5 Protein Bars Philly Health Pros Actually Eat

Photograph by Flickr/_molins

When it comes to protein bars, there are straight up too many options. Their packaging is all covered in screaming numbers  — 20 grams of protein! eight grams of fiber! two grams of sugar! — and they all promise to be the best bar ever.

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all bar, though. The bar you choose needs to meet your specific nutritional needs.  Are you shooting for low calories? High in protein? Low in sugar? Every bar offers something different.

The first step in picking a protein bar should be to ignore the marketing claims and go straight to the nutrition facts and ingredients list to see if it has what you’re looking for. That said, sometimes it’s helpful to see what the pros are putting in their bodies — if for no other reason than to narrow an exceedingly vast array of options. Read on for the protein bars Philly’s health pros actually eat themselves.

RxBar

Good for: Whole foods, no added sugar

They’re more than just an Instagram trend. These bars list out exactly what’s inside on the outside of the packaging, making them whole-food-eater-friendly. They’re also Philly nutritionist-approved — registered dietitians Liz Smith and Melissa Bailey of Two Hungry Work Wives like these bars for their good mix of carbs, protein, and fat.

thinkThin

Good for: Vegan options, lower sugar

With lots of protein and relatively low sugar content — and the fact that they come in vegan-friendly flavors — both Flywheel’s Amandah Polivitus and Lululemon’s Alana Messina have chowed down on these bars, which come in fun flavors like chocolate mint and brownie crunch.

Kid’s Clif Zbar

Good for: Lower calorie, lower sugar

While the regular “adult-sized” Clif bars pack on a dense 250 calories per bar, the kid’s version has 140 calories per bar. But SoulCycle’s Yael Gross Rhode likes them specifically for the lower sugar content — ten grams to the regular Clif bar’s 21 grams.

Larabar

Good for: Whole foods, no added sugar

Another whole-food-filled bar, like the RxBar, the Larabar is pretty straightforward about its ingredients. But SoulCycle’s Nick Turk became a fan during his no-added-sugar challenge; because Larabars without chocolate chips in them are sweetened with dates instead of added sugar, he could eat them while sticking to his diet.

Perfect Bar

Good for: No chemical preservatives

They’re gluten-free, soy-free, and without chemical preservatives — which means these bad boys have to be stored in the fridge. They’re pretty calorie dense — as in, over 300 calories in a bar — so they’re not exactly what we’d call a light snack. But they’re also, apparently, delicious. Or as Fitlicity blogger and CrossFitter Alex Coll says, “heaven in a wrapper.”

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