Today I want to review a rather unique and exciting new product that I recently had the privilege of trying. These are paleo, vegan and extremely nutritious energy bars by We Bar None.
Nutrition
Let’s take a look at a standard nutritional label for one of these fantastic bars.
First of all, what I found immediately astonishing, is the list of ingredients! Have you ever seen a bar, or any food that’s technically “processed”, that has 100% natural, identifiable and pronounceable ingredients? Well, maybe you have, but I certainly had not and especially not something this impressive. A quick Google search on the health benefits of any of the included ingredients will show that each and every one of them is super good for you. They’re also 100% paleo and 100% vegan!
Personally, when it comes to keto dieting, I’m more interested in the macros. As a keto dieter, my macros should be something along the lines of 60% calories from fat, 30% calories from protein and 10% calories from carbohydrate. When I’m focusing on burning a bit more body fat for the week, as I recently did to drop 2.5 kg in a week to fit into a suit for a friend’s wedding, I take some of those carbohydrate calories and relocate them to additional fat calories. The affect it has on insulin regulation and hormones combined with the thermogenic effect of fat and protein really gives me an edge on my fat loss when I need it. Fighting fire with fire, or.. fat with fat in this case.
So let’s evaluate the macros in the above We Bar None Choc-Hazelnut Bar…
Macros
Macros, or macro-nutrients, are the individual nutrient compounds that a food (or anything consumable really) is made up of. In the above We Bar None example, we can see 5.2 grams protein, 14.4 grams fat and 19.7 grams of carbohydrate. For a keto dieter in maintenance mode (ie. not trying to lose weight, just maintain current weight and optimize health) up to 100 grams of carbohydrate per day may be ideal. This varies from person to person of course. For someone trying to steadily lose weight, up to 50 grams can be consumed. And for someone going for rapid weight loss, or for someone in the keto-induction phase, no more than 20 grams of carbohydrate per day is advised.
So for the latter of the above, We Bar None bars are likely to reach your maximum carbohydrate content in a single bar. That being said, as they are so nutrient dense and contain a vast range of vitamins and minerals, it may not be a bad thing to get all of your carbohydrate calories from one of these bars on some days. Having half a bar with lunch and another post-dinner would be ideal.
For all maintenance and steady weight loss keto-dieters, these bars will make a powerful asset to your daily nutritional goals.
Taste
So, how do the We Bar None bars stack up in terms of flavour? Well, you would be surprised at how many creative flavours We Bar None already have available!
- Chocolate
- Coconut
- Gingerbread
- Mocha
- Aztec (chocolate with chilli and cinnamon)
- Pecan Pie
- PB+J (contains peanuts, NOT paleo)
I ordered 2 of every flavour so myself and Sari could both try each and every one of them. Being a sweet-tooth, Sari preferred the chocolate flavour bar, but personally I found the Aztec to be the most delicious as I’m a chilli buff myself. I’ve been told the coconut flavour is very popular. All-in-all, neither Sari nor I had any complaints with any of the flavours. They were all very palatable, even the mocha which was surprising as neither of us are coffee drinkers. It tasted like tiramasu, which despite being coffee based, I also really enjoy!
Conclusion
All Bar None bars are extremely healthy, have a good range of delicious flavours and in most cases are perfect for someone on a paleo, ketogenic or vegan diet. They also have a range of jerkey which I plan to order and review soon. I highly recommend them and if you want to check them out, visit their Facebook page.
