Quick Bites: Protein Bar Reviews (Round 1)

January has been a bit of a blur. I can’t say I don’t know where the time is going… I know exactly where it is. I’ve got 10 million activities going on. But that’s how I like it, so I’m not complaining 🙂

That said, it’s a little tricky to stay on track with healthy eating, when there is barely time to stop and eat, much less prepare something. I’ve been snacking on protein bars in the afternoon, to carry me between lunch and dinner, since sometimes dinner is later than my stomach would prefer.

Let me start by saying I’m not generally a big fan of protein bars. I feel like most of them have too many calories, too many weird ingredients, and not enough protein and fiber. I’d much prefer a bowl of Greek yogurt and some fruit. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly travel well. Anyways, I’ve accepted that protein bars can be necessary, and even tasty. These are some of my favorites (and least favorites) that I’ve tried recently.

Kashi– Go Lean Crisp!

160 calories, 5g fiber, 8g protein. Less calories and a great taste. It’s the perfect bar to tide you over before dinner, but it won’t necessarily keep you full for hours. The cinnamon flavor was great, and it didn’t have that artificial flavor that some bars do.

Clif Builder’s Bar

270 calories, 4g fiber, 20g protein. This one packs in lots of protein, but also a lot of calories. Again, the ingredients list isn’t my favorite, but more importantly, I didn’t like the taste at all. It had that chalky protein powder taste. I won’t be getting this one again.

KIND Apple Cinnamon

180 calories, 5g fiber, 3g protein. I absolutely love the taste of KIND bars and the ingredients list is awesome. It’s less protein and fiber than some of the other bars, but I think the trade offs for ingredients and taste are totally worth it. It didn’t keep me full forever, but it did taste awesome. (And they have them at Starbucks, so that’s a bonus!)

Which bars should I try for round 2?