Protein Bars
cdudley628
Posts: 547 Member
My boyfriend has been looking for protein bars to eat for breakfast. He wants a protein bar with low added sugar (less than 10g, ideally less than 5g). Somebody suggested Quest bars, but after looking at the ingredients, we found that artificial sweeteners had been added and we would definitely like to avoid those. Does anybody have any suggestions?
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Well most protein bars will have artificial sweeteners unless you make them yourself.0
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I know most do, that is why I made this post. I had difficulty finding any so I wanted to see if some MFP users were aware of any.0
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If you don't want much added sugar and don't want artificial sweetener, you'll be hard pressed to find one, and if you do, what are you expecting it to taste like?0
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I would just as soon eat Quest bars for all meals and snacks except for the evening meal. Comments?0
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I like no cow bars0
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If you don't want much added sugar and don't want artificial sweetener, you'll be hard pressed to find one, and if you do, what are you expecting it to taste like?
I'm not eating them, they are for my boyfriend. I don't know what he expects them to taste like. Obviously not very sweet.
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I really liked the Quest protein bars, especially Chocolate Brownie and PB&J but the fiber in them (a pre-biotic fiber called Isomalto-Oligosaccharide) is also used as a sweetener which drove my blood sugar up by 40 mg/dL from just one bar and made me hungry for more (FYI: I'm a diabetic). I got seriously "addicted" to them & eventually got myself off of them due to the blood sugar problems they were causing.
I switched to another protein bar called "Diabetic Kitchen bar" (Vanilla Almond flavor) that worked great for me and one bar only raised my blood sugar by 15 mg/dL & didn't make me feel like continuing with a 2nd bar after eating the first. I'll admit, they aren't as sweet as the Quest Protein bars but they were sweet enough to serve their purpose. Amazon sell these making them fairly easy to obtain (but they aren't cheap--about the same as the Quest Protein bars). These Diabetic Kitchen bars do use an artificial sweetener called Stevia (most people don't have trouble with this one compared to the sugar alcohol sweeteners).
Listed below is the nutritional info for the Diabetic Kitchen Bars (Vanilla Almond):
Calories: 180
Fat: 8 g
Protein: 17 g
Total Carb: 21 g (Fiber: 16 g, Sugar: 3 g)
...and its ingredient list is fairly short & "pronounceable":
Chicory Root Fiber
Whey Protein Isolate
Organic Almond Butter
Almonds
Ground Flaxseed
Organic Vanilla Extract
Sea Salt
Stevia
I think it will be difficult to find a protein bar without sugar or some artificial sweetener since people expect protein bars to have a sweet taste to them.
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I would be willing to make some if anybody has any recipes that would fit the criteria.0
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Musclepharm's Combat Crunch tastes awesome, but it has a little more sugar/calories than quest bars. It also has sucralose, so if you are ruling quest bars out for that, you might not want these.
Quest has some all natural flavors without sucralose (coconut cashew for example).
I tend to alternate between Quest and Combat Crunch when I order and I eat bars on occasion as a substitute due to lack of time.
If you want absolutely no added sugar, a whey protein powder might be a better choice. Some of them have no sugar, but they probably taste awful unless put in something tasty. Just a guess as I have never tried them.0 -
There are lots of tasty-sounding recipes out there - it just depends on how much protein he wants (store bought ones are going to be much higher than homemade) and what flavors he likes/proteins he can tolerate.
Here is an example - http://ohsheglows.com/2013/08/29/quick-n-easy-no-bake-protein-bars/
11 grams of sugar - but it is from honey and a little chocolate on top.
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JaredEBrooks wrote: »I would just as soon eat Quest bars for all meals and snacks except for the evening meal. Comments?
Go for it. I've done this with other bars during times I didn't have time or feel like making anything, kept losing weight, didn't feel any ill effects from it.0 -
wait, so...
I'm confused.
Do you want low sugar?
Or do you want high sugar?
If you want low sugar then your best bet is to get a protein bar like quest which has artifical sweetners.
If you want high sugar your best bet is to get a protein bar which does not.
Added sugar or not added doesn't really matter. Either way you're eating sugar.
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If staying away from sweeteners is a big issue, then forget about bars and just eat food with a lot of protein.
I like those pouches of plain tuna packed in water (and low sodium). It's a very high protein/calorie food.0 -
There are low sugar "Kind" bars, that are very good! Only 5 grams sugar.0
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I have lost my enjoyment of Quest bars because they Have a salty taste to them that grosses me out. I am going low carb these days, so I use Atkins products. I don't know the chemistry involved but they use sugar alcohols, but is low glycemic and keeps the carbs down. Works for me. no spam here....
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rainbowbow wrote: »wait, so...
I'm confused.
Do you want low sugar?
Or do you want high sugar?
If you want low sugar then your best bet is to get a protein bar like quest which has artifical sweetners.
If you want high sugar your best bet is to get a protein bar which does not.
Added sugar or not added doesn't really matter. Either way you're eating sugar.
He wants low sugar, but not artificial sweeteners. Naturally occurring sugar, such as in fruits, is different than a bunch of added sugar. I don't think the sugar you get from eating an orange is "bad" for you, whereas added sugar is something I feel should be avoided.0 -
Quest bars are okay if you can stomach the taste. I personally don't like them. They don't taste good, and I always feel like I've licked a chalk board after eating them. I actually haven't eaten protein bars for a while, but several months ago, I was eating some that I made at home with a recipe. They were really good. I would just search online for some recipes and try them out. That way you can adjust the ingredients to fit your personal tastes. There are TONS of them out there.0
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echmainfit619 wrote: »If staying away from sweeteners is a big issue, then forget about bars and just eat food with a lot of protein.
I like those pouches of plain tuna packed in water (and low sodium). It's a very high protein/calorie food.
He just wants something that is convenient. He has a crazy work schedule and wants to just grab something that he can easily eat at work. He doesn't have access to a fridge or anything to cook with while working. So if there is some high protein snacks that are easy like that, I would love to hear those suggestions. (He does not eat tuna, however.)0 -
Quest bars are okay if you can stomach the taste. I personally don't like them. They don't taste good, and I always feel like I've licked a chalk board after eating them. I actually haven't eaten protein bars for a while, but several months ago, I was eating some that I made at home with a recipe. They were really good. I would just search online for some recipes and try them out. That way you can adjust the ingredients to fit your personal tastes. There are TONS of them out there.
I'm definitely starting to see that this is probably the best solution. Right now I am unemployed and have no problem spending my time baking and cooking, so I will look into some recipes and see what I can find.0 -
Why not simply make your own? It's not difficult. Google (or bing or whatever your search engine of choice) will happily give you hundreds of recipes. Then just tweak to your own preferences.0
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Jerky...0
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reachingforarainbow wrote: »Jerky...
Or biltong. I think jerky contains some sugars. Biltong is traditionally seasoned with salt and coriander and air dried. No fridge required. Can't get much more protein / no sugar than meat.
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extra_medium wrote: »JaredEBrooks wrote: »I would just as soon eat Quest bars for all meals and snacks except for the evening meal. Comments?
Go for it. I've done this with other bars during times I didn't have time or feel like making anything, kept losing weight, didn't feel any ill effects from it.
That's exactly the answer I was hoping for. Thank you!0 -
Quest bars are okay if you can stomach the taste. I personally don't like them. They don't taste good, and I always feel like I've licked a chalk board after eating them. I actually haven't eaten protein bars for a while, but several months ago, I was eating some that I made at home with a recipe. They were really good. I would just search online for some recipes and try them out. That way you can adjust the ingredients to fit your personal tastes. There are TONS of them out there.
I can't say they are great tasting. I ordered the variety pack from Quest and then picked out 4 or 5 I liked or at least tasted better than others. Set them up on a monthly delivery schedule. My wife likes to cook and pays attention what she fixes for dinner. I am on a 1720 per day calorie diet and the quest bars make it easy and handy for me. I'm retired and go to the gym three days a week and ride a bike at home for cardio. Quest bars were suggested by the manager of the gym vs the Cliff bars I was using because Quest has much more protein. I'm 73 and need to lose 50 pounds plus get my muscle tone back. I'm hoping this process will work.0 -
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If your wife enjoys cooking, you really might want to google recipes for home-made protein bars. There are some pretty spectacular recipes out there - I made a S'Mores version a couple of weeks ago that was way better than any commercially prepared bar I've ever had.
Most of the time, though, if I want a quick shot of protein I'd rather have some jerky or a hard-boiled egg or a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter. The bars are all just so sweet, and if I am going to have a sweet treat, I'd rather have some Talenti gelato or a really good cookie =P
I love s'mores anything! My favorite flavor.
I'll eat a hard-boiled egg when I actually have eggs (they're really started to going up in price because of the avian flu!). My boyfriend won't eat eggs or peanut butter so he's limited in quick protein. He does like jerky, though. Are there some "healthier" jerky companies that would be better than eating Jack Links, or is Jack Links pretty healthy in the jerky world?0 -
I'm a bit confused on this post....he sounds fussy like my kids! Can't he take a lunch box with an ice pack and eat real food? Or have a protein shake? Pre mix a protein powder of choice with some oats then add long life milk or water when needed....you won't get a bar that doesn't have artificial sweeteners or sugar or both Carmans protein muesli bars would be the closest I guess. But they have peanuts......I wouldn't even put jerky and healthy in the same sentence!0
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I'm not a big fan of protein bars and poweders, 'cause I prefer to just get my protein from regular food. But while I was travelling through Central Asia, I took a handful of protein bars with me for overnight trains or situations when there wasn't much food available for a (semi-) vegetarian.
The ones I bought were the Simply Protein brand. Most of their flavours have about 15g of protein per 150-calorie bar or thereabouts, and they have no artificial sugars, flavours, and 4-7g of fibre per bar. They're gluten-free (if that matters to you) and most of them are vegan (except for their line of whey protein bars, which of course aren't.) They're also non-coated so they don't melt in the high heat, which was one of my key considerations when backpacking in hot countries.
I have to say they're sort of dry and a bit cardboardy. But they did the trick on days when there wasn't much available to eat.
Or, just make your own.0
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