Affordable alternatives to Luna/Kind bars

jwcanfield

RespectTheKitty wrote: »

Hi everyone --
For a while now, I've been eating a lot of Luna and Kind bars, because they're convenient and relatively low-calorie. I have one or two for breakfast, and one for a snack before my workout, and sometimes even one before bed if I'm feeling hungry. So yeah, I eat them a lot. So far it's worked okay for me, I've lost 27 pounds, but I'm noticing now that the weight loss is starting to slow down so I figure it's time to change up my routine.

The bars are also kind of expensive. A box of 5 costs almost $6.00, and when you buy 3-4 boxes a week like I do, it adds up fast. I want to make better use of my money by finding some better ideas for breakfast and snacks that are more cost-effective.

It doesn't have to be bars... like, what else is convenient and relatively affordable that would make a good breakfast or snack? Any ideas are welcome. Thanks!

ETA: I need a convenient breakfast because I usually eat at my desk at work. There's no way on earth I can wake up early enough to actually make breakfast for myself.

Detour Protein Bars or Pure Protein Bars from Costco - both pretty good deals. However, 3-4 is just too many per day for a healthy diet plus you'll have a hard time controlling a sweet tooth if you're doing that. I agree that if they work for you in the weight-loss process while focusing only on calories fine and good. At some point you're going to need to adjust your calorie intake to include veggies, fruits, healthy carbs, protein for your healthy lifestyle. It would be smart to start getting used to this kind of nutrition while losing your extra pounds. I have sweet fever, too, so 1 bar is my maximum unless extraordinary circumstances. Boiled eggs (you can even buy them boiled/peeled in supermarkets now for ease), string cheese, nuts are easy protein non-sweet snacks or emergency meals. And I'm going to have to try those home-made protein bars!

EmilyEmpowered

I work 12 hr shifts where I am basically tied to my desk, in a fast paced environment. Some of my suggestions are likely repeats of ideas you already have, but here is a list of the snacks and breakfasts that I eat on a regular basis on work days.

-I used to eat a lot of instant oatmeal, as others have suggested. I would add my own almonds, pecans, etc
-Greek yogurt with fruit, one of my favorite breakfasts or early morning snacks (if you put fresh strawberries in the freezer over night, then let them thaw out over plain greek yogurt they make their own 'sauce' and it is very very good!)
-protein shake, which for a full year I had every morning... I made mine with almond milk and mixed coffee right in for that much needed morning boost- also stopped me from having all the extra sweet creamer I was using before. Came to about 200 calories and filled me up for the morning.
-hard boiled eggs with ham slices or bacon (I dont mind eating cold bacon, I would cook enough for a couple days at a time... some people find that really gross though LOL) and a veggie
-fruit, cheese, and nuts...or an apple with peanut butter, or an apple with slices or turkey wrapped around it which is one of my favorite things (and I actually just got done eating one!)
-the ham, egg, and veggie muffins you can make ahead of time and freeze. Look on pintrest, they are everywhere!
-overnight oatmeal
-no bake protein balls or squares. taste like no bake cookies and soooo simple. chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, quick oats, a bit of water to mix it to the right consistency and sometimes some dates, raisins, dried cranberries, etc added. No baking required! You can play around with it to figure out what tastes best to you. Keep in the fridge, normally what I would make would be enough for two or three days cut into squares and very filling. I have also used to same ingredients to make a hot oatmeal which feels very indulgent when I am craving chocolate.
-banana with peanut butter, sprinkled with flax seed or sunflower seeds. I like to freeze mine a little. Sometimes I mix with a bit of plain greek yogurt.

I also eat some other totally bizarre combos now that I am trying to meet specific macros. But the most important thing is finding foods that satisfy you and fill you up. I think there are a lot of good suggestions in this post so far, hopefully something someone mentioned sticks out to you and helps you on your way!

dragon_girl26

Aldi has some pretty good protein bars that are supposed to be comparable to Balance bars. I took a box of the Cookie dough ones with me on a trip recently and really enjoyed them.

MrsQuinones132

I boil 2 eggs in the morning when I'm getting ready and they work great and are cheap but when I want to mix it up I eat BelVita breakfast biscuits,. I buy bulk. Huge box of 24 packs (4 biscuits per pack) for $10 at costco and they are super filling.

brb_2013

Francl27 wrote: »

brb_2013 wrote: »

MsBuzzkillington wrote: »

Stop eating 4 luna bars a day to start. Meal prep so you can just grab and go in the mornings. Fruits are good options for breakfast. Fruits and bagels, fruits and toast.

Ya know, it's okay to make a suggestion but if 4 Luna bars a day works for this person and keeps them on track what's the problem? If you don't have a suggestion of less expensive bars why even reply?

But I also second making them yourself. After reading your post I realize I spend a lot of money on kind bars (have stopped buying Luna) but I am going to try my own granola bars this weekend. I'm always buying something like that for my husband too, maybe we will like the home made ones better. Once you get a basic recipe that works you can try different nuts to add, or dried fruits. And use the recipe builder to find the calories! I am going to try this one this weekend.

http://livesimply.me/2013/06/05/homemade-no-bake-granola-bars/

It appeals to me because it doesn't require a food processor, candy thermometer (needed for true kind bar recreation), or any expensive ingredients.

This looks tasty, I wonder what the calories are though!

What I like is I could cut them any size! Just eye balling it, they look close to kind bars. Those are 200ish each, and cutting these up into slightly smaller bars I bet I can get them to be 150 that's my goal anyway! I can report back tomorrow after I make them!

kthompson601

randeortiz wrote: »

I make these and they come out just like the kind protein nut bars. So good!

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cranberry-almond-protein-bars/

I make a double batch and put them in snack baggies for quick grabs on the go. They cost around $15 for a 11x17 tray of 30 bars. So .50 cents a bar. Costco has salted almonds for the best price.

These sound delicious, but what is the calorie count? I did a quick just calories-count by Googling ingredients and adding up the servings and I'm coming up with about 400 calories a bar. That is way too high for me. What are they coming up for you?

RespectTheKitty

Boiled eggs sound like they'd be real easy to take with me to work. That and real fruit or a veg. See, you guys are giving me some great ideas!

I wholeheartedly agree that eating so many bars is not going to help me in the long run. Starting next week (now that I have my paycheck and can go shopping) I am going to try to limit myself to one a day, as a snack.

brb_2013

kthompson601 wrote: »

randeortiz wrote: »

I make these and they come out just like the kind protein nut bars. So good!

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cranberry-almond-protein-bars/

I make a double batch and put them in snack baggies for quick grabs on the go. They cost around $15 for a 11x17 tray of 30 bars. So .50 cents a bar. Costco has salted almonds for the best price.

These sound delicious, but what is the calorie count? I did a quick just calories-count by Googling ingredients and adding up the servings and I'm coming up with about 400 calories a bar. That is way too high for me. What are they coming up for you?

Nope you're way off
I entered them into the recipe builder and came up with 200 cals if that recipe makes only 10 bars. Make them smaller even, cut into 20 squares versus 10 rectangles.

LuanaBean

You can make your own breakfast in minutes. Scrambled eggs, yogurt and fruit, toast and peanut butter, smoothies. Even pancakes. Doesn't take long at all.

Jindeed

If you're looking for more bar alternatives and have a Kroger/Fry's near you, I would suggest the Simple Truth Peanut Butter Extreme Protein bars. 210 calories, 21 grams of protein, and 7 grams of sugar. Even better, they're 89 cents per bar (where I am, they're on sale for 79 cents).

The other suggestions in this topic are pretty solid, but if you want a grab-and-go bar, I would definitely give Simple Truth a try. Just stay away from the mint chocolate one.

anamibell

Make your own bars ! It's so easy and fun