Hey guys!!
So last night I was at Trader Joe’s looking through the supplement section and I thought…hmmm…I should just buy a buffet of bars to try out! Cuz…I can!?
I actually wanted to do a head to head nutrition bar battle against some of the most popular brands out there. I steered away from the traditional “protein bars” because I honestly think they taste too dry. And…I am on a mission to find the perfect pre-workout and post-workout snack when on-the-run. You should eat whole, real food when you can. But let’s be realistic. When you can’t, you have to have backups! Let’s see the competitors!
| Brand | Cals | Fat | Carbs | Protein | Sugar | Taste |
| ThinkThin Crunch Orig. Mixed Nuts | 190 | 13g | 15g | 8g | 4g | The best of them all! It wasn’t too sweet. I liked that I could see all of the nuts I was eating and the slight glaze was a fine touch. Although I enjoyed the soy crisps (made it taste like a rice krispy) I normally woudn’t eat that. I appreciate the low sugar and the least amt of carbs in this bar. |
| ThinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter | 240 | 9g | 22g | 20g | 0g (11g alcohol sugar) | Oops! Had no idea this one had chocolate in it so I couldn’t test it until my friend came over. He said it was dry and very “protein-y”. |
| Luna Peanut Butter Cookie | 180 | 6g | 26g | 9g | 11g | Very good tasting. This one tasted like a rice krispy treat and had a peanut butter cream base underneath the soy crisps and oats. Too carby for me. |
| Larabar Cashew Cookie | 230 | 13g | 23g | 6g | 18g | TOO SWEET! You could make this yourself with crushed cashews and mushed dates. |
| Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie | 220 | 12g | 23g | 7g | 18g | TOO SWEET even with no added sugar! Checked the label and it’s just peanuts, dates, and salt. I would recommend just making this yourself. |
| Kind Bar Almond & Coconut | 190 | 12g | 21g | 3g | 12g | A very talked about brand! I didn’t particularly enjoy the coconuts but overall, it reminded me of the ThinkThin Crunch. I personally thought it was a little too sweet, but appreciated that I could see all of the ingredients whole. |
After tasting each one like a proper connoisseur, I was able to declare a clear winner! The bar I liked best was the ThinkThin Crunch Original Mixed Nuts. The nutrition label also seems the best to me. It has the least amount of carbs, a decent amount of protein, and very little sugar. (Great to avoid blood sugar spikes.) I am not really concerned about the fat grams since it’s coming from nuts, so that is all good.
I would highly recommend giving that bar a try! I’m def not being paid by any of these brands, so please do not worry about any biased opinions! This really was just a “ooohhhh bars! let’s buy em all” type of impulse buy thing. Hahahaha.
Also, I want to ask you POPsters something! If I ever came up with the ULMTIMATE bar…what would you want in it? What would it be called? What flavors!?
Please let me know in the comments below!! I’m kinda serious…let’s make the perfect bar that isn’t already out there! Can’t wait to hear your responses!
<3 Cassey
I particularly like bars that have almonds and maybe cranberries in them. The fruit will give it all the sweetness you need without having to add any extra sugars or sweeteners. If it’s something I would make myself (which is what you are trying to do) I would prefer ingredients that are easy to come by and not too expensive. :)
You’ve got to try Power Crunch bars! They are DELICIOUS. Low carb, moderate fat and moderate protein. Vanilla and peanut butter are my favorite flavors.
Not sure if they were mentioned, but I love Clif bars! The carrot cake one is the best, and is chocolate-free c:
I personally love KIND bars. They recently came out with some with less sugar/honey, although I know at least 3 of them have some form of chocolate–just a drizzle, but worth mentioning. KIND also has fruit & nut bars, which are much less sweet than the almond & coconut you tried! (I had one today, trust me!)
Cassey this is awesome!
I was soo tired trying protein bars for hiking and backpacking only to have them be disgustingly sweet, hurt my teeth and make me nauseous. My regular grocery store only has the ThinkThin creamy peanut butter bars and chucky peanut butter. Since your friend didn’t have a lot of discriptors for it I would like to add that my husband and i both thought it was sweet, but not too sweet. To me it was like eating a peanut butter rice crispy. For 240 calories I think this would be too much for me after a regular workout and I will hunt down those original ones you suggested. These are perfect for backpacking because when you hike 10 miles a day, on a steep incline, at 8,000 feet, for 2 days, you get HUNGRY. Also, I think this will be good for my husband to keep at work in case he doesn’t have time for lunch. I am not a fan of meal replacement by any means, but do think that the high protein bar and an apple would be better than the $12 of Taco Bell he would eat otherwise!
Thanks <3
Taco Bell things are literally 99 cents half the time 0_0 how do you spend 12 dollars there?? :P THAT is what I call a TON of food!! :]
If it has nuts and a little drizzle of natural sweetness like honey, I’m all for it. But lots of us have a big soft spot for chocolate so I would love that. Maybe some fruity bars too. I don’t want it to have a lot of sugar because I hate when bars taste too sweet and some are diabetic so we should consider those options.
Anything that doesn’t have nuts in it!! I can’t eat nuts, so finding a bar like this is very hard!
You might find some recipes online for homemade ones. I had a little girl in my class that was dealthy allergic to nuts so her mom made her homemade ones, they had a rice crispie and oatmeal type base. We kept them in the teachers fridge for her so if she ever forgot her snack or something. Her mom said she made giant batches at a time and froze them. She would put a weeks worth in the fridge to thaw. Then her mom packed them in her backpack for snacks. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I’ve never seen ones without nuts.
Hey guys, quick question. Why did Cassey freak out when she found the Crunch bar had chocolate on it? Is she allergic to chocolate or just simply avoids it at all costs?
Apparently, when she eats it, her tastebuds are really sensitive to chocolate. The sensitivity makes the chocolate taste really bitter. She mentioned it in the red velvet recipe that I just read.
Good greens protein bars!