'Real' food is best at boosting energy

May 20, 2007 12:36 am

PEOPLE OFTEN ask me about protein or energy bars as snacks or to boost athletic performance. There are only a few bars that meet my standards of yumminess, freshness and wholesomeness.

Most bars on the market are packed with preservatives and stale-tasting processed ingredients, and they're often fortified with vitamins or fiber to make their labels look better.

They sell at outrageous prices--usually $1 to $2 for a tiny bar.

The first thing to know: The energy referred to in "energy bars" is just plain calories, not some magic, performance-enhancing drug.

Studies show that athletes such as competitive cyclists race just as fast after eating a bagel as an energy bar. So if you have a chance to eat a real meal, like a sandwich, choose food over a bar any time. Real food is just as good, less expensive, and will make you feel full longer because it will have a bigger volume.

Bars do come in handy if you need something to stash in your pocket. They're calorie-dense--a little goes a long way. Be sure to carry a bottle of water along with the bar, because the bar will make you thirsty.

Buying better bars

My favorite bars are the LäraBars. They taste the best to me, and I've sampled a lot of bars. I probably like them best because LäraBars contain whole foods--not chemicals like the "isolated soy protein" or "hydrogenated palm oil" found in many other bars.

LäraBars are made from fruits, nuts and spices. They don't have any added sugar, but they taste like dessert to me, with flavors like cherry pie, cocoa mole and gingersnap.

The gingersnap bar has only six ingredients: finely chopped dates, almonds, pecans, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. It packs 230 calories, 5 grams of protein, 24 grams of carbohydrates and a whopping 5 grams of fiber (which is 21 percent of your daily fiber needs). It also provides 21 percent of your daily recommended amount of heart-healthy fats, and it has no cholesterol.

LäraBars are not cheap, retailing for roughly $1.69 or more, which puts them in the same price range as many energy bars.

Bake your own

A friend told me to try the strange-looking Birdy Bars that turned out to be one of my favorites. My local food cooperative, Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee, bakes these fabulous homemade bars and sells them with their baked goods, not as an energy bar per se. Their Birdy Bars look like birdseed but taste like a deliciously chewy blend of peanut butter and fruit.

At one point, I developed a $50-a-month Birdy Bar habit. After my husband began snitching (and eating) my Birdy Bars, I attempted to re-create this treat at home in quantities large enough to share. I saved money in the process.

My knockoff recipe follows. You can buy the ingredients at most natural-food markets. If you can't find the green pumpkin seeds, you can substitute more sunflower seeds.

If you want a fresh bar made from whole foods, without spending a lot of money, cooking your own is an alternative. But the other alternative is just getting your "energy" from real meals.

Jennifer Motl welcomes reader questions via her Web site, bright eating.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.

BIRDY BAR SQUARES Makes 16 bars

cup sesame seeds cup unsalted, toasted sunflower seed kernels cup coconut flakes cup chopped almonds cup dried cranberries cup pumpkin seeds (the plump, green and toasted ones, not flat, white ones)

cup natural peanut butter

cup honey

Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients (seeds, coconut, nuts and berries) in one bowl. In separate microwave-proof bowl, dump peanut butter and honey. Microwave on high for 60 seconds.

Mix peanut butter and honey with rubber spatula until smooth.

Add dry ingredients to peanut butter and honey and mix thoroughly.

Scrape mixture into 9-by-9 ovenproof dish and spread flat with rubber spatula.

Bake for 20 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. While the bars are still too warm and gooey to eat, cut them into 16 pieces. The bars will harden as they cool.

When the bars are fully cool, cover the pan with plastic wrap to store. To serve, lift out individual squares with a fork or knife.

Recipe from: Jennifer Motl, inspired by version created by Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee Nutritional information per bar: 230 calories, 7 g protein, 16 g fat (3 g saturated fat, 6 g monounsaturated fat, 6 g polyunsaturated fat), 19 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fiber, 80 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 90 mg sodium, no cholesterol. Good source of magnesium.

Jennifer Motl is a registered dietitian. Formerly of Fredericksburg, she now lives in Wisconsin.