Protein and Nutrition Bars

Quest Bars, Luna Bars, Clif Bars, the list goes on and on.

Walk into any grocery store and there is usually a whole section for health products and foods that are better for you and you will most likely see an entire aisle dedicated to nutrition bars, supplements and drinks. But what makes these bars so great and healthy that people continue to eat them? Well mostly its because people are so busy that they are quick and easy to eat, but not only that, many of these provide protein and other vitamins and minerals that your body needs daily.

Due to my recent health kick lately in trying to eat better, especially during school and not having much time to eat in between, (like many college students do) I have been trying to bring healthier snacks with me on the go, which I have now added nutrition bars into my snack lists.

So which ones are the best? Well everyone has their certain favorite flavors or brands. I myself have only tried LUNA BARS and CLIF Bars but I have heard that Quest Bars are many people’s favorites so I think next time I am at the store I will have to pick one up and give it a try.

Since I have had a few of the Luna Bars I thought I would give a short review on the ones I have tried and list a few other bars that seem to be among the top best.

LUNA BARS

Photo Credit: Luna.com

Based off of the Clif Bar Company, LUNA was launched in 1999 mainly for women who were looking for a nutritious and delicious bar to eat. Now Luna has over 20 different flavors for people to choose from.
Luna offers regular Luna bars, Luna Protein Bars and Luna Fiber Bars.
Regular Luna Bars offer 15 different flavors ranging from chocolate dipped coconut to Blueberry Bliss.
Luna Protein Bars offer 7 different flavors.
Luna Fiber Bars offer 3 different flavors.
Flavors I have tried: Luna Protein Cookie Dough (my favorite), Luna Bar Chocolate Dipped Coconut and Nutz over Chocolate
Luna bars are 70% Organic and the 4 “core” vitamins and minerals are Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron and Folic Acid.

Quest Bars

Photo Credit: Questproteinbar.com

Next onto Quest which seem to be everyone’s favorite. According to their website, it says, “We do all of the work for you. All you have to do is open the wrapper and chew!”
The bars were designed for people who are trying to live a nutritious lifestyle. Quest bars are a low carb protein bar. With over 20 different flavors I am sure everyone can find their favorite flavor.
The newest flavor Quest has created is Cookies & Cream.
Check out the different flavors here!

Other bars offered that you might like to try: Larabars, KIND Bars and Clif Bars.

Five Weeks to Wellness

Are you participating in the Five Weeks to Wellness Challenge at The University of Iowa?

Photo Credit: Student Health & Wellness Five Weeks to Wellness

The University of Iowa launched its 5 Weeks to Wellness Challenge on February 3rd and the challenge goes on until March 9th, 2014.

So what exactly is the 5 weeks to Wellness Challenge?

The Five Weeks to Wellness Challenge is a challenge that focuses on improving your nutrition and fitness habits while boosting your overall wellness. Not only are you striving to eat better each day and look better by participating in physical activities but at the end of the challenge you will get a prize of your choosing for participating.

Each Monday you will receive weekly goals, expert tips on how to stay healthy and support from experts. Once you are registered you will track your progress with a scorecard each week to monitor what you have been doing. You can either print off the scorecard or keep track on ICON of your progress. There are physical activity and nutrition goals for each week. Each goal is worth 1 token per day so the more the better!

The goal is 50 tokens.

So what happens at the end of the challenge? Once the challenge is over on March 9th, you will complete an online evaluation on March 10th that is emailed to you and submit the total amount of tokens you earned so you can be eligible for prizes.You will receive an email on how to pick up the prize of your choice if you accumulated 50+ tokens. The prize choices include: water bottle, salad shaker, gym towel, and food container. Students who complete the challenge (50+ tokens) will also be entered in the large prize drawing (dry-fit shirt from Running Wild, mug and smoothie from Tropical Smoothie, and Recreational Services personal training session).

So far my progress is going well as I too am taking on this challenge. Who’s with me?!