Nutrition Nugget! Bite-sized bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about the Feel Bar. A viral Instagram reel promising organic ingredients, adaptogens, and a bold dig at a competitor sent Jenn straight to the nutrition label to see if The Feel Bar lives up to the hype. The protein and fiber numbers look promising, but a closer look at the sweeteners, the source of fat, and a mysterious mismatch between the marketing graphics and the actual package raises a few questions. Is the cordyceps dose high enough to make a difference, or is it more marketing than function? Is this really a "notice how you feel" kind of bar, or just another premium snack riding a trendy ingredient list? Jenn breaks down the ingredients, the math, and the messaging to figure out where the Feel Bar really lands to help you determine whether it earns a spot in your snack rotation or stays on the shelf. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

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Nutrition Nugget: Barebells Protein Bars

KEYWORDS: Jenn Trepeck, Nutrition Nugget, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Health Tips, Wellness Tips, Protein Bar Nutrition, Feel Bar, Protein Bar, Nutrition Facts, Ingredient List, Organic Ingredients, Medjool Dates, Allulose, Cordyceps, Adaptogens, Ashwagandha, Functional Ingredients, Net Carbs, Added Sugar, Dietary Fiber, Saturated Fat, Sunflower Butter, Cocoa Butter, Plant Protein, Pea Protein, Vegan Snack, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Grain Free, Non Gmo, Nut Free, Snack Bar, Rule Of Five, Weight Loss, Wellness Podcast, Clean Eating, Blood Sugar, Low Glycemic Sweetener, Marketing Language, Nutrition Label, Food Label Reading, Healthy Snacking, Mushroom Supplements, Immune Support, Energy And Stamina, Real Food Ingredients, Are Feel Bars Healthy, Best Protein Bar Ingredients To Look For

[00:00:26] I have not seen these in the store. Dee, have you seen these or heard of these?

[00:00:33] Jenn Trepeck: Yes, same. And then Instagram, well, I should say the algorithm knows me very well and it fed me a reel from the founder. So, in what might be... It was an interesting, potentially risky move.

[00:01:15] So then anyway, in his reel, he goes on to say that he was annoyed, so he started making these bars from his mom's kitchen, like five years ago. He says they're made with 100% organic real ingredients, sweetened with Medjool dates. The most natural protein bar with hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, and also sweetened with coconut nectar.

[00:02:07] So I liked those questions. And then he says, "It's worth the money." So that made me think that they're really expensive. There's a lot in this to unpack. So I went to their website. In my internet search, I think I saw that the company was started in Livonia, Michigan, so shout out to the Michigan connection, and I really wanna like these, partly for that reason.

[00:03:09] Dee: So cheaper to buy one flavor versus multiple flavors.

[00:03:40] Okay, going to the nutrition facts, which means that we have to pick a flavor. So they have quite a few flavors. So they have the standards like brownie and cookie dough, and then there's salted caramel, matcha, mint chip, birthday cake, blueberry, and each one [00:04:00] has sort of different functional ingredients promoted on the package.

[00:04:28] So we'll look at that one. So the nutrition facts. Serving size is one bar. 180 calories, eight grams of total fat, of which there's one and a half grams of saturated fat, 19 grams of total carbs, 12 grams of fiber, five grams of sugar, zero grams of added sugar, then 15 grams of protein. The micronutrients are really negligible.

[00:05:11] 12 grams of fiber exceeds our five from a single packaged food. 15 grams of protein exceeds our rule of five guideline of a single packaged thing. 15 grams of protein is, like, a touch more than the equivalent of, like, two ounces of a cooked meat, so this is a snack amount of protein, and at that, a kinda small snack amount of protein.

[00:05:57] So this raises a flag to me that [00:06:00] the numbers are different in their graphic versus the package. Now, it's possible that they created the graphics from one flavor and then just changed the colors and reused them for other flavors potentially. I don't know. I am making excuses for them. I hope that that's the case.

[00:06:47] You have the two ounces of protein, the fiber, and the fat is where I kind of get to maybe a little more than two hours So let's go to the ingredients. Okay, the list reads organic pea [00:07:00] protein, organic sunflower butter, organic Medjool dates, organic tapioca fiber, organic allulose, organic chocolate chips, organic cocoa nibs, organic cocoa butter, organic cocoa powder, organic wild crafted cordyceps, Madagascar vanilla extract, sea salt, organic maple extract, organic sunflower lecithin, organic rosemary extract.

[00:07:50] With the sweeteners, I go back to his Instagram reel of, you know, sweetened with dates and maybe some, [00:08:00] you know, the coconut. That was very misleading for what I read here. So for those of you who can't see, Dee just sort of counted off on her fingers. And I was like, "Yes, exactly." So yes, it has dates. Then it also has allulose and maple extract.

[00:08:45] At the same time, sweet flavors, you know, sensed by the tongue can create an insulin response, can keep us craving and wanting more and more sweet flavors. [00:09:00] And I don't know, I wish I knew how much was really in there. We don't know. And you know, most studies that I've seen looked at doses ranging from like four to seven grams of allulose, the highest dose being 15 grams, and we really don't know long-term impact.

[00:09:42] I wouldn't blame you if these bars end up in like a once in a while category. Other marketing assets that I saw on their site show ingredients like chia seeds, which I didn't see in the ingredients of this one. I don't know if all of this comes down to different flavors have [00:10:00] different things and they've just, like I said, duplicated some of these graphics.

[00:10:35] Studies show that for stamina and energy or, like, exercise support you need doses of over three grams per day. For the immune system support, it's doses more like one to three grams per day in the studies. The ingredients here does not tell us the source of the cordyceps. It also [00:11:00] really doesn't tell us the amount.

[00:11:30] Given that the Instagram video gave a caveat to the price, I wonder what the price would be if he upped the amount of the cordyceps in there to then give us a, you know, a sufficient dose there. I wonder if it would create a snowball, or if it would impact other flavors and then create a snowball of having to add other ingredients to mask the flavor.

[00:12:15] Dee: I'm with you. I think if I saw them and that was... I had to choose between that and some other ones, and I liked the ingredient list as far as being real food. Like you said, though, I was like, with the five grams of sugar or whatever, I mean, I know that there was, like, multiple types of sugar in there. I mean, my question mark is this, like, why didn't you just stick with the dates for the sweetness?

[00:12:41] Jenn Trepeck: changing that. Well, and he has the maple syrup extract in there.

[00:12:45] Jenn Trepeck: I wonder, too, if all dates means that it's gonna have a really short shelf life. I don't know.

[00:12:52] Jenn Trepeck: Yeah. I'm now making a lot of assumptions. I don't know.

[00:12:56] Does it say- I don't think so ... has it been refrigerated?

[00:13:09] Dee: Something good to grab if that's your only choice.

[00:13:12] Dee: A much better choice than a lot of other options that you have. Exactly.

[00:13:18] Jenn Trepeck: choice. I mean, I love me a french fry.

[00:13:20] Jenn Trepeck: That, that was not a fair this or that.

[00:13:26] Jenn Trepeck: At least personally. Right, yeah, exactly.

[00:13:31] Jenn Trepeck: There you go.

[00:13:32] Jenn Trepeck: Okay.

[00:13:33] Jenn Trepeck: Balance, right?

[00:13:55] Dee: Well, thank you for having me. It's, it's a lot of fun. Love the topic.

[00:14:20] You get discounts, curated content, interview episodes in full video, and of course, this week's recipe for individual sausage casseroles. Well, friends, that's it for today's episode of Salad with a Side of Fries. Congratulations for making yourself and your health a priority. Thanks so much for joining us.