Vegan Energy and Protein Bars
Energy and Protein bars are a great addition to a vegan diet, especially for those transitioning. They offer decent nutrition for the price and offer easy sources of fiber and protein, which can help stave off cravings.
Luckily, many of these bars are vegan (whether accidentally or not) and are easily accessible and affordable at supermarkets and shops. However, it's still a good idea to double-check the ingredient lists just in case there are some ingredients of animal products such as milk powder or whey. It would also be better to avoid palm oil or variants of it (such as Palm Fruit Oil, etc.), an ingredient often used in energy bars.
Contents
Classification of the bars
You will find the cost per bar and the cost per protein in every section for the bars, including a description of what the taste is like, while here you can find a sorting table to classify the bars according to the proteins amount, fibers amount, saturated fats amount, calories amount, and finally the Final usefulness value of the bar with all of the former nutritional values taken in consideration and summed together.
Below, you can find a sorting table classifying the bars according to density of protein per cost.
Bar nutrient density/usefulness
The formula used to arrive at the Final usefulness value is FUV = (protein*3) + fibers - (saturated fats*2) - (calories/20)
That is because proteins are usually the most sought after nutrient when it comes to protein bars, with fibers being a positive but nothing too important, and saturated fats being the main drawback next to calories (/20 to bring them to a comparable level, while still keeping the value magnitude high enough because calories are the main counterweight to look at when considering how nutritionally efficient something is).
If you are only interested in one variable, or if what you want makes you have different value magnitudes assigned to the variables, feel free to sort by what variable you are interested/most interested in.
Bar cost per gram of protein/amount of protein per dollar
This is a useful table to know which bars are the most efficient cost/protein amount (the lower, the cheaper per protein and the better). You can also sort them for protein amount/cost, showing how much protein you get per 1$ dollar (the higher, the more protein per money and the better).
| Name | Cost per gram of protein (cost/protein, the lower the better) | Amount of protein per dollar (protein/cost, the higher the better) |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Brownie (Clif) | $0.15/g | 6.67g |
| Chocolate Chip (Clif) | $0.15/g | 6.67g |
| Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch (Clif) | $0.135/g | 7.41g |
| Crunchy Peanut Butter (Clif) | $0.125/g | 18g |
| Peanut Butter Banana (Clif) | $0.135/g | 7.41g |
| Peanut Toffee Buzz (Clif) | $0.135/g | 7.41g |
| Chocolate Almond (NuGo) | ||
| Chocolate Chip (NuGo) | ||
| Chocolate Coconut (NuGo) | ||
| Chocolate Pretzel (NuGo) | ||
| Dark Chocolate Crunch (NuGo) | ||
| Mocha Chocolate (NuGo) | ||
| Peanut Butter Cup (NuGo) | ||
| Almond Butter Chocolate Brownie (Lärabar) | ||
| Apple Cobbler (Lärabar) | ||
| Chocolate Cashew Brownie (Lärabar) | ||
| Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup (Lärabar) | ||
| Lemon Blueberry Muffin (Lärabar) | ||
| Key Lime Coconut Pie (Lärabar) | ||
| Almond Butter Chip (IQ) | ||
| Banana Nut (IQ) | ||
| Chocolate Sea Salt (IQ) | ||
| Lemon Blueberry (IQ) | ||
| Matcha Chai (IQ) | ||
| Peanut Butter Chip (IQ) | ||
| Wild Blueberry (IQ) | ||
Clif Bars
Most Clif Bars are vegan, however, the Builders Bar contains Palm Kernel Oil. There are 20 standard Clif Bars available. The prices listed are per bar for the purchase of a box of 12 bars.
Peanut Toffee Buzz
Taste: Nice peanut buttery, pastry taste.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.135/g
Chocolate Brownie
Taste: Chocolatey, and not very dark. Microwave for best flavor.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.15/g
Chocolate Chip
Taste: Tastes mostly like a chocolate chip cookie, with a few nutty tones.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.15/g
Crunchy Peanut Butter
Taste: Pretty much a nice peanut-buttery taste, crunchy while retaining soft texture.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.125/g
Peanut Butter Banana
Taste: Nice fusion of both peanut butter and banana.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.135/g
Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
Taste: Pretty much tastes like peanut butter with some chocolate mixed in.
Cost: $1.35
Cost per gram of protein: $0.135/g
Nugo Bars
The prices listed are per bar for the purchase of a box of 12 bars.
Chocolate Chip
Taste: Tastes like a chocolate wafer candy bar (but healthier)
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.16/g
Dark Chocolate Crunch
Taste: Like chocolate chip bar, with richer chocolate, and more filling.
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175/g
Mocha Chocolate
Taste: Rich chocolate taste with a hint of coffee.
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.16/g
Chocolate Almond
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.13/g
Chocolate Pretzel
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.13/g
Peanut Butter Cup
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.13/g
Chocolate Coconut
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $1.58
Cost per gram of protein: $0.16/g
Lärabars
Lemon Blueberry Muffin
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Taste: Fairly rich, dates in bar mix well with the chocolate chips and peanut butter.
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
Apple Cobbler
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
Almond Butter Chocolate Brownie
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
Chocolate Cashew Brownie
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
Key Lime Coconut Pie
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost:
Cost per gram of protein:
IQ Bars
Chocolate Sea Salt
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Peanut Butter Chip
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Almond Butter Chip
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Lemon Blueberry
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Matcha Chai
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Banana Nut
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
Wild Blueberry
Taste: (not tried yet)
Cost: $2.08
Cost per gram of protein: $0.175
