Calories in Kroger High fiber oats caramel chewy bars

WeightWatchers Points are estimated by carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber in product. They are not an affirmation of better quality or nutritional value of the product or its manufacturer. Only way to count for dieters. Less points are better.
Read more at Weight watchers diet review

This includes both naturally occurring and added sugars. According to the USDA, every man woman and child in the US consumes approximately 80 pounds of caloric sweeteners per year! That works out to 25 tsp of sugars per day, or 400 extra calories!

Once upon a time, there were no food colorings. Then folks figured out that food looks better and sells more when it can be enlivened through dyes. For most of food history, the dyes were from natural sources – beet juice for red, turmeric for yellow,etc… However, in the quest to increase color intensity and lower manufacturing costs, cheap artificial dyes were introduced to market. Unfortunately they pose a risk for hyperactivity in children, cancer, and allergic reactions. ----------- Sources: Feingold BF. Hyperkinesis and learning disabilities linked to artificial food flavors and colors. Am J Nurs 1975; 75-5: 797-803. Harley JP, Matthews CG, Eichman P. Synthetic Food Colors and Hyperactivity in Children: A double-blind challenge experiment. Pediatrics 1978; 62: 975-983. Kobylewski S, Jacobson M. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Env Heal 2012; 18-3: 220-246. McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Garke E, OWarner J, Stevenson J. Food additives and hyperactive behavior in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2007; 370: 1560-67. Schab DW, Trinh NT. Do artificial food colors promote hyperactivity in children with hyperactive syndromes? A meta-analysis of double-blind placebo-controlled trials. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2004; 25: 423-434. Sonuga-Barke EJS, Hollis C, Brandeis D, Konofal E, Cortese S, Lecendreux M, Daley D, Wong I, Ferrin M, Sergeant J, Holtmann M, Stevenson J, Danckaerts M, Van Der Oord S, Dopfner M, Dittmann R, Simonoff E, Zuddas A, Banaschewski T, Buitelaar J, Coghill D. Nonharmacological interventions for ADHA: Systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of dietary and psychological treatments. Am J Psychiatry 2013; 170-3: 275-289. Stevens LJ, Kuczek T, Burgess JR, Hurt E, Arnold LE. Dietary sensitivities and ADHD symptoms: Thirty-five years of research. Clin Pediatr 2011; 50:279-293. Williams JI, Cram DM, Tausig FT, Webster E. Relative effects of drugs and diet on hyperactive behaviors: An experimental study. Pediatrics 1978; 61-6: 811-817.

* FoodPoints are calculated by Fooducate based on fats, carbs, fiber, and protein. They are not an endorsement or approval of the product or its manufacturer. The fewer points - the better.

Many times, manufacturers add several different types of sugar in order to make the sugar appear lower in the ingredient list.

This product is highly processed. If you'll take a look at its ingredient list, you'll discover new words to add to your vocabulary. Many of theses ingredients are required to increase the shelf life of the product and improve the flavor that disappears when food is not fresh.

Whoa! There's a lot of fiber in this product. But that's not necessarily a good thing. Seems to us like there's too much fiber. While fiber is important, scarfing it down all at once doesn't do you much good. Consume fiber throughout the day. Eating lots of fruits & vegetables in addition to whole grains is an easy way to do this. Bottom line: If you find you're coming up short on fiber, a catch up session isn't going to solve your problem. Your body simply won't absorb it all. You may also feel very bloated.

Homemade caramel is made by melting sugar in a saucepan. Brown coloring in sodas and some other products is not the same thing. Industrial caramel coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures. The chemical reactions create 4-methylimidazole, which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats. This is why California recently required foods containing caramel color to be labeled as potential cancer-causing agents. But you won't see this warning label any time soon - manufacturers simply reduced the use of caramel color enough that the labeling requirements no longer applied. Caramel color varies slightly between products - when in beer, sauces or baked goods it has just ammonia and when used in soft drinks, it has both sulfites and ammonia. Neither one is a "good" option. Bottom line: Choose something else, less controversial.

The industry's best effort now that trans-fat laden, partially hydrogenated oils are losing clout. The need: vegetable oil that is semi-solid at room temperature. The method: Oil is heated and then cooled. During the cooling, the oil is separated into "fractions" based on melting point. The fraction with the higher melting point is then used.

Most bars are marketed as snacks, but buyer beware! Many oversized bars are actually meal replacement bars. They're not meant to be a snack, they're meant to be a meal. Check the nutrition label. Anything over 40 grams (one and a half ounces) is in meal territory.

The health halo of some bars is not always justified. Check the ingredients and sugar content of many and you'll see that they may not be much more than candy in disguise. The higher quality bars are composed of simple, understandable ingredients. But even they are highly sweetened (whether sugar or fruit sources) Bars should be viewed as a snack for once in a while, not a daily meal replacement solution. And that's why they don't get A's.

Companies add artificial flavors to products to make them taste better. They are created in a lab and the formulations are guarded as trade secrets. Flavorings can compensate for flavor loss during processing, substitute for ingredients, lower production costs and increase shelf stability. Artificial flavorings are cheaper to source than natural flavors and are perceived as "worse" than natural flavors. They are more stable (and usually less chemically complex) than natural flavors. Artificial flavors are not necessarily bad for you from a health perspective. however, people with food sensitivities or allergies may want to avoid artificial flavors if they are unnamed. You can always contact the manufacturer for more information.

Cereal Bar Recipe (Vegan) (makes 12 or 24) 1/2 cup nut butter 2 bananas, mashed 1/2 cup whole nuts (choose your favorite) 1 ½ cup total of dried fruits (cherries, cranberries, apricots, raisins, coconut, etc.) 1 cup rolled oats 1 tsp vanilla (optional) Pinch cinnamon (optional) 1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds (optional) Preheat oven to 350 F. In a food processor, coarsely chop nuts and dried fruits. Mix nut butter and bananas until a paste forms. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Spoon into lightly greased muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes. Can be stored in refrigerator for 5 days. For one granola bite (12 in recipe) = 190 calories, 8.4 g fat, 26.7 g carbohydrates, 5.4 g protein, 3.1 g fiber, 52 mg sodium, 5 FoodPoints.

Companies add flavorings to make products taste better. They are created in a lab and the formulations are guarded as trade secrets. Flavorings can compensate for flavor loss during processing, substitute for ingredients, lower production costs and increase shelf stability. Natural flavorings are more expensive to source than artificial flavors, but tend to be better received by consumers. People sensitive to MSG, vegans, vegetarians and those with allergies should pay special attention to the phrase "natural flavorings" since glutamates, animal products or allergens may be the source of natural flavors. You can always contact the manufacturer for more information.

Corn syrup is often used as a sweetener in processed food. It is NOT THE SAME as high fructose corn syrup. Don't be fooled when looking up the amount of sugar a product contains if corn syrup is listed as an ingredient. This is because corn syrup contains 50% sugar, and 50% of another form of carbohydrate known as ""oligosaccharides"", which is pretty close to sugar. If a product has less sugar than you think it should, but contains corn syrup in the ingredient list, you'll know that the missing carbs are those oligosaccharides, not much better.

Glycerin (glycerol, glycerine) is used in products as a sweetener, thickener or preservative. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is about as sweet, but has a lower glycemic index (GI). It should be considered a carbohydrate, but many companies do not properly list it. Glycerin is also used to keep food moist - this same property also can cause water retention. It's generally accepted as healthy and safe. For people with heart, liver or kidney problems, it's best to avoid this ingredient.

Inulin is a naturally occurring fiber found in high concentrations in chicory roots. What makes it popular with food manufacturers is its ability to successfully mix with other ingredients without ruining their flavor. It’s slightly sweet, about a quarter sweet as sugar. However, it is being added very liberally to some foods. This may result in flatulence for some people...

Lecithins are oily substances that occur naturally in plants (soybeans) and animals (egg yolks). Soy lecithin possesses emulsification properties. This means it can keep a candy bar “together” by making sure that the cocoa and the cocoa butter don’t separate. It is also used in bakery items to keep the dough from sticking and to improve its ability to rise.

Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive. A polysaccharide is a type of carbohydrate. It is produced from starches of corn, wheat, potatoes or rice. Its flavor can be slightly sweet or almost flavorless. Maltodextrin is used as a bulking base for artificial sweeteners, for example in Jell-o it is used in conjunction with Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium. It is also the bulking agent in Splenda.