anyone have a favorite "power bar" type breakfast substitute?

[Flaxbee]

I'm trying to help my spouse lose weight, which means no pasta, rice, cereal, bread, etc. in the house. Things OK to have in the house include lots of veggies and shrimp or chicken. I'm a vegetarian, which means I don't eat the shrimp or chicken, but I can't cope with a purely veggie diet, I need my carbohydrates! I have a particularly hard time with breakfast, b/c spouse will devour an entire box of cereal in one sitting if I bring it into the house, which means I don't get any for breakfast, and he's broken his diet. He is much less inclined to go for breakfast bars, exercise-bars, etc... so I figure I can have my carbs that way w/o spouse being tempted too much.

And no, he's not on Atkins, he just really cannot eat pastas, etc., w/o gaining weight and has little to no self control when he's very stressed, as we both are now. He eats when he's stressed, I don't eat when I'm stressed and I'm right on the edge of being underweight, and don't want to lose more weight.

So. Any of those health food/power bar/exercise bar things taste good? Or do they all taste like compressed sawdust?

[redqueen]

1. I think they all taste like compressed sawdust.

BUt I do like the Fruit & Nut Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix bars. And they support the Nature Conservancy, whatever that is. :)

[Worst Username Ever]

2. Powerbar oatmeal/raisin

the least offenseive of the ones I've tried. Good enough where I like it as a snack, I could see it being a breakfast sunbstitute.

As far as breakfast bars are concerned, I prefer nutri-grain.

[Mandate My Ass]

3. Genisoy

They're really good and pretty filling with a piece of fruit. My faves are the sour apple crunch and the chocolate mint.

[Rainbowreflect]

8. Yummmmyyyyyy, Genisoy chocolate mint!

[supernova]

4. Atkins started making granola bars

recently. They are actually made from soy nuts and with I think a yogurt coating. They taste very much like regular granola bars.

And like a lot of others I suffer from carb addiction and these don't give me cravings. So your SO might be able to deal with them.

For regular carb stuff, I like the cearal bars with the fruit preserves in the middle. I forget who makes them. My niece loves 'em.

[Cobalt Violet]

5. I love oatmeal.

You actually have to cook it,so it may slow your spouse down from eating the whole box like a ready made cereal. I just get the quick kind and it only take 2 minutes to nuke it. The whole oat kind only take 5 minutes. It is a whole grain which makes it a very good type of carb.

I'm also a vegetarian and I eat alot of veggie bugger type foods. They also only take a few minutes to nuke.

I will eat powerbar potien plus because they contain no eggs or gelatin like alot of other potien bars.

[Flaxbee]

7. "Veggie bugger"?

LOL! I know what you mean, but some typos really make me laugh!

I've brought those into the house, and he nukes 4 at a time and scarfs them down. He'll also make large quantities of oatmeal and eat it, too. Part of it is he's just grumpy when he's overweight and blames me for bringing food into the house, when the real issue is his lack of self-control; he'll binge and then blame me. I mean, I'm not bringing Fritos or cookies or anything in, I'm bringing in food that I can eat, but I'd just rather not even have anything like that in the house so I also don't have the urge to smack him with a skillet when he starts complaining about my purchases at the grocery store.

[Mara Steele]

6. You should eat some whole grains i.e. brown rice...

They help release serotonin in the brain, and the fiber keeps you feeling full, your blood sugar even, and your bowels regular! :D

You'll be happier, healthier, AND if your partner chooses to eat some, he will still lose weight. (I know, I lost almost 15 lbs. on the macrobiotic diet, which is the original diet to emphasize whole grains.)

[prolesunited]

9. I agree

Not all carbs are equal. Whole grains are perfectly fine, even beneficial in a diet.

Two of my favorite breakfasts which have a good balance of protein, carbs and fat are fruit, yogurt and granola mixed in a bowl or peanut butter on a bagel with a banana. Just make sure the cereal and bagel labels list "whole grain."

A lot of bars have too much sugar or corn syrup (refined carbs), which are perfect when you're cycling a ton of miles. However, the could stick him on a glycemic roller coaster first thing in the morning.

[Mara Steele]

12. Totally agree about the bars

They're good for a "quick fix" or for hiking/bicycling, but have too many sugars for every day eatin'...

[politicat]

10. Balance Bars, any of the chocolate varieties. Also, Luna Bars

Mr. Pcat likes the Triple Choc. Chaos and the Rocky Roads; I love the Almond Brownie and the Luna Bar Nutz over Chocolate.

They're not cheap (they run $14.85 a case at Whole Foods for 15 to a case) but one, fruit and a container of yogurt (or a smoothie made with yogurt and fruit) have been my breakfast most days for about a year and they seem to keep me from losing my brain power.

I think they're pretty good. Also, the new ones from Snickers (not candy, they're nutrition bars) are pretty tasty.

If you don't like Chocolate, the Luna Lemon bars are nice without nasty chemical flavors.

Pcat

[politicat]

11. Flaxbee, if your insurance covers mental health, it might be time to talk

to a mental health provider.... The behaviors you're talking about are not signs of a healthy relationship with food, plus with the stress....

Just a thought. I've had clients like your husband in the past. A nutritionist or dietician might also be of help.

Another possibility? Buying only in small quantities and hitting the grocery nightly. Knowing exactly how much you have to buy to get through the next 24 or 48 hours and only buying that....

Pcat