Product Review: Quest Bars

Hey Friends!

This was one of my favourite reviews to complete yet because I got to try tons of flavours of a truly kick-ass product. Quest Bars are quite popular in the health and fitness world right now and I can see why. They are very high in protein, but low in calories and free of added sugars. An added bonus is that they are also high in fibre and gluten-free. Each bar has 20 grams of protein, 160-210 calories, 1-2 grams of sugar and 16-18 grams of fibre. Stats like that are hard to beat!

I also like the fact that they have 2 different lines to appeal to different tastes. One is their original line, made with sucralose and free of sugar alcohols for anyone who has an issues with them. Their all natural line uses stevia and erythritol, two natural sweeteners to make them taste great without adding carbs and sugar. I try to avoid artificial sweeteners when possible, so the natural line was great for me.

I also just want to point out that these are a traveler's dream! Whenever I have traveled to hot developing countries I have taken some kind of protein/energy bar with me in case I need a pick me up or I'm hungry and there is nowhere to get food. I have always taken PureFit Bars with me because they are high in protein and don't have a chocolate coating that can get squished and melted. Well Quest Bars are also great for traveling. They don't have any kind of coating that will get all melty and gross, and if they get squished in your backpack it's no biggie! Not to mention that they are super high in protein, so they are a good filling snack for a hungry traveler.

Original Line

Mixed Berry Bliss:

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one. I'm not usually a big fan of berry flavours in protein bars or powders, as they tend to taste kind of artificial. It surprised me though; it was delicious! It kind of reminded me of a berry-flavoured cereal bar or granola bar, except it was denser and chewier, not a bad thing at all. I like that it had real dried berries spread throughout too.

Apple Pie:

This. Was. Delicious. I'm a much bigger fan of spicy cinnamon things than I am of fudgy, chocolately things and this really hit the spot. It had chunks of dried apple, lots of cinnamon and it totally could have passed for pie. Actually, that's silly, NOTHING can replace pie, but this was a pretty good protein-packed substitute.

Peanut Butter Supreme:

They aren't lying when they say this bar is supreme. It is full of chopped nuts and is chewy and decadent. I didn't love it quite as much as I thought I would given my peanut butter obsession, but it was still tasty. I think I am just so used to eating natural peanut butter right off of the spoon that this tasted a little bit artificial to me.

Vanilla Almond:

I love vanilla flavoured things, so I wasn't surprised to love this bar. It had a nice, smooth vanilla flavour and lots of nuts. That was probably one of my favourite things about it; it had big chunks of almond all the way through. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly:

This was another one of my favourites. For some reason, it had a better peanut butter flavour than the Peanut Butter Supreme kind. It definitely reminded me of PB and J sandwich. In fact, next time I eat one of these, I think I might slather a little bit of raspberry jam on there for an extra jammy kick :)

Chocolate Brownie:

This was rich, fudgy and tasty. I didn't try it warmed up, but I imagine that would have been good too. It did have a little bit of an artificial taste to it, so it wasn't my favourite, but if you are way into chocolate of any kind, you would probably love it.

All Natural Line

Lemon Cream Pie:

I'll start off by saying that I hate lemon meringue pie, lemon curd and most creamy lemon desserts in general, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The lemon flavour is very mild. It is mostly just creamy and chewy with a slight hint of lemon. Those of you  who are lemon fanatics may be disappointed with this one, but I thought it was delicious none the less.

Coconut Cashew:

I am a huge coconut fan so I kind of expected this one to be my favourite. While I actually preferred some of the other flavours, this one was still really good. It had a nice coconut flavour and it was super dense and chewy. The cashew flavour wasn't strong but I think it still added a nice element to it. I would love to see a coconut chocolate or or pina colada flavour. Mmmm...

Strawberry Cheesecake:

I actually hate cheesecake, so I knew this wouldn't be my favourite. However, I really didn't mind it. You could tell that it had a cheesecake flavour, but it wasn't that overpowering, heavy quality that regular cheesecake has. It was just kind of light and creamy with a hint of strawberry. Not my favourite, but I didn't dislike it either.

Banana Nut Muffin:

Whoa. It was like I was eating a banana nut muffin... but it wasn't a banana nut muffin... This one was so SO good! I think of all of the flavours, it probably tastes the most like the thing it was imitating. They totally captured that freshly baked muffin quality and it was full of nuts too. This was a definite winner!

Chocolate Peanut Butter:

Well, it wasn't quite like a Reese cup, but it was still really good. It was dense and fudgy with a peanuty taste. I tend to like chocolate peanut butter things more when the two components are separated instead of being all mixed together, so that would be the only suggestion I have for this one. This bar is also excellent after 10 seconds in the microwave. Mmm....

Cinnamon Roll:

Seeing as I am obsessed with cinnamon and cinnamon buns, I knew this one would be a winner and I was not disappointed. I tend to dump about 1/2 cup of cinnamon on everything I eat, so I actually found the flavour of this one to be quite mild, but it was delicious none the less.

Quest Cravings

Protein Peanut Butter Cups:

Okay, this was the only product I was a little disappointed in. All the reviews I have seen so far say it is exactly like a Reese cup. It looks exactly like a Reese cup. It even smells like a Reese cup. It does not taste like a Reese cup. The chocolate was a bit chalky, the inside was dry and it had a distinctly artificial taste. I'm sorry Quest. I had very high hopes for this one, but when you expect something to taste like a delicious, silky, sweet peanut butter cup and your hopes are dashed, it kind of puts a damper on your evening...

Overall? I had a delicious, delicious time testing out these bars. They were some of the best protein bars I have ever had. Flavour-wise, they caught me off guard. Many of the ones I was expecting to love the most weren't as good as I had predicted and some of the ones I hadn't thought I would like blew me out of the water.

In general, I liked the All Natural line better. I found that some of the Original line tasted a little bit artificial. So, how do they rank? Well the standout winner is...

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Banana Nut Muffin!!

I would eat this one all day everyday if I could. However, special mention goes to Apple Pie, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Lemon Cream Pie and Cinnamon Roll. Man, that was one tasty review, I wish I could do it over...

Have a good one!