Quest Bars? Overrated or?

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steffipaulina
steffipaulina Posts: 161
in Food and Nutrition
So recently I have been eating LCHF in order to lose my last couple pounds. I just bought Quest bars last night since everyone seems to be obsessed with them. But I noticed they're quite expensive. A box (here in Canada) is $32.99 - and that's only for 12 bars.

Do you think they're worth it? Are they only worth it if you are doing low carb?

I count calories as well as carbs and for 200 cals a bar I don't want to be wasting my calories or $$$.
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Replies

  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
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    I suppose it depends on your goals. 20 g of protein and 20 g of fiber for around $2 (US). Totally worth it to help me hold on to muscle. Also I bought 4 boxes for 75 dollars during their cyber monday deal so hell yes!

    BTW I'm not doing low carb. Also they are not all 200 cal there is a range between 160-210 so find ones you like that are at the lower end.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,540 Member
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    bodybuilding.com sells them for $24.99, but I don't know what shipping charge is to Canada. Personally I think bars are overrated and that food is a much better choice, however if you're on the go, I can see needing a stash of them.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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  • GinnieC100
    GinnieC100 Posts: 48 Member
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    I love the Quest Bars. Lots of protein. I only eat a half bar at a time. I find them really "heavy" and a half bar satisfies me. I think they are worth every penny spent.
  • in4nomz
    in4nomz Posts: 230
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    I love Quest bars but don't love the price. I'd rather eat some chicken for a leaner protein, but I keep a box of Quest bars on hand to keep one in my purse or in my desk at work in case I'm starving or on the go for breakfast.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    Granted I've only tried 4 flavors of Quest Bars but all four I found to be positively VILE. I'd much rather an Oh Yeah or Supreme Protein bar, every day of the week - although I do try to stay away from bars in general.
  • mikeykhan2003
    mikeykhan2003 Posts: 177
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    Love love them. Most of the carbs are fiber or sugar alcohol. Not sure if that matters to you.

    It took me a bit to deal with the texture, but the peanut butter chocolate one actually tastes decent; make sure you drink plenty of water while you're eating it, otherwise they tend to taste like paste.

    I use them sometimes as meal replacement, sometimes as protein, and sometimes as a snack to redirect my brain from something super delicious but not within my daily goals.

    The ones I eat are 160 calories, so easy to work into my day in so many ways.
  • Sam3622
    Sam3622 Posts: 172 Member
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    I LOVE Quest bars! They are the cleanest protein bar i've come across and the fibre content is great.

    My favourites are Cookie Dough and Chocolate Brownie - they really taste like a treat, but without the sugar! Yum.
  • healthybodyhealthylife
    healthybodyhealthylife Posts: 189 Member
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    Some flavours are awful - such as the lemon, vanilla almond and apple pie flavour.
    The chocolate cookie dough, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate brownie, chocolate pb are great. Those ones are worth the money.
    Just my opinion though.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    It's about 30 cents worth of whey protein imbedded in fiber. So, take that fwiw.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    I pay about two dollars a bar here. Less if there's a sale. They're worth it to me because I eat very little meat and don't care much for protein shakes. I find the strawberry cheesecake one really delicious, which means I'm actually happy about eating it. A protein source that I enjoy makes it worth it to me. To you? It all depends on how you feel once you've had one.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    My husband eats tons of them because he's bulking and it's very hard for him to take breaks from his job to sit down and futz around with something perishable and/or needing cooking. They also don't take up a lot of room in his stomach like a protein drink would.

    I personally love the apple pie one, and the strawberry cheesecake and cookie dough ones are really good too. The chocolate brownie one is delicious, but it also equals instant and persistent GI distress for me (not sure why; same ingredients as the others!) so I don't get to enjoy that one.

    If you're doing LCHF, I would not think of it as a good choice. If they don't give you GI distress, it's probably because your body is able to digest the "inactive" carbs in them, so the "net carbs", if you choose to do those, are much closer than the total carbs than will be comfortable for your limit.

    But I don't care about that. As long as I get my protein and most of my fat for the day, and I'm near my calorie goal, I say "Party On, Wayne!"
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I've heard there was some controversy over the accuracy of the nutritional info.

    I think they taste like poison. I'm not sure what they put in there, but I can't finish one.

    Other people love them.

    I suggest you try one or two before buying a case.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    I love them! They are so handy to have around and a flavorful way to get some protein and fiber. I find that for me they make a great afternoon snack because they are filling and I can make it through to dinner without snacking the afternoon away. I don't love the cost but they are worth it to me. My favorite flavors are Cinnamon Roll and Coconut Cashew and they both come in at 170 calories.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    Where do you get them in Canada?
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I don't really do low carb (intentionally, I just focus on protein as much as possible).

    I've never found any other bar that's <210 with as much protein and fiber as a Quest bar. I love them for both macros. Usually 19-21g of protein, 15-18g of fiber.

    That said, there are some I can't stand the taste of. Others taste great (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, in particular).

    I never eat them without microwaving them for 10-13 seconds. They're really hard to chew for my TMJ.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    I like them cuz they're high protein and low sugar. I usually stock up when GNC.com have them 30% off, which puts them at about $1.60/bar, including shipping which is usually $1.99 or less. I also like Detour (15g protein) and Pure Protein (20g protein) for the same reason and can usually get those at Costco for about $1.20/bar. As for taste, they're OK. I've only tried about 4 flavors so far.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    I've heard there was some controversy over the accuracy of the nutritional info.
    Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a shill from a competitor who's suing them over whether or not the fiber counts are accurate, and thereby the calorie counts. It's pretty minor overall. If you consider the fiber/sweetener/thickener base (IMO, Isomalto-oligosaccharide) as a fiber, and you count that at 2 calories per gram instead of the usual 4, you get the numbers they publicize. Of course, they also deduct these all from their "net carbs" count too, but there's absolutely no official standard for "net carbs" anyway, so no gripe there. And if you don't count these as fiber, and/or count them at the full 4 calories per gram, the bars have something like 50-60 more calories than stated.

    It's all a BS numbers game, and in the end, sort of irrelevant. If you're eating a lot of the bars and you stall, you probably need to consider them at the higher calorie count. Not sure what the BFD is.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    For me it really depends on the flavor, but if I want some protein with a sweet taste, it wins for me. I didn't like some flavors are all, and some are pretty good. It's still not as good for me as some other protein bars but they fill me up much better. I wouldn't pay $32 for a box though.

    Watch out though, those 60g bars are often heavier, so a 190 calorie bar is often really 205 calories or more.
  • somefitsomefat
    somefitsomefat Posts: 445 Member
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    I just got with cheapo Pure Protein brand bars. Costco seems to always have a triple pack of peanut butter, cookie dough, and chocolate on sale for around $15 for 18 bars (I think it's 6 per pack). 20g of protein and 180-200ish calories. Not sure of the carbs.
  • Luv2Smile55
    Luv2Smile55 Posts: 133 Member
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    I personally have to try and talk myself into believing that they taste good. The two least nasty in my opinion are the chocolate cookie dough and the white chocolate raspberry. I think that they taste like a glue kind of consistency. :noway: Also, I just read that they have a lawsuit filed against them because they falsely misrepresent the amount of protein and fiber in each bar. Not nearly as much as they state. Buyers always beware I guess.

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