Where Can I Find a Healthy Energy Bar?
Q: I’m having trouble finding a healthy energy bar that doesn’t have too much sugar and is filling. Do you have any suggestions?
— Carson, Austin, Texas
A: You’re right; many popular energy bars are sugary or unsatisfying. Find some better options by shopping keto. Bars catered to a ketogenic diet (very low carbs, high fat content) tend to avoid added sugars and focus on protein to fill you up.
Among my favorites are Atlas bars ($40 for a 15-bar box, atlasbars.com). Each 1.9-ounce bar contains only 1 gram of sugar and at least 15 grams of protein. They come in flavors such as peanut butter and raspberry, mint chocolate chip and vanilla almond chai. I really like the peanut butter chocolate chip.
Meat is also high in protein and low in sugar. DNX makes energy bars out of chicken, turkey, bison and beef, each with fewer than 5 grams of sugar and at least 10 grams of protein. I, however, prefer the taste of DNX’s meat sticks ($24 for a 12-count pack, dnxbar.com), especially the Barbeque Seasoned Chicken.
For a quick bite, try The GFB’s gluten-free bites ($12 for two 4-ounce bags, theglutenfreebar.com). These flavorful protein bites contain about 5 grams of sugar per serving and come in dark chocolate coconut, coconut and cashew, and peanut butter and jelly varieties. Eat the whole bag and you’ll get about 20 grams of protein.