Finding time to shop, prep and cook healthy food isn’t always possible with our over-booked, constantly on the go day to day schedules. If you’re lucky, or disciplined enough, to do shopping and meal prep for the week, great! Most of us find time here and there to plan our meals, but many are done right in the grocery store isles on the fly. We rotate our handful of easy but fairly healthy meals all of our family won’t object to, fill in with some on the go fruits, veggies and snacks, and supplement with usually convenient not-so-healthy fillers like chips, nuts, and bars. No, not the bar we escape to with friends after a long week so we can throw a few back and relax, have fun and let go. The bar you grab when you are already running late for work or school, or out the door for practice but dinner is still 3 hours away…this bar will tide you over until the next meal. The BEST BAR to grab for these desperate times? Sorry, no bar is perfect, however there are some excellent options available depending on your nutritional needs and dietary restrictions. Here are a few to check out:
TRUTH BAR: This bar tastes amazing and they are not lying about the nutrition that’s packed inside this little under 2 oz bar. Low in sugar, it contains all natural ingredients and adds in pre and probiotics, balanced out by coconut, chocolate and sweetened with stevia. This would be a good choice to grab and go on its own for those with leaky gut concerns.
EPIC BAR: Who says a bar needs to be sweet? One of my favorites to have on hand, Epic bars offer grass fed protein with no added nitrates/nitrites. Super satisfying taste and a great choice for those that like a mini meal feel (pair with some quick cut up veggies) and for those that don’t prefer sweets…
CHOCOLATE MINT FIBER BAR: Made by Designs for Health, this bar will give you energy and certainly tide you over until your fork and knife type meal. Similar to the truth bar, but minus the pre and probiotics, another good choice for people avoiding lechtins and with leaky gut.
PERFECT BAR: This bar needs to be refrigerated, but don’t let this stop you from buying and feeling good about your choice! A bit lower in fiber and protein than many bars available, they are gluten and soy free. They contain a bunch of whole foods like kale, tomato, alfalfa, etc., but also use egg and milk powder as their protein base---which is fine if you are ok with those in your diet. Tastes great and very satisfying as even a meal replacement.
So many more bars are available, some also good options. I’d make sure to check out the sugar content of many, as well as the protein base (pea protein is great) and nut/egg/dairy content. I’d shy away from bars that have brown rice syrup as their first ingredient as sugar content will be high. And if you’re going the meat bar route, a Slim Jim or 99% of the gas station varieties will not be a good choice! Grab an EPIC bar instead!
