

[grlNIN]

Ah, well when i had the Luna bar it was given to me during a car ride and it was dark out so i couldn't read it. I don't even remember if it had any nutritional info on the wrapper anyways.

I split it with my boyfriend and i felt decent from the half i ate but yeah i was really really thirsty about 3 minutes later.

I didn't think the protein water was going to be packed with sugar but that's something i cant look up online real quick.

I'll also check out the alternate protein bar your recommended.

[Snacks]

I never liked the luna bars, mostly because of the after taste and dry feeling after eating.

Special K bars arent consider energy or protein bars they are considered a snack. They are just like every other "Diet" system full of sugars, sodium and taste like shit.

If you want to try myoplex bars and designer protein shakes. Both taste great, have doses of protein and can replace a meal or be a great snack.

Im all about making my own food when eating healthy. I will defiantly try the Alton Brown Bars. The only thing I would need to look into is the fat content. It sounds high in Fat. Peanut butter, whole eggs, and oil. Might be better off eating a regular brownie!

[Thebazile78]

I never liked the luna bars, mostly because of the after taste and dry feeling after eating.

Special K bars arent consider energy or protein bars they are considered a snack. They are just like every other "Diet" system full of sugars, sodium and taste like shit.

If you want to try myoplex bars and designer protein shakes. Both taste great, have doses of protein and can replace a meal or be a great snack.

Im all about making my own food when eating healthy. I will defiantly try the Alton Brown Bars. The only thing I would need to look into is the fat content. It sounds high in Fat. Peanut butter, whole eggs, and oil. Might be better off eating a regular brownie!

Fats get a bad rap.

Think about the TYPES of fats you're getting in each bar.

Eggs are good for you. Even the yolks.
Peanut butter has "good fats" in it.

True, there's 2 whole eggs in that recipe. As well as 2/3 cup of peanut butter. And the oil is only for greasing the pan; you could just as easily use non-stick cooking spray! But the recipe makes 24 bars if you cut it into 2-inch squares. That's a really dense food!

If you cut out fats entirely, your diet won't work either. Your body NEEDS fats to survive; what you need to do is make sure that you're being smart about the types of fats you're consuming.

[Snoogans]

you should get SNAC (perfectly safe and legal) Its made by BALCO

http://www.snac.com/images/homepage6.gif

[PhishHead]

I eat Clif Bars and Odwalla Bars all the time.

Luna Bars are made specifically for women but every once in awhile I will eat the smores one cause it is good.

I found the ingredients in Clif Bars (makers of luna bars) to be better then the ones in odwalla bars. But I also havent checked in awhile so I am sure ingredients do change over time.

And if you do buy Clif/Luna Bars buy from either Trader Joes or online as they are alot cheaper then your average supermarket (I am sure this post will be flagged by my company and I will be fired for it)

[Thebazile78]

I eat Clif Bars and Odwalla Bars all the time.

Luna Bars are made specifically for women but every once in awhile I will eat the smores one cause it is good.

I found the ingredients in Clif Bars (makers of luna bars) to be better then the ones in odwalla bars. But I also havent checked in awhile so I am sure ingredients do change over time.

And if you do buy Clif/Luna Bars buy from either Trader Joes or online as they are alot cheaper then your average supermarket (I am sure this post will be flagged by my company and I will be fired for it)

You can buy them in bulk from drugstore.com and Amazon, too.

The only thing I don't particularly care for with the Luna bars is that some of them are like a Rice Krispies Treat crossed with cardboard. I've found them to be mostly puffed rice anyway, with lots of sugar. (We got Luna bars free on last year's Avon Walk. They were mediocre at best and terrible at worst; the ones they gave away were very sugary and had a weird aftertaste, too.)

I guess it would depend on the bar; I was doing some label reading and comparing Odwalla to Luna the other day. . .I could pronounce more of the ingredients in the Odwalla bar than I could in the Luna bar. They're more calorically dense than Lunas as well.

I've never actually read the label of a Clif bar, so I wouldn't be able to comment.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

When I met with this lady at the hospital for nutritional counseling, she explained to me that I shouldn't remove beef from my diet entirely which I was originally gonna do because beef gives you the things you need which bazile already listed... so I was supposed to still have roasts every couple weeks... just not three times in 9 days. Works like a charm.

Never had a protein bar in my life.

[grlNIN]

Just to clarify, i'm not a vegetarian. I wasn't looking for replacements to meat.

[Snacks]

I eat Clif Bars and Odwalla Bars all the time.

Luna Bars are made specifically for women but every once in awhile I will eat the smores one cause it is good.

I found the ingredients in Clif Bars (makers of luna bars) to be better then the ones in odwalla bars. But I also havent checked in awhile so I am sure ingredients do change over time.

And if you do buy Clif/Luna Bars buy from either Trader Joes or online as they are alot cheaper then your average supermarket (I am sure this post will be flagged by my company and I will be fired for it)

Cliff bars are pretty good too. I always liked how it seemed like someone took it smooshed it and put it in a package. I used to love Harvest bars. They taste incredible but have way too much sugar.

As for fat, there is good fat and almonds are an excellent source of food fat. But yolks are full of cholesterol and peanut butter is processed and loaded with crap (unless you buy trader joes or whole foods nothing but peanuts peanut butter, but it taste like shit) I think avoiding fats is the most important part of dieting because so many things processes into fat.

[drusilla]

i love the special k snacks. i'm not really into protein shakes or bars or anything, but i like the special k vanilla bites whatever the hell they are. they're pretty good.

[Thebazile78]

Cliff bars are pretty good too. I always liked how it seemed like someone took it smooshed it and put it in a package. I used to love Harvest bars. They taste incredible but have way too much sugar.

As for fat, there is good fat and almonds are an excellent source of food fat. But yolks are full of cholesterol and peanut butter is processed and loaded with crap (unless you buy trader joes or whole foods nothing but peanuts peanut butter, but it taste like shit) I think avoiding fats is the most important part of dieting because so many things processes into fat.

The peanut butter that's called for it the AB recipe is natural peanut butter.
(And, to tell the truth, I happen to like natural peanut butter on its own. I know; I'm weird.)

As for eggs, well . . . not exactly. They've also gotten a bad rap.

Here's a quick, non-USDA fact-sheet about eggs from Whole Foods. (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92)

In addition, in a recent randomized study, it was found that people trying to lose weight LOST MORE WEIGHT if they ate eggs for breakfast than if they didn't eat eggs. The Whole Foods article (linked above) quotes it, but I was trying (unsuccessfully) to find it as a stand-alone because I couldn't remember where I'd read it.

What's really important here is to think "moderation" and "portion control."

As for checking the fat/calorie content for the AB recipes that I've posted (from the episode called "Power Trip") he actually gives the breakdown of fat, protein and calories for each serving on the show. And he compares it to the product he's replacing . . . it's pretty interesting!