Quest Protein Bars

I definitely have to heat my Quest bars up before eating. There are some pretty cool recipes that use Quest Bars. But listen, if you don't like them, don't eat them. Find a bar that you like and go with it. Forget popular opinion and use what is right for you and your goals.

I am sort of obsessed with Quest bars. I eat 4 per week as a pre-lifting snack. When I first tried them, I absolutely hated them and wondered what the hell everyone was raving about. Then I found out that a lot of people heat them up - once I started microwaving them for 15-20 seconds and eating immediately, that helped with the texture issue A LOT. The next hurdle was finding flavors I liked. The first two I tried tasted gross to me even though they're really popular flavors and they sounded tasty (Cinnamon Roll and Coconut Cashew). Next I tried Chocolate Brownie and found it to be WAYYYY better than the other two. I thought that was my signature flavor until I tried Double Chocolate Chunk, which I absolutely love. Next I tried the ever-popular Cookies and Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which were also amazingly good. I tried White Chocolate Raspberry and wasn't too impressed, but it's not bad. Then I tried Apple Pie and FELL IN LOVE! I could eat one for all three meals - so so so good. I haven't tried any others, but I rotate between my 4-5 favorites each week.

They're definitely the best tasting protein bar I've ever had that I'd actually consider a quality protein bar (in other words, Special K bars don't count), but I haven't tried Pure Protein or anything like that. I probably won't try any others since I love Quest bars so much. It's just like any other food, though - some people are going to love it and some people are going to hate it. They just might not be for you. Definitely try heating them up before moving onto something else, though.

I don't notice an aftertaste but you do need to drink a bunch of water with them! I usually drink at LEAST 1 bottle sometimes 2, if not I start feeling bloated. I'm guessing that might be what you were feeling.

This is my experience too.

Honestly I've tried most of the flavors and I haven't found one yet that I'd say wasn't good.

I'm quite fond of the vanilla almond and white chocolate raspberry ones. Cookies & Cream, cookie dough, peanut butter supreme and cinnamon roll are also good.

Don't go in expecting the texture/consistency of a granola bar or energy bar - the best way I can describe them is sort of a soft tootsie roll consistency (chewy, almost taffy-like).

I almost always have to down a glass or two of water after eating one as they do make me thirsty.

I like them. I eat a half of one almost everyday for a snack at work. My favorite is the vanilla almond (it tastes like nougat). I heat it up for about 15 seconds and put a tbsp of PB on top. So amazingly delicious.

One of the sweeteners used in Quest protein bars, isomaltooligosaccharide, is a prebiotic fiber. Just like any other fiber, you have to build up the amount you consume slowly over time to avoid mild intestinal discomfort. Quest protein bars are a fiber bomb (one bar contains almost 50% of your RDA for fiber). When I first started eating Quest bars, I could only eat about a third of a bar at a time and it would take me all day to finish one bar. Now, I eat two bars a day.

I've tried several of the Quest protein bars: cookies & cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate brownie, cinnamon roll, double chocolate chunk, peanut butter supreme, and banana nut muffin. Out of all of them, I prefer the cinnamon roll and double chocolate chunk. I think out of the ones I've tried, my least favorite were the chocolate brownie (it was like a brick), the peanut butter supreme, and the chocolate peanut butter (it was more chocolate than peanut butter).

I tried a Pure Protein bar a few weeks ago because I was looking for a protein bar that didn't have so much fiber. I tried the deluxe chocolate. I took two bites of it and then promptly threw it into the trash. The actual bar resembled nothing like the picture on the package (it was more like a block of hard fudge than a Snickers bar) and it didn't even taste like chocolate. It tasted like a fake chocolate (like carob or something). Plus, I was less than pleased with the number of net carbs it had. All of the protein bars, other than Quest, have too many net carbs for me.

On the other hand, the Quest double chocolate chunk, my favorite Quest bar, is probably too rich for a lot of people but it's great for people who love intense chocolate. I would live on them if I could.

You could/probably have a sensitivity to the sugar alcohols. You could try getting used to them by starting with smaller portions and moving up to see if that does the trick.

http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/what-you-need-to-know-about-sugar-alcohols

The 3 flavors I tried did not contain sugar alcohols. As far as I know, the only sugar substitute Quest uses is Erythritol (am I spelling that right?) but none of the bars I tried had that additive in them.

Seven flavors of Quest bars are sweetened with a combination of erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and stevia, a natural sweetener. The other nine are sweetened with sucralose (Splenda) and lo han guo, another natural sweetener. The prebiotic fiber in the bars is also somewhat sweet-tasting.

I love the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor and the cookies and cream to a lesser degree. Sometimes I spread a tablespoon of all natural power protein peanut butter on top of the bars. It tastes amazing!