I love me some larabars, but they are sugar bombs :( I try to keep them to a once or twice-a-week thing, but I guess it depends on your goals. How do you feel about boiled eggs? I like to make a big batch for breakfasts throughout the week, and they're pretty portable.

Not only are they high in sugar, the number 1 ingredient in every flavor I have seen are dates that are extremely high in fructose, which should be limited as much as possible.

They are good for a quick snack on occasion, but not as a meal replacement or an everyday thing. We eat them if we are on a hike or out running errands all day.

Try making meals ahead of time or when u do make dinner make a ton of it so you can have leftovers. There are a lot of great and quick recipe ideas. Out there. Justgoogle it. Like egeg muffins are awesome.

Quite the glycemic load if you're attempting to keep your insulin levels low. Pretty low calorie for the amount of sugar intake and not for those following a low-carb paleo diet to lose body fat.

I used to bring Lara bars to all my sons' sports meets or practices because there is nothing paleo to eat there. But when pregnant last year I couldn't tolerate how sweet they were. So I replaced them with those little single serving packets of almond butter that you can get at whole foods or other health food stores. The perfect thing to keep you from starving while you wait til you can eat meat. Nothing but almond butter, and you can just suck it right out of the packet so it isn't even messy! It does what you need it to do: stops acute hunger.

Make sure you get the plain ones because now they are making sweetened flavored packets too.

The only time I eat them is at tennis tournaments where I can't go out and get anything else. Otherwise, I think they just have too much sugar. Natural fructose is still fructose. Your body can't tell the difference.

I have a website to make your own Larabars...

http://www.damyhealth.com/2011/03/how-to-make-homemade-lara-bars/

I think once a day is no big deal, similar to eating a piece of fruit. The only thing I would caution is that the lack of protein if that is all you are eating. Maybe add some beef jerky if it's a full meal. I make my own jerky, it is so easy even with the little ones running around.

Even if I didn't eat only meat, I wouldn't touch them. They are dried fruit and nuts, both of which I consider "once-in-a-long-while at most" foods.

I keep a Lara bar, a Kind bar and a Trio bar in my bag for "emergencies". I think they are smushed to pieces now, because I never actually eat them, LOL.

My go to, quick snack has been Oskri mini bars lately. http://www.oskri.com/details.php?id=1238&t=box I know there is stuff I shouldn't eat in them. I usually end up eating about 1 a week though, so I'm not super worried about it.

I also buy Fiberful bars at Trader Joes, but again, rarely eat them. I don't usually like to give up that many carbs at once.

I know you didn't ask what bars we do eat, but I figured I'd throw those out there.

I wouldn't eat breakfast either if I didn't make enough every Sunday to last me through the week. I make Paleo egg muffins a lot, they are just scrambled eggs w/various toppings made in muffin tins. Super easy. I usually fry up a pound of bacon on Sunday and it lasts me through the week. I also cut up a melon or two on the weekends, which is also delicious with bacon. Hard boiled eggs are ridiculously easy to make and stay good all week.

Dude were way to serious bout this shit have to let yourself enjoy food sometimes every onece in a while is ok if paired with protein and not overdone. Dried fruit with no sugar and nuts how can u get wrong i suggest lemon ones tasty@!!!

I think they are OK in moderation or as a last resort to keep you going when there is nothing else. However, packaged food is always inferior to real food and you shouldn't make it a habit.

I know some people dislike the Atkins comparisons but it is a similar issue that happens when a way of eating starts to become popular. Corporate parasites instantly seek to make money off the newest "fad" and therefore start marketing to that demographic. People who lost a tremendous amount of weight on Atkins started to plateau or even gain when they introduced shakes and bars into their diet. Why? Because they were adding highly palatable (for some), easy to eat, hyper convenient processed food. Food that is palatable, calorie dense, and easy to acquire (hello SAD) is usually not optimal for weight loss or maintenance...or health for that matter.

Without the Lara Bars what would you have eaten in lieu? Boiled eggs? A small salad? Can of tuna? Tea with coconut oil? Nothing? All of these > Lara bars.

Please don't think I am being harsh. I think ANYTHING is fine in moderation (except maybe herpes). I even eat bread once in a blue moon, but you don't want to make processed foods a habit.

At Sam's club I also found some sample size Lara bars, and I find that the small size is plenty for me -- they are filling and also help with a sweet tooth. I have a huge glass of water with it, because I think that they are so concentrated. I don't have one everyday, but I keep it in my pocket while skiing so that I am not tempted to get some ridiculous muffin at 10 am.

i don't eat them since they aren't paleo- i remember them being made with peanuts and cashews. i used to eat them in my vegan days, but i've gotten over that, thankfully. they tasted good though. i wouldn't say they are a health food by any means.

I like them. They taste good. But when I'm hungry, they do absolutely nothing for me. I make stuff similar to them at home using far more nuts and far fewer dates, and that satisfies me much better.

No for me for a couple of reasons:

1. Kids are allergic to tree nuts and the only non tree nut one has peanut butter in it.

2. Not a good carb to protein ratio.

Otherwise, I have eaten the peanut butter one prePaleo and they were darn yummy!

I like Lara Bars, been told they are a good Paleo snack...but they are so low in calories I end up eating 2-3 of them! Also very little protein. Was recently introduced to a new small company created by Paleo Crossfitters that is the answer to the low cal no protein Lara Bar...Check out www.justagudbar.com for an all natural fruit & nut protein bar

I eat them sometimes. Everyone is saying you should limit them because of the sugar, and that's probably true, but as long as you don't buy boxes of them I think you will be limited by default. And again, when it comes to things like fruit, unless you are really struggling with weight or insulin issues, don't be so hard on yourself.

They are good for if I need something to grab rather than eating out, but I try not to make a habit of it. I usually balance it with some Hormel Naturals lunch meat.

You can eat LaraBars as long as its a post-workout out snack. If the amount of sugar bothers you then try to make your own version of the Larabars this way you can control the amount of sugar in your snack. Here is a few homemade recipes you can play around with:

http://www.thewholekitchen.com/cinnabon-cookie/

http://www.thewholekitchen.com/coconut-lemon-bars/

http://www.thewholekitchen.com/laraballs-2/

If you are looking for alternative snacks... this site has a lot of paleo options.

I am gluten-free/soy-free/dairy-minimal and moving toward full paleo (dropping what GF carbs I have been eating). Larabar flavors that I like (the cherry) tend to have some nuts in them, but as other folks here have said there's not that much protein in them to counteract the sugar in the dried fruit. Still, for an occasional snack, they don't seem that bad -- a pairing of dried fruit w/nuts, which is permissible in the paleo books I've read. Not good for breakfast (not enough protein), but seems OK for a snack.

Generally, I try to get more protein into my snacks. As an alternative to the Larabar, why not have an ounce of pumpkin seeds (10 g protein; 200 cal) and a few prunes (maybe 2; 50 cal) as a snack -- the whole snack compares to a Larabar calorically, but has more protein and fiber to tide you over and counteract the fruit's sugar. On a recent trip to a conference in a remote area where I wouldn't have a lot of time or car access to shop for food, I brought prunes and pumpkin seeds and alternated eating them with apples/almond butter as my snacks.

I enjoy them from time to time for convenience's sake. They are quite sugary though. Also, if you want to get really technical, cashews are the main ingredient for every bar, and cashew are legumes.

I wouldn't say don't eat them ever, but you can probably come up with something even better once you get the hang of what's allowed. :)

I eat Nakd bars which are similar. Only three or four ingredients in them. Sometimes I make them myself.

http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd-fruit-and-nut-bars/

My fave is the Caffé Mocha one, made with dates, cashews, raisins and cocoa.

I actually ate a lara bar "chocolate coconut cashew" for breakfast this morning. I only use them in a pinch, which isn't often at all. I forgot to boil more eggs last night and had no time to stop at this local spot I found that boils Omega 3 eggs. :( I would definitely only have them now and again. Loved all the comments above.

occastionally ill munch one, but its cheaper just to travel with nuts and/or dried fruit/dates on hand

I'm new at this!!! This is day #5 of Paleo and so far, I'm feeling great!! I found out about the Larabars, tried them and found them to be quite satisfying and tasty. BUT I don't want to overdo it! Had 1 then went on a 3.5 mile walk. After an hour I really felt my blood sugar drop. So next day I had half a bar along with an egg. No problem then! I think for me they may be ok as long as they are consumed along with some protein and fat. Sticking to only 1/2 per day and will probably cut back even further and treat them as more of a 'treat'.

I do love them, but they make me SO hungry afterwards. Probably because of all the sugar!

Also, I have a raw nut oral allergy where my mouth gets itchy from any raw nuts, and these make me crazy itchy!

I like Kind Bars instead, they are also high in sugar but also really tasty for an occasional snack when I haven't premade eggs or something. Almond cashew flax is my jam!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the larabar uber variety. These types only have about 8 grams of sugar per bar. It's still dates, but in a lot smaller quantity. This is what I reach for when I need something convenient. They are a little more expensive, but well worth it in my mind.