You Bar

With the busy lifestyles many of us lead, snacks, if not meals, are often on the go. Thus, bars are handy, portable nutrition and can give us the energy we need to get us to the next meal. All bars are not created equal though. Many bars require a chemistry degree to decipher the ingredients. A quick tip on how to interpret the ingredient list - simply count the ingredients! If you can simply use your fingers and don't have to resort to the toes for the counting, then you're on the right track. Next, make sure there is enough fiber, protein, and not too much sugar. Feeling overwhelmed? Instead of perusing the "bar" aisle, build your own!

You Bar allows you to design your own bar. This is great if you are:

1. A picky eater
2. Allergic or have an intolerance to ingredients found in most bars (soy, dairy, nuts, or gluten)
3. Health conscious and prefer quality ingredients and a balanced snack instead of overly-processed bars and chemically engineered foods
4. Adventurous and want to explore new flavors (blueberries, ginger, hemp seeds, wa?)
5. Interested in the opinion of a dietitian - these are good bars!

I built a few bars for examples - try these flavors!

Heart Healthy Bar - With omega-3's, antioxidants, and fiber to help lower cholesterol

• Almond butter & dates, oat bran, goji berri, All-One vitamin blend, flaxseed, whey protein

Allergy-Free Bar - No soy, nuts, dairy or gluten, plus added ginger to aid with digestion

• Organic dates, sunflower seed butter, organic sesame seeds, organic rice protein, crunchy rice cereal, All-One vitamin infusion

Trail Mix Bar - An easy way to practice portion control and still enjoy trail mix

• Cashew Butter, organic dates, whey protein, sunflower seeds, organic raisins, chocolate chips, All-One vitamin infusion

You also can make your own shake, trail mix, cookie, or cereal. Besides the fun of hand-picking your own ingredients, you also get to name your bar. Each little label comes personalized. You can also pick from tried and true varieties that other customers have created. The other convenience You Bar offers is a nutrition calculator that is automatically updated as you add ingredients. Try it, you'll like it (even Mikey did)!