Are KIND bars healthy? Tips for choosing a nutritious snack bar. (2024)

• Nutrition

I carry snacks with me whenever I’m on the go, especially when I travel. Usually, my stash includes a mountain of snack bars because they are easy to carry, mess-free, and can offer a well-rounded, nutritious energy boost that will keep me satisfied to my next meal. One of my favorite snack bars are KIND bars because of their whole foods ingredient list and because of their yummy taste.You can find these bars just about anywhere – the gas station, the checkout counter of your local coffee shop, and the airport.

FDA warns some KIND bars are not so healthy

When I saw the recent news headlines stating that the FDA sent KIND Healthy Snacks a warning letter that their bars did not comply with FDA standards of the term “healthy,” I was immediately confused and heartbroken that my continuous stash of these nutty, sweet goodness bars weren’tas healthy as I thought they were.

The FDA specifically pointed out four KIND bars – Kind Fruit and Nut Almond and Apricot, Kind Fruit and Nut Almond and Coconut, Kind Plus Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein, and Kind Plus Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants – that “do not meet the requirements for the use of the nutrient content claim ‘healthy’ on a food label.”

To claim that something is healthy, a food must have no more than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving and contain no more than 15 percent of its calories from saturated fat. The KIND bars specificallycalled out contain between 2.5 and 5 times this amount of saturated fat per bar.

However, if you are a KIND bar lover like me, you know that the bar is made up of mostly nuts. Nuts have a high fat content, just like other naturally fatty foods, such as olive oil and avocados. But this type of fat is actually good for you. So while these bars fail to comply to FDA standards, it does not mean that they are not healthy.

Good news for us KIND fans, the company has stated that they are working with the FDA and will change its labels, but not the recipes.

My checklist when choosing a healthy snack bar

Image source: inandaroundthemilitary.blogspot.com

Whole foods and minimal ingredient list. Look at the ingredient list. Can you pronounce it? Recognize the ingredients as foods you can find at the grocery? Check. Check.

Natural sugar. Many nutritional bars are made with nuts and require a little bit of natural sweetener to bind the ingredients together, or use dates (another source of natural sugar) to make up the bulk of the bar. Aim for 5 – 10 grams of natural sugar of less.

Protein. A balanced bar that includes protein from sources such as nuts, seeds, or protein isolates, will help keep you full for longer and create lasting energy needed to get you to your next meal.

Healthy fats. Most bars in my stash contain a good amount of healthy fats from nuts and seeds, and for a good reason. Combined with protein, healthy fats help me perform at my best and ward off hunger over a few hour span.

Some of my favorite go to bars include: KIND bars, Larabars, PROBAR (these are higher in calories, so I will usually have half and save the rest for later) and SoyJoy.

I even have it on my to-do list to create my own!

What are your favorite snacks to have on hand?

• healthy snacks, KIND bars, nutrition, snack bars