As promised yesterday, I have some bars to review.I only had two brands in yesterday’s picture, but there are actually three bars up for review. Hence the post name bars cubed (meaning bars to the power of three). The nominees are:

Quantitative Review:

Since I’m a number loving nerd, I made a little quantitative analysis of how each bar ranked according to my preferences. Here are the stats for all you fellow number lovers:

In case anyone prefers a visual representation, I’ve even made a bar graph (no pun intended)!

Now for the descriptive Words:

Elevate me:

I loved how this bar is divided into three sections, which makes it really convenient to spread out through the work day.

Only two out of the three sections are pictured here. Oops, already ate a piece

The taste was flavourful and what you would expect of something called Banana Nut. The Matcha Green Tea with Cranberries was equally tasty, however I think as a personal preference I like the Banana Nut better. Although the taste was good, the texture was a different story.

I prefer my bars to have some sort of puffed rice or grains, however this bar seemed to be pure dried fruit. Meaning I wasn’t a fan of the texture. Since there was so much dried fruit there was quite a substantial about of sugar carbs (see nutritional info here)

Don’t get me wrong, I love my sugar carbs, I just prefer to get them in fresh, wet, moist, delicious fruit. I have a fruit platter immediately after dinner every day.

Simply Bar:

This bar has a fall-apart-and-crumble factor. Not an attribute I greatly appreciated. Especially since a mouthful was followed by a slightly bitter aftertaste. The thing I did like about this bar was how crunchy it was. I was surprised at this crunch-crumble combination.

I’m usually psycho for anything cinnamon, but not this time. Out of the three Simply Bar flavors I tired Chocolate Raspberry is the clear winner. I still love the quantity of protein in these bars (16g – 17g depending on flavor).

Full Bar:

You are most likely wondering why I decided to purchase an energy bar marketed for people trying to loose weight. Let me assure you, I did not try this bar in the hopes that it would make me full enough to eat less lunch.

I bought it for the fact that it was on sale for $1, you just can’t beat that.Turns out, that this was my favorite bar of all the brands. Although it is the lowest in protein (5g), it still makes an appropriately chewy snack with a nice gooey factor. Not to mention the incredible taste.

I wanted to demonstrate that this bar was actually quite thick, so I included a pencil in the photo for perception purposes. So there you have it folks, three brands all summed up.

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Do you ever have protein/energy bars on busy days?

What are your favorite brands and/or flavors?

What do you look for in an energy bar (protein, fullness, clean ingredients)?

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10 thoughts on “Bars Cubed”

Haha I love the chart and graph! You’re just too cute.

I don’t actually eat a lot of protein bars because I have an allergy to peanuts and most of the bars out there either have them or contain traces of them… so it’s a no go for me. But, I do like to make my own bars/balls, and no matter what kind I make, there’s GOTTA be chocolate.

Thanks for the reviews! My mathy/science-loving brain adores the graphs, what a great idea!
I have bars on busy days a lot, especially when I’m in class or if I have a lot of errands to do, but most of the time I like to eat meals instead. My favorite brand…hmmm…that’s a toughie! I enjoy Balance bars, especially the peanut butter flavor, and I also like the Mixed Nut Medley Bumble Bars, those are tasty There’s so many I’ve liked and tried though that I don’t even remember haha!
In bars, I mostly look for lower sugar, pure ingredients, and a large focus on protein

I was about to buy the cinnamon bar last week but decided not to and now I’m glad I didn’t pick it up!
I do eat bars on busy days. They’re the perfect portable snack for school and if it happens that I packed it and didn’t eat it, then whatever, it doesn’t spoil! And bars are really easy to eat in class.

The only one of those that I’ve tried is the full bar, and I actually really liked it! I had the peanut butter one. Bars don’t usually keep me very full, but I guess that one lived up to it’s name and did tide me over for awhile!

You are so cute with your statistical tables! I have only tried Fullbars of these three, and I loved them. Peanut butter was my favorite flavor though I haven’t had one in ages! They kept me full for a while, I would use them as a snack, never as a way to loose weight.

This was great, the graph is quite helpful!
I have been wanting to try a Simply Bar and Full bar so I will be looking out for these. I enjoy Clif bars and Luna bars as a quick, go-to snack

I love the graphs! They actually really helped. I think I might do that for my next review if I remember. I think all the bars look great, but last time I tried a fullbar it was gross. It tasted like cardboard! Maybe it was just the flavor or a weird bar.. I rely a lot on bars as a student athlete. I always check different grocery stores wherever I go because they always have different flavors!