Are Chewy Granola Bars Healthy?

I did some quick research today on chewy granola bars — mostly because my son Chris eats them by the truckload.

I took a picture of the boxes to compare the nutrition labels for Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and Chips Ahoy Cookies (see pic below). Which one’s healthier? Is there really a difference?

Here’s what I found: (Not much of a difference!)

• Calories: Pretty similar per gram
• Fat: Chewy has a bit less total and saturated fat
• Sugar: About the same
• Protein: Chips Ahoy has a little more
• Micronutrients: Chewy has a bit more calcium; Chips Ahoy has a bit more iron

When you even things out by weight, they’re surprisingly close. The granola bar gets a small edge for fat quality and minerals, but they’re basically both chocolate chip snacks.

Bottom line: Chewy granola bars and cookies are basically the same. They’re processed food cousins — just wrapped in different marketing.