Review - Bite Fuel Power Bites

Brand:  Bite Fuel

Flavor:  Power Bites Protein Cookies

Where to get it: here @ BiteFuel.com

                I’ve had some pretty good luck with protein cookies lately, so I was really interested in trying these little dudes. They’re smaller, almost like you’re eating a “real” mass-produced grocery store cookie out of the delicious rows in their cellophane packaging. Unfortunately, I hated the taste on these guys. They’re as sweet as a Quest bar, with that overwhelming weird protein powder taste and aftertaste. I suppose if you were STARVING and hadn’t had anything but bland chicken and unsalted green beans for a couple of weeks, these might hit the spot…but otherwise, take a pass.

               

Tastes like:   Protein powder and sugar alcohol

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:   Non-GMO, Gluten free

What’s in it:

Review - Get Up and Go Caffeinated Blondie

Brand:  Get Up & Go

Flavor:  Caffeinated Bright-Eyed Blondie

Where to get it: here @ GetUpAndGoBaked,com

                Well, I’m a bit torn on this one, guys. It tastes amazing, like, maybe one of the best chocolate chip products I’ve ever had. The problem is…it SHOULD taste amazing, for it has 360 calories and 48g of carbs – 36 of which are sugar. So, on one hand, this is not for people who are dieting or counting calories, except in a really, really rare instance. You’re NOT going to eat half of this…2 servings, my ass. It’s not very big. On the other hand, there are PLENTY of bro bars out there with the same kind of nutritional stats, and they taste like absolute rubbish.

               

                So here’s what I’ll say: it’s yummy. It’s full of calories and carbs. It’s hailed as a caffeinated treat so you don’t have to drink those nasty (and HORRIBLE) for you energy drinks, but the very last ingredient is caffeine. The VERY last, after even vanilla extract. If you’ve ever made chocolate chip cookies, you know how little vanilla extract goes into an entire batch of those cookies, leaving a miniscule amount in a single cookie. I imagine it’s much the same for these brownies, and caffeine is listed AFTER it. If you’re going to feel a blast of energy from this product, it’s coming from the sugar, I assure you.

Tastes like:   A chocolate chip blondie

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:   Gluten-free, all natural, vegetarian, Made in the USA

What’s in it:  (I couldn’t find this anywhere on their website…) Brown Sugar, Eggs, Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla, and Salt), Oat Flour, Palm Oil, Butter, Invert Sugar, Tapioca Starch, Rice Flour, Vanilla Extract, Water, Xanthan Gum, Caffeine.

Review - Boundless Nutrition Perfect Cookie

Brand:  Boundless Nutrition

Flavor:  Perfect Cookie, Chocolate Chip

Where to get it: here @ VitaCost.com

                Protein cookies are just ALL the rage lately. To the uneducated, a lot of these cookies seem to be beckoning with a promise of cookie taste, but muscle-building protein shake nutrition. While they all definitely have more protein in them than a standard cookie, they should all be carefully evaluated for other nutritional factors as well, lest we fall into the trap of lying to ourselves. Oh and also, some of them just taste like absolute crap.

                The reason I really like these Perfect Cookie cookies is twofold. One:  they taste delicious. Not too much chocolate, not too much protein…honestly the taste is really just like eating a blob of delicious chocolate chip cookie dough. Who doesn’t love that?

                The second reason I really liked this cookie is because it’s small. Most of the other protein cookies I’ve tried seem to be obsessed with cramming 25g+ protein into them, which typically leads to a huge, gut busting 300+ calorie cookie that makes me feel super blah. These little guys are perfectly wonderful with just 10g of protein in them, and 150 calories – making them a snack, not a meal. They also donate a portion of their sales to cancer research. Can’t beat that, on any level.

               

Tastes like:   Cookie dough

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:   Gluten-free, Made in the USA, Non-GMO, All natural

What’s in it

Review - Yummy Health Yummy Snack Bar

Brand:  Yummy Health

Flavor:  Yummy Snack Coconut Bar

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                Do you like coconut and chocolate? Get this. Straight up, it tastes like a candy bar. If coconut is your jam, this bar is definitely for you. The chocolate coating is sugar-free, which helps this bar post up just 8g of sugar, which is probably a far cry from your favorite candy bar. I didn’t notice the sugar-free taste so much as I did the Stevia, which isn’t my favorite sweetener, as I find it has a very distinctive taste aside from just sweetening whatever party it’s attending. It’s not overpowering and doesn’t ruin this bar, but it was noticeable for me. If you’re a Stevia-head, I’m guessing this bar will make your eyes roll back with delight. If you’re not a Stevia-head, try it anyway.

               

Tastes like:  A Stevia’d candy bar!

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Made in the USA

What’s in it

Review - E & C's Heavenly Hunks

Brand:  E & C’s Heavenly Hunks

Flavor:  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Where to get it: here @ EandCsSnacks.com

                I’m kind of a sucker for cute packaging, and if you put a red heart on it, you’ll have my attention. If you put a red heart on a package that also contains the words “oatmeal” and “cookie”, I’m getting out my wallet. These Heavenly Hunks are very appropriately named, but they didn’t look quite like the picture on the package (most things don’t, I’m not complaining). They looked like weird little cylinders that made me think…”Oh man, have I overestimated the experience that I’m about to have?”

                Fear not, fellow munchers! The taste on these guys is truly heavenly indeed. They taste like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that has just a smidge of concentrated brown sugar in the middle of them. When I was scavenging for a treat the night after I had eaten them (the whole package, natch), I found myself wishing that I could just eat these again…that’s how you know you really liked something. Anyone who eats gluten-free…I don’t know why you’d buy any other cookie.

               

Tastes like:  Oatmeal brown sugar tasties  

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free

What’s in it: 

Review - Attune Foods Probiotic Chocolate Bar

Brand:  Attune Foods

Flavor:  Probiotic Chocolate Bar

Where to get it: here @ VitaCost.com

                 I haven’t done a lot of research about probiotics and the like, but from my uneducated standpoint, chocolate with them has to be more nutritionally useful than chocolate without them, right? That’s what I’m going with anyway. Only problem is…this isn’t very good chocolate. Do the probiotics affect the taste? I have no idea. If you’re a die-hard probiotics person (is that a thing?), then I am sure this bar is more convenient, and more enjoyable, than trying to eat six cups of yogurt in a day. If you’re looking for some good chocolate that you haven’t tried before, this probably isn’t it.

               

Tastes like:  Not great chocolate

Taste rating:  5/10

Qualities:  Kosher, gluten free, vegetarian

What’s in it:

Review - GFB Oatmeal Raisin

Brand:  The Gluten Free Bar

Flavor:  Oatmeal Raisin

Where to get it: here @ theglutenfreebar.com

                I was expecting this to taste like an oatmeal cookie (wishful thinking, I know), but I would say it tasted like the “essence” of an oatmeal cookie. Let me explain. It lacked the “oaty-ness” of an oatmeal cookie, but all of the other components were there. It was sweet, like molasses and brown sugar, and had a lot of good cinnamon and nutmeg taste. Lots of carbs (29g), but also a good amount of protein (12g) considering that this is a vegan snack. Yay for the creatures! At 190 calories, this seems like the perfect between-lunch-and-dinner buddy to have in your bag. Full disclosure:  I am really thinking about how good this bar would taste if I used it instead of a spoon with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

                 

               

Tastes like:  A nice cinnamon cookie bar

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Non-GMO, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review - Think Thin White Chocolate

Brand:  Think Thin

Flavor:  White Chocolate High Protein Bar

Where to get it:  here @ ThinkProducts.com

                0 g of sugar? Yay! 240 calories? Less yay. Tastes nothing like white chocolate? Booooooo. And when I say nothing like white chocolate, I mean that this bar tastes about as much like white chocolate as green beans do. I am not exaggerating. So there’s that disappointment, but what DOES it taste like? I actually sampled this with 3 of my co-workers, and the most complementary thing that was said was, “it tastes like a boring candy bar.” I’m not really on board with the candy bar comment, because that makes it sound like it tastes really good, and…it doesn’t.

                 

Tastes like:  The makers have never tasted white chocolate

Taste rating:  2/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Kosher, Made in the USA

What’s in it

Review - Purely Elizabeth Granola

Brand:  Purely Elizabeth

Flavor:  Original Ancient Grains Granola

Where to get it: here @ PurelyElizabeth.com

                This is my new favorite thing - unique, tasty, really just flat-out spectacular granola. It tastes great right out of the bag, but I especially like to dump it into my yogurt. It has enough grains that it will sog up a bit if you let it sit in there long enough, which I love to do. It also has enough “other things” that it doesn’t completely sog up into a worthless carb-bomb. The ingredients are also not your “every day” panel of oats and sugar, you’ve gotta love being able to work millet and amaranth into your diet. I can confidently say that if I never ate another type of granola, I’d be satisfied with this one for the rest of my days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  The best granola in all the land

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Non-GMO, Certified organic

What’s in it:

Review - Hail Merry Macaroons

Brand:  Hail Merry

Flavor:  Choco Macaroons

Where to get it: here @ HailMerry.com

                Tiny little sweet balls of coconut sweetness, you’re just SO GOOD! Looking for a treat? Like coconut? Grab some of these Hail Merry Choco Macaroons. I’m not even a big fan of chocolate and I absolutely LOVED these. The bag I had contained 3 little macaroons – the perfect amount for when you really need to feel like you’ve had dessert. Even better, you can enjoy one here, one there, one later – just to squelch that nagging voice in your head that tries to send you to the office vending machine around 3 pm. They pack a great flavor and sweetness punch, so I’m really not being unrealistic when I say you CAN just eat one and feel pretty good about it, and that’s almost no calories at all. Plus…coconut is healthy, right? These are basically vegetables.

               

Tastes like:  Chocolate coconut YUM

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian, Vegan, Non-GMO, Kosher, Gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review - Papa Steve's No Junk Raw Protein Bars

Brand:  Papa Steve’s No Junk Raw Protein Bars

Flavor:  Peanut Butter Crunch

Where to get it: here @ PapaSteves.com

                If you’ve been counting calories for any amount of time, you know that eventually, each one becomes really, really precious. That’s how calorie-counters succeed, we learn that if we have that 500-calorie donut at the breakfast meeting (that we didn’t even enjoy that much, we only ate it because it was “there”…crap), we are going to struggle for the rest of the day trying to stretch our remaining 700ish calories over our remaining 14ish hours of consciousness. It is for this reason that I almost never get impressed/fall in love with any kind of bar that has over 200 calories. I simply cannot eat a bar for a meal. I can’t do it. I want other things. It doesn’t feel like real food to me, it always feels like a snack.

                This bar…is a little different. Yes, it has 295 calories and 31g of carbs. Yes, you need to pay attention and not go to bed thinking, “Wow, I ate three of those Papa Steve’s bars today in between my meals”. HOWEVER…if you’re a peanut butter fan, and you miss eating peanut-buttery desserts from heaven above…this bar needs to be behind your “Break In Case Of Emergency” glass. It’s got such an authentic peanut butter taste, but there’s a little extra to it, so it fulfills a need different than the peanut butter you put on your oatmeal on gym mornings. The “Dessert” need. The “I Need To Eat Something Bad” need. But it’s NOT something bad. The ingredients are stellar, plus you get 20g of protein and no added sugar.

                Thank you, Papa Steve. Thank you a whole bunch.

                 

               

Tastes like:  A mellow peanut butter experience

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Raw, vegetarian, Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Bobo's Oat Bars

Brand:  Bobo’s Oat Bars

Flavor:  Lemon Poppyseed

Where to get it: here @ BobosOatBars.com

                                 

                As an openly anti-chocolate woman, I was super stoked on this lemon poppyseed oat bar from Bobo’s. I love oats, and this guy is VERY oat-y. The lemon poppyseed flavor is very slight, but I’m okay with that. I usually pretty happy with basically any level of lemon poppyseed, so if Bobo’s wants to make me a “SUPER LEMON POPPYSEED EXPLOSIONZZ!!” bar, I’ll go ahead and hoover that too. All of that was a pretty weird way for me to say, I super liked this bar a lot. And it’s vegan! I’m not vegan, but I love animals, so if I can find things that I like that also do no harm, well, you just can’t complain about that. The pack a heavy calorie punch – 380 for the whole bar, but they do come in smaller, snack-like sizes. Bobo’s is going on my short list of, “please feed me more of this, please.”

               

Tastes like: 

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, non-GMO, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review - Ginny Bakes Ginny Minis Cookies

Brand:  Ginny Bakes Ginny Minis

Flavor:  Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bliss

Where to get it: here @ GinnyBakes.com

                Little cookies on the hillside, little cookies in my mouth. I think the thing that I liked best about these Ginny Minis was how…girthy they were. They’re like sweet little pucks of chocolate and cinnamon sweetness. This means when you open the bag, there they are! Whole tiny cookies, not a pile of worthless cookie dust that you can only dump on top of ice cream or yogurt. I would have liked these better without the chocolate, but that’s just me, being a weird chocolate hater. They are super sweet, and have a strong spice-presence. I feel like this would be the thing that you give your toddler when they have been SO GOOD all day. I feel like children would just FLIP for these little goodies.       

                 

               

Tastes like:  Spicy chocolatey tinykins

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, organic, non-GMO, Kosher

What’s in it:

Review - Quest Cravings Protein Peanut Butter Cups

Brand:  Quest Cravings

Flavor:  Protein Peanut Butter Cups

Where to get it: here @ QuestNutrition.com

                One of my favorite foods of all time is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They’re not healthy, they’re full of weird stuff, and…I’m diabetic. They’re not supposed to be in my life. In walk these Quest peanut butter cups like, “What up, I got 1g of sugar babe.” Okay! Upon first glance at the label, I was shocked. These have MORE grams of fat in them than Reese’s, and about the same amount of calories. Yikes. Okay, that’s fine, they are supposed to be a treat. Right? Plus, there are 20g of protein in them and hardly any refined sugars. Right? Well, the problem is…SOMEHOW, despite there being *17* grams of fat in these babies, they are dry AF. I don’t understand how this is scientifically possible. Aside from the dryness, the chocolate is VERY bitter, I assume to make up for the sugar-alcohol sweetness overload that is becoming Quest’s signature move.

                Final word:  file these under “too good to be true”. Drink a shake that you like instead.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Bitter peanut dust

Taste rating:  4/10

Qualities:  Vegetarian

What’s in it:

Review - Snap Infusion Supercandy Jelly Beans

Brand:  Snap Infusion

Flavor:  Super Candy - Beans

Where to get it: here @ SnapSuperCandy.com 

                                If you wanted some jelly beans, and you found out that you could eat jelly beans AND get whammy loads of vitamins at the same time, why would you NOT eat those jelly beans? I can’t think of a reason. Candy and nutrients, all wrapped up together. Smart.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Fruit juice jelly beans

Taste rating:  8/10

What’s in it:

Review - Labrada Cinnamon Bun Cookie Roll

Brand:  Labrada

Flavor:  Cinnamon Bun Cookie Roll

Where to get it: here @ Labrada.com

                                 Upon closer inspection, I realized that the wrapper recommended popping this bar into the microwave for 10 seconds. Magically, I was at home when I was intending to try this, so the stars aligned for me and Mr. Labrada's Cinnamon Buns. I really feel that the warmth made this bar unique and delicious. No aftertaste at all, and really great cinnamon bun flavor. ACTUAL cinnamon bun flavor. With frosting. I really, really, REALLY liked this bar. The calories are high, so if you’re counting calories, eat it in thirds, or just eat the whole thing once in a while for a really tasty treat.

If you’ve read any number of my blog posts on these types of bars, I tend to have a really hard time endorsing them. For those keeping track, this is the SECOND Labrada product that actually made me happy. I will be seeking more of them out, because they are tasty treats in a sea of yucky protein garbage bombs.

               

Tastes like:  A dense, delicious cinnamon roll

Taste rating:  9/10

What’s in it:

Review - Caveman Cookies

Brand:  Caveman Cookies

Flavor:  Mayan and New World

Where to get it: here @ Abe's Market

                I love chewy cookies. I think most people do. My person doesn’t though, he will literally take a perfectly good cookie, and put it in the refrigerator with no covering so that it dries out and gets hard. WEIRDO. He would hate these Caveman cookies. They are SO chewy, I actually had a hard time tearing off a little piece to sample. Whatever these folks are doing to achieve this kind of texture, they are doing a great job and I hope they never stop. Taste-wise, I find these to be very unique in a sea of “breakfast/trail/power” cookies. The New World flavor tasted like a more natural, molasses-y (from the maple syrup, I assume) oatmeal cookie.  The Mayan has a bold, slightly bitter chocolate flavor, with a chili powder buddy bringing up the rear. Good little cookies, and if you can get the tiny ones (pictured), they are only 70 calories.              

                 

               

Tastes like:  Some oats and seeds went on a vision quest

Taste rating:  7/10

Qualities:  All-natural, Gluten-free, Kosher, Made in the USA

What’s in it: (Mayan)

Review - Dolcetto Petites Lemon Wafer Bites

Brand:  Dolcetto Petites

Flavor:  Lemon Wafer Bites

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                I know, I know…cookies…WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?? Making me smile, that’s what they’re doing here. Any company that takes the time to make a 100-calorie pack deserves a chance. These little darlings are so light and flaky, so lemon-y delicious, so YES PLEASE. They don’t mess around, they’re very sweet, and you won’t be under any kind of illusion that you’re eating a diet cookie. These are the real thing, and I am celebrating that fact. Instead of that donut in the break room, or that piece of birthday cake, eat a pack of these with wild abandon, and don’t feel guilty about it.   

                 

               

Tastes like:  Light and flaky lemon kisses

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  All-natural, no artificial ingredients

What’s in it:

Review - Quest Nutrition Apple Pie Protein Bar

Brand:  Quest Nutrition

Flavor:  Apple Pie

Where to get it:  here @ Bodybuilding.com

                First off, let me just say that I really like Quest Nutrition’s marketing, packaging, and variety of flavors. I haven’t yet found a flavor of their bars that I feel motivated to devour (their chips however, are another story altogether), but I sure am having a good time trying them all. This bar is strong on apple, cinnamon, and sweetness. If that sounds like your jam, you might really be into this little guy. They are also super anemic on sugar content, which is mega cool. I feel like they could put a bit less of their non-sugar sweetener in these and I might like them better. I felt a little punched in the tongue by how sweet this bar was. I’ll be reviewing other flavors in the future though, for sure.   

               

Tastes like:   Super sweet apple cinnamon

Taste rating:  6.5/10

Qualities:   Gluten free, vegetarian

What’s in it:

Review - Balance Bar, Lemon Meringue Crunch

Brand:  Balance

Flavor:  Lemon Meringue Crunch

Where to get it: here @ Bodybuilding.com

                Lemon is my very favorite “sweet thing” flavor. I found this bar to be rock solid on the lemon, but there really wasn’t much crunch to it. It wasn’t a bad bar, but it did have that sort of chalky protein feel to it, and a little bit of an aftertaste as well. It’s also a 200-calorie bar, and to me it isn’t good enough knowing what other snacks I could wheedle into my face for that amount – an apple sauce, a light string cheese, and a 100-calorie pack of Nilla wafers! All in all it wasn’t bad, but there are better bars out there for the calories, in my opinion. And look at all those ingredients. Yikes.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Lemon-y protein powder

Taste rating:  6.5/10

What’s in it: