Protein Bar Comparison

[bkelly1984]

Hi Everyone!

I’ve recently started a low-carb diet and am interested in the quick snack protein bars, but I didn’t see a lot of information on which brands people preferred. So, I purchased a small variety and had a taste test. For anyone interested, here are my results:


Doctor's LowCarb Diet (Chocolate Mint Cookie) – Scores 8 of 10
185 Cal, 3.3g Fat, 20.5g Pro, 2.6g Carb, 1.9g CCR
Much like fudge. Minor aftertaste.

Protein Diet Bar (Honey Nougat) – Scores 8 of 10
190 Cal, 5g Fat, 22g Pro, 2.5g Carb, 2.0g CCR
Consistency like a brownie, but the flavor is mainly in the aftertaste.

Protein Revolution (Double Chocolate Fudge Almond) – Scores 7 of 10
220 Cal, 8g Fat, 21g Pro, 2.5g Carb, 2.5g CCR
About like a brownie, although the flavor is a little off.

Designer (Double Chocolats!) – Scores 6 of 10
260 Cal, 4.5g Fat, 30g Pro, 6g Carb, 5g CCR
Taffy consistency. Taste is slightly bitter.

Ultimate Lo Carb 2 (Chocolate Smores Supreme) – Scores 6 of 10
230 Cal, 6g Fat, 20g Pro, 3g Carb, 3g CCR
Heavy cake consistency that's slightly bitter and stale. Flavor only in aftertaste.

Atkins Diet Advantage (Chocolate Peanut Butter) – Scores 5 of 10
218 Cal, 13g Fat, 19g Pro, 3g Carb, 1g CCR
Dry, although not crunchy. Poor flavor. Slightly bad aftertaste.

Take 2 (Cool Cookie Dough) – Scores 5 of 10
180 Cal, 4g Fat, 22g Pro, 2g Carb, 1g CCR
Dry and crumbly. Okay flavor.

Keto Bar (Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup) – Scores 4 of 10
224 Cal, 9g Fat, 24g Pro, 5g Carb, 4g CCR
Waxlike texture and stuck in mouth like peanut butter. Almost no flavor.

Atkins Diet Advantage (Chocolate Macadamia Nut) – Scores 3 of 10
221 Cal, 13g Fat, 19g Pro, 2.6g Carb, 1.6g CCR
Similar to CPB Advantage bar, but the macadamia flavor tasted like pickles - I hate pickles.

Keto Bar (Oatmeal Raisin) – Scores 3 of 10
220 Cal, 9g Fat, 24g Pro, 4g Carb, 3g CCR
Vile flavor due to strong chemical taste. A little dry.


The 1 to 10 rating is my own unscientific scale. With a 1, I wouldn’t go beyond the first bite while I couldn’t think on how to improve a 10. My own personal tastes lean toward sweets like creamy milk chocolate and away from vegetables, while yours may be very different. Finally, I have no reasons other than taste to applaud or bad-mouth any of the above products.

Hope this helps a few people. See y’all soon. I’ll be the thin one my sexy swimsuit by the pool.

Brian

[Natrushka]

Interesting experiment, Brian. Hope you didnt get too full in the name of science ;)

Just curious, did you run any of those bars through the Hidden Carb Counter? I ran the first one through (Doctor's LowCarb Diet (Chocolate Mint Cookie) ) and got a carb count of about 20g based on the information you provided.

I realize that many people enjoy the bars because of their convenience, but I think I'll stick with whole foods, I would hate to inadvertently sabotage my efforts with sugar alcohols.

Nat

[bkelly1984]

I’m not worried about the sugar alcohols, but I think anyone who is should probably avoid these bars. Looking at the rankings, I’d think all of them contain hidden carbs, but I’ve not had trouble with them so far.

I’ve dug up another bar, so here is another entry:

Carb Solutions (Chocolate Fudge Almond) – Scores 7 of 10
230 Cal, 9g Fat, 21g Pro, 2g Carb, 2g CCR
Light, like a 3-Musketeers bar with a strong rough chocolate taste.

Enjoy!

[Sharon]

Yes, an interesting experiment!! (Curious as too how long it took you!!)

Interesting also to note that none scored above an 8. When I first started lowcarbing I felt what a great opportunity to try these bars as well. Most of them I couldn't handle either the texture or the taste of and I also thought they were very expensive. At lot of folks on limited budgets find them too expensive (at least here in Canada!).

For me, the whole idea of lowcarbing is staying away from things that trigger the my sweet tastebuds (I watch my blood sugar levels). I found that it didn't take me long to get over my craving for sweets.

Now, that's not to say, I don't enjoy the odd low carb treat, i.e. cheesecake, or a mock danish.

I think you're probably in the low minority of people who don't have a problem with this type of product stalling them.

Good luck..we'll be looking for you at the beach.