Raising The Bar: Masterbench Protein Bar Review Vol. 1 *Quest Bars*
[size=+2]Raising The Bar[/size]
[size=+1]Vol. 1 Quest Bars[/size]
[img]http://questproteinbar.com/expect_less.jpg[/img]
Hey guys and welcome to the first edition of Raising The Bar. It's my little way of reviewing the protein bars I've tried and sharing some helpful information with the bb.com community. Let me give you a little background info first. I used to work for a not so liked three letter retail supplement company who tended to jack up their prices. Yet as an employee there one benefit was the discounts they gave out, and as a result It became somewhat of my goal to try one of every bar they offered, therefore I've racked up quite career in terms of bar tasting and I have fine tuned what I do not like and what I do like about protein bars. Having seen so many and tasted so many bars, I to spread my experience and knowledge with you. I've tried powerbar, musclemilk bar, supreme, detour, 2:1, big 100 bar, EAS myoplex, atkins, pure protein, nitrotech, promax, oh yeah, powercrunch, come ready, fortifx, titan, muscle brownie, labrada cookie roll, zone, metrx protein plus, elite gourmet, smart protein, flurry, protein squared, syntha 6, Kind, zero impact, titan cookie, and many more (I've tried varying flavors/versions of each).
So how exactly do I grade the protein bars I try? Well here's what I find important when choosing a bar
[b]Price:[/b] For many including myself price is a factor. When you are looking to either replace a meal, supplement your diet, or for a quick fix the price of a bar can play a role in whether or not it is a smart decision to buy it versus another bar or supplement.
[b]Taste:[/b] This is a big one for me, as I love food and things that taste good. Who's going to buy a bar even though it tastes horrible? Not many people, for us consumers it's all about the experience.
[b] Ingredient Profile[/b] Whats actually in the bar is just as important as taste. Are you eating a candy bar covered in some protein or a bar who's ingredient list looks like a chemical cleaning agent? Are there any ingredients you should out for? This is the place to find out
[b]Nutrition Profile:[/b] This is perhaps the most important rating, what is the nutrition content of the bar? Determining whether a bar can fit your/calories micros is a big factor in whether or not you should purchase it.
Each section will get a score of 1-5 , with 0 being an obligatory rating of no bar. Half ratings are allowed such as 3.5, 4.5, etc.
An overall score will then be calculated as such using my own variable of Reps (similar to stars, thumbs up, etc)
1 Rep- The bar was gross, the price was far to high, the ingredients were garbage, the nutrition profile sucked, do not buy this bar.
2 Reps- The bar is lacking in every category but no more then one. For instance it might taste okay, but is far to expensive, has a bad ingredient profile, poor nutrition content etc.
3 Reps- The bar is lacking in half the categories, for instance it might taste good and be reasonably priced, but uses poor ingredients and has to much carbs not enough protein.
4 Reps- The bar is lacking in one area but does exceptional in all others. For instance it tastes great, has high quality ingredients, is high in protein low in fat/carbs, but it is way to expensive.
5 Reps- The bar is exceptional in all areas. Awesome taste, high quality ingredients, great macro nutrient ratios, and is reasonably priced.
(note these are just examples)
So lets get this thing going. Vol. 1 Prepare for take off
[b]Quest Protein Bar Cinnamon Roll[/b]
[img]http://questproteinbar.com/labels/cin.jpg[/img]
So I had been shopping around looking for any quest bar to get my hands on as I had heard great things about them and I was familiar with their label/nutrition facts from their website. I visited (I kid you not) 4 vitamin shoppes to find them because I was not interested in waiting to order them online. I finally found one that carried one of the flavors I was looking for, Cinnamon roll. Cinnamon roll flavored bars/supplements have become synonymous with deliciousness for me, how did the Quest Protein Bar stack up?...
[b]Price:[/b]4.5/5 As I mentioned above I worked in a highly overpriced retail supplement store, so for me pricing is everything and I am pretty good at weighing out certain retail stores, different online stories, etc. I thought the bars would be around $3.00-$3.25 which is pretty average for a high end bar, yet when I got to the store I was very shocked to see them at $2.50 sense per bar and around $24.99 per box. To be honest, for the ingredients which I'll get to below this is an awesome price especially if your looking for a low cost snack or meal supplement.
[b]Taste:[/b]5/5 Honestly what can I say this is easily tied for my favorite protein bar ever. Especially for someone like me who is cutting before a big vacation, getting something sweet yet healthy is a godsend. The cinnamon was really there, you could taste it as it gave that slight cinnamon kick you get for anyone who has cooked with fresh ground cinnamon. It had a sort of oatmeal cookie texture to it when you bit in and then the taste of icing really kicked in and it remind me of the good old days of being fat and eating cinnabun. It was very moist as I said it had the texture similar to a fresh baked cookie, I had bought a bottle of water in preparation (because many bars are dry/hard to get down) but I didn't even need it. I could see myself snacking on these at night instead of milk and cookies. Unlike many bars, it tastes like real food not a supplement.
[b] Ingredient Profile[/b]5/5 There is probably no bar on the market that beats Quest Bars ingredient profile. All natural ingredients, and a minimalist approach choosing only healthy and necessary ingredients are what make this bar shine. There is no cost cutting cheap protein in this bar it is all whey and milk isolates so you are getting high quality protein and avoiding soy based products. The use of stevia instead of extra added sugars is a great choice in my opinion as it allows those looking to keep carbohydrates lower to eat the bar as a viable supplement or meal replacement. Overall it is a very "clean" bar.
[b]Nutrition Profile:[/b]4.5/5 Let me address one concerns that I thought might come up when reviewing these bars. The first is that the Quest bar has 20g of protein, while some others have 25-30. Now while this is true, you have to look at much more then grams of protein when grading a bars nutritional profile. While the Quest bar has 20g of protein, it is also much lower in calories then other bars. The ratio of calories to protein is probably one of the highest you find in any protein bar. While other protein bars might give you a little more protein, they also give you 150-200 more calories which is not a good trade off. For only 170 calories your getting 20g of high quality protein, tons of fiber which is a huge plus especially for a meal replacement to keep you full, and it is low in fat with only 6g. In terms of efficiency or nutrient density, Quest bar comes out on top. So when you are choosing a bar make sure you are not getting empty wasted calories from added sugar in order to grab a few grams more of protein, choose a bar that is most nutritionally dense. And as I said before, the quality of protein is very high.
[b]Overall[/b] 5/5 Quest Protein Bar Cinnamon Roll is awesome in every department. There is probably no other bar out their like it. You get awesome taste that doesn't feel artificial or chemically. You get a great ingredient profile that is all natural and uses only the necessary ingredients to make a great bar. You get probably the best ratio of calories to protein and fiber of any bar, for only 170 calories 20g of high quality protein is great. Finally for $24.99 you get 12 bars or $2.50 for one bar which is very cheap in a market where protein prices are on the high end. My suggestion is to stock up on this bar, grab a few boxes for snacks or when your in a rut and can't grab a meal that fits your macros.
Well there you have it guys my first review, Ill be adding more to this as I try other flavors (probably going to be picking up another bar before I go on vacation) let me know what I should do to improve or what bars you'd like to see reviewed. I made a list of all the brands of tried up top.
