gluten-free Energy Bars

[MichLab]

I like to carry with me a Gluten Free energy bar just in case I am somewhere and I am hungry and not able to get a gluten-free meal or for a quick snack.  All of the bars that I have been looking at are so high in calories, fat, and sugar. I am looking for something that tastes good but still not going to be crazy fattening. Any suggestions? Or a recipe that I could make the bars myself?

 

[moosemalibu]

Something called an energy bar is naturally going to be higher in calories. Try opting for a protein bar. Quest bars are gluten free and generally under 200 calories.

[kareng]

Luna has some that are about 190 calories.  They aren't bad for that type of thing.

[bartfull]

I eat Lara bars. I have no idea what the calorie count is, but the ones I get have two ingredients - dates and cashews. One bar keeps me going for about two or three hours.

[LauraTX]

Calories are a unit of energy.  So an energy bar is inherently going to be high calorie.  But I know the kind you are talking about, like Lara Bars, they are high fat high calorie.  Two bars I like to get that aren't as bad are Luna protein bars, and Van's gluten-free granola bars (my favorite that stays stashed in my purse).  When looking for bars, try to avoid ones with nuts near the beginning of the ingredient list, and look for ones that say protein on them.  They should be a little better.  I have seen what I think are some of those South Beach Diet bars that say gluten free, but I passed them over.  It may take you just looking through them to find a good one.

 

Now for recipes, people are usually picky about what they like in their granola bars.  Like I hate dried fruit, love nuts, don't do artificial sweetners, etc.  So I would just google for recipes until you find one you think looks good to you.  You can easily adapt the recipes to gluten-free by using gluten-free oats, nuts and other ingredients that are gluten-free, and most of those freeze well so you can cut them, wrap, and store in the freezer.  You can also find copycat recipes for many of the bars out there and can adjust things in those.  The downside is they go bad fast when not frozen.  Also, some of them are more like cookie recipes and are full of fat and sugar, but you can adjust that fairly easily.

[NoGlutenCooties]

I really like the Luna protein bars.  Their regular bars are kinda nasty and taste like sawdust... I also don't remember if they were gluten-free, I haven't eaten them in so long.  But the protein bars are actually really good (I was eating them way before I knew I had Celiac).  I'm looking at a Peanut Butter one and it's 12g protein, 190 calories (80 from fat), 19g carbs, 3g fiber, and 13g sugars.

Even their chocolate chip cookie dough protein bars are gluten-free. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

They are quite a bit cheaper if you buy them by the box at Target rather than one-at-a-time from the grocery store.

[LauraTX]

 

Even their chocolate chip cookie dough protein bars are gluten-free. 

 

Those are tasty  And filling.

[cap6]

I am probably in the minority as I really dislike Lara Bars.  I find the sugar content high and the protein count low. I eat one and it doesn nothing for me.   I try hard not to eat processed foods but every once in awhile one gets caught and needs something like Now!  I usually have a Think Thin bar in my purse.  The sugar is an ok level and protein is among the higher for a protein bar.