Though I technically now have all the time in the world since leaving the productive workforce, it seems sometimes like I’m still pressed for time. Maybe it’s because I have stepped up my exercise regimen previously just doing 1 hour of cardio on my bike once weekly but now upping it to three times weekly as well as finally restarting some resistance training at least twice weekly. I’m also spending more time in the kitchen experimenting with recipes that I told myself I would attempt once I retired. I’m also slowly getting households tasks started that were long neglected due to the J-O-B. Where am I going with this? Well, because of my perceived lack of time, I’m still consuming those pre-packed meal substitutes also known as bars whether protein fortified, fiber fortified or just fast meal replacements.
Part of Lunch
While I was still a part of the productive workforce, I normally kept a couple of energy bars in my office either as a back-up in case I forgot to bring my usual brown bag lunch to work or just as a fiber supplement for my usual lunch. I often ate them as a lunch replacement for those occasions when I needed to process deploying soldiers outside of the health clinic as no refrigeration was necessary and they provided a quick meal during those hectic days. Back then, my favorites were the fiber rich Fiber One bars, the economical and original bar, Nature Valley granola bars and the protein enriched Quest protein bars. I also interspersed those Kind bars made primarily from nuts as a lunch replacement during those hectic workdays.
However, since those actual workdays are a thing of the past, I’ll do the label reading for you and highlight bars I feel are both healthy and nutritious, so you don’t have to do the research.
What Am I Looking For?
It all depends on the reason for consuming these portable meals. If it’s primarily to repair overused muscle tissue, then I’m looking for a bar that has around 20gm of protein per bar. If it’s simply to consume as a between meal snack, then I’m looking for 5gm to 10gm of protein per bar plus at least 2gm to 3gm of dietary fiber. In either case, I’m also looking for a bar that has less than 3gm of saturated fat – the type of fat that raises cholesterol levels. I also look for bars that don’t contain a lot of lab created fillers such a soluble corn fiber or sugar alcohols such as erythritol. Both fillers sweeten the product without having to use additional sugar but because they aren’t absorbed, they don’t add extra calories to the bar. However, both can cause gastrointestinal symptoms as they tend to pull water into your digestive tract like the way your prescription bowel prep product for colonoscopies work.
Finally, I also look at cost as many of these bar supplements can run $2 to $3 per bar.
Recommended with Slight Caution
The following bars contain adequate amounts of protein between 12gm to 15gm per bar and are low in saturated fat, each with less than 2gm of saturated fat per bar. They all meet my minimum fiber requirements but with a caveat – they do contain soluble corn fiber so if you sample the Naked Bar, I might start with just one-half of a bar just to make sure the soluble corn fiber agrees with your GI tract. And the other caveat is these bars run in the $2 to $3 per bar range (even on Amazon).
RXBAR Peanut Butter 7gm fat, 1gm sat fat, 5gm fiber, 12gm protein, 200cal
RXBAR Blueberry 7gm fat, 1gm sat fat, 4gm fiber, 12gm protein, 210cal
RXBAR Mixed Berry 7gm fat, 1gm sat fat, 5gm fiber, 12gm protein, 210cal
Naked Bar Chocolate 6gm fat, 1gm sat fat, 11gm fiber, 15gm protein, 180cal
Naked Bar Peanut Butter 6gm fat, 1.5gm sat fat, 8gm fiber, 15gm protein, 190cal
What I Purchase
Since leaving the productive work force, my number one goal is keeping food costs to a minimum especially until Ms. S also decides to leave the workforce. Therefore, I only purchase these supplement bars if they’re less than $2 per bar, otherwise I’ll just have a regular snack or small meal in their place. My go-to protein bar is the Kirkland Cookies and Cream which has only 1.5gm of saturated fat, 22gm of protein and 10gm of fiber per bar with most of the fiber from tapioca fiber. It does contain 1gm of erythritol which is a sugar alcohol but I know that the small quantity doesn’t affect my GI tract. And it only costs $1.25 per bar, closer to $1 per bar when it’s on sale. I also occasionally purchase General Mills Protein One bar which does have less protein and fiber than the Kirkland bar but always costs less than $1 per bar.
Kirkland Cookies and Cream 4gm fat, 1.5gm sat fat, 10gm fiber, 22gm protein, 170cal
Protein One Peanut Butter Chocolate 2.5gm fat, 1.5gm sat fat, 5gm fiber, 10gm protein, 90cal
My old standby bar used to be the Fiber One bar also made by General Mills since it contains 9gm of fiber from chicory root which is used in coffee to mellow the flavor and also because Costco used to sell large boxes bringing the cost down to about $0.50 per bar though even at the supermarket, it usually runs less than $1 per bar.
Fiber One Oats & Chocolate 4gm fat, 1.5gm sat fat, 9gm fiber, 2gm protein, 140cal
Finally, my tried-and-true favorite is one of the OG granola bars, Nature Valley’s Oats ‘N Honey. No artificial ingredients with a pleasing crunch and you can even save the 2nd bar in each package for consumption later. Costco sells the 49-pack box for less than $15 which works out to $0.29 for each two-bar pack and they often have it on sale which drops the price even lower.
Nature Valley Oats ‘N Honey 7gm fat, 1gm sat fat, 2gm fiber, 3gm protein, 190cal
And perchance you purchase one of these 49 pack boxes but later find that you’re not consuming it fast enough as the bars are beginning to lose their crunch, you can always use them in baked goods…
I Had Enough Bars Bake
Three packs of Oats ‘N Honey granola bars
1/3 cup margarine, melted
2 Fiber One bars
One 14oz can of fat free sweetened, condensed milk
Chocolate syrup (optional)
Roughly break the granola bars then pulverize them in a food processor or place them in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix the pulverized granola bars with the margarine then press into a greased 6” x 7” baking pan. Blind bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then cool.
Remove the label from the unopened can of sweetened, condensed milk to create dulce de leche or milk caramel by either:
1) Pour the sweetened, condensed milk in an oven proof baking pan and cover with foil. Place that pan in a larger pan filled with water to about half-way up the pan with the milk. Bake at 425 degrees for about 1 hour. After you attain the proper doneness of the dulce de leche, whisk the caramel while it is still hot (don’t get hot caramel on yourself as it WILL leave a mark).
2) Place the unopened can sideways in a large pot and cover by at least 2 inches of water then gently simmer for 1 to 2 hours depending on how dark you want the finished caramel. NEVER let the water drop below the can level as this can cause the can to fracture or even explode. Remove and don’t open the can until it has totally cooled – up to 4 hours.
Cut the Fiber One bar into small bits and evenly spread on the baked granola crust. Pour the cooled dulce de leche over the Fiber One bits then place in the refrigerator to allow the caramel to tighten. Once it has cooled, you can drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.
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