Thursday, August 18, 2011

Vegetarian Ventures: LUNA vs. LARA

After becoming a vegetarian, my protein intake quickly became a top priority. I’ve heard horror stories of new vegetarians getting drastically sick from lack of nutrients and protein, and I knew I did not want to go down that path. I also knew that I didn’t want to get my daily dose of protein in weird, highly-processed ways.

Soon after I made the crossover to no-meat-land, I discovered LUNA Bars.

Source: www.lunabar.com.

Luna Bars have about 8-10 grams of protein in each bar, and are made for women. The flavors range from Chocolate Chunk to White Chocolate Macadamia to Lemon Zest, and all are tasty and satisfying. I ate one everyday for a long time – until I read the ingredient list.

Well, to be honest, I couldn’t even read half of the ingredient list. Despite its unnecessary length, most of the ingredients are illegible and foreign (to me). As soon as I noticed that, LUNA Bars started to taste as artificial as they are, and I could barely stomach most of the flavors.

But then, I discovered LARABARS.

Source: www.pickyeaterblog.com.

LARABARS also offer women a decent amount of protein (about 4-5 grams per bar, on average), and the ingredient list is shockingly short and 100 percent legible. The flavors I’ve tried to date are Chocolate Chip Brownie and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and both were insanely delicious (and 10 for $10 at the Shaw's in Porter Square). The ingredients for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavor, for instance, are as follows:

Dates, peanuts, chocolate chips (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla), salt.

That’s it.

Although I still love a few flavors of the LUNA Bars (Blueberry Bliss, for instance, tastes like a Pop-Tart), I think I’ve found my new, natural source of protein.

Whether you're a vegetarian or not, what is your opinion of protein bars, or protein-fueled foods/powders? 



6 comments:

  1. I do LOVE Luna Bars and I will usually have a bar after I go running. I've tried Lara Bars before and maybe it was the particular flavor, but it wasn't my fav. I'll have to give it a second chance though!

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  2. I used to eat both of these and then I got really hooked on Odwalla bars for a while. I buy random boxes of granola bars now but always wish I had time to make them from scratch on a weekly basis.

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  3. I recently added protein powder to homemade granola bars and love it!

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  4. luna all the way. I used to eat them in high school and I'll have one every now and then. as natural as lara bars are, I think they are gross! (whatever flavor I had was, at least)

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  5. Thanks for your input, ladies!

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  6. I like both! Luna Bars are more filling for me but have a weird aftertaste. Larabars taste good, not like their names, but good enough, and are more like a candy or dessert. I really like Clif bars the best. The chocolate chip tastes like cookie dough. I also like the kids Clif bars (Z bars) they taste like brownies and act like a snack, not a meal like some other bars. Chocolate chip and chocolate brownie are really good!

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