I know most of them are high in sugar but i was wondering if any granola type brans or fruit bars are acceptable to eat while cutting

Acceptable is a relative term. The bars are mostly junk without good fat or much protein or quality carbs or veggies or fruit, etc.--even the "strawberry filling" (aka jam) ones and all that. I am sure, though, that they could be consistently fit into a successful diet as long as the main tenets of the diet are followed (which in my book is an overall calorie deficit). I'd definitely supplement the bar with a scoop of protein anyway...

The only ones I ever liked were the Kashi bars... they're decent, but not as filling as a bowl of Kashi or oatmeal or something

Make your own!

The recipe I stole from the thread in the recipe section (I believe the title actually says "protein cookie" instead of protein bar) is this one:

1/2 cup fat free milk
1 cup farmers cheese (dry curd cottage cheese, one 8oz. package works)
6 oz. fat free yogurt (one single serving size is usually 6 oz., use plain or vanilla)
5 scoops protein powder (I use chocolate Nitrean)
1 package chocolate Jello fat free sugar free pudding mix
4 cups oats

Cream the farmers cheese, yogurt, and milk together until you get as smooth a texture as possible. Add everything else but the oats and mix until there's no remaining "dry spots" where you can see loose powder. Mix in oats, breaking up clumps to distribute oats evenly throughout mixture.

You should end up with a large, sticky dough-like ball. Gather it up into a big mass and place it in a square or rectangular cake pan, baking dish, or other similar container. Cover with cling wrap and press down until surface is even and corners are filled (if you don't put cling wrap over it first it will stick to your hands). Place in freezer for at least 1 hour. Remove and allow to soften until you are able to cut into 8 equal bars. Place in airtight plastic container.

You can either store them in the freezer and take them out one at a time and either microwave them for a few seconds to soften, or if you think you'll go through them pretty quickly you can just leave the container in the fridge.

Keep in mind that since there's no baking the dairy-based ingredients can spoil, so don't throw one in a backpack and leave it sitting for hours or hide it in your desk at work or something.

I hate cottage cheese with a passion and even I love these. You end up with a very chewy, fudge-like texture. They're not overly sweet, but they might be moreso if your protein powder has a lot of sweetener or if you use sweetened yogurt. I'm going to experiment with throwing in a packet of Stevia and see what happens.

These have a great balance of whey and casein in them (even more if you use a blend like Nitrean) and have none of the processed junk or high sugar content you get in store-bought bars. If you want to add some additional healthy fat content (or just some more calories for bulking), top with a tablespoon or so of natural peanut butter. I cannot explain how good this is.

Yup that's my PPWO meal + a grapefruit (since I'm at work by that time). Well enjoyed with a coffee....who needs a chocolate bar or a muffin when you can have this?

I played around with another one that was similar....but was baked....and included egg whites

so casein, egg protein, whey....all in a baked bar , that comes out more like bread. Top with pb it's a great anytime. Perfect for those days on the go. Which is Saturday for me when I run the kids to activities starting at 9am and finishing at 2:00pm :cry:

I know most of them are high in sugar but i was wondering if any granola type brans or fruit bars are acceptable to eat while cutting
You can eat them, but I don't. I snack on boxed cereal instead. It tends to have a lot less sugar, and quite often less fat as well. Shreddies are a favorite. Cheerios are good too.

I think I'll try Glaive's recipe.

maybe ill try a small box of cereal along with my whey, thanks for the ideas everyone

They were giving out free samples of Quaker Breakfast COOKIES in Philadelphia the other day. I passed on taking any. I think it's totally irresponsible to market these "cookies" as a nutritious breakfast... because you KNOW people are going to think it's ok to just eat ANY kind of cookies for breakfast now...

http://www.quakersnackbars.com/CHW_Products/BreakfastCookies/index.cfm

Main ingredients (besides oatmeal): High Fructose Corn Syrup, Brown Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil... you get the picture.

Main ingredients (besides oatmeal): High Fructose Corn Syrup, Brown Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil... you get the picture.

sugar, sugar, transfats.... yeah, real healthy :rolleyes:

Make your own!



1/2 cup fat free milk
1 cup farmers cheese (dry curd cottage cheese, one 8oz. package works)
6 oz. fat free yogurt (one single serving size is usually 6 oz., use plain or vanilla)
5 scoops protein powder (I use chocolate Nitrean)
1 package chocolate Jello fat free sugar free pudding mix
4 cups oats


This recipe sounds great. What kind of oats do you use? (obviously not the steel cut). e.g. quick cooking, 10 minute oats etc. Do you cook the oats before adding?

Thanks for the recipe.

quick cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats (10 min oats) will do fine, no cooking required.