Personally I'd stick with whole foods that don't have the **** processed out of them. Luna bars and Cliff bars are definitely easy go-to convenience foods and they're not necessarily a bad choice (I had one this afternoon, even) but I would really advise something as easy as a handful of nuts and some blueberries or yogurt - you can create the same protein : carb ratio with that, and you don't include all the extra crap in the energy bars. (Just check the ingredients label and see what I mean.) The one type of bar I really like are Gnu bars. Just remember that there is a lot more to nutrition than just carbs, protein, and fat. There's a heck of a lot more absorbable nutrients and enzymes in a banana or an apple or some peanut butter than in even "fortified" bars.
The other thing you should consider is that the nutrition bar started out as an energy replacement for endurance athletes. Many of them are packed with lots of energy - i.e. carbs and sugar (and often lots of fat). I don't know Balance Bars too well but do some research and make sure it's the right, ahem, balance for maintaining a steady blood sugar level.
|