Bar- Humbug!
Remember that scene in Mean Girls when Cady gives Regina a “Kalteen bar” and Regina thinks its healthy? If you do, you’ll go on to remember that Cady was really giving Regina the bar so she would gain weight over time. Sure enough, Regina packs on the pounds all because she trusted Cady in the first place.
To avoid being the Regina in a situation similar to this- which, I hope your friends would never trick you into such a lie- you got to know your facts.
You probably don’t have time to check every single label on every single nutritional bar these days (the variety has tripled in the last few years) so let me lend you a hand.
See a familiar bar? Or one that isn’t so familiar? Either way, this is important information.
Clif Bar (Oatmeal Raisin Walnut): The reason they have a picture of a man climbing on their wrapper is because you would have to engage in any type of exercise to burn this baby off (kidding… kind of). Basically this 240 calorie bar may seem healthy, but let’s get real folks. This bar has 40+g carbs, 20g sugar and 10g of protein. If you are going to eat this, keep in mind it’s bigger than a healthy snack.
Larabar (Cherry Pie): Larabar’s have a very natural taste, and customers have even gone as far to say that these bars taste like pure earth (I guess that could be a good and bad thing?) These bars usually only have 3 ingredients, give or take a few. This company uses strictly fruit and nuts only. Even though the bars have 20+ grams of sugar in nearly every bar, this is one of the most natural (and least tasty) bars on the market.
Zone Perfect Dark (Dark Chocolate Cookies n’ Cream): Don’t be fooled by this bars 12 grams of protein. All you need to know is that it has 4g saturated fat and heaps of weird ingredients (Keep reading until you can’t take it anymore): Soy Protein Nuggets (Isolated Soy Protein, Cocoa [Processed with Alkali], Tapioca Starch), Chocolate Layer (Corn Syrup, Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Unsweetened Chocolate, Invert Sugar, Cocoa [Processed with Alkali], Milk Protein, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Carob Seed Gum, Gum Arabic, Vanilla Extract with Other Natural Flavors), Corn Syrup.
Basically, this is my least recommended bar on the menu.
Fiber One 90 (Chocolate Peanut Butter): This bar has just as many interesting ingredients as the Zone Perfect (don’t worry I won’t bore you with those again…) but the nutrition facts are more pleasing. This has 5g of fiber for only 90 calories and 5g of sugar. Even though the protein (1g) isn’t too respectable, the amount of fiber makes up for it. This is a delicious bar as well.
Luna Bar (Cookies n’ Cream Delight): Luna Bars always pride themselves on having nothing artificial and lots of vitamins for women. The ladies behind this bar really practice what they preach. This bar has 8g of protein for 180 calories: a perfect snack that tastes like a healthy Oreo.
Kashi GoLean Crunchy (Cinnamon Coffee Cake): I don’t know if Kashi looked at Luna Bar’s success when making these bars because their nutrition facts are almost identical. These bars has 13g of sugar, 2.5g of saturated fat, 8g protein, all for 160 calories. This flavor is exceptional, and a great post-workout snack.
There you have it. If only Regina George would have had this information pre-Kalteen bar.
