Thread: Balance Bars and PowerBars

I can't help myself, I love the Balance Gold bars. So damn good.

And you know which PowerBars are good? The Triple Threat bars. HEAVEN!

Originally Posted by musclepump

I can't help myself, I love the Balance Gold bars. So damn good.

they are good. I eat them all the time

Any thoughts on the original Balance Bars? (Balance Complete Nutrition Energy Bar) -- Any particular flavors you guys like?

I was lucky enough to catch PowerBars at my local grocery store for $0.88/bar so I grabbed up a 12-pack of the cookies and cream; pretty decent for a PowerBar if you ask me.

Originally Posted by LAM

they are good. I eat them all the time

I used to buy them box after box at Costco--two pack boxes... mmm...

Personally - I wouldn't touch either of them.

Especially the power bars - not with a ten foot barge poll!! Just take a look at the ingredients:

High Fructose Corn Syrup With Grape And Pear Juice Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Raisins, Milk Protein Isolate, Whole Oats, Oat Bran, Rice Crisps (Milled Rice, Rice Bran), Brown Rice Flour, Almond Butter, Glycerin, Natural Flavors, Soy Protein Isolate, Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg

The balance bars are certainly better than these.... But still not great.

Why not bring something from home? If you have enough time to eat a bar then you have enough time to chug a shake made with oats/protein powder and eat a tbs of peanut butter... You also have enough time to eat a home-made bar which could have oats/egg whites/applesauce/PB etc in it.

The balance bar PEANUT BUTTER rocks.

You make good points, Emma-Leigh. The main reason I plan to get some of these bars is for grab and go purposes, as my finals are coming up next week and I know I'll be in a "eat a bar or nothing" situation at least once. They would also be nice to leave in the car or in my bag in case I am in such a hurry I forget to either pack something or grab a healthier alternative, which may otherwise end in fast food if I didn't have one of these bars around. I know this summer I'll be working manual labor and I don't know how flexible the eating will be, as it was tough for me last summer. And I know I'll be on the road at least twice for a court matter (2.5 hour drive to and another 2.5 hours from) and it may be handy to reach for a bar then as well.

I haven't experimented with making my own bars yet, but it is something I will look into over the summer... sounds like a good idea and I did see some good recipes in the receipe forum.

Anyone know how long these bars will last after expiration date? Just so I know how many to buy? They are something I plan to eat sparingly, so this is nice to know.

The most healthy ones are bananza bars in my opinion. Plus theyre like 130 grams or something.

I bought a bunch of Balance bars and 4 PowerBars last night, will give a review on which flavors I like the most eventually.

I have a question concerning the "Carb Well" Balance Bars (PowerBar has a similar low-carb bar as well). They claim to have only 2g "Net Carbs" which consists of 22g carbs total made up of 1g Dietary Fibers and 19g Sugar Alcohols which both are subtracted from the 22g carb total. How would you guys count/record this? I read somewhere that sugar alcohols should be tracked, as they pretty much have the same effect as sugars, but less (1/2 - 3/4 of the effects). Are the Carb Well Balance bars better than the normal ones, health-wise? If so, the sale ends next Tuesday and I may plan to buy up some more carb well ones.

i'm with emma on this one, i think all protein bar that are sold in stores are crap! they are made of crap, the only time i eat them is when i'm on a trip and have NOTHING else i can eat. I went to williamsburg last weekend and bought two of them (12 o'clock meal and 6 o'clock meal) so yeah as far as eating them on a reg. basis NOOOO!! stay away!!

They aren't the best option, we know that. But they can come in handy.

Most definately.. I have already eaten 3 so far during study groups for finals. Other options were Pizza Hut, Chinese, or Chic Fil A (in our Memorial Union). I think it's better to eat a protein bar than starve, just to hold me off for an hour or two, then when I get home, I make Chicken, Brown Rice, etc. to balance the rest of my day out.

I'm still wondering how I should record the carb select or carb well (low carb) protein bars -- specifically the carbs and sugars (and in turn also overall calories). Anyone have any comment on these? And are these better than the regular Balance or PowerBars? I still have a couple days to decide whether or not I want to buy more (before the sale is over); I know they'll come in handy over the summer when I'm working.