Okay, so I've always kinda stayed away from ZONE Bars on a regular basis. While the taste is great and 14 grams of protein in just 200 calories is pretty impressive, I've always felt that their saturated fat content is a LITTLE high. Not to mention, if you're trying to use this as a quick breakfast , chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel are not exactly on my taste bud's radar that early in the morning.
But those days are OVER! The minds behind Berry Sear's Zone Diet have come out 4 new flavors of FRUITIFIED Zone Perfect Nutrition Bars - Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Orange Cranberry, and Banana Nut. Each bar has real fruit pieces, and they also have additional Vitamin A & C. Each bar is also loaded with potassium, free of unhealthy trans fat, and provides 14 grams of protein. The nutritional values vary a little bit, so check out the numbers below to see which flavors best match your personal eating plan. Some are slightly lower in calories, a few less grams of sugar, lower in saturated fat, etc. There's a bar for everyone somewhere in this mix!
Apple Cinnamon - Calories: 180; Total Fat: 2g; Saturated Fat: 0.5g; Trans Fat: 0g; Carbs: 27g; Fiber: 3g; Sugars: 17g; Protein: 14g
Blueberry - Calories: 190; Total Fat: 4g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Trans Fat: 0g; Carbs: 25g; Fiber: 3g; Sugars: 14g; Protein: 14g
Orange Cranberry - Calories: 190; Total Fat: 5g; Saturated Fat: 2.5g; Trans Fat: 0g; Carbs: 24g; Fiber: 3g; Sugars: 11g; Protein: 14g
Banana Nut - Calories: 200; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1.5g; Trans Fat: 0g; Carbs: 24g; Fiber: 3g; Sugars: 12g; Protein: 14g
Breakfast suggestion: If you have time before you leave the house, take it out of the wrapper and pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. It adds that "just out of the oven" goodness to make you feel like you put a lot more effort into your breakfast preparation than you actually did.
Snack suggestion: These bars are great to fuel a workout after a day at work. 1-2 hours before your workout, eat half of the bar while you sip some water. Then, place the remainder of the bar in your gym bag. If you are headed straight to eat dinner after your workout, save the rest of the bar for the next day. However, if you're going to be a while before you get to eat again (have to pick up the kids, need a shower, you have to cook first, etc.), go ahead and finish the bar. This will prevent you from overeating later, and you can go ahead and refuel while your metabolism is still high.
