I'm curious to hear your opinions on Meal Replacement bars.
Bars such as this:

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=1 00984&navAction=jump&navCount=1&id=prod1568152

What your take on this time of meal replacement?

That thing seems to have a ton of sugar in it which is never a good idea IMHO.

I'd just figure out the calories and eat 'good stuff' instead.

I think the benefit of these kind of bars is easy calories, probably OK if you are trying to gain weight but not if you are tring to lose it.

I don't think they are worth it. You would be better off with a Whey protein shake, and a bannana. I know I have had problems with them, and I was buying the organic, natural ones without any sugar, and they just added two many calories.

You'll get a lot more enjoyment out of your food and therefore be able to stick to your diet better if you work out a proper meal with the right calorie count and nutritional profile for your plan.

Also highly processed food like this always seems to wind up being bad for you in some way.

That's just my 2 cents...

Try some almonds instead.

I don't disagree with any of the above comments. Still there is a time and a place where such bars are a very good alternative to what else is available.

On road trips (on a motorcycle) I will often turn to one of those bars instead of grabbing something else in the gas station.

When the options are limited, they are good. Other times it is better to go with whole foods.

I'm also in the "don't eat them unless you have to" camp. Meal replacement bars usually have some good protein, but almost all of them have useless calories beyond the protein.

That said, if you're on the road or something and you need a meal from a convenience store, they can be just about your best bet. For a very active mobile person, sometimes they are a godsend. Also, not all bars are made the same. Look for bars that are low in sugar and "sugar alcohols".

One of the best I've found are Vyo-Pro bars by AST Sport Science. They don't taste awesome, but they aren't bad, and they are pretty cheap as far as bars go.

Here's the nutitional data on them:

Serving Size: 1 Bar
Servings Per Container: 12

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 200
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 10mg
Sodium: 240mg
Potassium: 250mg
Total Carbohydrates: 24g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 20g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Vitamin B6: 50%
Vitamin B12: 20%
Calcium: 20%
Iron: 0%
Thiamin: 70%
Riboflavin: 70%
Pantothenic Acid: 50%
Phosphorus: 25%
Magnesium: 2%

Ingredients:
Protein blend (total milk protein, calcium caseinate, whey protein concentrate, ion exchange whey protein isolate, hydrolyzed whey protein concentrate, egg albumin, l-glutamine) maltitol, dutch processed cocoa, peanut butter, canola oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, aspartame, and natural flavor.

I like cliff-bars.

They are fairly low in sugar, no trans-fat and made out of stuff that grows out of the ground or at least made by earthly-creatures, like oats and honey...

Usually my post-workout meal is some whey-protein mixed in fat-free lactaid (can't take milk) and a cliff bar which gives me that nice 60/40 protein carb mix.

If you nuke them for like 15 seconds they actually taste like a baked good and don't have that chalky taste some bars have...

Thanks for the awesome tip I am going to have to try this!


JAU

I'm a big fan of a balance bar for a mini-meal (usually between lunch and dinner). They're only 200 calories, are pretty satisfying, and have some protein in them... It's so hard to have snacks on the go that have protein in them otherwise. With a piece of fruit, seems like a good meal to me!

I picked up an EAS Myoplex Deluxe bar at Wal-Mart over the weekend. This one is a full-fledged meal replacement, with about 330 cals, 30-some grams of protein and 30-some grams of carbs.

I'm looking forward to trying it out. EAS makes good stuff in my opinion.

Meal replacement bars are sometimes a necessity for us people who are on the go. The thing I watch for is low sugars, high proteins - and if they taste good, that is an added bonus. There are only a few brands that I actually like though.

Jen