Product Reviews: Protein Bars
As I (Denice) am writing this, we just got done with Costco. Not my favorite thing to do, but I do love the products I can get at a good price! I’ve tried to give up the membership more than once but always end up back again. One of my recent favorite products are the Kirkland protein bars.
Protein bars can be tricky because they can easily be a glorified candy bar. According to a lot of sources, a quality protein bar will have very few grams of sugar, over 10 grams of protein, and be high in fiber. There are many other things to consider when looking at ingredients depending on your personal goals, but these are the basics or minimums that you should be aware of.
These Kirkland protein bars check all the boxes for me; 2 grams of sugar, a whopping 21 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fiber… Beware those brands that advertise the average 10 grams of protein on the front of the box only to find out on the nutrition label that the sugar likely ranges from 5-15 grams of sugar and only 1 gram of fiber. At that point, the few extra grams of protein are of less value! Plus, they ring up at $1.00 a bar -roughly 60% less than your average bar!
Of course, there are other great protein sources for meals or snacks. However, I use protein bars because I don’t like meat. Along with protein bars and drinks, I often eat low-fat cottage cheese as another main source of protein. But, since I don’t eat bread (except very occasionally) and mostly stick with fruits and veggies for the bulk of my food, the bar is a great “chewy” alternative to add texture to my diet when I am craving that style of food. Otherwise, I don’t see protein bars having a lot of value for weight loss... Just my opinion!
So, if you are looking for something different to add to your repertoire of meals or foods, protein bars can be a good option as long as you do your research and are honest to the reasoning behind your choice.