Quest Protein Bars: Another Hyped Up Candy Bar?
Quest Protein Bars: Another Hyped Up Candy Bar?
Last week I ordered from The Low Carb Grocery in Burnaby BC and decided to try out the new (newish) Quest Protein Bars I heard about while listening to a Muscle College podcast with Dr. Layne Norton and Dr. Jake Wilson.
Now I’ve tried protein bars before in the beginning lifting days when I knew much less about protein quality and nutrition. These bars tended to use protein concentrates and forms of protein that contained trace amounts lactose, refined sugars, and other questionable forms of fats. Most of all they contained a fairly high amount of overall calories.
What Is So Special?
What caught my eye about these protein bars is that they are pretty well “Low Carb” and use High quality Whey protein Isolates.
First off I want you to take note of the small ingredient list.
LOW CARB?
The bar technically is a low carb bar. They claim that the bars only contain only 4-5g of “Active Carbs” because the remaining total of carbs comes from fiber.
Now I am under the impression that depending on the fiber used, fiber per gram contains somewhere between 1-2 calories. However their form of fiber (Natural Pre-biotic fiber) could potentially be calorie free.
The bar DOES contain Erythritol which is a Sugar Alcohol and contains about 0.4 calories per gram [1]
Erythritol is about 70% as sweet as sugar and is better tolerated by most people than other sugar alcohols (under 35g). [2]
What I Taste Tested
I believe I ordered every bar they offered in singles which cost about $2-3 per bar. If you buy 30 I think you get one free. Below is my own subjective review of each flavour, your taste opinion may drastically differ from mine.
Chocolate Peanut Butter:
– Smells like chocolate peanut butter
– Chewy
– Salty
– Distinct chocolate peanut butter flavour
– I would buy and recommend this
Cinnamon Roll:
– Smells very much like fresh cinnamon rolls
– Buttery cinnamon flavour
– Chewy
– Tastes like a chewy cinnamon roll
– I would buy and recommend this
Coconut Cashew:
– Light coconut smell
– Chewy
– Light coconut flavour
– Light almond flavour
– I would buy and recommend this if you like coconut
Lemon Cream Pie:
– STRONG Lemon cream pie Smell
– Medium lemon creme pie flavour
– Chewy
– I would buy and recommend this
*Banana Nut Muffin:
– STRONG banana nut muffin smell
– Taste exactly like a banana nut muffin
– chewy
– Extremely good
– I would buy and recommend this
Mixed Berry Bliss:
– Light berry smell
– Distinct dried fruit flavour exactly like fruit pop tart filling
– Chewy
– I would buy and recommend this UNLESS you want a more natural fruit taste
Chocolate Brownie:
– Strong Chocolate Smell
– More chewy than a traditional brownie
– Tastes like a chocolate brownie
– I would buy and recommend this if looking for an alternative to brownies for a high protein snack to go
Peanut Butter Supreme:
– Light peanut butter smell
– Reminds me a lot like previous peanut butter protein bars but with better ingredients
– chewy
– Not bad but not any better tasting than some of the other kinds of protein bars
– I would still recommend them to people with peanut butter cravings
Vanilla Almond Crunch:
– Light vanilla/nut smell
– Mild vanilla and almond flavours
– Tasted good but not over powering
– Chewy
– I would buy and recommend this
Strawberry Cheesecake:
– STRONG Strawberry smell
– Chewy
– Has that distinct strawberry syrup flavour like the stuff you put on ice-cream
– More like strawberry syrup and vanilla ice-cream than cheesecake
– I would buy and recommend this
Peanut Butter And Jelly:
– Distinct peanut butter and jelly smell
– Very distinct peanut butter and jelly taste which I’m a big fan of
– Chewy
– I would buy and recommend this if you like PB&J sandwiches
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
– Smells like a cookie dough protein bar
– Texture is chewy and not too dry
– Has a nice cookie dough flavour thats not strong and you can taste the chocolate chip flavour in it too
– I like it and would buy it again
Protein Peanut Butter Cups:
– Smells like dark cooking chocolate
– Texture is dryer and chalkier than Reese
– Tastes about 50-60% as good as Reese cups
– I like it as an alternative but it doesn’t match Reese cups in texture and overall flavour
*White Chocolate Raspberry:
– Mild white chocolate smell
– Chewy in a good way
– Has that distinct raspberry flavour sort of like pop-tart quality but I REALLy enjoyed it
– You can taste the white chocolate flavour and its mild but goes well with the raspberry
– I would buy and recommend this because it tasted really good
*Favourites
Conclusion:
Quest Nutrition has done a tremendous job at producing smells that match their description and flavours vary from strong to light but all contain very close if not spot on flavours to their descriptions.
I liked them all BUT my Favourites were the Banana Nut Muffin and the Cinnamon Roll bar.
These bars can be very useful for those who have a VERY busy lifestyle where getting in enough protein while on the go is a hassle or near impossible due to time.
The “low carb” style of the bar is VERY helpful, NOT because carbs are bad but because the added calories from carbs can make it more difficult for people to lose body fat especially when dieting to get to leaner stage conditions.
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Quest Protein bars or with The Low Carb Grocery. I simply find their products and services helpful for my clients and people like you who are working so hard on their bodies and health.
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