Health bars are a great on-the-go snack when you are having a busy day or traveling. They are easy to store in your purse, workout bag or desk at work.
These convenient snacks have virtually no clean-up and no preparation time.
Sounds like the perfect snack doesn't it!
That’s why 44.51 million Americans chowed down on energy bars in 2020.
Unfortunately with a demand that great, companies are popping up all over the place with new “health” bars and it is getting harder and harder to know which ones are actually healthy.
When we snack on that health bar, we are trying to make a healthy choice, or else we would obviously be eating ice cream instead!
Duh!!!
The problem is that not all health bars are healthy. In fact some of those health bars might have as much sugar as your ice cream.
You think I am joking… Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (the world’s best flavor) has 18g of sugar per serving.
PowerBar Peanut Butter Performance Energy Bar has 26g of sugar and Clif Berry Pomegranate Chia Bar has 21g of sugar.
Some high protein bars are also high in sugar and some low in sugar are high in processed chemicals.
With all the clever marketing out there it is hard to know which health bars are really healthy and which are just full of empty calories.
To make it easy for you I have listed my top 9 healthy bars that are actually healthy.
Below is my criteria my make the "healthy" bar list.
I’m not looking for the lowest calorie or highest protein bar, that’s easy to google and figure out.
I want to know what bars actually fuel my body with nutrition and aid in making me healthier.
My goal is to eat healthy snacks that don’t spike my blood sugar like a candy bar or give me stomach pain.
I want good solid nourishment.
So without further ado here is my top 9 Health Bars
I am actually in love with almost their entire line of products from their oatmeals to nut butters to cereal.
Everything they make is healthy and yummy.
RXBAR is my first choice in health bars because I love the flavors, they travel really well and to be honest I can keep one in the bottom of my purse for 2 months it still tastes amazing.
They are made with very minimal ingredients, most of which are actually advertised very largely on the front of their package.
Ingredients such as egg whites, almonds, cashews, dates and sometimes my favorite ingredient chocolate.
The exact ingredients in the bar will obviously be determined by the flavor you choose, but every bar is made with real, whole food ingredients and most of them stay around the 200 calorie range.
Their goal is to use the minimum amount of ingredients possible.
LARABAR only uses 100% real ingredients, they also have many gluten free, dairy free and vegan options.
Their bars are a simple blend of just 2-9 ingredients only.
They are known for their amazing flavors like Almond Cookie, Cherry Pie, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Blueberry Muffin.
LARABARS are completely dairy-free, even their chocolate chips are made special to avoid dairy.
They are soy free, non-GMO, gluten free, vegan and kosher and usually low in sodium.
Health nuts go crazy over these bars because they are: Certified Organic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Kosher, Non-GMO, C.L.E.A.N., R.A.W., and Soy-Free.
Meaning they only use clean, plant based and responsibly sourced ingredients.
They don’t use any heat when making their products (they are cold-pressed) to help retain as many vitamins and essential nutrients as possible.
As if they weren't cool enough, this mother-daughter run company even has eco-friendly packaging.
Not only are these bars a healthy snack option for you, but every time you buy a bar, This Saves Lives donates food to a family in need.
They donate food all over the world including in the USA.
Fun fact: Actress Kristen Bell (think Frozen, Zootopia, Bad Moms) is one of the founders of the company. Their entire purpose is to help end world hunger.
All of their bars are made with real ingredients, are gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher and under 180 calories.
Unlike all of the other bars we have discussed, the EPIC bars are 100% animal based protein so if you are a vegan, then this won’t be your jam.
On the other hand, if you are a meat lover, then feel free to go epically crazy on these.
Strangely, the founders started EPIC after they had become vegetarians.
The soy and highly processed proteins they had to consume to meet their necessary protein intake started making them sick.
They felt the need to add healthy animal protein back into their diets.
In their words:
So, we set out to create the world’s first 100% grass fed meat, fruit, and nut bar. We call our product EPIC because it improves the lives of animals, regenerates our bodies, and helps heal the land. Due to an ingredient label unlike anything else, EPIC epitomizes real foods and will always be humane, pasture centered, and most importantly, delicious. May you fill your life with epic adventure and epic health!
If you want a high protein snack with low carbs then you should consider the EPIC bar.
They use all natural ingredients and some of their meats come from open pasture raised animals.
Their website is very transparent and you can actually click on an animal and see exactly where they are sourced from and how they are treated.
While these bars do travel well, I would not recommend storing them somewhere hot.
If you like beef jerky then you have to give these a try.
These bars mix freshly ground nut butter with organic honey and 20+ organic superfoods.
Perfect Bar is a whole food protein bar that is so fresh you actually need to keep it stored in the fridge.
Don’t freak out about the fridge though because these bars are designed to stay fresh at room temperature from 2-7 days depending on the product.
So you can still bring them around town all day stored in your purse and pull it out hours later when you feel that mid-day blood sugar crash coming on and viola…you are saved!
You have to look for these in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, they will not be with the other bars in the health aisle.
If you struggle with maintaining your blood sugar then you should consider UCAN.
The story of how UCAN came about is truly incredible.
A boy named Jonah was born with a rare metabolic disorder that prevented him from breaking down glycogen.
This condition required him to be tube-fed every two hours around the clock.
His parents had to wake up every couple hours throughout the night so they could take turns feeding him.
They were so terrified that they would miss the alarm that they literally set three alarm clocks every night.
When the miracle of “SuperStarch” was created, Jonah was able to go an entire eight hours through the night without feeding and his life was forever changed.
So what is “SuperStarch?”
Made by applying our patented cooking method to a specific strain of non-GMO corn, SuperStarch is real food that is unlike any other. This revolutionary carbohydrate provides athletes with steady, long-lasting energy without the spikes and crashes associated with sugar and other common carbs.
UCAN bars are plant based protein bars that are gentle on your stomach and easy to digest while helping to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day.
My favorite of all their bars are the nut bars with chocolate.
With flavors like Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, Cranberry Almond and Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew, I have substituted an unhealthy dessert for one of these bars many times when I have had a sweet tooth.
When you are trying to stay super healthy, but you just absolutely need a sweet bite, any of the chocolate flavored Kind Bars should do the trick.
They also have many other nut and fruit flavors that don't contain chocolate and they are also fantastic.
The pros with these bars is that they stay good for a long time, the cons with the chocolate bars are that they can melt in the heat.
Since I store mine in my purse which is always with me I usually don’t have a problem with them melting, but if you forget and leave them in the car they won’t look so pretty when you open them up to eat them.
Kind Bars are nut based so they are nice and crunchy, but they usually have some sort of honey and chicory root or dried fruits to hold the bar together so they tend to be sweet.
Raw Crunch bars are soaked and dehydrated rather than cooked in order to maintain their original concentrated nutrients, enzymes and potent antioxidants.
All their bars are handmade fresh to order in small batches.
They only use the highest quality, ethically sourced, organic, non-GMO ingredients.
These bars have been touted for their ability to aid in insulin control.
They are very low in sugar and sodium.
If you like a good crunch and the natural raw flavor of ingredients then you need to give Raw Crunch a try.
* The fast facts and nutrition information are all basic averages, you need to check labels of each individual bar for exact nutritional info.