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Have I wasted my money on these low carb protein bars?

Alisonjane10

Well-Known Member
Hi Folks

I decided I'd like to try out low carb protein bars as a quick meal replacement or more substantial snack. I'm not always ready for breakfast when I first wake up, but at work I may not get the opportunity to grab something to eat for several hours. So, my theory is that eating a protein bar would allow me to take my oral diabetic medication without my BG going stupid. I bought 2 boxes of My Bar Zero as they had a good discount & good reviews. However, when the protein bars arrived, I noticed the label said "Not Suitable For Diabetics." I'm trying to work out why considering the low carb content etc per bar. The nutrition information & ingredients are as follows. Perhaps someone could give me an idea whether these bars are ok to eat occasionally, or whether I've wasted my money. Has anyone tried them, or reading below, are you able to enlighten me. Thank you.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per Bar (65g)
Energy 857 kJ/207 kcal
Fat 7.5 g
of which saturates1.9 g
Carbohydrate 2.6 g
of which sugars 2.2 g
Protein 19.5 g
Salt 0.43 g


Cookies & Cream Flavour: Milk Protein, Isomalto-oligosaccharide, Bulking Agent (Polydextrose), Oligofructose, Sunflower Oil, Cocoa Nibs, Shortcake (3,2%) (Wheat Flour (Gluten), Vegetable Fat (Rapeseed, Palm Oil), Sugar, Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Low Fat Cocoa, Flavourings, Salt, Sweetener (Steviol Glycosides).

Ali. X
 
Ali, these will induce an insulin and glucagon reaction. If you are type 1 this means you will get a glycogen dump that will spike your blood glucose.
 
tim2000s said:
Ali, these will induce an insulin and glucagon reaction. If you are type 1 this means you will get a glycogen dump that will spike your blood glucose.
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Hi tim2000s,

Could you explain what insulin glucagon reaction is please. And why would these bars induce that reaction...what's in them that could cause that? I hope I don't sound dense.

Btw...type 2. X
 

No need for any nutritional theories here about suitability and quality, just eat one and TEST TO YOUR METER.

I really think unprocessed foods are best, how about some nuts with their high fat contents ,low carbs and even some protein.
 
I can't see any reason why they would be labelled as "not suitable for diabetics" and agree with @Pasha. The only way to know if anything is suitable for you is to test.
The ingredient list isn't the best, but certainly isn't the worst I've ever seen.
 
Pasha said:
No need for any nutritional theories here about suitability and quality, just eat one and TEST TO YOUR METER.

I really think unprocessed foods are best, how about some nuts with their high fat contents ,low carbs and even some protein.
Click to expand...

Hi Pasha

Guess that's the way to do it. I'll try one for breakfast & see what the meter has to say. I'm finding it difficult getting back into ketosis following a recent binge. But like anything else worth doing, I'll have to put the effort in. If I find I can't tolerate these protein bars, I'll drop them off at my nearest food bank. I'd like to think someone could benefit from my mistake. I do agree with you about unprocessed foods being best. I was planning to have a bar only occasionally, and only if I was pushed for time or really couldn't face food at 5.30am! But I've got a big bag of mixed nuts, so there's no reason not to have those instead. I'll have to think what spice I can put on the nuts to jazz them up a bit. Need to keep the taste buds interested.

Ali. X
 
My only additional comment, having looked up the sweeteners is to be mindful of the "usual" gastric impact. Ahem.

I looked for something of this ilk, first time I was doing a quick back to UK trip, as ?emergency" rations, but there just isn't anything locally that isn't just sugar. That's when I first bought some little 30gr backs of salted nuts, which now longer in handbags.

I don't know what sort of work you do, but could you do some little boxes in the freezer, with perhaps cooked, sliced up quality sausage, with a little flavoursome salsa, or, again in very small clip-lock pots, a few raspberries, with another of double cream. You need to give the cream a pretty vigorous shake before using it from frozen, buT it can be done. My local pound shop or B&M had little clip-top pots, about 150ml, that I have used and used. They've been one of my diabetes best-buys for batch preparing. I also have some slightly larger, round ones I use to portion my home made stewed rhubarb (staple UK breakfast), that I can take out of the freezer, then just dollop the yog straight into there to eat, if I'm in a rush. It may not be the most elegant of tableware, but nor does it feel like I'm eating out of yoghurt cartons (just one of my stupid things!).

I think, like lots of these things, a bit of forethought and a couple of hours prep can set up weeks of solutions.
 
Snack bars that I find excellent (slow release, surprisingly filling, tasty and minimal impact on my BG) are Peanut 9bars and Bounce Peanut Protein Balls.
 

Thank you @nomistheman. That's explained the insulin/glucagon reaction nicely. Actually pointing out the grams of protein in comparison to the gram weight of the bar was a very useful demonstration. I don't macro. I simply don't want to be that strict. It suits a lot of members on the forum, but the thought of being so rigid with the p/f/c numbers just depresses me. I've always considered myself an intelligent person, but boy, this diabetes lark leaves me totally flummoxed at times.

Hi @AndBreathe. You've given me some great tips. I do need to get myself more organised with my meal preparation. I have recently bought some 150ml/200ml click-lock food containers. They're still in the shrink wrap I'm afraid. BUT, I'm certainly gonna give the fruit & cream a go. I had no idea you could freeze cream or cooked sausage. A couple of chopped up sausages with salsa sounds very appealing actually. And I like rhubarb. So that would be a nice, quick breakfast with some Greek yoghurt. Could canned Rhubarb be used? Yep...some fab tips. Thank you.

And @Brunneria...Funnily enough, I recently read a thread about 9Bars. The carb content put me off if I'm honest. But they do sound tasty, and I certainly need to be eating foods that are filling as well as rich in nutrients/fibre. I've never been particularly adventurous when it comes to cooking. I just don't enjoy it to be honest. This can make my diet monotonous. I bought some smoked paprika today, with absolutely NO idea what I'm gonna do with it. I like nuts, but find the unsalted variety bland. Any idea what I could add to perk them up? Same with my veg, meat, eggs etc...I'm stuck as to what spices I can use that would make my meals more flavoursome. I made Broccoli & Stilton soup in my newly purchased soup maker today. It was hideous & went straight in the bin. A big fail. When you're not a natural cook, and are confused about adding different flavours via spices etc, keeping meals interesting can be a problem. So all & any tips are welcome. Thanks for letting me know about the 9Bars.

May I take the opportunity to ask you good people what they would class as a BG spike. After my soup disaster, I didn't feel like a meal for tea today. So I had one slice of Burgen Soya & Linseed bread with Philadelphia cream cheese alongside a cup of tea and a sugar free jelly. My BG was 5.2 before eating, going up to 7.3 at almost 2 hours. Is this acceptable or is the "spike" too much?

Many thanks to everyone who has offered their advice regarding this post. It is much appreciated. Ali. X
 
My goal is to not rise more than 2 mmol/l at 2 hours after a meal. So I would be pretty pleased with your 5.2 to 7.3 rise.


Regarding seasonings and spicing things up... If you are inexperienced or nervous about flavour combos, and don't want to waste food in failed experiments (which I quite understand!) then cheat.

I'm all about cheating.

Pataks curry sauces, and the Tescos range of curry sauces are ready blended and balanced. There must be other brands. They look high carb until you realise you are only using a teasp or so.

If you do a proper curry you will need more paste, but you can slow the digestion and spike by adding yoghurt, cream or creamed coconut.

I make a great coronation chicken by stirring Helmans mayo, a teasp of Pataks mild curry paste, and a teasp of mango chutney into chopped chicken leftovers from the Sunday roast. Takes about 2 mins.

Pesto comes in excellent diddly little jars. Just stir a teasp or two into Zero Noodles, cooked chicken. Or even over veg.

Knorr are doing little pots of mixed herbs. They add zing to salad dressings and bolognese.

Lemon and ginger are a classic combo. Just buy a bottle of lemon juice and some fresh ginger root. Chop the ginger into inch long chunks and keep it in the freezer.
Then the next time you cook chicken leg or breast, splash in some lemon and grate in a lump of frozen ginger. Adjust the lemon to taste and sweeten with xylitol or similar.

Equal quantities of French mustard and honey maybe a heaped teasp of each, works on pork or chicken as a glaze...
 

My preference would be for fresh rhubarb, but often I buy frozen (ASDA and Tesco both do it), then batch cook. Mot means I always have some on. I've only looked at canned rhubarb overseas, here, where curiously enough, we can source some Waitrose products, but the Waitrose variant on sale here is in syrup, which I would always reject.

For frozen cream, please remember you need to really shake it when it thaws or it can spilt. Alternatively, whipped cream freezes well, and doesn't tend to split in the same way.

I'll pass making comment on spikes, as I rarely see them these days. My wrestling with my T2 seems to have been pretty successful. I've been extremely fortunate.
 

My preference would be for fresh rhubarb, but often I buy frozen (ASDA and Tesco both do it), then batch cook. Mot means I always have some on. I've only looked at canned rhubarb overseas, here, where curiously enough, we can source some Waitrose products, but the Waitrose variant on sale here is in syrup, which I would always reject.

For frozen cream, please remember you need to really shake it when it thaws or it can spilt. Alternatively, whipped cream freezes well, and doesn't tend to split in the same way.

I'll pass making comment on spikes, as I rarely see them these days. My wrestling with my T2 seems to have been pretty successful. I've been extremely fortunate.
 
Frozen ginger is fabulous. With a decent grater, you can grate it straight from frozen, so that there's no waste.

Scottish, moi?
 
AndBreathe said:
Frozen ginger is fabulous. With a decent grater, you can grate it straight from frozen, so that there's no waste.

Scottish, moi?
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I think it's GREAT you're so on top of your T2. I know that takes hard work. Fortunate you may feel, but I've no doubt tons of dedication to ensure your success will have been the deciding factor. I checked out canned Rhubarb, and yeah, all in a light syrup. No good for me either. I'll see if my local Tezzas does it frozen. Otherwise, I'll give fresh a go. Surely even I can stew some rhubarb without mucking it up. I presume it's just chopped rhubarb, water & sweetener in a pan until soft. I sound so **** dense. Lol. Oh well, don't suppose we can all be Nigella!
 
Ain't that the truth

Youtube is actually a treasure-house of "how to" cook videos, including low carb. Definitely worth checking out.
 

Rhubarb is easier than easy.

Fresh:
Wash rhubarb and remove leaves. Leaves must be discarded as they are toxic to eat.
Chop rhubarb into chunks, approx 3cm long. Put into saucepan
Add 1-2 tablespoons of water, plus however mich sweetener suits your taste (more sweetener can be added later, if it's not quite right)
On a low heat sweat the rhubarb until it begins to bubble, and break down.
Stop stewing the rhubarb just before it reaches "perfect"/preferred texture, and leave to cool. It will continue to cook in its own juices for a few moments
Allow to cool, portion and eat/freeze

I sometimes add a little cinnamon or grate a little ginger into the mixture for additional "zing".

Frozen:
Liberate from plastic container directly into saucepan. You may allow it to thaw, or proceed to the next step immediately
Follow remaining instructions for fresh.

Enjoy!

And I agree with Indy about YouTube. Videojug.com is another alternative.
 
AndBreathe said:
How long does it take you to get through 50 bars, and how far ahead are the "best before" dates?

I'm just curious. I used to have an oaty bar thingy, with cranberries as my emergency breakfast when I was doing 2 hour commutes each way to work.
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I have one every morning with my first cuppa, which is enough to last until breakfast a couple of hours or so later - can't eat much first thing! I got my last delivery last week and the use by date is November, so quite long lasting. I also keep some in my car in case I get stuck somewhere, and some in my camper.

I actually bought 2 lots this time because they sent me a voucher for £20 off if I spent over £100, so i got 100 bars for £80, I do like a bargain
 
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