Munchies Monday: Best-Bet Energy Bars

While I was home for Thanksgiving break, my brother walked in with the following purchase:

My brother does exercise a lot and often doesn’t have time for food preparation, so the PowerBars seem like a decent way to fuel up. However, it got me thinking; are “energy bars” and “nutrition bars” really good for you? Or are they simply the edible version of unhealthy energy drinks and candy bars in disguise?

Hence, today’s Munchies Monday post is all about energy bars.

I started my research on these fat-, protein-, and carb-packed bars at—where else—Wikipedia. I found this fact particularly interesting: “The first energy bar in the American marketplace was Space Food Sticks which Pillsbury Company created in the late 1960s to capitalize on the popularity of the space program.”

Space Food Sticks? Intrigued, I decided to do a little more digging. According to spacefoodsticks.com, Pillsbury developed long, chewy, edible sticks that could fit into an astronaut’s helmet for emergency consumption. They decided to sell them commercially, touting them as a “non-frozen balanced energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat and protein.” After a brief production hiatus beginning in the mid-70s, these gimmicky bars are back on shelves, currently being sold at the Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, the Johnson Space Center, the Museum of Flight, Disney World, and other locations.

I was even able to find an old TV commercial for the Space Food Sticks on YouTube. Tell me these don’t look appetizing: (HA! Jokes.)

Now there are a plethora of energy bar brands in the marketplace, such as Clif Bar, Promax, Tiger’s Milk, Power Bar, ProMax, Labrada, Power Harvest and more.

The different ways people use these bars include:

Pre-Workout Fuel (sufficient carbs)

Post-Workout Food (high in protein)

Meal Replacement (lots of fat, protein, and carbs)

If you decide to eat these bars, here are some tips for purchasing relatively good ones:

• Watch the sugar content. Some nutrition bars contain more sugar than a Snickers bar.
• Don’t go carb crazy. Unless you are a professional athlete or a bodybuilder, you don’t need that much carb-driven fuel.
• A decent fiber content will help you feel fuller longer while getting in some of your fiber RDA.
• Check the calories. Unless you’re attempting to replace a meal, try to find snack bars under 200 calories.

A closer look at my brother’s purchases showed that the PowerBars contained the following ingredients:

CHOCOLATEY COATING (SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, COCOA, WHEY, NONFAT MILK, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR), CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL (CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, CREAM, WATER, FRUCTOSE, PALM OIL, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN), TRISOURCE™ PROTEIN BLEND (WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CALCIUM CASEINATE, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE), MALTITOL SYRUP, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, OAT FIBER, SOY CRISPS (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, TAPIOCA STARCH, SALT), DRY ROASTED PEANUTS, HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL, ALKALIZED COCOA, AND LESS THAN 2% OF ALMOND BUTTER, NATURAL FLAVORS, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, PEANUT FLOUR

While the company’s website boasts, “The nuts, oat bran and 10–11g protein deliver nutritious, long lasting energy and muscle-building power,” I’m not too keen about all that corn syrup and sugar content. If you’re not looking for a major power boost, but rather want a snack-size bar, I recommend trying mini Lara Bars, mini Luna Bars, or mini Clif Bars:

Mini Larabars

The raw ingredient list in these bars is so impressive. There are only a few ingredients, usually nuts, fruit, and spices, and absolutely no chemicals or added sugars. Flavors include Cherry Pie, Cashew Cookie, and Apple Pie. (90 Calories, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g Protein)

Luna Minis

These bite-size bars contain calcium, folic acid, iron, and protein, and are 70% organic. Flavors include Chocolate, S’mores Caramel Nut Brownie, White Chocolate Macadamia, Peanut Butter Cookie and LemonZest. (80 Calories, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g Protein)

Mini Clif Bars

These on-the-go bars are made with all-natural, 70% organic ingredients, and contain 23 vitamins and minerals. Flavors include Crunchy Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Brownie, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Blueberry Crisp and Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch. (100 Calories, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g Protein)

Ideally, you should try to maintain a balanced diet by eating as many unprocessed foods as possible. If you can, ditch the bars and grab an apple with peanut butter, a whole-wheat bagel, or some low-fat yogurt.

Do you eat “energy/nutrition bars?” If so, do you have any recommendations?


Today's Recommended Read: A Stale Food Fight (NYTimes.com)