Protein bars have become the go-to snack for fitness enthusiasts, busy professionals, and health-conscious snackers alike. But with the overwhelming sea of options lining the shelves, how do you choose the bar that won’t just fuel your body but also delight your taste buds?
I’ve been trying to change my diet to eat a lot cleaner and healthier food recently, and that means less of processed foods (hams, sausages, burger patties, candy, etc), sugared drinks, and artificial stuff, like artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, that also leaves me in a bit of a problem when I get hungry in the middle of the day, or when I’m on the move, because I’m suddenly faced with a lot less options to turn to.
In this article, I unwrapped the hype to reveal the best protein bars on the market that stand out in both nutrition and flavour. Whether you’re looking for a quick post-workout recovery, a satisfying midday snack, or a meal replacement that keeps you full and focused, I’ve got the inside scoop on which bars are worth biting into. These are the protein bars that have the ultimate combination of taste, texture, and nutritional value that will elevate your snack game to the next level.
I started researching on possible solutions, and I found protein bars as a viable solution. Protein bars are high in protein, convenient, and while they’re processed, still relatively healthy. However, not all protein bars are the same.
I started looking at the various kinds of protein bars available on the market, and got myself several brands. Unfortunately, I realised that not all of them were made equal. Even though they came with 20g or so of protein, some protein bars actually had the nutritional profile of a Mars bar!
I only found this out the hard way by trying at least 5 different brands of protein bars – Promax, Promax LS (Low Sugar), Pure Protein, CLIF Builder’s, Quest – before I started reading the nutritional labels closely, and finding out that some of them had WAY too much sugar.
Take a look at these Promax bars for instance. I was wondering just how different the regular Promax protein bars and the Promax LS (lower sugar) protein bars are, until I looked at the nutritional label:
These regular Promax bars have 30gm of sugar! That’s almost half its weight, since an entire Promax bar is 75gm. After this fact dawned upon me, I realised that it was the reason why their wrappers were designed the way they were. If you noticed, the regular bars had no mention on the amount of sugars, just that it had 0g trans fat, and 18 vitamins and minerals. It was only the Promax LS bars that started to show off the fact that they had 9g of sugar.
I’m very impressed with the taste and texture of Asahi protein bars. They taste kinda like Rice Crispies, but with the only downside that they have rather low protein amounts (10gm per bar).
These Fulfil bars sound and look great, but have a very artificial taste to them with a flat sweetness. The one good thing about these bars is that they aren’t chalky in texture.
MyProtein Layered bars have a lot of hype to them but I’ve found that I’m not a fan of the taste or the texture. It’s chalkier and drier than I like, and not as tasty as protein bars from other brands. Good macros, but I won’t be buying again. For better MyProtein bars, check out their Impact range.
After trying almost all of MyProtein protein bars, I’ve found MyProtein Impact bars to have the best taste and texture. It doesn’t have that chalky texture that most protein bars have, and they typically have a great taste with good macros.
I wouldn’t buy these again because they were dry, chalky and had no taste whatsoever.
For protein bars that were this expensive, I was expecting more from these bars. However, while their taste and texture weren’t bad, they weren’t anything to shout about.
Grenade protein bars were another company that had a lot of hype, but personally, I found that their bars didn’t live up to the hype.
The one protein bar that I found had a really good nutrition profile was from Quest. To me, this was the best protein bar around. It had only 1g of sugar, and didn’t have any artificial sweeteners too.
I found out that the flavor greatly changed how much I liked the bar’s taste though. Since taste is subjective, you might have to try the flavors out yourself. Personally, I liked these flavors the best: Chocolate Brownie was my definite favourite, followed by Cookies and Cream, and Cinnamon Roll, and then Double Chocolate Chunk. Here’s how the inside of Chocolate Brownie looks like:
If you’re looking for the best place to buy protein bars, I highly recommend iHerb.com for their low prices, fresh inventory, and cheap world-wide shipping. I’m from Singapore, and iHerb.com ships to Singapore for free (or only S$4 for orders below $40). I use iHerb for all my supplements, and even things like soap, deodorant, salt, nuts, etc. Shipping takes only about a week, and is way cheaper than anything that you could get locally! Tip: Save $10 on your first order at iHerb with this iHerb coupon when checking out: VHW626
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I love Quest Bars too! I did a review for my clients recently too - and I recommend buying for the TYPE of bar you want too - meal replacement, snack or post workout.
To make a good decision, you need to check the label:
The nutritional panel needs to show:
Protein should be at least half the amount of the bar’s carbohydrates. A bar with 24 gram of carbs would need a minimum of 12 grams of protein.
Keep fats under 12 grams
Sugars under 7 grams (although up to 10 grammes is acceptable)
Snacking? Keep calories under 200 and kilojoules under 830 kJ
Meal replacement? You’ll need more than 400 calories or 1650 kJ
Post workout recovery? Aim for 20 grams of protein or more.