@ food related: protein bars?

[epphd]

So quite by accident, Sam has become obsessed with protein bars. A couple months ago we were hiking and he rooted around in my pack and dug up a Tiger Milk bar - I had them on me at all times during chemo because they were one of the foods that sounded good.

I let him have some and that was that. Naturally I don't want him eating that variety specifically - it's nearly entirely synthetic - but I have let him have some Luna Bars, Cliff bars, etc, mainly at breakfast. Truth is he eats maaaybe 1/2 of it then nibbles on the other half as a snack after school.

On the pro side: kid is a HUNGRY bear in the morning and is a huge PITA to feed. He will ask for eleventy seven items and eat a fractional amount of each, totaling approximately nothing. This includes yogurt, PB toast, PB on a spoon, fruit, oatmeal, cereal, crackers, and on and on. He will ask endlessly and thus I spend a big chunk of time preparing or clearing or explaining or telling no, etc. And w/o food in his tummy he really can't cope with life in the morning. But he will eat half a protein bar and be happy and independent allowing me to get ready.

On the con side: Balance bars back that kid up. But they're ridiculously high protein, so that seems easy to avoid. There's also just the "I should be giving him whole nutritious organic handmade homemade items" guilt trip.

He is tall for his age and on the slender side, very active.

How bad is this?

*oh, and note that granola bars or the "kids" bars made of puffed rice - he knows the difference and doesn't care for them. He likes the kind of dense chewiness of the "protein" bar.

[gretchenindisguise]

A smores Luna Bar is my kiddo's breakfast of choice.

I'm just excited that she wants to eat. She's 3 and has always been small.

[meshaliuknits]

I think it's probably ok. Also, tiger milk bars are delicious. My mother used to bring them home to us from the gym. Fond memories.

If you're concerned, he might like these: www.ellaskitchen.com/apples-strawberries-nibbly-fingers/ BabyLiu is a big fan and they are nice and dense and chewy. Probably not as much as the protein bars, though. As far as I can tell, the biggest downside is my 2yo always wants two, one in each hand.

[thumper55]

the protein is usually whey , casein , or soy, right?

I wouldn't be too concerned, unless it is soy and you are feeding a lot of other soy based foods.

higher amounts of soy is questionable because of the estrogen it has.

My DS loves soy milk and tofu, but curb how much he can have.

My DS doesn't like any type of "granola" bar, but he likes nut bars (Kind) which can get $$

[darnkatz]

Clif makes a kid protein bar. They are called Zbars. They have regular and crispy rice in a variety of flavors. Cascadian Farm and Annie's both makes bars, too. Oh, and I just found something called Monkey Brain bars at Target, and L seems to really dig them.

I really like the Uber Larabars. They are minimally processed with a short list of ingredients and are amazingly delicious, especially the apple turnover flavor. It's one of the only things I can stomach for breakfast right now. L really likes them as well.

[epphd]

Aug 22, 2012 18:32:27 GMT -5 mr+ms said:

I wouldn't be concerned about the protein amount (looks like not much more than a couple of eggs). But the ingredients make it more of a food-like substance than food, imo. A Lara bar is a better bet in that regard. Or even a Kind bar.

Lara bars are super easy to make at home if you have a food processor. You could make up a big batch and freeze kid-sized portions. Here's another granola bar recipe that falls into the dense and chewy category and it's very versatile: smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/02/thick-chewy-granola-bars/

Yeah, I know. that's the guilt part. But Lara bars have not flown at all. I am sure he'd love Kind bars in other contexts, but not this one. It's a question of "do I indulge this phase" (which it undoubtedly is) or do I stop him from ingesting a non-"clean" food? (and FTR, I am not a "clean" eater myself not do I believe that processed foods in relatively small quantities are evil).

Thanks for the recipe. If I ever get an hour to bake maybe I'll try it