Gear Review: Balance Bare Nutrition Energy Bar

Energy bars have come a long way since the days when eating an energy bar meant trying to rip apart a sticky, homogenous textured Powerbar (not that there's anything wrong with those bars, and I think they're pretty good, but they're kind of an acquired taste that you eventually learn to love). While early energy bars were meant as a high-sugar (for quick energy) sports supplement, today many people want delicious tasting energy bars as a convenient snack food that requires no preparation and can be easily brought anywhere. Companies have responded with options that are often lower in sugar, higher in protein and healthy fats, and have easier to read ingredient lists. One type of bar that falls into this category is the fruit and nut bar. Today, I'll be reviewing Balance Bar's entry into this nutty snack bar category: Balance Bare Nutrition Energy Bars.

Gear Review: PlantFusion protein powder

In a perfect world, we'd get all the protein we needed from real food. And for those of us whose mouths water at the thought of a thick, juicy, medium-rare steak, getting protein from real food probably isn't much of a problem (though I do supplement with whey protein shakes because steak right after workouts tends to not happen nearly as much as I'd like...plus protein shakes are just so convenient). Protein's a little trickier for my vegetarian and vegan friends though, since while animal sources of protein tend to be complete proteins (includes all essential amino acids), plant sources are usually incomplete, and you have to mix and match plant proteins in order to get all of your essential amino acids (for example, beans and rice combine to make a complete protein). There are exceptions, like quinoa, which is considered a complete protein, but even mighty quinoa has a lower Protein Digestability Corrected Amino Acid Score than say, whey and casein (from milk), eggs, and beef. Vegetarians and vegans may turn to soy for protein, but soy is such a controversial food right now that many people want to avoid taking in more than they already do. So what's a vegan to do? Well, if my several of my fellow chiropractic student friends are any indication, PlantFusion may be an option.