by Valerie Brooks
One of the latest trends to hit health conscious foodies is designer nutrition bars and cereals. Although supermarkets have a plethora of sports bars on the shelves, there are companies that will allow you to custom order specific ingredients designed for your particular taste, diet, and lifestyle. You basically “design” your own foods and have them shipped to you. The idea of customizing foods, called nutrigenomics, is gaining a lot of press, and it can get highly scientific when it boils down to determining which foods are best for your particular DNA. But on a simpler scale, the following companies are offering products with common ingredients to choose from, but specific enough to suit individual needs.

YouBars (YouBars.com) is the most popular “create your own” protein bar company. You choose every detail, including the grains, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, and sweeteners. The basic bar choices include crunchy, salty, organic, or raw. You can add yummy extras such as chocolate, cinnamon, or peppermint, and an array of sweeteners, including brown rice, honey, or agave nectar. You can even choose the level of sweetness, and there is a section in each category for special requests. The control factor even extends to the wrapping design, color, and name of your bars. YouBars also offers YouShakes, with the same wealth of options.

OnTheGoGranola (OnTheGoGranola.com) invites you to customize your breakfast, snack, or treat with their healthy granola choices. They have an enormous range of herbs/seasonings, sweeteners, dried fruits, proteins, nuts, and extras to create your granola masterpiece. They also inquire about any allergies so ensure avoiding unwanted ingredients. If you have trouble deciding what to choose, they invite you to email their granola chef for customized suggestions.

Element Bars (ElementBars.com) The fun thing about creating your own protein bar on this site is that as you click and drag each ingredient into the bar, it updates the nutrition facts in real time on the right-hand side. It also offers you short nutritional information about each ingredient as you go. For example, it tells you that the cranberries are lightly sweetened, but the apricots are unsulfured and a little tart. They also categorize each ingredient as either an antioxidant, for GI health, for brain/memory, heart, or muscle strength.

Me and Goji (MeAndGoji.com) Like the Element Bars website, they also have a drop and drag format that immediately records the nutritional value, but they specialize in cereals. They offer every grain imaginable, including barley flakes, spelt, choco granola, samurai wheat, and flaxseed. Their greatest asset is their range of choices, which includes sixteen fruits. They also have gluten-free options.

My Muesli (uk.mymuseli.com) This custom cereal maker operates out of the United Kingdom, and delivers cans of delicious, organic, allergy-friendly cereals with a gazillion grains and enhancements to choose from.

Prices vary amongst all these companies, and in some cases, it depends on how many ingredients you choose. A medium YouBar at 45 grams runs $2.99 a bar. Bags of OnTheGoGranola are $8.00 each at 13 ounces, plus .60 more for each four custom ingredients you choose, and .90 more for five to nine custom ingredients. Element Bars are $3.00 each and there is a minimum order requirement of 12 bars. Me and Goji cereals are priced according to each added ingredient.

For a great review of ready made health bars, check out EnergyBarReviews.com.