Blog
My next is a bar that does meet the criteria of a high protein food. This doesn't mean it's better or worse than other bars- just that the amount of protein you get for the calories are a 'good deal'. This is the WellMix Sport Deluxe 38% protein bar in crunchy vanilla caramel flavor.
This bar is definitely more of an indulgent sweet treat than your usual "let's cover it in chocolate so it's mostly edible' bar. It is very sweet, but I didn't notice any lingering artificial sweetener aftertaste, which is always a good sign. Stevia tends to be the worst for me on this- this bar is sweetened with sucralose, the sweetener in Splenda (not to mention my personal favorite) and maltitol, which is a sugar alcohol.
The texture is a lot denser than I was expecting, but the puffed rice on top was crispy and fresh-tasting.
Nutritionally, I wouldn't call this a 'high protein' product. A general rule of thumb I like to use is adding a zero to the grams of protein and comparing it to the calorie count. If it's lower, it's not a high protein food. This bar has 11 grams of protein for 140 cals, so it doesn't quite meet the 'high protein' threshold. Interestingly enough a single bar contains 50% of your total daily intake of vitamins E, C, B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6. It contains 13 grams of carbohydrates, of which 8.5 are from sugar and under one is from fiber.
At 0.59€ for 11 grams of protein and a signifigcant chunk of your daily vitamins, I think this is a pretty ok bar. The protein total comes in at just above 5 cents per gram. This is by no means a perfect product given the sugar content and sketchy ingredients list, but getting some protein in something that tastes like a candy bar is at least a little better than just eating a candy bar. I'm glad solid budget items like this exist- I regularly see new bars I want to try because of their interesting flavors or amazing macros but they can easily be more than 3€ a pop. At that point, I flat out wouldn't be able to afford replacing some sweets with protein bars for satiety the way I do now. Something this cheap (and easily available at Rossmann instead of having to go to a specialty store or order online) is a better last-minute impulse snack purchase of straight up junk, and if I know I'm going to have the munchies later, they'll be something tasty to have on hand without breaking the bank.
With that being said, these still aren't what I'd call a health food. Glucose syrup- straight up sugar- as a first ingredient was immediately a red flag. Another form of sugar, fructose syrup, appears just a few more items down the list, followed by dextrose. In total, this car contains 24 grams of sugar- They also contain palm oil, which has severe environmental consequences.