Fiber One® Meal Bars

 So let me start out by admitting I’m not really a cereal person in the morning. I would no sooner choose a granola bar as my breakfast of choice either. My breakfast food routine is more of the savory variety - peanut butter on toast, or the occasional egg-in-the-microwave between two halves of an english muffin with lots of pepper. I’m not sure if it’s the low blood sugar, but I don’t reach for something sweet in the morning, but rather a food that tastes and feels like protein. My worry about using a cookie or granola-like bar for a meal replacement is the fear that I will experience a huge spike in blood sugar , which leaves me painfully crashing in short order. I truly do limit my sweets, and l have learned not to eat such things on an empty stomach. Dessert is dessert for me, never eaten first like the saying goes. I understand that a lot of people can have donuts and coffee first thing in the morning - thus the “continental breakfast” - but I am not one of them.

With that disclaimer in place I will share my experience with Fiber One Meal Bars. I am a Bzz Agent and agreed to try the Fiber One Meal Bars in exchange for my honest opinion. I received two different flavors for free via Bzz Agent: Chocolate Peanut Butter and Strawberry Greek Yogurt.  One of my favorite things about these bars is that they really don’t taste too sweet. It’s not like eating a candy bar, more like a between a soft granola bar dipped in chocolate or yogurt. Very tasty, and they did not cause my blood sugar so surge madly then plummet. I enjoyed both flavors, too - it is really hard to choose a favorite between the two. I REALLY want to try the Dark Chocolate Almond flavor as well.

According to the label, these bars are pretty fair nutritionally. My Fooducate App gave the Chocolate Peanut Butter bar a “C”. Not ideal, but the comparable bars in this food category are rated between “B” & “D”, so it is not the worst by far. (Food bars typically don’t get “A” grades because they are highly sweetened). The biggest minus to this product is that it is a very processed food, which is not optimal if one is trying to eat "healthy".

The bottom line is this this bar is a delicious snack! I would probably not seriously try to replace a meal with this product, but it does contain a high amount of protein and fiber, which makes it a much better choice than a candy bar for an easy, portable pick-me-up on the go. I was pleased to note that the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor also contains iron, calcium and vitamins A & C, which has WAY more value than a peanut butter cup. And finally, to really seal my rep as a "health nut" I also try to keep an eye on my sodium intake - ideal foods are 100 mg or less per serving. The bar is 180mg, which is actually still not bad in the grand scheme of things. It's really pretty difficult to find low sodium prepared foods in most categories.

Overall, I like this product a lot, although I would not consider it a health food - just “healthier” than candy. I am sure I am probably more critical than many others would be, but I take my "healthy eating" seriously.

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