Today at work we received a gift from a client of a box of KIND fruit and nut bars. These are by no means inexpensive granola bars, and this was a very generous gift. Looking at these bars, you would think they're super healthy and good for you. With names like Strawberry Peanut butter, Blueberry Pomegranate Cashew, and the like, and the label telling you they're all natural, gluten free, low glycemic, seven grams of protein, and a great source of fiber. Plus, just looking at them through the see through wrapper makes you think that they're super healthy. You can see the actual nuts and bits of fruit.
However...you turn the bar over and flip up the plastic that conveniently covers the nutrition facts, and...
210 calories!!! And over half of them from fat! Not only that, but there are 10 grams of sugar in each bar. That's insane! Let's compare the nutrition facts of this bar to a Snicker's bar...
Okay. So our Kind bar had 210 calories, 120 of them from fat. The Snickers bar has 280 calories (only 70 more), but less than half of those calories come from fat. Granted, the Snickers bar has three times as much sugar in it, but if we're being completely honest, wouldn't you rather get the satisfaction of the Snickers Bar's chocolaty goodness over that of a granola bar?
Let's look at some other popular Granola bars...
A Chocolate Chip Clif Bar has 250 calories (only 30 less than a Snickers bar) and 23 grams of sugar (only 7 less than a Snickers bar).
Even something like a Premier Protein (mentioned in an earlier blog) Nutrition Bar has 280 calories (same as a Snickers Bar), and 8 grams of sugar (not bad, but still a lot).
Now, the moral of this story is by NO means "just eat a Snickers Bar." The moral of this story is to be cautious of what you eat. Reading labels is very important, not just reading the front of the package, but the nutrition facts.
Healthy snacking!
Jenelle
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