*As a working girl, I have been recently introduced to the confusing variety of snack bars, or whatever the official name is. And it’s confusing because, since we’re eating them, that means we’re probably trying to be healthy, which means, WHICH BAR TO DO YOU BUY?!
There are the infamously girly Luna Bars, the powerful hunkly man Clif bars, and those Ashevillesque hippie bars, Ozwalies (I know I’m saying that wrong). I personally have been a long-time (2-month) fan of the Luna bars. I quickly became accustomed to the somewhat chalky vitamin taste that spans across the brands of most all health bars, and am now able to appreciate the differences between the flavors.
Nuts Over Chocolate is so yummy. There’s one with cranberries and nuts, one called Blueberry Frost, which has spooky ghost-colored frosting all on one side. There are probably at least 20 different flavors, each bar costing anywhere from $1-2.
So, in an effort to provide some clarity to myself and others, I will post some nutritional information for the bars, which should help me decide which one’s the best, if any. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all have a whole ton of sugar to hide the Extreme Nutrients.
I found this comprehensive chart that includes several different “energy bars,” but does not include that Aussie bar, Ozwalie. Oh well. Here it is:
Energy Bars Comparison Chart |
|||||||||||
| Energy Bars | Vegan | Price per Bar |
Weight (g) |
Calories | **Carbs (g / %) |
*Sugars (g / %) |
Fiber (g) |
**Protein (g / %) |
**Fat (g / %) |
NA (mg) |
K (mg) |
| Bear Valley | $1.13 | 106.4 | 420 | 59 56% |
28 27% |
9 | 17 16% |
13 29% |
90 | ||
| Builders Bar | $1.66 | 68 | 270 | 30 44% |
19 28% |
4 | 20 30% |
8 26% |
260 | 250 | |
| Clif Bar | Y | $1.13 | 68 | 250 | 51 82% |
10-16 21% |
3-8 | 5-12 8-19% |
2 7% |
80 | 293 |
| Clif Nectar | Y | $1.69 | 45 | 170 | 29 68% |
18 42% |
3-6 | 3 7% |
6 29% |
0 | 270 |
| Elev8 Me | $2.01 | 66 | 220 | 32 58% |
28 50% |
4 | 18 33% |
4 16% |
30 | ||
| Larabar | Y | $1.25 | 48 | 190 | 24 51% |
17 36% |
4 | 5 11% |
9 42% |
0 | 240 |
| Luna Bar | Y | $1.17 | 48 | 180 | 24 53% |
13 25% |
1 | 10 22% |
5 25% |
125 | 105 |
| Nutiva Original | $1.57 | 40 | 210 | 11 21% |
5 10% |
5 | 9 17% |
14 62% |
5 | ||
| Organic Veg. Bar | Y* | $2.25 | 68 | 300 | 34 45% |
19 25% |
5 | 14 19% |
12 43% |
115 | |
| ProBar | Y | $2.50 | 80 | 350 | 50 57% |
14 16% |
6.5 | 8 9% |
8 40% |
19 | |
| Raw Revolution | Y | $1.36 | 64 | 273 | 31 45% |
19 28% |
3 | 7 10% |
14 46% |
1% DV | |
**percentages represent calories derived from each macro-nutrient catagory (i.e. carbs, protein, fat)
*sugar percentage is percent of total calories.
Note: values listed may vary depending on flavor, vegan rating may depend on flavor.Data compiled by Prolithic Sports from product labels and manufacturer’s websites. We attempt to keep this page current and accurate but errors happen.
http://www.prolithic.com/hpages/efoods/barcomp.html
Tags: brooklyn, clif, energy bars, greenpoint, information, luna, New York City, nutrition facts, nyc, office, snacks, vitamins, work, working
June 6, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I tried a new “bar” today, the Mojo Clif bar. “Salty and Sweet” the wrapper said, and it was a tasty balance of the two. A nice change of pace.
You are probably right to obsess about sugar. One of my psych professors in Minnesota was convinced that almost everyone had a kind of max sugar intake that they could handle in their lives, and when they exceeded it diabetes was likely to begin to rear its ugly head. So today I made whole wheat and oats pancakes for breakfast, with yogurt on top. OK, it was vanilla yogurt so it did have sugar in it.