Every night, when I pack lunches for the next day’s school and work, it becomes a chore to try to find something that’s tasty and healthy and won’t kill my budget. My kids love granola bars. I try to avoid the bars that are more like candy, with extra sugars and even M&Ms, and stick with brands such as Cascadian Farms and Kashi, but they can be pretty pricey over the course of a month.

I decided to try my hand at making my own, and scouting around I found a really great recipe original to Faith and Family magazine and reposted on several blogs. It appears to be fairly healthy, with whole wheat flour and oats and sweetened with honey, which doesn’t affect the blood sugar as badly as honey. A bonus when you make your own is the lack of high fructose corn syrup and trans fats, and you can literally whip up these bars in minutes.

A lot of foods appear healthy but contain ingredients that add unwanted fat and calories and can undo hours of work at the gym. Let’s look at a few of them.

• Yogurt – many popular brands of yogurt contain as much sugar as ice cream. Some have added cereals and chocolate chips. Instead, start with a plain version and add your own flavors with whole fruit. If you need a sweetener, a small amount of honey or agave syrup can add a great deal of flavor. Greek yogurt is one of my personal favorites!

• Granola – this popular cereal choice can be very high in saturated fats and calories. Make your own granola and you can control the ingredients, adding more healthy choices. You can even mix the granola in with your plain yogurt for a delicious treat!
  

This week, we are head-over-heels in love with Kashi’s TLC Fruit and Grain Bars. These scrumptious bars come in three decadent flavors like dark chocolate coconut, pumpkin pie and chocolate raspberry.

Each one packs Kashi’s signature Seven Whole Grains and protein mix and they contain no high fructose corn syrup, sugar or trans-fats.

Our favorite is the pumpkin pie. It tastes exactly like the smoothness of a slice of the real thing with just the perfect combination of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Each bar contains about 120 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.

These delish bars are perfect for a pre- or post-workout snack or when the need for something sweet (but not naughty) arises.