Quest Bar Ranking: Round 1

The results are in!!!

About a week ago, my wonderful husband surprised me with a bag full of eight Quest Bars to try and, if you're like me, you want to know what's good before you buy a box of something (hence why I am a HUGE fan of Costco samples but that's a story for another time). Quest Bars are available individually but, depending on where you buy them, they can get a little pricey. So I decided to put the Quest Bars in order of the ones I like most to the ones I like the least and share them with you so that you can hopefully make a more informed decision if you decide to try them yourself (which I very highly recommend).

Now I've tried a lot of protein bars in my time and these are my favorite BY FAR for multiple reasons:

• High Protein
• All of the Quest Bars in this post have at least 20 grams of protein.
• Not Overly Carb-y
• About 22 - 26 grams of carbohydrates in each of these.
• Lots of Fiber (for anyone who knows me, you know that I am a huge fan of fiber)
• There are a whopping 16 - 19 grams of fiber in each bar!!! There are only 9 grams of fiber in a Fiber One bar.
• Low Sugar Content
• Only 1 - 2 grams of sugar in each of these protein bars.
• Relatively Low in Calories
• These are NOT a meal replacement but definitely a good snack in between meals (you should be eating 5  to 6 times a day to maximize the function of your metabolism so these are really good for meals 2, 4, and 6).
• They taste GOOD!!!

So here they are in order of my least to most favorite Quest Bars of this batch. The ranking is based only on taste but I've provided what I believe are the important nutrition facts so you can compare and contrast those along with my comments.  This list is not all inclusive, there are a few flavors I haven't tried yet but I may or may not have bought the rest of the flavors today so there will be a comprehensive list coming soon. :-)

Number 8:     DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 25 grams
• Fiber: 16 grams
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Calories: 160
• Taste: I know what some of you may be thinking. "Chris, you LOVE chocolate. How could this be your least favorite of the batch??" While this one didn't taste bad necessarily, I'd have to say that this one tasted the most like your typical protein bar: a little chalky with a weird after taste. If it's the only near by and you have to choose between eating this or eating a cookie, I'd say pick this bar but I wouldn't recommend ordering a full box of them. There are better ones out there to satisfy your chocolate cravings that don't leave a funny taste in your mouth.

Number 7:     BANANA NUT MUFFIN

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 25 grams
• Fiber: 17 grams
• Sugars: 2 grams 
• Calories: 190
• Taste: I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not the biggest fan of banana in things. I can handle bananas by themselves and banana bread is good (not good for you, but tastes good) but other than that there is just something about banana inclusive foods that I just don't like. So it would make sense that this would be towards the bottom of my list. I will say that I would recommend this as a breakfast-time protein bar. Say you just finished working out and you need some recovery food, if you like bananas, this would be a good one to munch on. It gives your body the post-exercise carbs it needs (you should have a few carbs within 30 minutes of finishing your workout), it has plenty of protein so your muscles can soak that up, and the fiber will help you feel full so you don't feel like you have to grab that extra doughnut sitting on the break room table.

Number 6:     STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 26 grams
• Fiber: 17 grams
• Sugars: 2 grams
• Calories: 180
• Taste: I need to qualify these bars really quick. If you are regularly eating a lot of processed sugars, these bars will NOT be as tasty to you. If you are used to eating a Snickers bar every day, the taste of this Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar probably will not live up to the hype that I'm giving them now. With that in mind, when I tell you that this bar actually does taste like strawberry cheesecake please note that you should not take a bite of this Quest Bar and then take a bite of actual cheesecake and expect them to taste exactly the same. In one slice of Costco cheesecake, there are 24 grams of sugar instead of the 2 grams that are in this bar. I would recommend this bar as a post-lunch or after dinner dessert to curb any sweet cravings you might have.

Number 5:     MIXED BERRY BLISS

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 22 grams
• Fiber: 18 grams
• Sugars: 2 grams
• Calories: 210
• Taste: This is the bar that I prefer as a mid-morning snack as I pick berries over bananas any day of the week. It tastes like it has some strawberries, blueberries, and some almonds in it which makes for a very pleasant mix. It doesn't taste like a dessert though so while I would still recommend it over a cookie for a dessert, this to me is more of a post-morning-workout Quest Bar as opposed to a dessert Quest Bar.

Number 4:     CINNAMON ROLL

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 25 grams
• Fiber: 17 grams
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Calories: 190
• Taste: The Cinnamon Roll bar was the first Quest Bar that I can remember trying (my husband claims that he bought some a few months ago to try but I can't really remember those). It was Christmas time and I LOVE baking so, unfortunately, I was eating a lot of sugary, fat-filled baked goods and didn't appreciate how good these were. Then I re-tried them just this last week and I loved it! This one is good for any time of day. It works as a morning cinnamon roll fix or an after lunch or dinner dessert. You really can't go wrong with this bar. Again, don't eat an actual cinnamon roll and then eat this and expect it to taste the same but, on it's own, this tastes just like a cinnamon bun to me. 

Number 3:     WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 23 grams
• Fiber: 17 grams
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Calories: 190
• Taste: I love my chocolate but there are some days where dark or milk chocolate is just not what my sweet tooth is craving. On the occasion that happens, this is my Quest Bar of choice. I love raspberries and adding white chocolate (which is not actually chocolate to me because it doesn't contain the cocoa bean no matter how you dice it or splice it) gives it the sweetness and flavor I need to curb my need for a dessert after dinner. Or lunch. Sometimes a girl just needs something sweet, am I right or am I right? If you're a girl then you know I'm right, if you're a guy then I will teach you a valuable life lesson in that you should agree with me and say that I'm right. :-) I was really excited to try this one and it did not disappoint.

Number 2:    CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

• Protein: 20 grams
• Carbs: 24 grams
• Fiber: 19 grams
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Calories: 190
• Taste: If you need a straight up chocolate fix, not just something with chocolate in it or something with a hint of cocoa, this is the bar to eat. It looks like a brownie, is chewy like a brownie, and it tastes like a brownie. And unlike the Chocolate Chunk bar, it doesn't have the weird after-taste that I was nervous it would have. I would say that this is the bar that comes the closest to tasting like the actual thing. And you have the bonus of the placebo effect that comes from the looking and feeling like the actual thing. Also, it's chocolate. And I love chocolate.

Number 1:     COOKIES AND CREAM

• Protein: 21 grams
• Carbs: 22 grams
• Fiber: 17 grams
• Sugars: 1 gram
• Calories: 180
• Taste: EXCELLENT. This is my number one favorite Quest Bar as of right now. The chocolate chunks in it seriously taste like Oreos, there is no weird after taste, and the ratio of chocolate to "cream" is spot on. I can eat this as a dessert even if I'm having the biggest sweet craving of my life and my tastebuds will be satisfied. I know I said these rankings were based only on taste but I had to add that not only does this Quest Bar taste the best but it also contains 15% of your daily needed calcium. Win. Win. Darren actually ordered a box of these a month ago and I loved them but I ate the new ones with an open mind but this one still came out on top. That's right. It is that good. That's probably why they were sold out of them at GNC today….

So there you have it my friends. My list of my favorite Quest Bars as of today. There will be a list coming that will include the bars that I got today but, even as much as I love these protein bars, if I were to eat them all today so I could give you a comprehensive list, I'm pretty sure I'd be sick as a dog. And no one wants that. But there are the bars that are coming: 

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Peanut Butter Supreme
• Coconut Cashew
• Apple Pie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Vanilla Almond Crunch

Stay tuned and give some of these Quest Bars a try. I've given you my opinion but, in the words of Levar Burton, "you don't have to take my word for it." ***

*** Quote taken from the children's show "Reading Rainbow." If you don't know what that means then you are probably too young to have lived during the "Reading Rainbow" era and you missed out. I'd say look it up on youtube but that won't do it justice. Just trust me that the 5 to 8 year olds of my childhood loved it.