A Protein Bar That's... Delicious? Yes! Really!
At the beginning of this year I started working with a whole gaggle of doctors and specialists to figure out why my body just says, "NOPE" to certain foods. I've written about this before, and even mentioned a few diagnoses I've gotten over the years. But nothing has ever fully relieved my food sensitivity issues, and I was finally fed up enough to drag my cute dupa over to UCLA and start taking four million tests to get to the bottom of things.
I started working with an absolutely fantastic dietician, who introduced me to FODMAPs. Through testing I found out that I don't have celiac disease and I'm not lactose intolerant (I have believed I was lactose intolerant since I was five, so this was a fun surprise) but I still get sick from eating dairy and bread... sometimes. My dietician told me that this is because I have trouble digesting certain carbohydrates, called FODMAPs, and put me on a special diet. It's been awhile, and we're still playing around with things, but she's getting me on a better eating plan. Also, how weird is the human body that mine reaches the point where it's like "TOO MANY CARBS" and just freaks out and gets sick? Weird and obnoxious.
One of the reasons I like my dietician is that I feel like I can be completely honest with her. It's in my nature to put up a front with anyone and tell them that I'm fine (great even!) and to act like everything just dandy. This is a terrible trait for a sick person to have around their doctors - and yet I catch myself doing it all the time. With my dietician I have completely come clean and told her that I will not eat breakfast unless it is something I can grab with one hand and eat while half awake. See, in the morning I'm in pain and I'm tired and my body doesn't work well, so me making even an "easy" breakfast is just not in the cards. The dietician, an angel from on high, told me about GoMacro Macro Bars, and they're perfect.
Macro Bars are not only a low FODMAP food, they're (this is taken directly from the website)
"made from simple, clean ingredients... certified vegan, gluten-free, organic, R.A.W., C.L.E.A.N., kosher and non-GMO project verified." So if all that stuff is important to you, then you're in luck! Me, I want something that's not going to contribute to my insides going haywire, and that tastes good.
Macro Bars taste more than good. They're delicious. I don't just eat them for breakfast. I throw one in my bag if I know I'm going to be out of the house for a long time and want to be sure I have a snack. I always bring a few with me in my carry on when I fly, not to mention the dozen more I have in my suitcase for noshing on when I reach my destination. I've also been known to bring one with me on a long car trip or to the movies.
My favorite flavor is peanut butter, and I buy them by the box. The other flavors listed on my low FODMAP guide are sunflower butter & chocolate and peanut butter chocolate chip, so those are the only ones I've tried. (I think other flavors are low FODMAP, but they're not on the list!) All three are great, and when you match them up against their competitors in the protein bar department they're basically gourmet treats. If you need a protein bar but don't want to sacrifice taste, or have strict dietary restrictions, Macro Bars are exactly what you've been dreaming of. You can find them at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or do as I do and just buy them by the box on Amazon.
