Energy bars have become a favorite go-to snack or meal replacer for many people. But many of those bars are filled with things your body might not want or need.
Avid gym goer Steven Diebold says he wanted a good energy bar to snack on, but found too many packed with sugar, artificial sweeteners, soy isolate and fillers he didn't want. So he created Papa Steve's No Junk Protein Bars made with organic dates and raw nut butter.
The bars, handmade fresh locally each week, are gluten free, wheat free, soy free and GMO free. No preservatives, refined sugars or artificial ingredients. There are also dairy free and vegan options.
Coleen Kavanaugh had a similar problem. She has a child with food allergies and was also disappointed in bar offerings.
"There really was just a lot of junk out there. A lot of high carb high sugar products," said Kavanugh.
So she invented ZEGO bars -- "high-protein, low-glycemic bars that are free of all the top 8 allergens."
Her bars are made with sunflower seeds, quinoa, and brown rice syrup to help those with allergens. Her packaging also helps those with food issues.
"We put a QR code on every package so that the parents can scan the QR code and it will link them directly with the allergen test results for the exact batch of the bar that they're holding in their hand," Kavanaugh explained.
There's also WholeMe bars that use simple raw ingredients and, like Papa Steve's bars, they're in the grocer's fridge as they're preservative free.
And while this might have a bit of an ick factor, Chapul bars are made up of crickets. Yes, ground up cricket flour helps account for the 8 grams of protein per bar.
Brown rice and pea protein are now used to provide a nice carb to protein profile in products, yet Chapul went with novel yet nutritious cricket flour along with organic date paste to sweeten.