Why a Vegan Plant-Based Meal Replacement Bar?
We have all been there…. crazy days with limited time to sit and enjoy a meal. Or your morning was so hectic you forgot to pack anything for lunch. Maybe you’re traveling on a plane over a meal time and don’t want to rely on airport food for nourishment. Maybe you had a hard workout and need fuel to replenish and restore. You know what I’m talking about? I bet you do and that’s why you’re here but if you don’t, lemme break it down for you….vegan plant-based meal replacement bars can give you healthy and sustainable conveinent nutrition no matter what your day looks like. I like to think of meal replacement bars as the back up plan to ensure I don’t get hangry or get stuck eating something less than satisfying.
Vegan meal-replacement bars are obviously a great fit if you follow a vegan lifestyle devoid of animal products. Whether you choose more plant-based nutrition to save the planet, your health, or the animals doesn’t really matter here. What matters is that anyone can benefit from eating more plant-based without being a committed vegan or vegetarian. Predominately plant-based diets tend to be more economical, provide more health benefits (including decreased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers), and help people manage weight (likely in part to higher fiber diets).
What should you look for in a Vegan Plant-Based Meal Replacement Bar?
Vegan Plant-Based Meal Replacement Bars should have more than 250 calories (at least). This caloric value is still quite small for a meal and it’s likely you’ll need to pair the vegan meal replacement bar with fruit and nuts to help round out the meal. Each bar should contain at least 10 grams of fiber and 3+ grams of fiber. If the bar has more fiber or protein from whole food based sources, even better yet but you’ll need at least this amount to feel some sort of satisfaction from the vegan plant-based meal replacement bar. You don’t want to eat something that you think will be satisfying to wind up hungry an hour later.
When it comes to the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), look for a bar that contains a good source of iron and calcium. Iron and calcium (along with Vitamin D and Vitamin B12) tend to be the micronutrients of concern for vegans and plant-based eaters. Some bars will add vitamins and minerals while others will rely on the whole simple food ingredients. Either way doesn’t matter much, but you want a bar that provides more than protein and calories to help meet your daily nutrition needs – especially if consuming the bar as a meal replacement.
Ok, so now that you know why you may want to choose a vegan plant-based meal replacement bar and what you should look for, let’s take a look at the top 5 vegan plant-based meal replacement bars based on taste and overall nutrition provided. I’m excited to hear what you all think – comment below with your favorite meal replacement bar!
Top 5 Vegan Plant-Based Meal Replacement Bars
5. Greens Plus + Plusbar Energy Natural – Made with Organic Dates, Almond Butter & Greens+ Superfoods
What We Love: Greens Plus +Plusbar (available here on Amazon) contains a dehydrated green superfood cocktail made from almond butter, dates, greens, and superfoods. The ingredients are organic and natural and this may be one of the more earthy/natural bars but without being bitter. It’s a great choice when you’re not in the mood for chocolate and you want a bar that isn’t so sweet and relies on whole natural dehydrated foods.
Considerations: Each vegan meal replacement protein bar flavor has 9-10 grams of plant-based protein which may not be enough to sustain your energy depending on your lifestyle. For more sustained nutrition, consume the bar with a handful of almonds!
4. PROBAR – BASE Protein Bar, Chocolate Bliss and Cookie Dough
What We Love: PROBAR Base Bars (available on Amazon) contain 20 grams of protein per bar for sustained nutrition or to maintain/build/restore muscle. It’s a solid punch for plant-based nutrition!
Considerations: This vegan meal replacement protein bar is focused on protein so you won’t find too many superfoods or micronutrients but PROBAR does add chia seeds and flaxseeds to provide a plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Check out our detailed review post of the PROBAR Base Protein Bar here.
3. PROBAR – Meal Bar, Superfruit Slam
What We Love: The PROBAR Meal Bars (you can check out on Amazon) are large bars in terms of volume and nutrition. With 350 calories, 6 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of protein, this meal replacement bar packs the punch! This plant-based protein bar is great if you are looking for a vegan meal replacement bar without having to piece meal other snack foods to create a satisfying meal on-the-go.
Considerations: The ingredient list contains a lot of fruit, fruit purees, and fruit juices that may be too sweet for some taste buds. If you aren’t a super sweet person, consider checking out another flavor.
Check out our detailed review post of the PROBAR Meal Bar Superfruit Slam here.
2. GoMacro MacroBar, Organic Vegan Protein Bar, Peanut Butter + Chocolate Chip
What We Love: The intense peanut butter flavor coupled with a few chocolate chips is a match made in vegan food heaven. This GoMacro MacroBar plant-based meal replacement bar you can find on Amazon has a simple and straightforward ingredient list to create a wholesome and delicious bar!
Considerations: Organic Brown Rice Syrup is the first ingredient and this bar can be on the sweet side depending on your preference. With 37 grams of total carbohydrate per bar, this still makes an excellent choice as a meal replacement and to decrease the sweetness while increasing the satisfaction, I would suggest slathering peanut butter on top of the MacroBar!
Check out our detailed review post of the GoMacro MacroBar in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip here.
1. Square Organics Organic Protein Bar, Chocolate Coated Coconut
What We Love: Square Organics Plant-Based Protein Bar in Chocolate Coated Coconut tastes like a decadent and dreamy candy bar with rich chocolate and creamy coconut BUT manages to sneak in 11 grams of protein and 230 calories in a small package. If you’re in need of a healthy meal replacement vegan protein bar but you want it to taste like dessert, this Square Organics plant powered protein bar is your bar (which is available here on Amazon).
Considerations: Coconut contains a lot of saturated fat and despite popular trendy belief that coconut is a god send, it’s still not a food you want to consume everyday in large amounts. Each Chocolate Coated Coconut Square Organics Organic Protein Bar contains 11 grams of fat with 9 grams being saturated fat from the coconut. Nine grams of plant-based saturated fat is 43% of RDA for saturated fat.
Welp, there you have it folks! The top 5 best vegan plant-based meal replacement protein bars! Have you tried any of these or better yet, which one do you plan on trying next? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you. 😉
I like how you mention that protein bars can be a good source of energy when you’re in a hurry or you’ve forgotten to eat. At the same time, when you’re looking for a bar that would suit a vegan lifestyle it’s important to consider that the ingredients are sourced properly. If I had a chance to try one of these energy bars then I would make sure that they’re readily available for me to pick up if and when I’m on the go.
Hi Adrian, yes, different people are vegan for different reasons and for some people (especially I think the longer that you’re vegan), people tend to take note of how the ingredients were sourced.
We’ve been eating Plant-Based Isalean Protein Bars from Isagenix. I know they take away the hunger until the next meal so are perfect when on the go or in the middle of no where, like in the woods. They come in boxes of 10 for a little less than $50. I’d like to find a less expensive bar but these are the best I’ve found. I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts.