Survey: Favorite Energy Bars

[Natasha]

Energy bars - you either love em or you hate em. If you are not a fan, no problem - to each her own. However, what I m hoping this thread will generate are some comments from those who do enjoy or use energy bars: which are your favorites, taste wise, energy-boosting wise, or both?

I have tried lots of energy bars, though I don t eat them as a meal. They re too small, and I enjoy regular food and meals too much to have them be replaced. Still, energy bars are awfully handy, and some are pretty yummy to boot.

Some of my current favorites are:
GenSoy Peanut Butter Fudge coated; Apple Spice Yogurt; and Berries n Cream; and
PowerBar Harvest Blueberry, PB Chocolate Chip, and Cherry. The GenSoys have tons of protein and are very dense, so I won t touch them before a run. They re a post-training snack, or occasionally for other times. I find the Harvest bars also a bit too heavy right before a run, but 1/2 bar works well; I also enjoy them after a run.

I have heard a lot about Luna bars, so I tried a couple. I liked them, but they didn t bowl me over. Are there any particular flavors I should maybe try?

P.S. Feel free to mention or recommend gels as well as bars.


[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 11-20-2000).]

[kwormann]

WHole Foods Brand 365 bars...several are good. I eat half for about 120 cals of snack..the bext part is they arent made with refined sugars, only fruit and natural sugar.
Kim

[emilycat]

Luna Bars! Gosh, I love these...Lemon Zest, Tropical something I don't remember, and Chai Tea are my favorites.
To be perfectly honest, I have never used an energy bar for its marketed purpose. I think they're so yummy, I eat them on occasion as a dessert I can feel good about http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif
I also really like Clif bars; the apple cinnamon and carrot cake are good; I usually get these when I go skiing, so I don't remember the flavors I've had.
I'm not a huge Powerbar fan, but I do like the Vanilla Crunch flavor. What I like so much about Clif and Luna bars (same company) is the granola bar-y texture and the fact that you can actually see the ingredients (well, some of them...)
Great thread idea, Natasha! (Come to think of it, most of these neat thread ideas are yours http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif ) I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else's favorites are!
Em

[SusieO]

I like Luna bars on Sundays after a long run. Favorites are Chocolate Pecan Pie and Lemon Zest. I saw the PowerBar Harvest bars in the grocery store and plan to try them next. Thanks for the suggestion!

Question: If I eat an energy bar fortified with lots of vitamins, I don't take a multivitamin that day. Is my fear of overdose a legitimate concern?

[Kerri]

My favorite is the yogurt honey oats (I think) balance bar.

[Natasha]

Thanks, all! (And Em, how nice of you to say that! Thank you, though I don t know if that s true at all...) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
I am going to try some of everyone s suggestions soon. As it happens, I ended up going to the health food store at lunch and stocking up on a few bars. Turns out things were so hectic that I had two this afternoon (with an apple and a half bagel) instead of a more conventional lunch. Fortunately I just had a more sensible dinner...

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 11-21-2000).]

[BethH]

I'd like to cast my vote for Chai Tea and Lemon Zest Luna bars. So yummy.

[BeckyM]

I also really like the Luna bars, and my husband even eats them too (despite the fact they're "made for women"). My favorite flavors are Lemon Zest & Chai Tea, though sometimes I'm in the mood for Chocolate Pecan Pie or Nutz over Chocolate. I did try one that sounded good -- something with cranberries I think, but I didn't really like it that much.

We usually eat them if we're rushed and don't have time for a regular meal (mostly breakfast), or sometimes as a mid-day treat. I tried one for breakfast yesterday before running the Thanksgiving Day 10K "Turkey Trot", and it seemed to give me a good amount of energy (I wasn't dying at the end of the race) without weighing me down. The thing I like best about the Luna bars is that they're filling without being heavy.

[KristaMB]

I like the lemon zest Luna bars and almost all of the Cliff bars. My favorite Cliff bars are carrot cake, gingersnap and the apple cranberry one. Occasionally I'll go for the peanut butter.

I ate them more frequently when I was training for the Avon Breast Cancer 3- Day walk I participated in last month, but still have them occasionally. Sometimes I have one for breakfast when I am in a hurry and it seems to get me through to lunch.

[emilycat]

Oooh, Krista, I'm going to have to try the gingersnap Clif bars...sounds yummy.

Oh, and I remembered my other favorite Luna Bar name...Tropical Crisp.

And, I forgot Balance Bars. Those are really good, too. I think Yogurt Honey Peanut is probably my favorite.

One question...does anyone know where I can get these for (much?) less than $1.60 a piece? That's just absurd to me, and I refuse to buy them of late. Do Cosco, Walmart, or anywhere else have them for a more earthly price?

Em

[KristaMB]

Emily,

I don't mean to incite another Trader Joe's riot http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif , but do you have a Trader Joe's near you? They sell Luna bars for $1.19 and Cliff bars for $.79! It's wonderful!

~ Krista

[emilycat]

Krista,

Actually, I don't...but I may check out some of the stores around here that sound similar.
Thanks for your suggestion, though! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Emily

[food girl]

I guess I can cast my vote for chocoate power gel. I tell myself that it is chocolate icing!

I use these when I am biking, I need too much fluid to choke down a energy bar. Those things are so dry IMHO. I also like the gels becase I can open and eat them without stopping (while biking). You can order power bars and gels by the box from magazines or websites like bike nash bar, or performance.com

I found that the gels are much cheaper this way.

[Jessica]

emilycat--I don't really eat energy bars but I have seen them at Target ( I think Target is everywhere). They might not have all the choices but I would guess they are cheaper. Also, sometimes our Whole Foods Market has them on sale.

[hhcowgirl]

My favorite is Clif Bar's cookies and cream flavor--tastes like dessert. A word of caution, though--my freshman year of college, I, as many do, gained a lot of weight and I attribute it primarily to eating energy bars as snacks rather than fruits and vegetables. Many of them have as many calories as a meal; as soon as I cut those out and made a few other subtle changes, the pounds dropped off.

[nancy_east]

Someone had a question several days ago about where to find energy bars at a reasonable cost. I have found an Eckerd's coupon in a coupon booklet found in my local newspaper, for 99 cent luna bars, cliff bars, and zone bars. That's the best deal I've found so far. Also, REI (www.rei.com) is offering free shipping til mid-December and they have a nice selection at reasonable prices (even better deal if you're a member of their co-op)

[pmmahan]

I like Met Rx bars because some of them are a lot lower in sugar. Some energy bars have gross amounts of sugar! They may be healthy, but they'll rot your teeth!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif

[This message has been edited by pmmahan (edited 12-06-2000).]

[jamisen]

My husband and I were in Costco (honolulu) on Sunday and found Luna Bars for the first time. It was a variety pack of Lemon/Nuts Over Chocolate/Pecan something. There were 15 in the package and it was around $13 I believe.

[SusieO]

I've discovered I like plain old PowerBars the best. Yesterday K-Mart had them on sale for 89 cents.

[Melman]

If anyone lives in the Atlanta vicinity, Harry's Market has Luna bars for 99 cents each....or if you're really lucky, the cashier will sometimes scan the whole carton for $13.50 (15 at 90 cents each).

Favorites: Nutz over Chocolate, Lemon Zest, and sometimes Chai Tea. The only one the really doesn't impress me is Chocolate Pecan Pie.

[LGBurns]

I love the Nutz Over Chocolate Luna bars. I eat them as an afternoon snack to stave off my daily chocolate craving. I'm so excited to hear you can get Luna bars at Trader Joe's! Thanks for the info.

[Robin C]

I like Met-Rx bars also. SOlid Protien Bars are great too. No sugar!!!

[Guest]

With all of the energy bars on the market now, I wanted to see what people like now. DD wants to take some with her on an upcoming trip and I don't have a clue about what is good.

[DocAgocs]

I like Standard Process cocoa bars the best, followed by their Cocoa Cherry, which has 5 net carbs and 17 grams of protein. When I was working at a bike shop and earning my DC I liked PR Bars peanut butter, but I don't know if the company is even around and makes that bar anymore, or if it was particularly nutritious or not!

[EsteemSamurai]

I really like the Genisoy Crunch! low-carb bars in Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Choc. chip I'm not a big fan of. But they taste like Chewy granola bars to me and are very high in protein. I also like the new Pria LowCarb bars in Chocolate Caramel... those, though, I use as a dessert substituate now and again.

[Barrie]

My current favorite is Clif Crunchy Peanut Butter. They remind me of those snack sticks that I think Pillsbury made eons ago (maybe they were called space sticks?). My second favorite is Luna Lemon Zest.

[dcornelius]

I have not been on the boards in ages but I was cruising and saw this thread and thought I would throw in an answer since mine seems to be different from every one elses....

I have tried almost every bar out there as I am an avid hiker and always looking for portable light weight food for the trail and camp. I find I like Balance bars the best. They don't taste like cardboard as a matter of fact they taste a lot like a candy bar but are loaded with stuff I need to keep me going on the trail. They have a trail version that is not chocolate covered so it doesn't melt in the hot sun here in AZ in the summer time.

Having said that I recently bought a bar made by Cliff called a MOJO bar. I have not tried it yet but I am told they don't taste like cardboard either. I am hiking tomorrow up in Flagstaff and will be taking one with me and I hope it is good!

[JulieM]

My favorite is the "Fruit & Nut" bars from Be Natural. It's a company out of Australia, and it's a simple bar filled primarily with dried fruits and lots of nuts. Great energy booster, very filling and yummy.

[gertdog]

I am still loving Luna bars. PB&J is my favorite, followed by Dulce de Leche and Nutz Over Chocolate.

I've tried a few others- Balance, Kashi Go-Lean, Clif, and Pria. The only one I disliked was Kashi Go-Lean (and there are lots of others on the boards who love them). The Pria bar was tasty and candy-like but very small and not very satisfying for me. Clif and Balance were both good but a bit higher in calories than Luna, plus I like the texture of Luna a lot.

I don't eat any of them all that often- sometimes I have one for breakfast on the road, and I keep an "emergency Luna bar" in my purse.