Is Your Energy Bar a Healthy Snack?

Grabbing a granola or energy bar may seem like a sensible choice for a healthy snack, but be wary. Many of these seemingly healthy choices have no more nutritional value than a candy bar. Here are five of the worst offenders, plus our ridiculously healthy pick that you can feel great about noshing any time of day.

1. PowerBar ProteinPlus: Chocolate Brownie

Don’t reach for a protein bar designed for serious weight trainers. This chocolaty bar is packed with 360 calories, 11 g of fat, and nearly as much sugar as a can of cola.

2. Quaker Oatmeal To Go

Oatmeal may be one of our favorite foods because of its hefty serving of fiber and protein, but—nutritionally speaking—this bar ranks nowhere near its cereal cousin. The key to keeping this square together is sugar, and lots of it: High fructose corn syrup and brown sugar are the primary ingredients after rolled oats.

3. Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bar, Peanut

This sweet, salty bar is sure to give you give you a sugar high—and subsequent crash. It has 11 g of sugar, 170 calories, and no significant servings of vitamins or minerals.

4. Kudos Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

This chocolate-dipped granola bar comes in at only 120 calories—but it will leave you with a hankering for more in no time. It offers a paltry 1 g each of fiber and protein.

5. Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Yogurt Bar, Strawberry Yogurt

At 130 calories and 3.5 g of fat per serving, this cereal bar seems to be a fine choice, but one look at the ingredient list brimming with scientific jargon makes it a no-go. The ooey-gooey center of this snacker is mostly made with sugar, some fruit puree, and Red Dye #40.