Product Review: Low-Sugar Gluten-Free Protein Bars

I have not had candy since January 2nd. I have not had a single baked good, pastry, or packet of sugar pass my lips in over 3 weeks. This is huge, people. (Though = my jest that if I never craved sugar I would weight 100 pounds has not quite come true, dang.)

But one can not completely go without, and thankfully my morning protein-bar has a sweet appeal. Recently I changed out my go-to bar (Promax, just not the controversial ones) for a couple low sugar varieties. I think the nutritionals may win you over.

[FYI: I have not been furnished with samples from the companies, though they are welcome to send me some if so inclined, and this is not a compensated review.]

1. Promax Lower Sugar Energy Bar, Chocolate Fudge Variety (with Stevia)



Nutrition: Frankly, these blow their sugary counterparts out the water nutrition-wise. (For a complete ingredient list, click here.)They have 70+ less calories than regular, less fat, and an almost silly amount of fiber - especially considering the regular bar has only around 1g of fiber. And there is also no artificial sweetener, only Stevia. There is 2g less protein in the LS variety, but really 2g of protein is nothing to squabble about.

Taste/Texture: Great of all counts, and less sweet than say, the cookies and cream bar, which I actually enjoyed - it felt healthier, if that makes sense. Promax bars have a much better protein blend than some other brands, who have a gritty or overly-chewy bite. This you can actually eat without choking - a plus in the morning. And anytime I can feel like I'm eating chocolate without actually eating a dove bar is a good one.

Cost: From the Promax website they are 16.99/box of 12, from Amazon you can find them from 13.99/box of 12 and up (some other varieties are more expensive for some reason). I buy from Amazon for the convenience. Overall about $1.25/bar, not including shipping (try to buy a couple things at once from Amazon and get free shipping).

The Sticky: Beware, I have seen these sold at my local San Francisco Walgreens for 2.99 a bar, which is kind of  a rip-off. Also, other LS varieties contain that old annoyance barley malt, which is sad because I really wanted to try the peanut butter cookie flavor. Oh well...

2. Quest Protein Bars (with Erythtitol)