(Reposted from original review posted July 16, 2006 on Lady Rose’s personal blog: Incredible Shrinking Ladies)

I’m not really a big fan of nutrition bars — real food is definitely more nutritous and more filling than any bar I’ve had so far, but they are a popular diet item and once in awhile there are circumstances where a bar might be useful (convenience, travel, easy to count calories) - so I will try a few out.

This one I purchased because I was going to New York and knew I would have a hard time findng anything low in calories and fat and high in protein along the way, and it was going to be a long time before lunch (our reservations were for 2:30 p.m.

I got the chocolate peanut butter zone bar
Calories 210 — a bit high for me to have for breakfast, but doable.
Carbs - 21 yikes!
Fats 7 grams - a little on the high side, but at least it was protein and had 0g trans fat
Sodium 330 mg. — a little on the high side
Protein - 16 grams — excellent
Fiber - 1 gram - poor, definitely could use more fiber
Sugars - 13 grams way too high
Only 10% calcuim, but did have 100% of vit. E, and a few other vitamins tossed in.

The taste is good, the texture is ok. However, the chocolate and sweetness definitely makes it more of a dessert not a meal — which can kick in cravings for more sweets and carbs. It was not filling, but did satisfy most of the morning hunger for about an hour (but only an hour!).

Two and half hours later I was totally starving with no food in sight (we were at the American Girl Place in New York and lunch was hours away). After three hours my blood sugar had dropped and I was tired and shaky and had to sit down - we had reservations so had to wait to eat.

Even if I had brought another bar with me — to add another 210 calories in empty calories for me would not have been worth it. I ended up having a handful of dry Crispex cereal that I had brought for my daughter as a mid-morning snack just so I wouldn’t pass out.

For a meal - Comparing the bar to real food for almost the same 210 calories I could have had a full 5 servings of green beans (125 calories) and 2 soy dogs (90 calories) = total calories 215. Enough food for two meals and 18 grams of healthy protein, very little fat, very low sodium, a lot more fiber - which would have kept me full and my blood sugar stable a lot longer.

For travel - What I could have packed instead and easy too - whole green beans I could have packed in my purse in zip lock bags — they are good at room tempurature and can be eaten easily with fingers. For protein I could have packed two hard boiled eggs (already peeled) - a little more calories and fat, but an egg yolk contains all the vitamins the body needs (except for C) and are only 75 calories each for a large.

In conclusion - the Zone Bar was tasty, and as an occasional treat for a dessert or a quick snack to avoid unhealthier choices it is an ok choice (definitely has a good serving of protein). But, at least for me, it is not a good choice for a meal replacement.

Rating: 3 halos.

FYI: All the reviews are done for FREE, to learn more about the ratings or to arrange for a review, see Lady Rose’s Reviews.

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