Posts Tagged ‘Peanut Butter’

Protein Bar Review #24: Amazing Grass Green Superfood Chocolate Peanut Butter

Posted: October 30, 2015 in Bike Culture, Cooking, Science
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Post 24 - Amazing Grass Chcolate Peanut Butter

Brand: Amazing Grass (Still no website to link to.)

Product: Green Superfood Chocolate Peanut Butter

Weight: 2.2oz / 63g

Cost: $2.49/per, online (not from manufacturer)

Stats

Calories: 270

Total Fat: 14g, Sat. Fat 4g

Cholesterol: 15mg

Sodium: 190mg

Potassium: 250mg

Total Carb: 28g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 19g

Protein: 12g

Protein per ounce: 5.45g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.21

Carb to Protein Ratio: 2.3-1

Vit A: 35% DV

Vit B12: 6% DV

Vit C: 15% DV

Vit K: 15% DV

Calcium: 10% DV

Iron: 8% DV

Organic, gluten free, and fair trade.

Not made in a gluten-free facility.

Flavor:

The taste of this Amazing Grass bar was the best that brand has had to offer, which isn’t saying much since flavor-wise this has been consistently one of the most disappointing brands. This one had real peanuts, peanut butter, and was covered in delicious chocolate. It wasn’t as good as any of the other chocolate peanut butter bars I’ve tried, but I have pretty high standards (one might say snobby). It was better than a Power Bar, and better than the NuGo bars I have reviewed, but that really isn’t saying much, at least not enough in my book. This is the first bar I have reviewed that has any cholesterol, which isn’t inherently a bad thing as it could be good cholesterol (the label doesn’t specify). This bar also uses whey protein, which I am not the biggest fan of since it tends to be a cheap filler protein compared to other, better sources like almonds and hemp. At the same time, I am not vegan and love dairy so whey is not a problem for me but could be if you are vegan or whey intolerant. The Amazing Grass Chocolate Peanut Butter bar is also pretty nutrient dense with a good balance of nutrients, including lots of potassium.

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Protein Bar Review #23: Pure Bar Ancient Grains Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar

Posted: September 25, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Post 23 - Pure Bar Ancient Grains

Brand: Pure Bar

Product: Ancient Grains Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar

Weight: 1.23oz / 35g

Cost: $2.19/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 160

Total Fat: 9g, Sat. Fat 1.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 65mg

Potassium: 135mg

Total Carb: 17g

Fiber: 2g

Sugars: 8g

Protein: 5g

Protein per ounce: 4.06g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.44

Carb to Protein Ratio: 3.4-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 2% DV

Iron: 4% DV

Organic, non-GMO, gluten free, soy free, and vegan.

Flavor:

As awesome as the Chocolate Brownie bar was, is about as disappointing as this Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar tasted. I had pretty high hopes for Pure Bar after that protein-dense brownie bar rocked my world to its very core. While the taste and mouth-feel of the last bar were spot-on perfect for being a delicious brownie with some nutrients hidden away in the mix, this bar had a mouth-feel that reminded me of a dry granola bar that they tried to jazz up with some bits of chocolate.

The one major selling point to this bar is that it is physically the lightest weight/smallest bar I have reviewed. I’m not actually sure if that even is a selling point, since it is not the most nutrient dense (not by a long shot) meaning you’d be better off eating a piece of an Organic Food Bar or a 22 Days bar rather than ever trying this disappointment. That being said, the small size of this bar manages to give it a protein-density greater than the Pure Bar Chocolate Brownie, the Kit’s Organic Bar, and all of the Simple Squares. The carb-to-protein ratio is also right in the ideal window. But, the price per gram of protein here is the worst out of every bar I have reviewed, making this the worst buy so far.  This bar did have the lowest amount of sugar out of all the bars I have reviewed, making this ideal for anyone who is diabetic.

Protein Bar Review #12: 22 Days Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bar

Posted: July 2, 2015 in Bike Culture, Burning Man, Cooking, Science
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Brand: 22 Days

Product: PB & Chocolate Chip Nirvana

Weight: 2.6oz / 75g

Cost: $2.99/per from manufacturer.

Stats

Calories: 280

Total Fat: 10g, Sat. Fat 2.5g, Poly Unsaturated 2.5g, Mono Unsat. 6.5%

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 0mg

Total Carb: 36g

Fiber: 10g

Sugars: 17g

Protein: 20g

Protein per ounce: 7.69g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.15

Carb to Protein Ratio: 1.8-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 2% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 35% DV

Fair Trade organic, plant based, vegan, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, Natural Food Certified, Produced with Solar Energy.

Not made in gluten free facility.

Flavor:

You might look at this and think it will be your standard, boring, peanut butter chocolate protein bar. If you do think that prepare to be totally wrong. This is what CLIF bars wishes it tasted like and what Power Bar wishes it could power up to be. The texture did remind me a bit of a power bar, really chewy but with a pleasant mouth feel. It did not have a shred of the dreaded chalky taste that typifies cheap protein; one of the major reasons I love this brand is they are entirely plant based without and cheap whey, wheat, or soy protein as fillers. The importance of this point cannot be overstated as most protein bars on the market are loaded with cheap filler proteins from China. Outside of the protein, there was a ton of iron, at 35% DV this would be the most iron-rich bar I have reviewed making it good for people who are iron deficient.

As I made note of in my first review on 22 Days Daily Mocha Mantra, 22 Days has some organic protein bars that pack 20 grams of protein into each bar. While they are a bit heftier than other bars by about half an ounce they still pack in more protein per ounce than anything else I have reviewed, even more than the Squarebar. Amazingly, these bars also have the cheapest protein per gram cost at 15 cents a gram. For the great flavor and nutrient density at the best price, I may have found my new go-to protein bar; at least when I don’t want coffee with my protein. I would totally bring this to Burning Man as well, the chocolate was mixed into the peanut butter base and I would not expect this to get melty in the desert sun.

Protein Bar Review #8: Squarebar Cocoa Crunch

Posted: June 19, 2015 in Bike Culture, Cannabis, Science
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Post 8 - Squarebar Cocoa Crunch

Brand: Squarebar (Not to be confused with Simple Squares)

Product: Cocoa Crunch Organic Protein Bar

Weight: 1.7oz / 48g

Cost: $2.49/per from manufacturer

Stats

Calories: 210

Total Fat: 9g, Sat. Fat 6g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 50mg

Potassium: 230mg

Total Carb: 22g

Fiber: 2g

Sugars: 14g

Protein: 12g

Protein per ounce: 7.06g

Protein, Cost per gram: $0.21

Carb to Protein Ratio: 1.83-1

Vit A: 0% DV

Vit C: 0% DV

Calcium: 4% DV

Iron: 15% DV

Phosphorous: 2%

Magnesium: 4%

Zinc: 2%

Organic, gluten free, non-GMO, soy free, vegan.

Not made in a gluten-free facility, but good manufacturing practices are used.

Flavor:

I ate it so fast I barely had time to process the flavor. It was so good, so amazingly deliciously good. Chocolate melted around a peanut butter center with crunchy rice. This is what all those mediocre choco-peanut protein bars are trying and failing to taste like. It also had a great mouth feel, kind of like eating a mouth full of peanut butter and chocolate. I would say I enjoyed this more than any other bar I have reviewed so far, even the scrumptious Chocolate Raspberry Truffle.

Packing in over 7 grams of protein per ounce, the Squarebar has the highest amount of protein by weight out of any of the bars I have reviewed thus far. What makes the protein content even better it is all plant based protein with no whey or soy as filler.  I left the Burning Man tag off this post for obvious chocolatey reasons, this is a textbook example of the type of bar that will melt into a gooey mess in high heat.

One extra plus for Bay Area residents like me is that they are local, made in Alameda. If I wanted to I could bike to them and pick up the bars in person creating no greenhouse gas emissions in shipping; this is the processed food equivalent to going to the farmers market. I just made a run to Whole Foods to get some more protein bars for review, up until now they all came from my local Pharmaca here in Oakland. The Squarebar is the first out of the Whole Foods bars I am reviewing.