Are granola bars healthy to eat while on a diet? I love snacking on Nature Valley bars but I don't want eating them to hurt my weight loss. Thanks.

Like all foods, granola bars can certainly fit in your diet so long as you don't exceed your daily calorie goals. I don't know the nutritional statistics in Nature Valley products, but look for low sugar and fat along with protein and high fiber in your granola bars. I say they're worse than an apple, but better than a brownie, so if you like them (and don't overindulge), go for it!

That all depends.

The important thing is to look at the nutrition information. How many calories. How much fat. Things like that.

I buy the Quaker Chewy granola bars that are 25% less sugar. The peanut butter chocolate chunk is really good. Only 100 calories per bar and 1 gram of saturated fat.

Like I said, WATCH labels. Some granola bars, as well as some granola cereals, can be high in fat.

I like the new Q-smart bars from Quaker Oats. They have a peanut butter flavour that is really good and lower in carbs and higher in protein. I would highly reccommend these!! I also love the "south beach" by Kraft foods chocolate granola bars. These taste so good, again.....low in carbs and has added protein. They taste like chocolate ricekrispie bars!!!

Thanks everyone!

I love the kashi tlc bars. They have 130 calories, 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber and aren't too sweet. I hate how most granola bars taste like candy bars these days.

Tani -- I am with you on the Kashi bars. The first time I tasted a peanut butter one I didn't like it, but now I am hooked!

You can buy them at Meijer, Sam's Club, and (I think) Walmart.

When on a diet, you can eat what you want, just don't exceed your calori intake. If you eat things sugary or fattening, your calories will add up more quickly, making it difficult to not exceed your calories limits because you have to see ahead and keep calories for your meals and snacks. So if you respect that, it's okay for your diet, but not necessarily for your health because of the contains the granole bar might have. So look at the ingredient the bar contains.

I was eating the nature valley granola bars myself for a while...what I found is, since they didn't have protein in them they didn't "fill" me. Also, 1 package (which oddly has two bars) was a whole 180 calories and that for me personally was too much to be wasted. If you get a good kind they can be healthy for you, I just found I'd prefer to save those 180 calories for something else, preferably something with protein.

I love those things..they fill me up too.