Inspired by my recent "How much sugar in your breakfast?" post, I decided to dedicate an entire post to just breakfast bars today. So many of us are too busy to even think about sitting down for a proper breakfast, which means it's all grab-and-go these days. Sadly, many of the brands that one would think are "better" choices are loaded with sugar, so below I'm sharing a variety of brands listed from least to most sugar. Just to recap...
If you need quick ideas, check out these Easy Breakfast Ideas!
How much sugar we should be eating
The recommended daily allowance of added sugar is:
- 12 grams for children
- 24 grams for women
- 36 grams for men
Not all sugars or bars are created equal
Just a reminder that most labels don't break out naturally occurring sugar from added sugar (at this time) so I can only compare these products based on the totals. A few contain some naturally occurring sugar, but I tried to select most that don't to make things as "apples to apples" as possible. That's why I didn't include one of our favorites, LARABAR, because it's mostly dried fruit which would skew the total. And, on that note, these bars are not created equal otherwise.
WARNING: Some bars listed here are full of junky additives (like artificial flavors) and others qualify as a "cleaner" bar for sure. Just because a clean bar has twice as much sugar as a highly-processed one does not mean that should be your only consideration! Also, some bar brands offer many different flavors, all with varying sugar counts. But for the sake of comparison, we're going to put all of that aside for the moment and look at how much damage just one of your favorite bars will do to your sugar intake for the day!
How much sugar is in your breakfast bar?
These are in order from least to most sugar and it's crazy how once you get further down the list, so many of them exceed the 12-gram limit that's recommended for the entire day for our kids. And remember, this is just breakfast...
Health Warrior Organic Pumpkin Seed Bars
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Annie's Organic Chewy Granola Bars - Chocolate Chip
KIND Breakfast Bars - Blueberry Almond
CLIF Kid Organic ZBar - Chocolate Brownie
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars - Oats 'n Honey
Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Soft Baked - Blueberry
Kellogg's Special K Protein Meal Bars - Chocolate Peanut Butter
KIND Fruit & Nut Bars - Almond & Coconut
Quaker Breakfast Squares - Baked Apple Cinnamon
Quaker Chewy Dipps - Chocolate Chip
LUNA Protein Bars - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Balance Protein Bars - Cookie Dough
Clif Energy Bars - Chocolate Almond Fudge
Alicia says
I have eight different Kind bars in my pantry and five of them have 5 grams of sugar. Love these bars.
Alexis Moore says
Hello
Thank you for sharing the post. Usually the bars that are coming in markets focus on the taste and not on health. But your post highlights that bars that have limited sugar which in trun works with regard to ones health.
Might I suggest https://www.instagram.com/factdrofficial/ for more information on health.
thanks
Heather says
Now I know which bar is for me, the one with the most sugar! No really when depressed or in a panic attack it helps me
Christina Hostert says
As commented by another reader, the Health Warrior brand clearly makes bars with peanuts in them. I've seen this before on your site where you state that something is "nut-free" but the vendor clearly uses nuts in some of its products. As a mother of a child with severe nut allergies, I pay close attention to those details. A product can not be called "nut free" if it is made in the same facility as products with nuts (unless a company backs it up with procedures in place, etc). Since you are recommending food and getting paid to do so, please take the time to learn about what you are recommending. I like your website/recipes but I feel that you are way too popular to be making these type of "amateur" errors.
Lisa says
You are right, their facility processes peanuts. Thank you for pointing that out.
Lisa says
Post has been updated!
tracey thompson says
You left out the Clif Bar Luna with only 5 grams of sugar and 180 calories. They have 3-4 delicious flavors and you totally don't miss the extra sugar. I will try the Health Warrior brand too! I don't know why they feel they have to put so much sugar in their products! Thanks for the information.
Michelle Rorke says
Some of the Health Warrior bars are nut free. The graphic you use clearly shows one that contains peanuts!
Lisa says
Yes, they have a lot of options both with and without nuts.
Kristin says
I DIY most snacks like granola bars and Lara bars, so I can control the ingredients, added sugar, save money, etc. But am currently looking for prepackaged snacks for an upcoming trip. My oldest dislikes larabars, Kind type bars, seeds, puréed dried fruits and certain nuts.. Which leaves granola bars and certain blends of trail mix. Also many of the healthier bars contain nuts, which I can't send in to school for the occasional treat. I usually go to Aldi and find the knock off snack bar with the best ingredients and lowest sugar.
CT says
Wow..that was very enlightening. I was surprised at some of the selections. Thanks for comparisons.