For the next four days starting tomorrow morning, I’m going to be living on RXBars and Epic Bars with the occasional nut or Larabar. Why? Because I’m going to be in the field with the Army National Guard, and I prefer to not eat MRE’s (mostly carb-heavy, fortified, and super-calorie dense) or the catered food (which is typically also pasta/carb heavy). That means I live off the “Bars” for a few days. Can it be done?

I did it successfully on my first field operation in over 20 years back in 2017 for two weeks. While I did imbibe the occasional fruit, egg, or meat serving the cooks would serve us, for the most part, I lived on the bars I took with me. It worked exceedingly well. I felt well-fed, my appetite was sated, and I felt full of energy.

I always keep a few bars in my backpack at work in case I have to miss a lunch or other meal, and sometimes, I end up enjoying the bar a lot more than I would have expected. See, I actually like how RXBars, Epic Bars, and Larabars taste. They are like candy, in a way, and I take my time to eat them slowly to savor them. I know some people don’t like them at all; that’s okay. I just happen to be someone who does. I guess I’m lucky that way.

So, tonight’s dinner will be my last real meal until Sunday night. Even then, I may not have real food since my wife will be out of town. I might be living on the Bars for longer than four days. Or maybe I can convince her to make something in the slow cooker or Instant Pot for me while I’m gone so I won’t starve this week. We’ll see how that turns out.