Learn how to pick the best healthy packaged bar and my pick for the 7 best healthy packaged bars.
So in an ideal world where unicorns roam and you could order food off Instagram, we’d all have the time to make every delicious morsel we ate. But that ain’t real life. Real life tends to be chaotic, and while preparing most of your meals at home remains entirely achievable, there are still days when packing lunches, traveling, feeling exhausted, or simply dealing with a busy schedule means you need convenient, portable nutrition you can count on.
When that happens, I usually gravitate towards a healthy packaged energy/protein bar. However all bars are definitely not created equal. Many of them are essentially candy bars wrapped in attractive matte packaging. So what should you reach for instead? The challenge is finding bars that are genuinely good for you and still taste great. I have gathered my seven favorite healthy packaged bars and will share how each one tastes, what ingredients they contain, and the situations where they work best.
Before we dive into the different bars I thought I’d share what to look for when you’re picking a bar.
What to look for in healthy packaged bars
Quality Ingredients
This is first thing I’ll look when I’m choosing. If I see a funky ingredient that I’m not into it’s a deal breaker. If it has protein in the bar we always try to find the source.
Protein
When I’m grabbing a snack it’s because I’m hungry. If I want the snack to actually keep me full then it’s important that there’s at least some kind of protein. Especially if I’m hungry, my rule of thumb is to grab a bar that has a close to 1:1 sugar to protein ratio if not more protein.
Sugar Content
So many bars will sneak in extra sugar so I’m always careful to check how many grams and if it’s high what the source is. For some instances, the sugar is all from dates and fruit which isn’t ideal but it’s not bad either. However I get nervous if there’s too much added sugar without any extra protein.
Taste
Obviously this one takes trial and error, but if a bar has a great health profile but tastes like a piece of soggy cardboard or has a funky texture I won’t eat it. That’s why, hopefully with this review you can avoid some of the bad bars I’ve experienced along the road.
Square Bars
Price: $2.59 at Whole Foods or $30 for a box of 12 at squarebar.com (but you can use the code longrun for 20% off)
Ingredients:
Almond Spice: Organic Coconut Nectar, Organic Whole Grain Sprouted Brown Rice Protein, Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cocoa Liquor, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Cocoa Butter), Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Gluten Free Oats, Organic Almonds, Organic Cocoa Liquor, Sunflower Lecithin, Organic Cinnamon, Sea Salt.
Grams of Sugar: 13g
Grams of Protein: 12g
Taste: These are great for any chocoholics. Each bar is coated in chocolate and the flavors are unique but not too overpowering. The almond spice variety stands out as my favorite, offering a pleasing combination of cinnamon and almond notes.
Texture: Hands down my favorite texture of any bar on the market. The exterior is coated in chocolate while the inside is a softer, almost cookie dough like texture. I don’t know how they do it.
Best for: I put this one first on the list because it’s my go to bar. While it does have 13g of sugar it also has a good ratio of protein as well. This bar can satisfy my chocolate cravings and keep me full for at least 2-3 hours which makes it great for a morning snack or part of a lunch on the go. The only problem is, due to the chocolate shell I am careful not to let them sit out in the heat too long.
Larabars
Price: $1.29 at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and most grocery stores
Ingredients:
Peanut Butter Cookie: Dates, peanuts, sea salt
Grams of Sugar: 18g
Grams of Protein: 7g
Taste: With such simple ingredients, I’m always amazed by how delicious Larabars are (especially when you’re hungry.) This bar legitimately tastes like a healthy peanut butter cookie.
Texture: These bars are on the softer side and the dates definitely give them a nice, chewy texture without too many large chunks.
Best for: I think of Larabars as my safety bar. They’re so simple and you know exactly what you’re getting every time. They’re a little high in sugar, but because it’s from dates there’s still enough fibre and protein that I don’t get a sugar crash. These are great when you’re traveling because they’re usually at most stores. They usually can only keep my hunger at bay for 2 hours tops, but they’re great to have in a pinch.
KIND Bars
Price: $1.29 at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and most grocery stores
Ingredients:
Caramel Almond & Sea Salt: Almonds, chicory root fiber, honey, palm kernel oil, sugar, glucose syrup, rice flour, milk powder, sea salt, carob powder, soy lecithin, natural flavor, annatto.
Grams of Sugar: 5g
Grams of Protein: 6g
Taste: The nuts & spices KIND bars are my absolute favorite. They have the least sugar but in my humble opinion are the best tasting. They’re sweet, nutty with a subtle hint of spice. I’m a big fan of the maple glaze pecan and sea salt, cashew ginger and dark chocolate cinnamon pecan.
Texture: If you love crunch you’ll love KIND bars. Rather than being ground up together, the nuts in KIND bars are whole which can be very satisfying for people who love texture.
Best for: Like Larabars, KIND bars are pretty much everywhere at this point which makes them really great for when you travel and don’t have a ton of control over where you’re eating. I always like to pack snacks to make sure I’m not ravenous at meal times, which makes it easier to make healthy choices overall. I would definitely try to stick to the nuts & spices varieties as all of these have less than 5g of sugar.
Kit’s Organic
Price: $1.29 at Whole Foods & most grocery stores
Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut: Organic Dates, Organic Almonds, Organic Unsweetened Dark Chocolate, Organic Coconut, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Sea Salt.
Grams of Sugar: 15g
Grams of Protein: 4g
Taste: I love the taste of this bar because it’s like a healthier version of an almond joy. If you love that coconut, chocolate almond combination then this bar is definitely for you. They also have a good selection of other flavors, but the Chocolate Almond Coconut and Cherry Pumpkin Seed are definitely my favorites.
Texture: Very similar to larabars, in that the dates give a softer, chewier texture however the added chocolate makes it slightly dryer, but not in an unenjoyable way.
Best for: These bars are great for very similar reasons to the Larabar and KIND bars in that they’re popping up in a ton of places, so they’re great when you don’t have a ton of healthy selections to choose from. The sugar to protein ratio is a little higher than I’d want in an everyday snack if I’m trying to stay satiated, but the ingredients are all quality and it’s still a great product.
Pure Organic
Price: $1.29 at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and most grocery stores.
Ingredients:
Wild Blueberry: Dates, Cashew Butter, *Agave Nectar, Walnuts, Brown Rice Protein, Almonds, Blueberries, Apple Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Oil, Blueberry Flavor.
Grams of Sugar: 19g
Grams of Protein: 6g
Taste: This bar is very flavorful. If you love blueberry you’ll absolutely love this one. It tastes as close to a blueberry muffin as one energy bar could.
Texture: If you’re familiar with the texture of larabars these are very similar. If not, Pure Organic bars are made from whole ingredients and well blended so you get each flavor with every bite and not many larger pieces of nuts or fruit.
Best for: I’ll grab these bars if I’m traveling or on the go and I’m looking for something quick and simple. It will usually hold me over for about 2 hours if I’m hungry. They’re a bit higher on the sugar content, however it doesn’t bother me as much because it’s from fruit.
Perfect Bars
Price: $2.99 for Almond Butter and $2.69 for all other Flavors at Whole Foods
Ingredients:
Almond Butter: Organic Almond Butter, Organic Honey, Nonfat Milk Powder, Almond Butter, Organic Almond Pieces, Dried Whole Egg Powder, Organic Rice Protein, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Flax Seed Oil, Organic Sunflower Seed Oil, Organic Sesame Seed Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil, Dried Whole Food Powders (Organic Kale, Organic Flax Seed, Organic Rose hip, Organic Orange, Organic Lemon, Organic Carrot, Organic Spinach)
Grams of Sugar: 18g
Grams of Protein: 13g
Taste: Hands down these are my favorite tasting bars. For almond butter lovers such as myself, there’s seriously nothing better. It takes like you’re biting into a bar of almond butter. Aka the dream.
Texture: The texture is pretty incredible too, the bars are on the thicker side and again, it just tastes like you’re eating a bar of almond butter. Amaze-balls.
Best for: These bars are a little higher in calories (300) and sugar than a lot of options, however with 13-17g of protein per serving and a good amount of healthy fat they definitely keep you satisfied for a while. I save these as a treat or if I’m super busy and don’t have time to make something for lunch I’ll have a perfect bar and some fruit or a green juice, or if I’m super active that day. They’re also much more expensive which is another reason I save them as a treat.
Qi’a Bars by Nature’s Path
Price: $1.69/bar in the organic section of most grocery stores
Ingredients:
Dried coconut, roasted almonds, brown rice syrup, tapioca syrup, fair trade dark chocolate chunks (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla), dried cranberries (cranberries, apple juice concentrate, sunflower oil), chia seeds, hemp seeds, fair trade cocoa powder, tocopherols (Vitamin E).
Grams of Sugar: 9g
Grams of Protein: 5g
Taste: I was super pleasantly surprised the first time I had this bar. The coconut flavor is really pronounced and the chocolate chunks make this taste like a treat.
Texture: If you love the texture of shredded coconut this bar is great. The dried fruit and chocolate chunks are nice and bit, so if you’re picky about textures, this bar is really nice for that.
Best for: I call this one my 4pm snack bar, because it’s perfect for when I have little bit of a sweet tooth after lunch, am starting to get hungry again and want something in the 200 calorie range to hold me over for dinner.
Your Turn:
- What are your favorite bars? Any I’m missing?
- What flavors do you usually gravitate towards?