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.

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect #3 and GIVEAWAY!

It's September, and I have no idea where August went. Actually, that's not entirely true, since August was filled with finals, final papers, and studying for National Boards Part II. That's one way to make a month fly by in a chaotic mess of studying, stress, and not much else. Well, studying, stress, food, and working out, because there's always room for food and the gym. So, let's check up on those ZonePerfect Blog Forward New Year's Resolutions, shall we?

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect #2 and GIVEAWAY!

Well, that was a bit of a hiccup in blog updates. I am fairly sure that last trimester was the toughest one yet (my last blog post began with "next week begins finals," so we all knew these sparse updates were coming), and then this girl got engaged (congratulations Molly Pritz and Max Stein!), so when break finally came, I was a little preoccupied. So, you may remember earlier this year, I joined the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge and posted up a few New Year's Resolutions for 2014. Well, now it's May, and it's time to do a self-assessment!

Blog Forward Challenge 2014 by ZonePerfect

I have a confession to make: I suck at New Year's resolutions. It's not that I'm against self-improvement, but pinning it all on one day is a lot of pressure. One of my friends and I have this motto that states: "New training plans start on Mondays." It's a lot less pressure if I screw up (and it's inevitable that at some point, I will screw up), but having a definitive start date prevents the whole "I'll start tomorrow" procrastination deal. Now, of course if I mess up on Tuesday, that doesn't mean I throw in the towel for the week, but you get the point. So I was going to go another year of no New Year's resolutions...until ZonePerfect emailed me and told me about their Blog Forward Challenge. Basically, I make some resolutions to better myself, while hopefully inspiring you guys to also better yourselves. And then every so often ZonePerfect sends me ZonePerfect bars (which I already buy whenever they're on sale, so it saves this poor grad student some money), and throughout the year, ZonePerfect says they're going to be hosting giveaways and have coupons for you guys. Sounds good to me! I think I can change my Monday resolutions to New Year's resolutions for that. Plus the extra accountability of having this all online won't hurt. So here we go:

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.

Gear Review: AEROBIE AeroPress

How many of you caffeinate before running? Be honest, I won't judge, because I certainly do. I've explained my schedule before...you don't really think I'd be able to run triple digit weeks while still passing my classes without a little help from my roasted rocket fuel? I'm sure there are some people in this world who can pull that off, but I'm a mere mortal, albeit a mortal who likes to partake of some of the gods' Italian roasted ambrosia (and I didn't judge any of you for caffeinating before running, so none of you hardcore coffee geeks who claim that dark roasts destroy the delicate flavor of the beans can judge me!). Anyway, I've tried a few different brewing methods, but one stands above the others as far as coffee quality, ease of use, and value for the money: the AEROBIE AeroPress.

Gear Review: FrogFuel Performance Protein Shot and GIVEAWAY!

 

After hard workouts, I generally like to get some protein in my body. Ideally, I'd have some eggs and toast or oatmeal with whey protein, but neither of those are very convenient things to take on-the-go. There are protein shakes, which are nice to bring to class, but if I don't have time to go back to my room and make one, I'm not about to let one of those sit in the sun while I do a track workout (I know some of you like chocolate milk, but that's no good to have out of the fridge either, plus chocolate milk really never appeals to me post-workout). Energy and/or protein bars are great for this, since they're convenient to throw in a bag and bring on-the-go...and now FrogFuel Performance has introduced another option for busy athletes: FrogFuel Performance Protein Shots.

Gear Review: The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition

Go to any bookstore and you're likely to find a bevy of books on nutrition for athletes. Weight loss this, diet that, paleo here, gluten-free there...it's a pretty confusing landscape for someone who wants to tailor their nutrition first and foremost for running performance. Not long ago, Matt Fitzgerald put out the Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance and Racing Weight Quick Start Guide, which were interesting in that they brought a more performance focus to nutrition books, but they were still primarily about "weight loss" rather than "fueling yourself for performance." That all changes with Fitzgerald's new book, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition.

Gear Review: Perfectly Simple by ZonePerfect Nutrition Bars

One of my mom's favorite nutrition bars are ZonePerfect bars. Since this means she almost always has a box or two lying around the house, I've eaten quite a few of these bars (and let's face it, their Fudge Graham (previously reviewed), Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough bars are like crack...and I do keep meaning to review the cookie dough ones, but I usually eat them before I remember I'm supposed to take pictures). One of the cool things about ZonePerfect bars is that they're all-natural. The new line of ZonePerfect bars, called Perfectly Simple by ZonePerfect, goes one step further, limiting the number of ingredients to between six and ten, all of which are recognizable and pronounceable.

Gear Review: PowerBar Performance Energy Bar

There are a ton of nutrition bars available today. There are energy bars, protein bars, low-carb bars, meal replacement bars, snack bars, et cetera. In fact, not that long ago, I reviewed a snack bar, the Zone Perfect All-Natural Nutrition Bars. And I really do enjoy Zone Bars (as well as several other kinds of nutrition bars) and eat them fairly frequently, but they're not my bar of choice when it comes to pre-race or pre-workout fueling. When it comes to eating before hard efforts, I've tried a lot of energy bars, and I keep coming back to one: the PowerBar Performance Energy.

Gear Review: ZonePerfect All-Natural Nutrition Bars

Energy bars have come a long way. I think we all remember when "energy bar" meant a Powerbar, which, at the time, was a gluey tasteless sticky brick. That humble Powerbar has evolved into the mighty (and now much better tasting) Powerbar Performance, Powerbar's flagship energy bar and one of a huge selection of athletically-oriented food from that company. The Powerbar Performance is, in my opinion, the gold standard of energy bars, to which I compare all other energy bars. Of course, if I'm visiting my family for the holidays, the chances of my mom having a supply of Powerbars is pretty slim. Luckily for me and my pre-run snacks, she does keep a few boxes of ZonePerfect All-Natural Nutrition Bars handy. So, how do they stand up to my usual Powerbars?

Gear Review: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey

For some reason, a lot of runners (and other athletes) tend to overcomplicate nutrition. For something that should be really easy, we tend to make it really hard.

Calories (1 Calorie = 1kcal = 1000 calories) come from three major sources: carbohydrates (4kcal per 1g carbs), proteins (4kcal per 1g protein), and fats (9kcal per 1g fat). There's also alcohol, but for purposes of this review, I'm going to ignore that. Exactly how you're supposed to balance this seems to be up for debate, with recommendations ranging from the 40:30:30 Zone Diet to the 60:10:30 supposedly balanced diet to the 75:10:15 high carb diet to a million other carb:protein:fat ratios. I'm not going to even touch macronutrient ratios, seeing as I'm not a nutritionist, other than saying that I personally perform best off a high carb, low fat diet, but your mileage may vary. Just wanted to give a little background information for anyone who needed it.

Anyway, I find that when I'm training hard (which is often), my cravings are very carbohydrate focused. Considering carbs are your main source of energy, this is mostly good. However, I've found that a little bit of protein mixed with my carbs helps tremendously with my recovery, particularly immediately post-workout, in that 20 minute glycogen restoration window.

Enter Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey.