It happens to everyone. You’re busy and you don’t have time to cook, let alone actually sit down to eat a meal, so what do you do? You push yourself to the brink of starvation and then you still try to make a good decision about what to eat. But at that point, you’re left roaming the never-ending aisle of protein bars, granola bars, and “healthy” snacks, trying to figure out which one to choose. You already feel guilty that you aren’t sticking to your self-proclaimed commitment to eat more salads, and here you are about to eat a glorified candy bar. This statement may come as a shock to some people, but in essence, what you thought were healthy energy bars are just candy bars in disguise.
Let’s Compare
For those of you who are baffled by the thought of comparing an energy bar to a candy bar, then you might not be eating as healthily as you think. At Read The Ingredients, we want to help people become more aware of what they are putting in their bodies. We aren’t saying that you have to have a perfect diet, but we do think it’s important for everyone to have all of the information so you can make an informed decision. Let’s just see how some of the most popular products that some people would call “healthy energy bars” compare to a Snickers candy bar. We’ll start with a breakdown of the nutrition facts. Keep in mind both products are almost identical in size, differing by only a tenth of an ounce.
Calories
We aren’t going to name any names, but the “healthy” bar we are using for comparison is one of the most popular brands in the U.S. You’ll find it in most grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. The calorie content of this particular bar is 230. The calories in a standard-sized Snickers bar is 250, which isn’t a significant difference.
We should mention that calories are just one of the things to consider when you’re choosing your food, but there are other more important factors to consider. Nuts and seeds are calorie dense, but they also come with many nutritional benefits.
Fat
When it comes to fat, both products are pretty similar. The Snickers has 12 grams while the meal bar has 11 grams. Fat isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, as long as it comes from healthy sources like nuts and seeds. Our bodies need healthy fats to support brain function and supply energy, plus they help us absorb certain nutrients that are fat-soluble.
Protein
This is another important macronutrient that we want to make sure we’re getting enough of, and many of the energy bars on the market have added ingredients to boost their protein content. Unfortunately, the protein sources used are usually low-quality ones, but we’ll get to that point later. In this case, the meal bar we are comparing has seven grams of protein whereas the Snickers bar only has four.
So What’s The Difference?
Other than a few more grams of protein, at first glance, both items are pretty similar. But let’s also look at the ingredients. While the meal bar contains several organic ingredients, just because an ingredient is organic, that alone doesn’t make it healthy. You can eat an entire bowl of organic sugar — that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
They do have a handful of ingredients in common such as palm oil, multiple kinds of sugars, plus a couple of preservatives. When you really break everything down, the line between health food and candy bar becomes more and more blurred.
Not All Energy Bars Are the Same
At Read The Ingredients, we understand your frustration. We read label after label looking for good, healthy energy bar choices. And while some of them might seem better than others, you really have to dig into not just the nutrition facts, but the quality of ingredients they are using.
We started Read the Ingredients because we couldn’t find what we were looking for at the store. All we could see were aisles of products filled with sugar and empty promises. It was then that we decided to create our own line of products. Our promise to you is that we will only use all natural ingredients that are both nutritious and delicious. Here are just a few of the ways that our healthy energy bars are different from the rest:
- Our products nutritionally-rich and have a very low sugar content
- Our products taste delicious with no off-flavors or chalky consistency.
- We use ingredients you would find in your kitchen such as fruits, nuts, grains, and seeds
- Our products are gluten-free
- We don’t use any syrups, added sweeteners, or sugar alcohols
- All of our products are dairy-free
- We don’t use any gums or preservatives
You might be wondering what is left when you leave out all of these ingredients commonly found in other bars. The answer is real food that provides a clean energy source combined with the valuable vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.
Choose Read The Ingredients
If you’ve been looking for a convenient, yet healthy option for eating on the run, choose low-sugar, gluten-free loaves and big bites from Read The Ingredients. Visit our website to learn more about us and about the ingredients we use. Then, simply choose from our selection of healthy energy bars and get ready to start living your best, healthiest life yet!