Post-Workout Fuel: The Best Protein Bars
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Zone Perfect Protein Bar -
No Cow High Protein Bar -
NAKED Chocolate Fudge Protein Bar -
Pure Nutritious Protein Bar -
Quest Nutrition Protein Bar -
RXBAR Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bar -
Think! High Protein Bar -
Buyer's Guide
Whether it's for an early morning run or a post-workout boost, protein bars are a great snack to help you reach your fitness goals. There is no shortage of options on the market and it's hard to decipher which ones strike a great balance between taste and nutrients. Although taste is subjective, we think the choices below are a great place to start for the best protein bars in 2022 to consider.
Here are the best protein bars of 2022
Zone Perfect Protein Bar - Top Pick
Although nothing replaces a high-carb plate of hot waffles, these protein bars have a classic waffle flavor, and a smooth, creamy texture that will satisfy your sweet tooth. These bars come with 15g of protein to help keep you full and 23g of carbs. They’re a great on-the-go snack and you don’t have to sacrifice taste for flavor.
No Cow High Protein Bar - Healthy Choice
No Cow protein bars are a wonderful choice for anyone with an active lifestyle, vegan or not. These dairy-free snacks comprise a combination of pea protein and brown rice for a rich amino acid profile. The vegan bars are Kosher and produced with natural sweeteners like stevia, erythrite, and monk fruit. They are free of GMOs, gluten, soy, and other allergens. No Cow does an excellent job with calories and macro profile regarding nutrition.
The bars include 16g of dietary fiber, 21g of protein, 1g of sugar, 220mg sodium, and 190 calories. It captures the texture, flavor, and richness of peanut butter chocolate chip bliss while maintaining a healthy macro profile. The bar is chock-full of peanut butter taste without going overboard, thanks to the inclusion of tiny chocolate chips.
Pure Nutritious Protein Bar - Runner Up
Pure Protein Bars are a great snack when you forget your shaker cup at home. Each bar's macros are 20g or 21g of protein, 16g-18g of carbs, and 4.5g-6g of fat. These come in a variety pack where you'll get a mix of flavors such as Chocolate Deluxe, Chocolate PB, and Chewy Chocolate Chip. They also come in other flavors such as Birthday Cake, Chocolate Salted Caramel, and Lemon Cake. They do have a bit of protein, chalky aftertaste, but it's not overpowering.
Quest Nutrition Protein Bar - Honorable Mention
With more than 20 grams of protein, this bar is rich in taste and healthy fats. Quest is also known to be high in fiber so when you calculate your net carbs, it actuallys comes out to around 4g of carbs. Sugar is low at around 1g. The best thing about Quest bars is their flavors. Most actually taste like the real thing and hardly ever have the protein aftertaste. There are a ton of flavors to choose from but you can't go wrong with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
RXBAR Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bar - Contender
RXBARs are the standout in this group for having ingredients that you can actually pronounce. They're so easy in fact, that they print out what they're made of right on the front of their label. They taste great but the downside is that their protein is low compared to others. If you're just looking for a bar that can satisfy your cravings and want to eat clean, you should consider RXBARs.
Think! High Protein Bar - Consider
Think! bars are another solid choice if you're looking to add protein bars to your diet. They're a bit higher in the calorie and fat department but also offer a solid 20g of protein and, overall, their flavors taste great. Besides Peanut Butter, they also offer other great flavors such as Lemon Crisp, Cookies and Creme, and Brownie Crunch, just to name a few. Pick up a box and try them out!
Buyer's Guide
You may have come across them once or twice in the healthy food aisle of your favorite store or maybe even on an online store. Well, these energy bars do all that they promise and more. Protein bars are a great addition to any food diet. Whether, weight loss, weight gain, or just an overall diet, the best protein bars in 2022 have a way of providing the needed assistance to support or elevate the body and mind. Some of them even taste better than your favorite snacks and chocolate bars. We’ll leave that for you to judge. With numerous options in the market, it may be difficult to tell the sheep from the wolf. This guide is a cheat sheet that will help you figure out how to choose the best protein bar that will live up to its promises and provide the benefits you crave.
What is a protein bar?
Protein bars are a healthy, nutritious snack containing large amounts of proteinare compared to carbohydrates and fats. A protein bar must have not less than 10 grams of protein, not more than 15 grams of sugar, 4 grams of fat, and 350 calories. So you can’t mix up a batter of proteinous foods, make it into a cookie, and call it a protein bar if they don’t meet the above requirement.
Why do you need protein bars?
Protein bars are known in the health food community for their numerous benefits, but we thought to make it a little clearer as to why you may need them. Here are a few good reasons to buy and use protein bars:
To lose weight
Protein bars that have been filled with lots of fiber are a good solution for people looking to shed some weight and still stay full. But don’t be deceived; protein bars don’t directly burn off fat. What makes them practical for weight loss is that they are very filling. In other words, if you eat protein bars regularly, you are less prone to overeating because they fill you up. Adding protein bars to your overall healthy weight loss diet and exercise routine is bound to yield great results.
To boost energy
Protein bars contain significant concentrations of protein and some healthy carbohydrates that supply your body with enough energy to get you through the day. They also provide an energy boost that is particularly useful during a workout or training session. And even when you are done doing the heavy lifting and finished your workout routine, they provide nutritional benefits that help build new muscle tissue post-workout. The protein and added carbohydrates in the bar can give you the energy to get you through your workout or training. Protein bars can also repair muscles tears that may arise due to you working. Reach for a protein bar before your next workout for maximum results.
To gain nutrients
You might know protein bars as a source of energy, but their nutritional content has made them so popular in the health food market. Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins are just some of the many vitamins and minerals you can get from a bite of the bar. They also provide dietary fiber, an advocate for better digestive health and healthy eating.
To gain weight
If you consume more calories than you burn daily, you are on a weight gain journey. If weight gain is what you want, you might want to consider adding protein bars to your diet. Protein bars ultimately add more calories to your body, which you could only have gotten by consuming large amounts of food because many of them are very calorie-dense. And so, eating protein bars after meals will add a significant number of calories to your diet, which will, in turn, induce weight gain. It is necessary to choose only protein bars with good quality ingredients, as opposed to those crammed with sugar and other additives.
Snacks and meal replacement
Sufficient calories and fiber in protein bars make them a great on-the-go snack. Instead of snacking on junk and other unhealthy foods, you can pick up protein bars whenever you’re bored or not hungry enough for a complete meal. We recommend that you do not go over the 200 calorie limit and the 4-gram fiber limit if your reasons for buying protein bars are purely to have something to nibble on. Protein bars also come ready to eat with different flavors and stay in your mouth longer than regular snacks. So whether you’re on the bus, at work, or waiting, protein bars are a healthy snack.
There are many meal replacement snacks and supplements in the food industry, but none are like protein bars. They may not be as delicious and satisfying as a breakfast prepared with love and able hands, but they sure work well in a pinch. Anytime you are thinking of what to eat in place of an actual meal fr breakfast, don’t look farther than protein bars with a high caloric value and are absent of sugar or hydrogenated oils.
Protein Bar FAQs
Q: Are protein bars any good?
A: Yes, protein bars are filled with vitamins, minerals, and, of course, enough protein to make for a healthy diet, but some things might make them undesirable. Some of these are the caloric value of the bar and added sugars that some manufacturers use to sweeten their products. When buying a protein bar, check to make sure your product of choice has a caloric value of not more than 350, and whatever sweeteners used are from natural and healthy sources, like dates or stevia.
Q: Can I eat protein bars every day?
A: It is never good to consume anything in excess. You need to watch your daily intake of protein bars for many reasons, but mainly for the cause you bought them. If your goal is to add protein bars to your weight loss diet, then taking them in excess threatens the success of that goal because your body may begin to retain those excess calories, and you will start to gain weight. Aside from that, there are other risk factors like diabetes and obesity attributed to protein bars when consumed in excess.
Q: What is the best protein bar?
A: That will depend on you, but we suggest you try some of the products we recommended, they might just be what you need.