Most of us has a special place in our hearts (well, our stomachs) for protein bars, especially those of us who workout and love to have that energy bar in our hands for a protein boost. Well, if you eat protein bars, you have pondered upon this question, which one is the best? Is the one that tastes the best actually the best or the worst for you? Haven't we've been told that foods that tastes like crap are always the ones that are good for you? That may sometimes be the case, but I'm sure we don't want to spend the rest of our lives eating crappy tasting foods. We want something delicious!
Below, I will not only review the contents of some of the many different protein bars out there (I haven't gotten around to tasting ALL of them yet, but I'll get there) but also the taste and texture and review which ones I like to indulge in based on the criteria of taste and satiety.
Protein Bars (Not listed in order of preference)
*Nutritional Value: 1(worst)-5(best)
Taste: 1(worst)-5(best)
Total Fat: 7g (20% saturated fat)
Sodium: 190mg
Carbohydrate: 23g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 14g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 5
I personally liked the taste of this because I am a huge fan of mint. This protein bar tastes exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream. It is a bit dense and heavy for my taste because I prefer bars a little lighter but the taste is amazing. With 14 grams of protein, this is quite filling for a bar and provides you the energy you need for your workout. However, the sugar content is quite high, which is why the taste is so good. Good tasting but not so good for you.
2. Balance Bar Bare: Blueberry Acai
Total Fat: 7g (15% saturated fat)
Sodium: 190mg
Carbohydrate: 22g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 15g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 3
This bar is similar to the Balance mint bar in nutritional information. However, this is healthier as it contains less sugar and more protein, making it taste more like a granola bar than a candy bar. If you have ever eaten a Nature Valley yogurt granola bar, then you will know how these taste like because it is basically similar to those except these are a bit chewier and more energizing. For me, the taste isn't as decadent as the Balance mint bar, but it's not terrible either.
3. OhYeah! Bar: Cookie Caramel Crunch
3. OhYeah! Bar: Cookie Caramel Crunch
Calories: 180 (63 from fat)
Total Fat: 7g (20% saturated fat)
Sodium: 55mg
Carbohydrate: 17g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 15g
Nutritional Value: 5
Taste: 5
In my opinion, these are probably one of the best protein bars I have tasted so far. They are low in calories and high in protein! A win-win! Also, there are only 5 measly grams of sugar in it, which you would never notice because the taste is DA BOMB! These taste like a cookies and cream chocolate bar mixed in with peanut chews candy bar. The texture is both chewy and crunchy, which makes for a perfect snack even on non-workout days. DE-LIOUS!
4. Larabar: Peanut Butter Cookie
Calories: 220 (110 from fat)
Total Fat: 12g (10% saturated fat)
Sodium: 70mg
Carbohydrate: 23g
Sugar: 18g
Protein: 7g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 1
At first sight, these bars looks like "dog crap meets expired fruitcake". At first taste, they also taste like "dog crap meets expired fruitcake". I know there has been talk about how Larabars are one of the most nutritious bars because it's chalk full of "healthy ingredients". But what's the point of eating a healthy bar if just the smell of it turns you off? Because these are gluten free, they are crumbly when you bite into them and has a sour peanut butter taste. To be honest, after taking just one bite, I had to trash this disgusting bar. I could not stomach it. If you're one of those people who value talk about nutrition and health fads, then these are for you, even though according to the nutritional facts, they are loaded with sugar and lacking in protein, the complete opposite of what we actually want. But if you're like me, who value taste over whatever gross thing that is, take my advice and NEVER buy these EVER.
As Taylor Swift would say, "We are never ever ever getting back together."
Calories: 200 (80 from fat)
Total Fat: 8g (23% saturated fat)
Sodium: 120mg
Carbohydrate: 20g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 1
Look at it. This bar looks exactly like a Larabar. It tastes exactly like a Larabar. The only difference is that there is a hint of coconut flavor in them. Tastes like a shoddy piece of fruitcake mixed in with coconut flakes and brown sugar. If you are a big fan of coconut, then you might be able to stomach this, but I'm not a fan of coconut or a fan of this bar, so bye bye Simple bars.
6. PowerCrunch Bar: French Vanilla Creme
Calories: 205 (105 from fat)
Total Fat: 12g (25% saturated fat)
Sodium: 80mg
Carbohydrate: 10g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 14g
Nutritional Value: 5
Taste: 4
At first taste of this bar, YUM! This tastes exactly like a vanilla cream wafer cracker. It's sweet, delicious and has no similarity to the taste of a regular protein bar. It's light, crunchy/crispy and tastes more like a dessert. However, a couple of bites in, this bar began to present a bitter aftertaste that just lingered in my throat. I have mixed feelings about this. I love it because it is delicious and high in protein with a low sugar content, even though it certainly doesn't taste like it. However, the after taste just turns me off as I found myself gulping water afterwards. Try this bar out. What is your opinion of it? Is the taste good enough to hide the strange aftertaste? Next time, I may just buy another one just because it's delicious but will probably have a drink in my other hand as I do so.
7. Odwalla Bar: Berries GoMega
Calories: 210 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 6g (4% saturated fat)
Sodium: 210mg
Carbohydrate: 36g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 5g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 4
When I first opened this bar, I was turned off because it smelled a bit sour and it's cracked. Who wants to eat a cracked bar? It just makes it unappetizing and like it's going to fall apart as soon as you pick it up. However, the taste isn't that bad. If you've ever had a NutriGrain bar and loved it, then you will like these too. Despite the somewhat good taste, it's definitely too dry and has a grainy texture in your mouth. I have a love/hate relationship with this bar. It tastes good and is low in saturated fat, which is good because we should have less saturated fat in our diets, but I would not prefer it because the protein content is way too low to be a protein bar and the sugar content is high.
8. Rickland Orchards Greek Yogurt Bar: Blueberry Acai
Calories: 160 (60 from fat)
Total Fat: 6g (13% saturated fat)
Sodium: 45mg
Carbohydrate: 22g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 7g
Nutritional Value: 4
Taste: 4
First look at this: looks like a granola bar. So I bit into it, expecting it to be crunchy. It wasn't. It was chewy. It tasted exactly like how it looks. Chewy oats with a milk cream bottom layer (not shown in picture). However, the bar tasted way too sweet. I am a big fan of Greek yogurt mainly because the sugar content is not as high as regular yogurt, but the cream layer on this bar was too sweet to be Greek yogurt. The calorie content is also low, a good thing, but could be due to the low protein content. I would not mind having these for a snack but there is definitely not enough protein to get me through a workout.
9. Pure Protein: Chocolate Deluxe
Calories: 180 (40 from fat)
Total Fat: 4.5g (16% saturated fat)
Sodium: 70mg
Carbohydrate: 17g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 20g
Nutritional Value: 5
Taste: 1
One word: UGH! Worst protein bar I have ever tasted. It's chalky and almost impossible to chew. It is way too chewy and I felt like my teeth were going to break just after one bite. The chocolate flavor also tastes fake and expired and it was just plan gross. However, if you are a body builder and is solely focused on protein for bulking up those "guns", then you would probably want this. This bar is basically all protein, with very little sugar content. The caloric content is GREAT for a protein bar with this much protein. For some this bar is a lifesaver, because it slims your belly down while bulking up your muscle groups. For me, BLEH! It literally tastes like a rubber balloon.
10. ProMax Bar: Cookies 'n Cream
Calories: 270 (40 from fat)
Total Fat: 4.5g (15% saturated fat)
Sodium: 240mg
Carbohydrate: 40g
Sugar: 30g
Protein: 20g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 1
Cookies and cream. I love cookies and cream. I love cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate bar, milkshake, cake, you name it. But this? Made me not want to eat cookies and cream flavored foods ever again. This tastes exactly like the pure protein bar but not as bad because the outer cookies and cream layer helped disguise the awful taste. As said in the post above, this chalky thick bar has no place in my pantry. Not only is it gross tasting, but it's also high in calories and has a whopping 30g of sugar! What the FUNK!!??
11. Luna Protein Bar: Chocolate Peanut Butter
Calories: 190 (80 from fat)
Total Fat: 8g (18% saturated fat)
Sodium: 250mg
Carbohydrate: 19g
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 12g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 3
I decided to give Luna bars a try for 2 main reasons. 1. It's advertised as a women's bar and so I decided to give it a gander because when products are geared specifically towards the group you're in, you can't help but feel obligated to try it out. So I did. 2. The packaging looks so darn pretty! We all love touching and having pretty things! In this case, I really should not have judged the bar by it's cover. The taste did not match up with the wrapper. Don't get me wrong. The taste was not horrible. It tasted like a snickers bar but it was still way too chalky for me. There was also a peanut butter taste that didn't taste quite right. It tasted like peanut butter but an off peanut buttery flavor. I also gave the nutritional value a 3 because even though the caloric content is low and a good amount of protein, the sugar content is still a bit high and there is way too much calories from fat.
12. Luna Bar: Caramel Nut Brownie
Calories: 180 (60 from fat)
Total Fat: 6g (15% saturated fat)
Sodium: 160mg
Carbohydrate: 26g
Sugar: 13g
Protein: 8g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 2
Upon opening the package, the smell was already off-putting. The caramel layer looked and tasted expired. The chocolate part tasted nothing like a brownie, which I expected. It tasted more like someone threw up on the brownie. It was also way too sweet to be considered a semi-healthy bar. The only part I liked about it was the texture. The crispiness was so easy to chew, like a rice krispies treat.
The only good part about the nutrition label I liked was the calorie content. However that does not make up for the low protein and high sugar content. Luna bar, you've failed me. =(
13. CLIF Bar: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
Calories: 250 (60 from fat)
Total Fat: 7g (10% saturated fat)
Sodium: 240mg
Carbohydrate: 41g
Sugar: 21g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 3
Personally, I love CLIF bars. I think they taste great and are filling enough to provide me enough energy for my workouts. However, they have horrible sugar levels. This flavor in particular was not only high in calories and low in protein but it was incredibly sweet. I love white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and so I decided to give this a shot. I was actually excited when I first layed my eyes on these but could not get over the sweetness. I had to have this with a glass of milk, which by the way, is a perfect pre or post workout snack.
14. CLIF Bar: Cool Mint Chocolate
Calories: 240 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 170mg
Carbohydrate: 42g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 5
I LOVE this bar! It tastes exactly like an Andes mint chocolate. It's so good and decadent. In fact, I went out and bought myself 5 more about trying this. The only problem, however, with this is that there is 22g of sugar in it. That's way too much sugar for this bar to be considered healthy. However, the taste was enough for me to surpass that and enjoy the bar. The protein value is also decent and only 8% saturated fat. Boo ya! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Lower the sugar content, keep the taste and LOVE LOVE LOVE EVEN MORE!! One of my favorite bars ever!
15. CLIF Bar: Chocolate Brownie
Calories: 230 (40 from fat)
Total Fat: 4.5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 160mg
Carbohydrate: 44g
Sugar: 23g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 5
These may look like a bar of crap (especially in this picture), but they taste nothing like it. It tastes like a delicious brownie. Delicious! However, there is way too much chocolate and not enough of any other flavors so I like these but would prefer others over it. The sugar content is also extremely high. However, the nutritional rating is high than the one for CLIF white chocolate macadamia nut because the calories and saturated fat content is lower.
16. Luna Bar: Iced Oatmeal Raisin
Calories: 180 (45 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (10% saturated fat)
Sodium: 150mg
Carbohydrate: 27g
Sugar: 13g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 4
These bars are not as sweet as I expected considering the amount of icing that is on it. However, you really can taste the icing if you take a bite from top down. This bar is chewy and crispy and definitely not an oatmeal texture. This is not one of my favorites, but it's still pretty good.
17. CLIF Bar: Chocolate Chip
Calories: 240 (45 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 140mg
Carbohydrate: 44g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 4
This bar looked unappetizing when I first opened it. However, it tasted pretty good as it tastes like a chewy chocolate chip cookie with the chocolate chunk taste really coming through. There is also a mild taste of raisin in it, which added on to the goodness. However, as always, CLIF bars are decent in protein but too high in sugar.
18. Luna Bar: Chocolate Chunk
Total Fat: 5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 140mg
Carbohydrate: 44g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 4
This bar looked unappetizing when I first opened it. However, it tasted pretty good as it tastes like a chewy chocolate chip cookie with the chocolate chunk taste really coming through. There is also a mild taste of raisin in it, which added on to the goodness. However, as always, CLIF bars are decent in protein but too high in sugar.
18. Luna Bar: Chocolate Chunk
Calories: 180 (45 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 210mg
Carbohydrate: 26g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 2
Total Fat: 5g (8% saturated fat)
Sodium: 210mg
Carbohydrate: 26g
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 2
Upon eating this bar, it crumbled in my mouth and the chocolate chunks were way too big to be in this tiny bar. As always Luna bars are crispy, but this one tasted especially grainy, which I was not a fan of.
19. Luna Bar: S'mores
Calories: 180 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (10% saturated fat)
Sodium: 140mg
Carbohydrate: 27g
Sugar: 13g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 2
Total Fat: 5g (10% saturated fat)
Sodium: 140mg
Carbohydrate: 27g
Sugar: 13g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 3
Taste: 2
I was actually excited to try this bar when I got it because I have an unhealthy obsession with s'mores. However, I was sadly disappointed when I finally tasted it. It was impossible hard to chew and the chocolate layer was stale. It tasted nothing like real s'mores. To make a comparison, it tastes like a super hard chocolate drizzled rice kris pies treat.
20. CLIF Bar: Oatmeal Raisin Walnut
Calories: 240 (45 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (4% saturated fat)
Sodium: 130mg
Carbohydrate: 43g
Sugar: 20g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 4
This bar tasted pretty good and I was excited to see that there was only 4% saturated fat. When biting into it, it tasted like a cinnamon raisin bagel and you can definitely taste the walnut chunks and the dried oats. This bar, however, may sound nutritious, but way overloaded with sugar.
21. CLIF Bar: Blueberry Crisp
Calories: 240 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (4% saturated fat)
Sodium: 150mg
Carbohydrate: 43g
Sugar: 21g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 2
I was sadly disappointed to see that this bar only had 9g of protein as opposed to the usual 10. I got this bar expecting a taste similar to blueberry pie but this was nothing like it. The only thing that was good about this were the chunks of almonds lodged into to hide the taste of the gross blueberry skins. I could barely taste blueberries at all and hated it because I love blueberries. Next time, stick with actual berries.
22. Luna Bar: Chocolate Peppermint Stick
Total Fat: 5g (4% saturated fat)
Sodium: 130mg
Carbohydrate: 43g
Sugar: 20g
Protein: 10g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 4
This bar tasted pretty good and I was excited to see that there was only 4% saturated fat. When biting into it, it tasted like a cinnamon raisin bagel and you can definitely taste the walnut chunks and the dried oats. This bar, however, may sound nutritious, but way overloaded with sugar.
Calories: 240 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (4% saturated fat)
Sodium: 150mg
Carbohydrate: 43g
Sugar: 21g
Protein: 9g
Nutritional Value: 1
Taste: 2
I was sadly disappointed to see that this bar only had 9g of protein as opposed to the usual 10. I got this bar expecting a taste similar to blueberry pie but this was nothing like it. The only thing that was good about this were the chunks of almonds lodged into to hide the taste of the gross blueberry skins. I could barely taste blueberries at all and hated it because I love blueberries. Next time, stick with actual berries.
22. Luna Bar: Chocolate Peppermint Stick
Calories: 180 (45 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g (13% saturated fat)
Sodium: 120mg
Carbohydrate: 28g
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 8g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 5
Total Fat: 5g (13% saturated fat)
Sodium: 120mg
Carbohydrate: 28g
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 8g
Nutritional Value: 2
Taste: 5
This bar would have been one of my favorites if it wasn't for the low protein content and high saturated fat. When I first opened this package, I took a whig of a strong peppermint smell and it was amazing. I loved the taste of this bar. It not only tastes like mint chocolate chip but it was also crispy and delicious.
This bar would have been less sweet if the mint was not there to take away some of the sweetness. A perfect combination of flavors.
Overall, CLIF bars are really not that healthy at all, but they tastes great!
My favorite protein bar so far: OhYeah! (High protein, low calories, low sugar = PERFECTION!!)
*CLIF bars not far behind!
My favorite protein bar so far: OhYeah! (High protein, low calories, low sugar = PERFECTION!!)
*CLIF bars not far behind!
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