Well I am officially done school for the semester! It's time for 3 weeks of relaxation...
But first, I have a very exciting review for you today! The folks over at PureFit sent me some of their awesome protein bars to try out. These bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, low glycemic and high in protein, so if you have dietary restrictions and are looking for a good meal-replacement or snack bar, these are fantastic!
I had already tried a few of the flavours, but I got to try all of them, including: Berry Almond Crunch, Peanut Butter Crunch, Almond Crunch, Granola Crunch and Chocolate Brownie.
The product line has recently been given new packaging too, so this is what to look out for if you haven't bought them in a while or if you've never tried them.
Probably the biggest seller for me is that these are FANTASTIC for travelers!! The first time I tried these bars was when I was going down to Costa Rica to do sea turtle conservation work and I was looking for a bar that wouldn't melt in the heat. We had to do 4-hour walks on the beach at night and the project didn't provide snacks so I needed something filling to take with me. Let me tell you, finding a high protein bar without a coating that doesn't use animal proteins is near impossible. These have no chocolate coating, so even if they get hot and squished in your bag, they will not melt! I also took them to India with me and they were a life-saver on train and bus rides when I didn't have access to food that I was sure wouldn't make me sick.
In terms of ingredients, they are all natural and seem high-quality. The only issue is that they are made with soy protein isolate, so if you have any sensitivities to soy these would not be for you.
 |
| This is for the Berry Almond Crunch flavour |
The stats are also pretty impressive. All of the bars have between 220-230 calories, 2-4 grams of fibre, 14-16 grams of sugar and 18 grams of protein, so they are really filling. The sugar is a little higher than some bars, but there are no artificial sweeteners and the moderate fat and high protein content keep your blood sugar from spiking.
 |
| From the Almond Crunch label |
The first one I tried was Berry Almond Crunch. It had a light almond flavour and a stronger berry flvaour. It also had little bits of cranberries and raspberries in there. It kind of reminded me of those berry-flavoured granola bars I used to get in my lunch box as a kid, except it was denser and chewier. Definitely a little bit of nostalgia for me :)
Even though it has "crunch" in the name, it is mostly chewy, except for some soy protein crisps and most of the other bars are the same.
The next one I tried was Granola Crunch.
It was actually like chewy granola! You could definitely taste the oats in there and it had an almost maple-y flavour to it as well, even though there is no maple syrup in it. The cinnamon lover in me also picked up on the cinnamon undertones and loved it. To me, it tasted like a chewy oatmeal cookie, and I've never met one of those I didn't like :)
I dove into the Peanut Butter Crunch one next as a post-workout snack.
Most of you guys should know about my PB obsession, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I loved this one as well. It was nice and chewy with little crispy bits and it wasn't too sweet, which I appreciated. What was interesting was that it sort of tasted like a cashew cookie. I even double-checked the ingredients - not a cashew in sight. Basically, it was nutty and delicious and I still can't get over how awesome the texture of these bars is!
Almond Crunch was the one that I was most excited to open and it totally lived up to the delicious memory that I had from when I tried it before.
I absolutely LOVE almond flavouring and this really tasted like those little Amaretti cookies or even Amaretto liqueur. Once again, it was dense and chewy, just like the others, but the flavour is what took it a notch above some of the other kinds for me.
The last one I tried was the Chocolate Brownie. This one used to be my favourite and it was the flavour I took to Costa Rica and India. It's super chocolatey, but without that "this is clearly a protein bar and not a chocolate treat" taste.
However, trying it up against the other flavours, I actually am not as in love with it as I was. I still really like it, but I loved how the other 4 were chewy and this one was a little more dry. I would still give it 4 stars out of 5, but sadly, it has fallen to the bottom of the list for these particular bars.
Overall, I would highly recommend PureFit bars. If I had to rank them from most to least favourite, Almond Crunch and Granola Crunch (both gifts from the gods) tie for first, followed by Peanut Butter Crunch, then Berry Almond Crunch and finally Chocolate Brownie. It was a tough call though. I spent quite a bit of time sniffing and nibbling at pieces of different bars before I could crown my 2 favourites.
Feel free to email me if you have anymore questions, or check out the company for more info.
Happy eating!
