Top 4 Protein Bars (and what to avoid!)

Women are not getting enough protein and they are feeling it.

So many women come into our clinic…
⁠
tired⁠
craving carbs⁠
anxious⁠
constantly getting colds⁠
not sleeping well⁠
with thinning hair⁠
with dull skin ⁠
with irregular periods⁠
⁠
Women need anywhere around 1-2gm of protein per kg of body weight depending on their personal needs and most are only getting close to 50gm per day!⁠
⁠
Protein is such an important macronutrient for women and affects —>⁠
⁠
Mood⁠
Energy⁠
Sleep⁠
Hair growth⁠
Digestion ⁠
Skin health ⁠
Hormones⁠
Egg quality 
Immunity⁠
and more!⁠
⁠
In fact, the diet of well-nourished women in the preconception period and throughout most of pregnancy has a significant effect on birth weight, and protein had the greatest influence.⁠
⁠
Ways to eat more protein:
⁠
– Include feta and sunflower seeds to scrambled eggs⁠
– Swap out bread for a quinoa and lentil mix⁠
– Make the shift from wheat to legume pasta⁠
– Snack on high protein bars such as the below suggestions

What to consider when choosing a protein bar?

– Does it contain ONLY wholefood ingredients?

– Is is low sugar: we recommend less than 10gm per bar

– Does it actually contain adequate protein: we generally recommend more than 10gm (with only a few exceptions)

– It contains good fats alongside adequate protein eg. coconut oil, MCT oil, nuts, seeds, avocado oil

– Through it being a whole food bar you should be getting around 5gm of fibre per bar

– Good quality naturally derived sweeteners

– No non-food or synthetic items in the ingredient list – including numbers, colours, ‘natural’ flavours, preservatives, refined sugars, isolates, thickeners, etc

Our top protein bar picks:

1. Chief Collagen Bar

Chief bars contain 14.2g protein and 3g sugar per bar. Halal grass-fed bovine collagen is the protein source, and their flavour options are beyond delicious (especially double chocolate). No dried fruit included, instead they use monk fruit and a small amount of maple syrup are the sweeteners and they are paleo-friendly. These are by far our favourite and are available very soon in our slow down shop. The texture is cookie like and light.

Get 10% off here.

Cashews [59%], halal grass-fed bovinecollagen [18%], tapioca starch, dark chocolate (cocoa solids 70%, sugar, sunflower lecithin, natural flavour) [4%], cocoa powder [3%], pure maple syrup, S.officinarum prebiotic fibre, vanilla extract, natural chocolate flavour, organic camu camu powder, MCT oil powder (MCT oil coconut, acacia fibre), monk fruit.

2. Blue Dinosaur Protein Bar

With very few ingredients, these bars are a standout for their purity. They are paleo-friendly, and also use collagen as well as free-range egg whites as the protein source. Each bar contains around 20g protein (the highest of them all) and 9.2 grams of sugar, coming from maple syrup and dates. The texture is chewy and gooey.

Tapioca Fibre, Beef Collagen, Dates, Peanut Butter, Peanuts, Egg White Powder, Nothing Else!

3. Naked Keto

A low carbohydrate, plant based, dairy free option based on pea protein. This nut based bar contains coconut oil and MCT oil to give a nice hit sustained energy to your day. No natural flavours, this bar is truely natural. With 7gm of protein per bar, this is best used as a whole food snack then a true protein bar but if you are getting enough protein in your meals this is a great little top up to your day.

Peanuts, Almonds, Pea Protein, Chicory Root Fibre, Cacao Powders, Cacao Mass, Coconut Oil, Coconut Syrup, Erythritol, Chia Seeds, Himalayan Salt, MCT Oil, Monk Fruit

4. JSHealth Protein bar Double choc

This bar is more than just a protein bar, hence the lower than average protein level per bar (8.3gm). This is a protein bar, probiotic & prebiotic bar, wholefoods bar all in one. It is delicious and very satifying without being too sweet. It also leaves you feeling full but not too full with the probiotics settling the GIT.

The texture is fudge like.

Peanuts, Maple Syrup, Tapioca Starch, Activated Buckwheat, Protein Powder Blend (5.4%) (Pea Isolate, Pumpkin Seed), Thickener (Vegetable Glycerol), Cacao Nibs (3%), Cocoa Powder (2%), Coconut Flour, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cacao Butter, Sea Salt, Natural Flavour, Probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) 1 Billion CFU (0.01%).

Those to Avoid:

Any bar that contains the words shred, burn, thin, or bulk in them!

There are many popular brands that we would not recommend consuming, due to the lengthy ingredient list and presence of many non-food additions eg. Clif Bars and Atkins bars

Any protein bars that contain numbers, colours, preservatives, refined sugars, isolates, thickeners are best avoided

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