Ok, fine. Yes, I do drink occasionally as a post-op bariatric patient. Heck, I even had a beer this last weekend. But no, I’m not talking about that kind of bars here. I’m talking “snack bars”, protein filled and otherwise. I do tend to use them on a regular basis to get me through my day, to help take the edge off my hunger between meals. I figured it might be worth sharing a bit about the ones I tend to like.

One thing up front… even the so-called protein bars tend not to have a whole lot goin for them nutrition wise. Often they are simply candy-bars with soy crisps or other forms of soy protein thrown in to boost up the protein levels. Often they also have a ton of sugars.. if not they turn to sugar alcohols. While they are often touted as “meal replacements”, I don’t use them in that way. And calorie wise… these are not the sort of thing I would suggest for someone trying to lose weight. Most of the bars that fall in to this category run between 2-300 calories. As I said, I use them for between meal snacks, something to tide me over until my next planned, healthy meal.

I wrote a long time ago about a bar sold under the Snicker’s brand… I don’t remember the last time I had one of those. Where I used to work there was a small store across the street that carried them. I think I turned to them because they were easily accessible.

For quite awhile, I was on a kick where the Zone Perfect bars were my snack de jour. Actually, Target carries a generic version of them that’s a much better deal price wise, box of five for just under $4. The chocolate mint and fudge graham are my favorites. These things clock in at about 200 calories with about 14g of protein and nearly as much sugar. So if you dump, you’ll likely want to avoid them. Again, these are basically protein candy bars.

Lately, it’s been Clif bars – the variety pack from Costco; chocolate chip, crunchy peanut butter, and chocolate chip peanut crunch. I’ve gotta warn you right off the bat, these ain’t for everyone. They are high in sugar, around 25g per bar  mostly in the form of organic brown rice syrup. The various flavors average about 10g of protein and clock in around 240 calories. The ingredients are mostly organic, so I suppose an argument could be made that these are a healthier option than your typical candy bar. For me, I like the taste, and one of these will typically keep my hunger at bay for another couple hours. Cost wise, these things are over a buck a bar if you buy them solo in most stores. If you get the 24-pack at Costco though, you can get them for about 75 cents each.

Now the one thing about all the various bars out there … they appeal to your sweet tooth. Chocolate, fruity, etc. I was at a health expo a couple weekends ago and came across Journey Bars. These take snack bars in a different direction… savory. It’s kind of weird to think about, especially when you see the flavors; wasabi ginger, mesquite bbq, parmesan romano and coconut curry (my personal fave). But they really do work and are a very refreshing option. These are not “protein” bars at all, averaging just 6g per bar. Calories clock in at 200, plus or minus and about 5-6g sugar. The coconut curry is a bit higher with 10g sugar… I’m thinking from the coconut itself. I don’t think this is a bar I would eat all the time, but I would keep these around for something to have that’s a nice change of pace.

These guys are just growing, so if you can find them in a local store you’ll probably pay a couple bucks a bar. Online you can get a dozen for $19. Not cheap… but they are a very nice change of pace from the typical “candy” type bar out there.

Now this last weekend while I was in Portland the little shop off the lobby had a bar I ended up trying… and liking quite a bit. CoGoBar – an organic, gluten free “food bar”. The CoGo stands for Columbia Gorge, the bars are made Columbia Gorge Organic, an “honest-to-goodness family farm. Since 1989″. The store had three flavors, peanut chocolate chip, double chocolate, and my favorite of the three, almond banana. They also come in a hemp apricot and superberry. Again, these are not protein bars… averaging only about 5g per bar and they average about 180 calories and about 12g sugar. They’re made with a blend of amaranth, millet and quinoa… which could be why I like them so much! They don’t use refined sugars, getting their sweetness from pear puree and brown rice. I bought a couple of each flavor to bring home, though I am sort of thinking I should have stuck to just the almond banana. I like the others, but not quite as much. Oh yea, these are all vegan as well if you’re looking for something along those lines.

So there you have it… I don’t know if you’re looking for some options to help get you through until your next meal… but hey, I figured I would offer up my thoughts anyways! Oh yea… I do have to throw in a mention for my own home-made protein bars as well. I’d be remiss if I didn’t, right?

Last week I linked to an article on The Huffington Post that was pretty negative regarding agave nectar and presented a bunch of info to back a claim on how it is worse for you than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Well, Andy over at Small Bites has another opinion on the matter. And honestly, his opinions have been ones I’ve come to respect and trust… and he really does back up what he talks about.

Since I started Small Bites, I have always said that, as far as I am concerned, “sugar is sugar is sugar”.  All sweeteners offer 4 grams of sugar (16 calories) per teaspoon.  The best thing you can do is limit all added sugars — whether it’s white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or agave.

That said, I don’t see the need to demonize agave, which brings us to this post.

Honestly, I was hesitant to present the original article because I do have reservations about The Huffington Post in general… but it seemed a worthy enough article that I figured I would move past my own prejudice and share it. Do I regret doing so? No, not really, but I think you are doing yourself a grave disservice if you don’t also read Andy’s article as well.

You Ask, I Answer: Agave Is The New Enemy? [Small Bites]

Celery is sort of a character actor of the vegetable world. Always playing the supporting-actor to other more well known items like peanut butter or cream cheese, cause by itself it really doesn’t pack a lot of flavor. But it is good for you… here’s what the folks over at NutritionData say about celery in summary;

The good: This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

The bad: This food is high in Sodium, and a large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Ok, sugars… a high portion of calories come from the natural sugars, but one serving is still only bout 2g of sugar, and does have 1g of protein. As part of a post-WLS diet, celery can be a decent source of not only fiber but also, and maybe more importantly, it adds CRUNCH!

Celery, because it’s so high in water is actually pretty easy to digest, except for one lil issue… fibers. No, not dietary fiber, there are natural fibers that run along the back of the celery, or the ribs. We’ve all come across them before, right? Pre-op they get caught in your teeth, post-op… well.. those fibers don’t chew well, and  why push it when it’s so easy to do something about? And that’s today’s quick-tip. (took me long enough to get there, didn’t it?)

When you’re gonna do something with celery, take a minute and strip the fibers from the ribs… it’s easy enough to do with a paring knife, just sort of catch the edge of the celery at one end and peel those lil suckers right back.

Once you get them started, they peel back pretty easy. You can also use a vegetable peeler, but I don’t drag it out just for something I can do just as easy with a knife. Do the same from both ends, and you’ll end up with a bird nest of them like this…

If you’re chopping the celery up in small chunks for going in a salad, you don’t really have to do this. The strings end up small enough to swallow easy enough, but if you’re doing sticks to stuff, give this a shot.

No… I’m not looking in the mirror again. Here… check this out.

That is celery root, or celeriac. It’s not the root from the usual celery we see in the store, the stalks from this are hollow and reed like, and sometimes used for a vegetable straw in drinks like bloody mary’s. Maybe that’s where the idea to put celery in them started?

Anyways… this root ball can be pealed and used in soups, stews, and for those looking to reduce carbs it can be cooked and mashed as a substitute for potatoes.

It seems, from my digging around, that this stuff is about 1/4 to 1/3 the carbs of a potato per serving, and lot less sugars… which was odd, cause to me this tasted sweeter than actual poatoes.

So next time you’re gettng a hankering for some mashed potatoes, hit the produce section and grab some celery root and give it a shot… I mixed mine up with a bit of Smart Balance margaine and milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder and really liked it… and will get it again…went great with the grilled pork I had for dinner.

I think next time I might even try baking some fries, or maybe cubing or shredding. I wonder if they would make for a low-carb hashed browns?

Stay tuned!

No, I’m not talking about keeping office supplies in the kitchen. Staples, when it comes to cooking are those things that you just always seem to keep on hand. Salt, pepper, milk, butter, sugar, etc. Well, post WLS that list shifts a bit. I’m not going to touch on those basics, instead there’s a few things that have become items that I want to make sure I always have on hand… they’re all low in fat, decently low in calories and sugars, and high in protein.

First up… yogurt. Yea, all WLS sites extoll the virtues of yogurt. Some folks really prefer the majorly Greek style ones that are super thick, and yea, they are usually super-high in protein. But they’re also expensive. I’m going through 4-6 cups a week, so I’m willing to sacrifice a bit on the protein side if I can find one that won’t cost me $15+ a week. (Hey, I am Scottish after all.) I’ve tried a few of the major brands here, Dannon, Old Home, and Yoplait, and I’ve decided Yoplait is going to be my brand of choice.

I can usually get the 32oz container (four cups) of the plain flavored, fat-free for under $3 at the local chain grocery stores. It has a really creamy texture that works great for adding to protein shakes, using in dressings, and while it’s thinner than sour cream I have used it for topping refried beans along with a bit of salsa.

For each 1 cup serving there’s 130 calories, 0 fat, 15g of protein, and a 17g of sugars. The sugars seem a bit high, bit typically the most I ever have of this at any given time is 1/2 cup when in a protein shake, and I haven’t had any issues with it.

Next is soy milk. I was buying one of the shelf-stable brands, and I probably will pick up a container to keep on hand for times (like over the weekend) when I ran out of the stuff in the fridge. While I like the idea of not having to refrigerate it until I open it… the high cost of over $3 for just 4 cups was bugging me. I tried the cheaper brands and didn’t like them. So I tried the half-gallon sizes that are in the fridge and found one I like… and it’s bout the same cost as the 4cup ones, so bonus!

The one I’ve settled on is Silk Soy Natural Unsweetened.

Now, I’m not quite to the point of liking it enough to drink straight. I use it primarily in my protein shakes, a lil bit when making scrambled eggs or my protein pancakes.

For a 1 cup serving, you’ll get 80 calories, 4g of fat (35 calories), 1g of sugars, and a respectable 7g of protein. Compare that to 1% milk, which is about 110 calories, 2g of fat, 12g of sugars and 8g of protein. Yea, it’s more fat… especially if you compare to Skim milk at 0g. So soy vs cows milk is one of these that could be a personal choice and the overall stats will likely balance out.

My third is is my protein powder. I’ve been trying a number of different ones…and I’ll likely keep trying a few different ones, but the first one I tried is one I got lucky with and continue to like.

Champion Pure Whey Low Carb. I have only tried the vanillia, but I’ve been using it in shakes, pancakes, ice cream and even with some apple sauce and it’s been working great for me.

The “one scoop” serving is a bit over 3oz and has just 120 calories (15 from fat), 1.5g of fat, 1g of sugars and 26g of protein.

I haven’t found a single protein powder that I could handle on a regular basis just mixed with water. Yea, in a pinch… I could do it, but most of the time I’m doing a protein shake with milk, yogurt and some fruit or adding some to other foods that won’t freak if you add a bit of vanillia flavor to them.

I haven’t tried the chocolate, but I imagine it will be good. Second runner up might be the Chike! stuff I recently got samples of… so I’ll be throwing up some info on them soon.

This next one is something I tried at my sister’s recently. My newphew loves them too… so no, it’s not just me.

Boca Nuggets. Boca Original Chik’n Nuggets are made with soy and wheat proteins and have no artificial flavors or preservatives. While there are a couple of Boca products made with organic soy, these aren’t one of them.

What they do have is 180 calories, 7g of fat (60 calories worth) in each 4 nugget serving along with just 2g of sugars and 14g of protein. That’s almost 4g of protein per nugget.

Now, I contend that everything “tastes like chicken” because chicken has no real taste of it’s own. That said, these do have a decent taste, and a nice texture. And technically, the ones my sister served were Morningstar Farms, but the Boca brand is a bit cheaper, and remember, I’m Scottish. I don’t know that I could tell you the difference in a side-by-side taste test. The boxes are 10oz, or bout 14 nuggets for about $350-4.50 depending on the store. So no, they’re not cheap… but they will have a permanent place in the freezer for those times I’m not sure what I wanna cook for dinner.

I did some of these just last night and tossed them in some buffalo sauce. Good stuff. Oh, but pop them in the toaster oven, don’t nuke them. I haven’t actually tried them… but it takes just 10 minutes, why risk getting some rubber chik’n vs something you can enjoy when you eat them.

Lastly is something that I just tried for the first time tonight and so this list right now is five instead of four items. Someone told me about this and I stopped by Super Target to check it out… and from the first bite I’m hooked.

Archer Farms Cinnamon Start with Protein cereal. Yea, it’s a mouthful. And being Archer Farms, you’ll only find it at Target, and at about $4.50-4.99, it’s not the cheapest cereal out there, but it’s worth it.

It’s a  low fat mix of soy and corn flakes and nuggets, flavored with honey and cinnamon. It’s got a great crunch, the cinnamon taste is nice, and it’s not super-sweet. When I got home I mixed about 1/4 cup with some yogurt… this is going to not only become a regular breakfast for me, but the ceral itself could be a nice snack for times I’m looking for that crunch.

A serving is 3/4 cup and has 190 calories, 2g of fat (20 calories), 14g of sugars and 15g of protein. I’ve heard Kashi has a high-protein cereal, but not sure how it compares…. and from some things I’ve read while digging up this image, I guess this is supposed to taste a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but with a different texture.

So… these are five things that are going to be main-stays in my kitchen, those things I would rather not run out of. There are likely going to be more added to this list as I keep trying different things out, but I would have no problem recommending to any of you making these part of your post-WLS life style.