Analysis: The Best Healthy, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Protein Bars You Can Buy on Amazon

I find myself in this position every year: Home for the holidays, stomach growling, rifling through my parents’ pantry to find something that fits the eating philosophies I’ve adopted as an adult. It’s a battlefield in there, me ducking and dodging the highly-processed, highly-palatable snacks of my youth. Pop-tarts, Honey Buns, cereal, Cheez-Its, Oreos, Doritos, fruit snacks; the nostalgia for these foods is so powerful. 

But these days, I know how poor those packaged goods will make me feel. So I compromise by reaching for whatever protein bar selection my parents have around. This year, I pulled a “Macrobar” out of my mom’s pantry. Over my shoulder, she pipes in that it was the internet’s top recommendation for gluten- and dairy-free protein bars. After a quick once-over of the ingredients, I knew there was a gap on the web. 

With 240 calories and 12g added sugar for just 10 measly grams of protein, this couldn’t be the best the web had to offer when it comes to gluten free, dairy free protein bars. I put the hunch to the test, and thankfully, I was right. Read on for what I believe to be the best gluten-free, dairy-free, low-sugar, and holistically healthy protein bars you can easily get on Amazon. 

The best gluten & dairy-free healthy protein bars

Why eat protein bars? 

Protein bars are a great option to have around for:

• Traveling

• Storing in your work bag

• A 3pm snack 

• A pre or post-workout 

Protein bars might be especially good options for those that could use help meeting their daily protein needs. It’s recommended that, at minimum, adults should get 0.36g of protein per pound of body weight every day. And that’s just the minimum requirement, for sedentary adults. For someone like myself who gets 10K steps every day, I should be getting well over 50g of protein per day. I often have about 10 to 15 grams of protein per meal, so on a lighter day, I may be well under my recommended daily intake. A 15 gram protein bar can help get me the rest of the way. 

Do keep in mind that even the healthiest protein bar is still technically a highly-processed food and should usually take the place of a snack or a meal, due to their caloric density. In writing this article, I made the mistake of sampling too many bars per day and saw weight start to pack on, despite a relatively conscious diet otherwise. Call me Regina George.

One easy way to mitigate a calorie bomb? Break a protein bar in half for a light, 100-calorie snack. 

Selection criteria  

Anything on the topic of health is going to involve an amount of subjectivity, so I wanted to transparently lay out my personal definition of “holistically healthy” when it comes to protein bars. I’m looking for bars with:

• Around 200 calories

• Less than 5 grams of added sugar

• Around 15g protein (in order to be considered a protein bar, it needs at least 12g)

• Dairy & gluten free 

• Minimal & pronounceable ingredients (ideally, less than 15)

• Bonus points if they’ve got superfoods in the ingredient list

You’ll notice that I’m not paying much attention to fat, sodium, total carbs, or micronutrients in this analysis. If those areas are of concern to you, please do additional research on this list. The National Institute for Fitness and Sport offers additional advice on how to pick the best protein bar.

Analyzing the options 

To limit the scope of this research to a day, I decided to only look at protein bar options available on Amazon. I located some ~20 options and then analyzed their ingredients and nutrition labels for the above criteria. 

Knowing that there are new protein bars coming on the market all the time, my hope is that anyone reading this can learn to inspect an ingredient list and nutrition facts panel prior to buying. 

Take a look at the three nutrition panels below. How do you feel about them?  

More ingredients than I like to see (~25), but all fairly pronounceable. Calories and macros are on point, and there’s no added sugar,

A slightly shorter ingredient list & familiar words, though far from natural, whole ingredients. Strong macros with no added sugar or allergens. 

Easily the shortest and most familiar list of whole-food ingredients I’ve come across in a protein bar. 

Scoring the gluten & dairy free protein bars on the market

Using my above criteria and package inspection strategies, I plotted all of the bars that met my standards in a scoring sheet: 

The overall winners 

While I would eat any one of these protein bars, each has their pros and cons depending on your unique goals. I’ve loosely arranged them from best to worst (in my book).

No Cow

• Pro: Best across calories, protein, fiber, and sugar. Nice texture & can be found at Whole Foods.

• Con: 2nd highest cost at $3/bar and almost none of the ingredients are “natural.” Some may find the taste chalky.  

IQ

• Pro: Strong on calories, fiber, sugar, cost. Tasty enough. 

• Con: 2nd highest ingredient count (though many are superfoods like flax, cocoa, almonds, coconut oil, lion’s mane). Some may find the taste a bit bland. 

Ty found this brand after a bit of recent research & has a recurring order coming to the house. If you know Ty, you’ll know he has ultra high standards when it comes to food. 

Aloha 

• Pro: Least expensive option, modest ingredient list of pronounceable things, strong protein and fiber. Tasty as heck.  

• Con: Highest in calories and most added sugar (3g) 

Aloha bars were the tastiest and cheapest option I found!

Misfits 

• Pro: Strong on calories, protein, fiber, sugar, and cost. Tasty enough & can be found at Trader Joes.

• Con: Most ingredients on the list, many unnatural. Some may find the taste chalky.  

RX

• Pro: Least ingredients & no added sugar 

• Con: Lowest category of protein & fiber. I personally find them way to chewy for comfort. 

Chewiness aside, these made an appearance on my 2018 “kitchen staples” for mindful eating grocery list! 

Feel

• Pro: Good protein to calorie ratio and impressive amount of superfoods in the ingredient list

• Con: Most expensive, lowest fiber (5g), and most added sugar (3g) 

This is the one bar I’ve yet to taste test. Let us know if you’ve tried them in the comments?

I was most underwhelmed with the taste of Amrita bars.

Amrita

• Pro: Strong protein and impressive amount of superfoods, decently low sugar (1g added) and affordable. 

• Con: Highest in calories and lower on fiber (6g). Super underwhelming taste & texture. 

The category winners

The below list should help you settle on a bar based on any more specific criteria you might be trying to optimize for. 

Most protein & fiber: No Cow

At an impressive 20g of protein and 16g of fiber, with zero added sugar and just 190 calories, this bar is likely to keep you full well until your next meal. 

Highest superfood content: IQ, Feel, Amrita 

Though on the longer side for ingredient lists (14-19 total), these bars boast superfoods like chia/flax/pumpkin/sunflower seeds, spices, real nuts and fruits, coconut oil, cocoa, and even lion’s mane.  

Most affordable: Aloha 

Coming in at just $1.90 per bar on Amazon (compared to the priciest, Feel’s $4 bars), these bars are best for those trying not to break the bank with their health habits. For those interested, I’ve written at length on eating mindfully on a budget. 

Most delicious: Aloha 

Once I discovered these bars in my taste test, I had to try every flavor (in the name of research, of course). With the most calories of any bar on the list (240), they taste like candy and would make a great dessert replacement. 

Fewest ingredients: RX

For those trying to eat as close to nature as possible, reach for the Rx bar with its six simple ingredients that you likely stock in your own kitchen (eggs, nuts, chocolate, dates, salt). 

Some of the notable losers 

What I found particularly frustrating on this journey was how many misleading blog posts you’ll find on the internet about the healthfulness of certain gluten-free, dairy-free bars. Plenty of the list toppers offer a dismal amount of protein and a disappointing level of added sugar for a 200-calorie bar. Here’s a few brands I advise you pass on: 

• Macrobar: Not enough protein (10g) & too much added sugar (12g) 

• Zing: Not enough protein (10g) & too much added sugar (5g) 

• Mezcla: Not enough protein (10g) & too much added sugar (5g) 

• Good!: Too much added sugar (9g) 

• Kind Protein: Too much added sugar (6g) 

This post is about more than just protein bars. It’s about growing our own awareness of the small decisions we make each day about what we put into our bodies. We live in a world rife with weird ingredients and deceptive marketing when it comes to food; anyone interested in investing in and protecting their health can benefit from a little more mindfulness when it comes to what we put in our bodies. Before my next trip home, I’ll be sending a box of IQ bars ahead of me. 

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Up Next:

What Is Mindful Eating? 10 Experts Define It In One Sentence

Eating Mindfully on a Time & Money Budget

My Kitchen Staples for Mindful Eating

Introducing the Blue Sky Mind x "Optimal Living Daily" Podcast Partnership

I’m so excited to announce a new partnership with the Optimal Living Daily podcast! On this show, industry experts hand-pick and read to you from the best blog posts on personal development, health, relationships and more, every day, for about 10 minutes. 

As part of our partnership, my post “How to Eat A (Super) Burrito With No Regrets” was featured in two parts this week:

• Part I: https://oldpodcast.com/1249-part-1-eating-mindfully-how-to-devour-a-super-burrito-with-no-regrets-by-kylee-lessard-of-a-blue-sky-mind/

• Part II: https://oldpodcast.com/1250-part-2-eating-mindfully-how-to-devour-a-super-burrito-with-no-regrets-by-kylee-lessard-of-a-blue-sky-mind/

Have a listen above or anywhere podcasts can be found, and subscribe if it’s your vibe. It’s the perfect pod for your mid-workday walks, I’m telling you.

A huge thanks to the folks at Optimal Living Daily for the feature! More to come here <3

The Easiest Hack for a Healthy Lunch or Dinner While Working From Home

I have a confession to make. 

I spent almost 3x more on groceries last month than my average month. I’m still trying to pick my chin up off the floor, while simultaneously trying to give myself a bit of grace. Working at a major tech company in San Francisco for the last two years, I’ve learned how to budget for a few dinners per week and then a little extra food fun on the weekends. Now that I’m working entirely remote, it’s not crazy to find that a 3x increase in meals cooked by yours truly would result in a 3x increase to the grocery budget. But damn, I didn’t exactly spend nothing before. 

Needless to say, part of my monthly intentions for July are to be about 1,000% more mindful about my grocery spending habits. In case anyone else is running into a similar problem, I thought I’d share one of the best hacks I’ve found for myself that balances cost, time and flavor for a healthy lunch or dinner. It’s this simple:  

The hack for your next healthy lunch or dinner while WFH

Heat up a can of your favorite soup on the stove, toss in basically any fresh or frozen vegetables, simmer, and enjoy! 

Why is this hack so amazing? This “recipe” takes about 10 minutes total, is vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nutrient-rich and so filling. Oh, and it costs like $3-4 per serving. 

I personally love Amy’s organic soup varieties, because they’re plant-based, have only a few ingredients, low sodium, and so flavorful. I especially like the Thai Coconut, French Country Vegetable, or the Thai Curry Sweet Potato options. 

As for veggies to mix in, I almost always have a variety of frozen mixed veggies in my freezer. Ever since I read in Tim Ferriss’ “Four Hour Body” that frozen veggies pack the same (if not stronger) nutritional punch as fresh ones, I’ve started tossing them in anything that I can possibly argue makes sense. I’m especially fond of throwing mixed carrots, peas, corn, and green beans into a soup or chickpea pasta primavera. 

Recently, I’ve also been trying to buy more fresh veggies from the farmers market, since park dates and walks to the farmers market are the new social outings du jour. It’s been something of  a fun challenge to learn more about how to best tend to the veggies after I purchase them, how long I have to work with them while fresh, and what exactly I can do with these beauties when they come in their full, raw glory. 

This week, I purchased six different types of veggies for $10 at the farmers market - a load that was almost too much for me to carry home (#smartspending). My haul included the most beautiful dino kale, swiss chard, red lettuce, celery, carrots, and sweet potatoes :) See more of my kitchen staples for mindful eating.

To make the week a bit easier, I used Sunday to wash everything off (important because me and my roommate have been finding little worm friends in a few of our farmers market flowers and produce lately; harmless, but not welcome!) and chopped up half the carrots and potatoes for roasting. 

The next day - knowing my swiss chard only really has the first few days to live a bright and cheerful existence before it starts to wilt - I chopped up my chard and grabbed a can of Amy’s Sweet Potato Curry soup. As it was cooking, I stripped a few kale leaves & added them. Then, it struck me - my pre-roasted carrots and potatoes would add amazing bulk and texture to an already sweet potato-laced stew. I dumped a few in and let them heat through.

The end result was nothing short of delicious. I taste tested side by side with my roommate’s infinitely more impressive homemade thai curry, and to be totally honest, this hacky recipe of mine held up pretty well against that gorgeous multi-hour dish of hers. 

So here’s the hack made even easier, in step-by-step instructions: 

Veggie-Loaded 3-Minute Hearty Soup

Makes 2 servings

1 serving = ~350 calories 

Ingredients:

• 2 swiss chard leaves & stems, chopped

• 2 dino kale leaves & stems, chopped

• ½ sweet potato, chopped & pre roasted

• 1 carrot, chopped & pre roasted

• 1 can of Amy’s Thai Curry Sweet Potato soup 

• 12 Mary’s Gone Crackers 

Directions:

1. Heat soup in a pot on the stove over medium-high heat to a nice bubble

2. Stir in the chopped chard; simmer for ~5 minutes

3. Stir in the chopped kale; simmer for ~2 minutes

4. Stir in the pre cooked sweet potato and carrot; simmer for ~1 minute 

5. Taste test to ensure that chard stems have cooked down enough to be “al dente” (but don't burn your tongue, like I do every time)

6. Serve in bowls with ~6 Mary’s Gone Crackers on the side for scooping 

Do you have any lunch/dinner hacks that feel like the perfect storm of quick, cost-effective, healthy, and delicious? I’m always looking to add new meals like this to my repertoire! 

Up next: Eating Mindfully On A Time & Money Budget