Best protein bars to eat and a couple to skip

We have an online shop and perhaps you know this already. Last week I mentioned, to a friend, “we have those in our shop” and she said, “shop, since when do you have a Foodtrainers’ shop?” Carolyn and I can add that to the list of under promoted, overthought work-related items but I’ll tell you why we have a shop. It’s not really to make money (I recently read the best way to make money is to do something for free for 10 years….almost there). It’s because some of our “Foodtrainers’ Favorites” are small, difficult to find brands. There’s enough to stress about. We don’t need you annoyed with us because you cannot find the protein bar we recommended.

 Speaking of bars, our Monthly Morsels newsletter today featured our top 10 nutrition bars. We didn’t delve too much into flavor specifics but my current loves are the strawberry coconut Yes Bar, peanut butter RX Bar and the chai by Yawp.I will also admit, over the course of a month, I made a good dent in the cranberry Perfect Bars they sent over. And my whole family approved the Clif nut butter filled bars that Carolyn and I brought home from California (Clif presented and had an outdoor yoga class too).

Years ago a frozen yogurt company (hint has a color in its name) sent me a cease and desist letter following a blog post. For this reason, I’m gun-shy about calling brands out I dislike. There are a couple of popular bars I don’t recommend. I don’t like soy protein in bars and so Luna is off our list (we told Clif this). And there’s a very well promoted bar starting with a “Q” with inferior ingredients.

Humor us, check out our shop. Taste test our top 10, there’s a lot of variety and goodness there.

What are your favorite nutrition bars? Any you’d like our opinion of? 

Fave new snack because I heart ranch (anything)

order beach bundles by 3/9 as we're headed away too

I took tennis lessons when I was younger. I don’t remember anything about the lessons or the instructor. I don’t even know exactly what age I was. I recall taking a taxi home so you’d think I was

a teen or preteen but that wasn’t necessarily the case in my family. I’m thinking 5^th grade but who knows? I do remember something and that’s the snack I had after EVERY lesson. I had cool ranch Doritos and cranberry “juice”.  I still remember enjoying this combo in the comfort of the taxi and thinking it was the best snack ever.

While my Dorito days are done, to this day I  like ranch flavor. We mentioned in our newsletter today that there’s something trashy about ranch but I don’t care. Whether it’s the memories associated with it or just the flavor, I like it…a lot.

Recently, I was reunited with ranch. Organic Living who makes sprouted, organic, top-notch nuts sent us a sample of Ranch Cashews (combined with Buffalo almonds). I had a Buffalo wing phase too but that happened in high school for obvious reasons (if not obvious see Carolyn’s Friday post). I had the sample, ordered the Ranch nuts for the office and have had them in my nutcase every day since.

If you’re team ranch flavor, you must try these. We have them on their own or paired with our other favorite spring break essentials in the bundle pictured above.

Yum.

Any somewhat nasty items you enjoyed as a child? I’d love to hear.