Look for nuts and fruits, rather than artificial ingredients, before you grab a box of granola bars at the store. | Courtney Gigant/The Cougar
This entire week, I’ve found myself trying to figure out why it had seemed I had consumed nothing of substance. I couldn’t recall sitting down and making myself a solid meal.
Than it hit me — I had been snacking for the past week. The craziness of life, papers, tests, work deadlines, club meetings and family birthdays stole my schedule. The question arose: how can I be the most efficient with my time while eating well?
I started hunting down sustainable snacks that are good for both my body and my wallet. My favorite go-to snack is a granola bar. They’re easy to shove into your backpack or purse; they’re hearty, cheap and simple.
There are a couple of key factors that come into play when choosing any purposeful and beneficial granola bar. Some of these guidelines for consideration when choosing the best one to sustain you:
Artificial ingredients: These should be minimal, if not extinct. If you don’t recognize an ingredient, then I suggest taking a step back and checking out the next food option. Ingredients to look for should include things like nuts, oats, fruits and whole wheat flour in contrast to ingredients that seem like combinations of periodic table elements.
Sugar: This amount should be between 10 and 15 grams. Stay away from any added sugars and enjoy the natural sweetness of fruit. After all, it is nature’s candy.
Fiber and Protein should be in abundance. Fiber should be at least 3 grams and protein between 5 and 8 grams. This power-packed duo supplies an incredible amount of long-lasting energy and fullness.
Fat is awesome for you. In fact, the human body needs unsaturated fat to survive. Trans fat, on the other hand, should be avoided. The amount of saturated fat should not exceed 2 grams.
This is a compilation of the best and most accessible bars out there in accordance with the suggestions above:
Granola Bars
Kind Bars ($1.49) — Cougar Xpress Market, HEB, Target
Lara Bars($1.29) — Cougar Xpress Market, HEB, Target
Cascadian Farms Bars ($1.09) — Cougar Xpress Market, HEB, Target
Kashi Chewy Granola Bars ($0.98) — Cougar Xpress Market, HEB, Target
Zing Bars ($2.66) — HEB, Target
Rise Bars ($1.85) — HEB, Target
So the next you’re standing in front of the mountain of granola bar options, don’t fret. Choose what will make you, your body and your wallet happy.
“Fat is awesome for you. In fact, the human body needs unsaturated fat to survive. Trans fat, on the other hand, should be avoided. The amount of saturated fat should not exceed 2 grams.”
So, the thinking is, “Swapping saturated fat and carbohydrates for linoleic acid – the main polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oil, nuts, and seeds – lowers risk of coronary heart disease…” http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/11/05/dietary-linoleic-acid-and-risk-of-coronary-heart-disease/
But, “…a high fat diet containing comparable amounts of soybean oil to what
Americans are currently consuming caused mice to become obese, diabetic
and insulin resistant and to have large lipid droplets and hepatocyte
ballooning in their livers. Others had found similar results and proposed that linoleic acid (an
omega 6 polyunsaturated fat) that makes up >55% of the oil was
responsible for the negative metabolic effects.” medicalresearch.com/weight-research/genetically-modified-soybean-oil-plenish-only-slightly-healthier/12425/
It’s true. The human body needs polyunsaturated fat to survive. But not in amounts exceeding 1 to 2% of total calories. High linoleic acid intake is deadly. http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2722331/linoleic_acid_the_overwhelming_evidence_against_this_healthy_polyunsaturated_oil.html