It’s tough to find an energy bar you like. Some are too sweet. Some are packed with calories. Others resemble bird feed glued together and covered in chocolate. Even more vexing, the rest of your family probably doesn’t like the same bar you do. It’s a personal thing.It’s tough to find an energy bar you like. Some are too sweet. Some are packed with calories. Others resemble bird feed glued together and covered in chocolate. Even more vexing, the rest of your family probably doesn’t like the same bar you do. It’s a personal thing.

A few years ago, Ava Bise (a belly dancing instructor and yoga enthusiast) and her son Anthony Flynn (a marathon runner) admitted they were fed up with store bought energy bars. “They’re loaded with sugar,” Anthony says. So the mother-son pair began concocting their own wholesome and fresh nutrition bars. Friends and family started putting in special requests and a business called You Bar was born.

You Bar allows you to build your own energy bar on their Web site. You choose from ingredients in eight different categories like nuts and seeds, fruit and grains. A panel with nutrition facts is available as you design the bar, so you can evaluate carbs, fat, calories, protein, and sugars before you buy. As the orders come in, Ava, Anthony, and their eight “‘You Bar’istas” weigh and mix the requested ingredients, mold the bars, and seal them in packages. They print computer-generated labels stating the bars’ names and nutritional facts.

The finished product looks like something you’d buy in the supermarket, but it’s actually good for you. That’s a boon for serious athletes, flab fighters, folks on special diets—and those of us who just want an energy bar we enjoy eating.

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