With a pair of really good reading glasses, Wired gets all multisyllabic with the ingredient list of the PowerBar Protein Plus, finding some very interesting things in there.
Among the highlights: maltitol syrup, which “can produce a laxative effect so powerful that Australia and New Zealand require a warning label on foods that contain it.” And soy protein isolate: Wired warns that “manly men seeking to sculpt their musculature may not like the fact that it’s rich in phytoestrogens (girlie hormones). Cooties!”
And then there’s the “chocolatey” coating:
Why the y? Anything sold as ‘chocolate’ can contain only one type of added fat — cocoa butter. PowerBars use fractionated palm kernel oil instead, which is about as healthy as Elmer’s Glue-All.
Maybe they should rename it PowerBary.
If you are interested in “food” ingredients in general, try reading Twinkie Deconstructed! I do rather like the “chocolatey” adjective–perhaps this is another example of the Neue Welle of “y” adjectives (”melty” cheese, and “spendy” outfit, “bendy” straws).
That said, I love my PowerBars and the like after a long run.
“About as healthy as Elmer’s Glue-All”?
If I were the maker of PowerBars, I would sue for libel.
i have tried them as well as others
anyone who says they know good food would not eat any of that crap
the reason is … if you think any taste good you can’t taste the diff betwwen a chemical and anything real
think about it if it leaves a chemical or any aftertaste in your mouth nough said
I make my own protein bars. No weird stuff necessary.
luniz how? it sounds interesting
its not for the faint of heart, foodperv; lots of fiber & protein
2 cups oatmeal (1 processed into oat flour)
1 cup splenda (ok maybe that is weird…you could use sugar, or nothing)
7 scoops whey protein (i use 6 chocolate, 1 vanilla)
dozen or so crushed almonds for crunch
1 teaspoon salt
cinnamon & allspice to taste
4 medium to large ripe bananas
1/4 cup peanut butter (naturals better)
mix dry ingredients in large bowl. chop bananas into blender and puree. mix in peanut butter. add the banana mix to the dry, mix well. spread out 6 sheets of aluminum foil, about 8 or 9″ wide. pour equal amount of batter onto each sheet, fold into bar form (if its round people will give you grief about eating something so ugly). bake for 16 to 17 minutes at 350 degrees (depends on the size of the bananas, 16.5 minutes is usually close to perfect). take out and flip over each bar and pretty them down a bit to flatten.
not sure off the top of my head but each bar will have 30-35 grams protein, 40-50 grams carbs, and a few grams of fat.
pretty them down? that should be press them down.
honestly sounds good i may try i just might add raisins to it though
sure there’s no reason you couldn’t add raisins or that type of thing, or leave out the almonds or whatever. ps i recommend eating them at *least* one hour prior to any workout.