Megan CurtinListen, I am the first to tell you that vegans get a bad rap for not getting enough protein.
Being vegan myself, I have had to defend this to almost all of my family and friends, and even after I gave them my speech, they still didn’t believe me. It’s the number one thing people tell me when they find out I’m vegan AND like to work out. But where do you get your protein to build muscle?
My answer is primarily through my diet, but since I DO work out a ton, I need some extra help from vitamins and supplements.
This is where the genius of protein products comes into play.
Having protein bars on hand makes it easy to put some nutrition into your body at any time of the day.
Before we get into what is essential to look for in protein bars, let’s go over a few of my top favorites below in this chart!
| PRODUCTS | FEATURES | ||
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Top Pick  |
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Dietitians First Pick  |
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cult following  |
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Fun Flavors  |
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Non-GMO  |
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Highly Rated  |
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most chewy  |
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The vegan market is a big one, and while you might think it would be hard to find protein bars, the reality is there are a ton.
If you want to learn more about what makes a protein bar good or bad, yummy, or taste like poo, then keep on reading!
When I am hitting the workouts hard, I will do the RX bars with the egg whites, but they also have vegan ones!
Contents
Keep In Mind > Sugar Content
The best protein bars have no more than 13 grams of sugar; any more sugar, and it becomes more candy than healthy bars.
Be sure to check where the product is getting its sugar from. Is it natural sugar, or does it have sugar added to it? Perhaps it will have a little bit of both.
The second most important thing to note is where the sugar is. Again, you will want to choose options with natural sources of sugar like cane sugar or fruit.
In recent years many companies have been using alcohol sweeteners. Why is this? Sugar alcohols are often sought after because they are low-calorie ways manufacturers can sweeten protein bars; however, dietitians advise against consuming large quantities of this ingredient because it may cause gastrointestinal distress.
Some bars can contain so much sugar it’s more than a donut. So when you check the nutrition label, ensure that you are also looking t the serving size. Most will be for the entire one bar, but it can also be two servings per bar.
Overall Protein Considerations
This seems like it should be an obvious thing to check for, but you will want to look a the amount of protein in the bar.
It’s recommended that you try only to consume somewhere between 25 to 50 grams of protein each day. So a typical protein bar will give you at least half of your protein intake for the day.
As we age, we tend to lose lean muscle mass, making adequate protein intake important.
How much protein should I eat in a day?
The lower end of this range is usually more suitable for endurance sports, like distance running, cycling, tennis, or football. The higher end of this range is more for strength-based workouts, like powerlifting, bodybuilding, functional fitness, or rugby.
If you don’t eat that much protein in each meal, a protein bar could quickly help make up for what you’re missing.
Can eating protein every day be harmful or make you fat?
The short answer is yes.
High-protein diets may tout weight loss, but this type of weight loss may only be short-term.
Excess protein consumed is usually stored as fat, while the surplus of amino acids is excreted. This can lead to weight gain over time, especially if you consume too many calories while increasing your protein intake.
A 2016 study found that weight gain was significantly associated with diets where protein replaced carbohydrates but not when it replaced fat.
Which brand protein bar is best?
The best one for you will be dependent on your wants and needs. For example, some will have more ingredients like fiber, protein, and other nutrients.
You will want to look at the back at the nutrition info and take a close look at the sugar content. Not all protein bars will be the healthiest for you and worse than a candy bar.
When looking at each bar, you will want to look at the calorie-to-protein ratio.
Can Vegans eat protein bars?
Obviously, the answer is yes, or this article wouldn’t exist.
One thing to additionally take into consideration is how vegan you are. If you are a pure 100% vegan, look at if it contains honey as the sweetener or whey protein as the protein source.
Which vegan protein bar has the most protein?
In the table above, you can see the No Cow vegan protein bars have the most protein in them.
Most bars will range from 15-to 24, with the majority having 20 g of protein.
Are One bars dairy free?
If you are someone who is into vegan protein bars odds are you have heard of one bar.
Guilt-Free indulgence is now plant-based in our newest ONE Plant Bars.
Megan Curtin
