Ever look at your favorite energy bar and wish it had a little more protein or that it was gluten-free? Or maybe you wish it came in a different flavor or contained fewer calories? Now, thanks to You Bar, you can design your own hand-made bars from scratch.
Launched in 2006 out of the kitchen of mother-son founders Ava Bise and Anthony Flynn, the You Bar company was founded on the principle of choice. Bise and Flynn thought consumers should be able to choose their ingredients just like they could when making bars for themselves at home.
The You Bar website gives you this ability through their Build-A-Bar interface where you can select the size, ingredients, and amounts of ingredients in your personal energy bar. You also have the option to personalize your creation by choosing a name for the label!
When making your bars you choose:
- Size – 35, 45, or 55 grams
- Base Ingredient – A variety of nut butters, soy butter, or dates
- Protein Powders – Rice, Soy, or Why
- Nuts/Seeds – Almonds, Cashews, Chia, Flax, Hemp, Peanuts, Pecans, Pumpkin, Sesame, Soynuts, Sunflower or Walnuts
- Dried Fruits & Berries – Apples, Apricots, Figs, Cherries, Goji Berries, Prunes, Raisins, Cococnut, Blueberries, Cranberries
- Sweeteners – Agave, Brown Rice Syrup, Clover Honey
- Other Additions – Cacao Nibs, Carob Powder, Chocolate Chips, Cinnamon, Coffee Crystals, Ginger, Maca Powder, Natural Unsweetened Cocoa, Sea Salt, Vanilla Extract
- Grains/Cereals – Galaxy Granola, Gluten Free Crunchy Rice Cereal, Udi’s Gluten Free Vanilla Granola
- Infusions – All-One Vitamin, Fiber, Stevia
As you build your bar, a live Nutrition Facts box tallies the content of your creation. For people wanting a certain balance of macronutrients, low sodium, or low carbohydrate bars, this is useful for watching your totals. It will also alert you to any allergens.
If you have personal needs for your bar beyond what the online Build-A-Bar interface can handle, You Bar encourages you to call or message their customer support. In general the interface has a lot of information presented in a friendly manner, but there are some things You Bar can accommodate beyond what is offered online.
If you end up loving the bar you built, you can simply reorder using the barcode or in case all that choice is just too much to handle, you can also just pick from You Bar’s standard Popular Bars, including one designed by 4-Hour Work Week author, Tim Ferriss.
I tried a variety of the standard Popular Bars to test out the You Bar product. The ingredients were all light, fresh, and flavorful. Every single one of the standard bars had a great taste, but I think the Cookie Dough was my favorite.
Depending on the ingredients some bars held together better than others. As such, I would recommend following the You Bar “recommendations” on their Build-A-Bar interface for best results when you place your first order. Things like dates make good glue, whereas grains tend to be looser and less sticky.
While the price of the You Bars might seem high –
$2.89-3.19 per bar – the quality of the ingredients, enjoy-ability of the product, and the convenience of getting exactly what you want make up for the expense. In addition, if you set up an automatic recurring order through the You Bar VIP program you will receive gifts, product samples, and more, further offsetting the price.
If you visit the You Bar site, be sure to use the discount code “breakingmuscle” for your orders to receive 15% off.
Each You Bar costs between $2.89 – $3.19 at the You Bar website.
