Senioritis/ Protein Bar Review!

Is senioritis a real thing?! Can I use that as a nursing diagnosis?! Actually, it's a common diagnosis of an average nursing student. I've had senioritis since highschool I think... but now it's kicking in full gear! We had our Medication Exam this morning, which could've went better :( But it's just another nursing test. On to the next! We also chose where we would be placed for Community Health Clinical this semester. I chose Mace Lane Middle School and I'm so excited. Middle schoolers... fun. I can't wait to work with kids and hopefully I bring a lot of energy and positivism to this atmosphere. It's also currently snowing right now, so hopefully no classes get cancelled because I'm done with winter... on to spring! 

I prepared a nice little "Panera wanna-be" recipe over winter break which was actually a super success! I love broccoli cheddar soup and this recipe definitely tasted like Panera :) YUM. Nothing calls for soup more than a snowy night.

I'm starting to love nutrition. I follow a bunch of fitness/health accounts and am really interested in health & wellness. Every morning for breakfast, I have a protein bar. I thought about doing a little protein bar review and discussing each option I have in my cabinet right now!




1. Luna Bars: 

Luna Bars are a great source of nutrition, vitamins and so many minerals for women. This includes the Core 4 Nutrients: Folic Acid, Iron, Calcium and Vitamin D! These are just some of the very important nutrients for full womens health. They sell a bunch of flavors; my favorite is White Chocolate Macadamia. Smores, Peanut Honey Pretzel, Caramel Nut Brownie, Blueberry Bliss and Peppermint (occasionally) are all really good and filling! For 190 calories, these bars are filled with fiber and have 9g of protein. Yum :) Although there's quite a bit of sugar and a long list of ingredients, they can satisfy your hunger and hold you over in exchange for a ton of vitamins!


2. Kind Bars

I just tried my first Kind Bar! It was interesting.. I bought it for the yummy combination of peanut butter and almond. This bar, 200 calories, is filled with good fats from almonds, peanuts and cashews. It's a fibrous bar and a lot of the different flavors have antioxidants added into them in cranberry or cherry formation. The only disadvantage is there's quite a bit of sugar, only 7g of protein and soy isolate is used which isn't natural but I don't really count off for that. These were a little too harsh for my breakfast bar/snack.






3. Lara Bars

I've only had the Peanut Butter Cookie Lara Bar so far, but it was pretty good! The good thing about these is that there's SO many flavors! Peanut Butter and Jelly?! Key Lime Pie?! UM count me in! These bars are naturally made out of few ingredients included nuts and dates. For about 200 calories, you get your GOOD fats, fiber and lots of Potassium. It's very minimally processed and actually tastes good! I also heard they're good baked or heated :) YUM!






4. Greek Yogurt Bars

Yesterday, I tried the Vanilla Berry Yogurt Bar. I bought this for a breakfast bar because I LOVE GREEK YOGURT! For about 180 calories, this is a good option and tastes good! However, the way that they keep the Greek yogurt taste and consistency is through a ton of ingredients including sugar alcohols, corn syrup, glycerin (preservative/thickener) and non-natural protein. I could also taste the protein substance in these bars. 

5. Nature Valley Protein Bars

These easy-to-find and typical protein bars are always in my house at home. I'm not a chocolate-in-the-morning type of person so these weren't for me. These bars are similar caloric levels to the other bars but are a lot cheaper and easier to find in grocery stores. They are highly processed, contain little minerals/nutrients and also has food additives. Not a breakfast food for me!






6. Odwalla Bars

I was recommended this bar by a friend! Besides it's tasty and full taste, this bar is made with whole grain cereals, tons of nutrients and anti-oxidants. It's got a berry flavor but also has other additional flavors like banana, chocolate and blueberry. I'm looking forward to trying this bar because of it's multiple nutrients including Calcium, Iron and Folate. Oh AND fiber! This brand also sells a bunch of drinks and smoothie bases.

7. Quest Bars

Finally, all the hype I've heard about Quest Bars. I've heard so much about these bars, as dessert, as post-workout and as a snack. These protein bars have a TON of fiber  (50-70% DV) which might be a little bit of overload. However, these come in tons of good flavors.. including: Dark Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Raspberry, PB&J, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter, Apple Pie, Cookies & Cream, Vanilla Almond Crunch and so many more. These bars have stevia sweets, are gluten-free, soy-free and are also low carb. They're
lower than 200 calories per bar but don't include the nutrients that other bars do. When I get into GNC, I'll definitely post about it!!