Comparing Granola Bars
Don't confuse granola bars with breakfast/cereal bars. Granola bars are made from whole grains; breakfast bars are made with refined grain and look like a smooth pastry.
Few granola bars are high in fiber, and some have more sugar than one serving of cereal. But most are low in fat and provide adequate nutrition as a quick breakfast or snack.
Here are a few shopping tips:
-
Pay attention to serving size. Larger granola bars are higher in calories, and some products come packaged with two bars per serving.
-
Check the fat content and choose low- or no-fat products.
-
Granola bars that contain candy and are marketed to children are higher in fat but, on average, contain no more sugar than other bars.
Getting Specific
This chart displays calories, fat, fiber and sugar grams for a variety of granola bars. Note that serving sizes vary from 21 gm to 42 gm.
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nature's Choice Oats 'n' Honey (1 at 21 gm)
Cals.: 80
Fat (gm): 2
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 7
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nature's Choice Peanut Butter (1 at 21 gm)
Cals.: 80
Fat (gm): 3
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 7
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Earth's Best Pear Raspberry (1 at 21 gm)
Cals.: 90
Fat (gm): 2.5
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 5
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Kudos Milk Chocolate With M and Ms (1 at 23.2 gm)
Cals.: 90
Fat (gm): 2.5
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 9
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Health Valley Wild Berry (1 at 29 gm)
Cals.: 100
Fat (gm): 1
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 10
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Health Valley Dutch Apple (1 at 29 gm)
Cals.: 100
Fat (gm): 1
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 12
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Kudos Milk Chocolate With Snickers (1 at 23.2 gm)
Cals.: 100
Fat (gm): 3.5
Fiber (gm): 0
Sugar (gm): 9
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Quaker Chewy Graham Slam (1 at 28 gm)
Cals.: 110
Fat (gm): 2
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 9
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Quaker Low-Fat S'mores (1 at 28 gm)
Cals.: 110
Fat (gm): 2
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 10
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Quaker Low-Fat Chocolate Chunk (1 at 28 gm)
Cals.: 110
Fat (gm): 2
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 10
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nabisco Oreo (1 at 28 gm)
Cals.: 120
Fat (gm): 4
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 9
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nabisco Nutter Butter (1 at 28 gm)
Cals.: 120
Fat (gm): 4
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 9
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Health Valley Fat-Free Strawberry (1 at 42 gm)
Cals.: 140
Fat (gm): 0
Fiber (gm): 3
Sugar (gm): 14
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Health Valley Fat-Free Chocolate Chip (1 at 42 gm)
Cals.: 140
Fat (gm): 0
Fiber (gm): 3
Sugar (gm): 14
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): FI*BAR Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch (1 at 34 gm)
Cals.: 140
Fat (gm): 4.5
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 10
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): FI*BAR Milk Chocolate Almond Crunch (1 at 34 gm)
Cals.: 140
Fat (gm): 4.5
Fiber (gm): 1
Sugar (gm): 11
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nature Valley Cinnamon (2 at 42gm)
CALS.: 180
Fat(gm): 6
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 11
Granola Bar (serving size = number of bars at gram weight): Nature Valley Peanut Butter (2 at 42gm)
Cals.: 180
Fat (gm): 6
Fiber (gm): 2
Sugar (gm): 11
Source: Product packaging