Quest candy bars.

No problem, I just think it needs to be known, glad I could shed some light on things. It’s just aggravating someone like me can gain weight REALLY easily so even when I'm maintaining I track everything I eat. I am also a slow loser and secret "hidden, no-counted" calories started to cause weight loss plateaus. Also consider things like sugar substitute and PAM, they are NOT calorie free. They are however allowed to claim calorie free based on the serving size (PAM's serving size is 1/3 second spray, who uses that little?) The FDA considers the calories negligible but say you spray PAM on your pans for 3 meals, use maybe 5 packets of sweetener and eat a Quest Bar and BAM! You just added around 100 calories you don’t even know about! Do that 7 days a week, add in a few extras on the weekends because you have done so good with your tracking; You think you are doing everything right but then you stall...sometimes maybe you are doing everything right but you don’t have all the information in front of you, ugh... off my soapbox now just frustrated with food companies.

Wow, I eat a Quest bar per day, use several packets of "non-calorie" artificial sweetener in my coffee every morning, and spray a hefty amount of "non-calorie" Pam in my skillet before making my daily omlette. Never knew any of this! Thanks for sharing; I'll be adjusting my MFP entries to account for these hidden calories....

Yes, to some of us. They go for 35 bucks for a box of 12 where I live. It's ridiculous. However, I've only ever gone to buy some once, and the only flavor out of the four I chose that I LOVED was the cookie dough one (because when cold, it tastes like real cookie dough, haha). I'd personally only ever buy them if super cheap.

I also buy pure protein bars, as someone mentioned above. I think they're pretty decent, as well.

I order them off Amazon - $24.99 per box & free shipping with Prime

Quest Protein Bars are AMAZING! I buy them by the box. My favorites are the cinnamon bun and apple pie. I have tried all of them except the lemon one so far. They are excellent.

I was a bigger fan of them until I actually calculated the macros on them and the calories listed on the label are way off. Most bars average around 240 calories, so not really the great calorie saver "treat" I once thought they were.

Take cookies and cream just as an example since its the new craze:
Labeled Calories: 180

Macro Breakdown--> protein: 21g (21 X 4 = 84), Fat: 7g (7 X 9 =63), Carbs: 22 (22 X 4 =88)

84 + 63 + 88 = 235 Calories, not 180 that’s a discrepancy of 55 calories, yes this occurs will a lot of our American food products because technically fiber calories are subtractable but this has turned me off from the brand completely. I guess I'm just glad I always count macros and not calories.

I can not thank you enough for this. I have found that pretty much every label is incorrect and NOT in my favor! Huff!!

The labeling is not incorrect at all. In the US, companies subtract a portion of the carbohydrates that come from fiber from the calorie count. It's not intended to be misleading and it is not the fault of the brand; EVERY label is calculated this way. Fiber is good for you, and is only partially digested. Hence, you really do not absorb 4 cal/g from fiber as you do from other carbs. The fiber used in Quest bars is used to bulk and bind the bar and really doesn't make them "high in carbs" like a traditional protein bar that is full of sugar.

So to the OP: the carb/protein ratio is nowhere near 1:1 (and I would argue that most candy is probably way higher like 5:1 or 10:1)

I tried to get my mother in law to eat them instead of "candy" protein bars and she claims that they are too dry or she can't swallow them. I will say the texture varies from flavor to flavor (and especially varies depending on if the bars are from the regular or "all natural" lines) and gets worse over time (ie, they go "stale").

I signed up for a GNC gold membership and periodically get $5 or $10 coupons which I used to get a better deal.

ETA: clarification on fiber and comment on flavors/deals

Well, looking at the 21/22 protein to carb, we're left at sub 1. Should really be better than that, but hey, they're great little snacks it seems.

Do they fit in your daily goals and macros??

If so, eat and enjoy

I'll pick a few up then, I tend to avoid protein bars, because most are just candy bars. From a few of my recent workouts though, I can use a little bit extra fuel and I'd rather not eat a snickers or a gu. The carb count is ridiculously high on them, but that is an excellent protein count.

So the flavors worth trying are:
Cookies and Cream
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

How is the peanut butter? I'm not a fan of raspberry.
I see Apple Pie mentioned too, which would be good if I had a little cheddar...

ETA - and thanks for the commentary.

My personal favorites are the Chocolate Brownie and the Chocolate Peanut Butter. Mixed Berry Bliss isn't too bad but i don't like the crunchier things in them. Same with the Chocolate chip cookie dough and Chocolate chunk, the chunks are a little too big for my preference.

Is there any difference between a quest protein bar and a whey protein shake?

I was a bigger fan of them until I actually calculated the macros on them and the calories listed on the label are way off. Most bars average around 240 calories, so not really the great calorie saver "treat" I once thought they were.

Take cookies and cream just as an example since its the new craze:
Labeled Calories: 180

Macro Breakdown--> protein: 21g (21 X 4 = 84), Fat: 7g (7 X 9 =63), Carbs: 22 (22 X 4 =88)

84 + 63 + 88 = 235 Calories, not 180 that’s a discrepancy of 55 calories, yes this occurs will a lot of our American food products because technically fiber calories are subtractable but this has turned me off from the brand completely. I guess I'm just glad I always count macros and not calories.

I can not thank you enough for this. I have found that pretty much every label is incorrect and NOT in my favor! Huff!!

The labeling is not incorrect at all. In the US, companies subtract a portion of the carbohydrates that come from fiber from the calorie count. It's not intended to be misleading and it is not the fault of the brand; EVERY label is calculated this way. Fiber is good for you, and is only partially digested. Hence, you really do not absorb 4 cal/g from fiber as you do from other carbs. The fiber used in Quest bars is used to bulk and bind the bar and really doesn't make them "high in carbs" like a traditional protein bar that is full of sugar.

I don't know, there's something off about them. The numbers look good on paper, but I tried 3, on 3 separate days and each time they spiked my blood sugar by 50 points. Eating pancakes and syrup doesn't spike my blood sugar that high.