When I am coaching people for nutritional goals, whether via phone, e-mail, or face-to-face, one of the documents that I supply is a proprietary 13 page primer on the “Top 18 Dietary Questions to Ask Yourself”.

One of these eighteen questions covers the topic of supplements…and includes the following snippet:

When choosing energy bars, look for:

-Primary carb source (at least 3g of fiber or more) from whole grains like brown rice, oats, bran, barley, rye, buckwheat or whole wheat flour.

-Natural sugars (preferably 15g or less): dried or fresh fruit, fruit juice, purees (fructose), milk (lactose), agave nectar, and honey

-Lean protein sources such as whey, soy, casein or eggs

-Monunsaturated fat supplied by nuts and seeds, nut butters or flaxseed

-Limit ingredients like wheat flakes, rice, white flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, malitol, malt syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and colors, saturated/trans fats, palm kernel oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil or extra calories from chocolate, caramel, frosting, or icing.

- Recommend Bumblebar, HammerBar or Larabar.

But what if you want to actually custom design your own energy bar? I do it, and I’m going to tell you exactly how and also give you a special discount code.

I use this guy’s kitchen in Los Angeles and give him instructions over the internet. I’m not kidding. It’s called “YouBars“.

Here’s how it works:

1) I choose a simple list of ingredients on his website. Stuff like almond butter, stevia, rice protein and dried cherries.

2) The bars are custom-made and shipped directly to me 4 days later.

3) I get a free box of bars if I don’t like my recipe.

This is the coolest healthy bar alternative I’ve seen in a long time, and the only way to get a completely customized solution. To top it off, you can also custom design your own energy shakes also, which are sent to you in convenient packages for individual mixing! You can check it out at http://www.youbars.com, and he’s even throwing in a 5% discount if you use discount code “BGF”.

So…http://www.youbars.com…my custom recipe is cashew butter + whey protein + hempseeds + organic shredded coconut + agave nectar + organic cocao nibs + no grains + spirulina.

Bon appetit!

Related posts:

1. The Healthy Traveler – Part I: What’s In Your Carry-On?