My Relationship With Bars

Good morning, sunshines!

How are you all doing this lovely Thursday almost-the-weekend morning??

Today, I want to talk about my relationship with bars.

No, I'm not talking about the drinking kind of bar...

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And no, I'm not even talking about my favorite kind of barre. 

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I'm talking about these bars!! 

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Let me walk you through my relationship with "snack" bars. 

Back when I was in high school, I lived off of Special K Cereal Bars, specifically the Blueberry ones. 

But, that was because I was an absolute loonie bin who thought if I ate a real-person-granola-bar I would instantly gain back my unattractive baby weight. 

Now, don't go jumping all over me.

I'm sure some of you LOVE your special K bars - and I will admit that they have come a LONG way since the early 2000s with flavors like the chocolate pretzel.

The problem is, with 90 calories and ZERO grams of protein, I don't know how I called that a snack.  Today, that would keep me full for all of about 2.5 seconds.

Once I became sane, I started transitioning to a new kind of bar.

The Fiber One Oats & Chocolate bars.

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I still think the Fiber One bars are delish, and you can find them almost anywhere.  Plus, with a whopping 2 grams of protein and 140 calories, at least are a little bit more of a "snack." 

I wore myself out on those pretty quickly, and then I started reading an interesting book. 

You see, I was looking to re-vamp my nutrition after packing on a few pounds in college, and I heard that "the zone" was the "diet" Jennifer Aniston followed. 

Sold, sold, and sold. 

If you told me Jennifer Aniston drank gallons of pickle juice in the morning - you better believe my CamelBak would be sporting a new shade of green - tomorrow. 

I mean, really, how does she do it? 

Anyway, about the only things I took away from that book at the time were: A) balance is important when it comes to nutrition, and B) I really, really, really love these bars. 

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I still do have that book and I plan to re-read it at some point in time...I think.

Anyway, that was my first introduction to the "protein" bar, and from then on out I began focusing at least somewhat on the protein content of my beloved "snack" bars.

When I was working out with psycho trainer, she introduced me to these Myoplex Lite bars, which were pretty okay.

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Honestly, I really only ate those because they had a lot of protein and she told me to.

Eventually, they were just making my mouth sore (they're very hard to chew), so it had to stop.

So, now that you know my bar life history, maybe I should share with you my current favorite bars??

Okay? Okay!

Now, when it comes to bars, I pretty much just eat what sounds good to me, paying some sort of attention to the nutrition facts, but not going crazy.

At this moment, I am loving the following bars, all of which are, 100% coincidentally, Clif products!

Luna - White Chocolate Macadamia Bar

You guys KNOW I love me some dark chocolate, but you know what I love secretly more than dark chocolate??

White chocolate! 

I love all of the Luna bars (and so does Justin, but shhhhhh...don't tell them they are "for women"), but this one is really kind of fun. 

Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel Bar

I really wanted to try a Clif Mojo bar after hearing Katie @ Healthy Diva Eats rave about them. 

This one sounded right up my alley and I was SO right - you cannot beat the sweet/salty combo on this and it is, IMO, a perfect snack for a hungry girl on the run - filling, but not overly filling. 

And, last but not least...

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Clif Kids Z Bar in Iced Oatmeal Cookie

Holy moly, I LOVE this bar.  I just randomly picked it up at the grocery store on a whim, and I am obsessed.  This tastes straight up like a cookie.  Enough said. 

The best thing about all of these bars is that you can usually buy them individually at the grocery store, often times on sale (I got mine for $1 a piece at Jewel this week - I always stock up!).  That makes them so easy to try without a huge commitment! 

Something to talk about: What is your favorite "snack" bar right now? Have you tried any of my favorites? What do you look for in a "snack" bar? 

Hope you all have a fantastic Thursday!!

I've gotta shuffle off to work - another long day ahead, but I am grateful for it!

Quote of the day:

"Risk more than others think is safe.  Care more than others think is wise.  Dream more than others think is practical.  Expect more than others think is possible." 

:) 

xoxo

Jess