In the Spotlight: Protein Bars

There has been a recent explosion in the protein bar industry! Considering the much greater explosion in the snack food industry this is helpful to those of us wanting to keep our snacks as nutritionally good for us as possible. I totally believe in the value of whole foods as being the most natural and healthy source of energy, and advocate that lean meats, fruits and vegetables should form the base of our food choices. However, there are real benefits of protein bars, such as:

• Uber-convenient – on the go, no need to prep, quick and easy!
• Yummy! (although there are some nasty gross ones too)
• Great source of protein –  alternative to shakes for those unsatisfied with liquid meals

I like to think of myself as a kind of protein bar connoisseur, and have spent the last two years evaluating these and distinguishing best from worst. What follows is a summary of my findings, based on macronutrient composition and tastiness. The key points to consider when reading the label is to try to look at the whole picture (more than one aspect!) This means look at the serving size, calories, protein, fat and carbs. The serving size can be deceptive, especially with the newer protein bites/balls. Sometimes the serving size will be within your snack macros, but only refers to half the packaged quantity! Honestly, I’m not going to open a bag of bites and only eat 4, when there are 8 in the bag! You might be different though…..

My selection is dominated by the fact that my snacks generally fall in the 200 Kcal range. Although, the principles above can be applied to any bar or snack to suit your requirements. The aim is to find the best, high protein, low carb snacks to obtain a nutritional profile required for building muscle and shedding fat. Of course, they need to be great tasting too!

The Quest protein bar range by far outshines the rest. They are truly delicious, so much so that you won’t believe they have the best nutritional profile of every bar ever made! The protein in quest bars is whey isolate which has all amino acids intact and better quality protein than other sources. Quest bars are high in fibre too (17g), which means no digestive problems. The fats are omega-3 fatty acids from various nuts, which are great for heart health. Most other bars contain hydrogenated oils which are easily converted to body fat. Quest bars are great frozen and dunked in black coffee, or microwaved so they go a little squishy. During comp prep, and especially whilst travelling overseas I easily ate 2-3 of these bars per day and maintained my lean condition.

Both Quest and Carbrite earned two top spots each, just because they are so awesome, and could have had more spots due to the massive range of flavours (Quest = 14, Carbrite = 12).  I included the bites because the difference provided by these little bags of goodness is fun and feels even more like a treat (great for taking to the movies!)

Get snacking, guilt-free, with these great bars, available from Nutrition Plus!