Pure Protein Chewy Chocolate Chip Protein Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Pure Protein’s Chewy Chocolate Chip High Protein Bar.

Taste:

While it doesn’t taste exactly like a chocolate chip cookie, it is pretty good.  It’s also a unique flavor for a protein bar.  With most every bar being based on peanut butter in some way, it’s nice to have something to mix things up.

Protein & Nutrition:

Loaded with 20 grams of protein, it’s hard to go wrong here.  The vitamins and minerals are just an added bonus.  For a bar of this size, it packs a lot of punch so I highly recommend it as a meal replacement or just a way to work some more protein into your diet.

Servings:

These come in a box or individually wrapped.  Regardless of if one uses these as a meal replacement or a snack (depending on your goals), these are an inexpensive and healthy addition to your day.

Zone Perfect Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Zone Perfect’s Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Taste:
I really like the taste of this Strawberry Yogurt bar.  It’s not just the standard flavors put into every protein/nutrition bar (chocolate, peanut butter, etc).  It’s nice to have some variety and this bar certainly offers that.

Protein & Nutrition:
This nutrition bar contains 14 grams of protein and 18 vitamins and minerals.  It is also all-natural.  It’s hard to go wrong with any of that.  One of the biggest problems with most protein shakes and bars is that they have artificial sweeteners in them, so it’s nice to find a product free of those types of things.

Servings:
These come in a box or individually wrapped.  Regardless of if one uses these as a meal replacement or a snack (depending on your goals), these are an inexpensive and healthy addition to your day.

Strawberry Muscle Milk Product Review

Today I will be reviewing the Srawberry flavor of Muscle Milk by CytoSport.

Taste:
This product tastes pretty good.  It’s maybe a little sweet but I would put it somewhere in between the Vanilla and Chocolate flavors from Muscle Milk.  This is 1 of the top 2 protein shakes I have ever had as far as taste goes.  Taste is pretty important to me because if something tastes so bad I can’t drink it, I’m not going to stick with it no matter how healthy it is.  It does have a very slight artificial sweetener taste, it’s almost unnoticeable most of the time.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein (and vitamins & minerals):
This is why most people are drinking these shakes in the first place so it’s an important category.  Muscle Milk has 16 grams of protein per serving and is also loaded with about 15-20% of 20 vitamins & minerals.  This isn’t the most protein I have ever seen in a shake (most have about 24 grams) but it does have the vitamins and minerals many other shakes do not have.  I drink mine mixed with 1 cup of milk so I take in 24 grams of protein.  You could also mix this with other ingredients if you wish, like a banana or peanut butter, whatever you like.  It isn’t necessary though, because as I said before, it tastes great.  The serving size is 35 grams, only 16 grams of that is protein, meaning the rest is made up of other ingredients (carbs and fat -2 grams of fiber which is a carb, etc).  This product gets a 8 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
1 container has 25 servings.   This breaks down to less than $1 per serving.  I eat 5 times a day so having 1 of my meals cost less than $1 (plus the cost of 1 cup of milk) is pretty nice.  Usually with protein shakes, buying in bulk lowers the cost per serving but I bought a smaller container (1.93lbs) just to try it out and see if I liked it.  It’s also nice when a container has about a months supply, so even if you buy the smaller container you only have to buy it once a month.  8.5 out of 10

Artificial ingredients:
In our culture, unless you grow all of your own food, it’s impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and the like 100%.  That said, I try to avoid them as much as possible.  This product does have a few of them in it, namely acesulfame potassium and sucralose (splenda) but they are among the last ingredients listed, meaning they are the least out of everything in it.  Unfortunately, 95% of protein shakes have at least some of these ingredients in them.  7 out of 10

So overall I like this product and I can actually drink it because it tastes wonderful.  Mixing it with milk I get 24 grams of protein (you don’t want to take in to much at a time anyway since you can only digest so much at once).  For the price it’s good.  I would buy this product again but because I want to avoid artificial sweeteners I will rotate this in with other drinks from time to time instead of just always drinking it.

Overall Score: 8.4 out of 10

Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bars

I tried a new protein bar recently that is pretty unique.  Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bar.

Taste:

This protein bar has a unique flavor to it, which is a plus since most protein bars are some variation of chocolate and peanut butter.  Just having some different options to mix things up goes a long way.  If you like the taste of strawberries and yogurt, this protein bar is for you. Taste = 9.5 out of 10.

Protein & Nutrition:

For how small it is, this protein bar is packed with protein.  19 grams of protein to be exact.  There are some other bars out there with a lot of protein in them but they tend to be huge, this one is not.  It has a very small amount of sugar (3 grams) and 18 carbs total.  It also has 15%  of your daily recommended amount for several vitamins and minerals.  Protein & Nutrition = 9.2 out of 10

Servings:

These come in a box or individually wrapped.  The price can vary but you are probably looking at a little over $1 per bar.  This is a pretty good price but I like to keep my meal replacements below $1 per meal since I eat a lot.  Servings = 8

Artificial ingredients:

Made with natural ingredients, including real fruit, it's hard to go wrong here.    Artificial ingredients = 10 out of 10

Overall, this is a good tasting protein bar that can be used as a meal replacement or a snack.  It breaks up the same old flavors typically used for protein bars and has a large amount of protein in it for its size.  Pure Protein's Strawberry Shortcake bars receive a score of 9.2 out of 10. 

Zone Perfect Chocolate Mint Bars

 Today we are going to be looking at Zone Perfect's Chocolate Mint bars.

Taste:

If you like mint, you will probably like these bars.  I think these bars taste great and actually so does the company who makes them.  There is even a refund policy on the bottom of the box if you don't like the bars. Taste = 9.5 out of 10.

Protein & Nutrition:

These bars have 14 grams of protein but each bar is 50 grams.  While this isn't a great ratio, used as a meal replacement it's not a huge issue.  Some of the extra grams come from fat, fiber and a little bit comes from sugar (13 grams).  These bars are loaded with vitamins, containing 20% - 50% of 19 different Vitamins & minerals.  Protein & Nutrition = 8.5 out of 10

Servings:

These come 5 per box.  The price can vary but you are probably looking at a little over $1 per bar.  This is a pretty good price but I like to keep my meal replacements below $1 per meal since I eat a lot.  Servings = 8

Artificial ingredients:

This product is supposed to be all natural so I do not have any complaints here.  This is one of the better protein products for the category.   Artificial ingredients = 10 out of 10

Overall, this is a good tasting protein bar that can be used as a meal replacement or a snack.  Zone Perfect Chocolate Mint Bars receive a score of 9 out of 10. 

Vanilla Muscle Milk Product Review

Today I will be reviewing the Vanilla flavor of Muscle Milk by CytoSport.   

Taste:
This product tastes a lot of cake batter.  This is 1 of the top 2 protein shakes I have ever had as far as taste goes.  This is pretty important to me because if something tastes so bad you can't drink it, your not going to stick with it no matter how healthy it is.  It does have a very slight artificial sweetener taste, it's almost unnoticeable most of the time.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein (and vitamins & minerals):
This is why most people are drinking these shakes in the first place so it's an important category.  Muscle Milk has 16 grams of protein per serving and is also loaded with about 15-20% of around 20 vitamins & minerals.  This isn't the most protein I have ever seen in a shake (most have about 24 grams) but it does have the vitamins and minerals many other shakes do not have.  I drink mine mixed with 1 cup of milk so I take in 24 grams of protein.  You could also mix this with other ingredients if you wish, like a banana or peanut butter, whatever you like.  It isn't necessary though, because as I said before, it tastes great.  The serving size is 35 grams, only 16 grams of that is protein, meaning the rest is made up of other ingredients (carbs and fat but this has the good kind mostly-2 grams of fiber which is a carb, etc).  This product gets a 8 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
1 container has 25 servings.   This breaks down less than $1 per serving.  I eat 5 times a day so having 1 of my meals cost less than $1 (plus the cost of 1 cup of milk) is pretty nice.  Usually with protein shakes, buying in bulk lowers the cost per serving but I bought a smaller container (1.93lbs) just to try it out and see if I liked it.  It's also nice when a container has about a months supply, so even if you buy the smaller container you only have to buy it once a month.  8.5 out of 10

Artificial ingredients:
In our culture, unless you grow all of your own food, it's impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and the like 100%.  That said, I try to avoid them as much as possible.  This product does have a few of them in it, namely acesulfame potassium and sucralose (splenda) but they are among the last ingredients listed, meaning they are the least out of everything in it.  Unfortunately, 95% of protein shakes have at least some of these ingredients in them.  7 out of 10 

So overall I like this product and I can actually drink it because it tastes wonderful.  Mixing it with milk I get 24 grams of protein (you don't want to take in to much at a time anyway since you can only digest so much at once).  For the price it's good.  I would buy this product again but because I want to avoid artificial sweeteners I will rotate this in with other drinks from time to time instead of just always drinking it. 

Overall Score: 8.4 out of 10

Pure Protein's Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse Bar Review

Welcome to my review of Pure Protein's Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse Bar.

Taste:
This protein bar tastes great.  I would almost eat this for a snack even if it wasn't a supplement.  Taste is important, because if you can't eat it (because it tastes so bad) you won't stick with it.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein: (and vitamins & minerals):
This bar is 50 grams, 19 of those grams are protein.  This bar is a good snack or meal replacement, depending on your goals, and it isn't a huge protein bar so it's nice to get so much protein from it.  The rest of the grams come from fat and carbs (which isn't necessarily bad).  Sugar is what people really need to be looking out for and this product has next to none.  It also contains 25% of many of your daily vitamins and minerals.  This product gets an 8.5 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
This varies on if you buy a box of them or buy it as a single protein bar.   The price per bar also varies depending on if you buy it in a box or single.  Protein bars cost a little more per serving than protein shakes typically but they are nice to break up the same old thing all the time, and you can carry it with you.  This product gets a 7.5 out of 10 on servings.

Artificial ingredients:
As always I try to avoid these whenever possible.  Overall this protein bar isn't bad.  It's biggest offender is Sucralose (Splenda) and it's the last product on the list (meaning it contains this in a smaller amount than anything else in it).  This product gets a 9 out of 10 on Artificial ingredients.

Overall this is a great product and an easy way to get 19 grams of protein.  It's handy and you can take it with you anywhere you go.

I give this product an 8.6 out of 10.

Chocolate Muscle Milk Product Review

Welcome to my first product review!  I will be reviewing exercise equipment, protein powders and other supplements in future reviews.

For my first review I will be reviewing the protein powder Muscle Milk by CytoSport.  I just tried this a few days ago for the first time after hearing positive statements from people I know.

Taste:
This product (I have only tried the chocolate) tastes great.  This is 1 of the top 2 protein shakes I have ever had as far as taste goes.  This is pretty important to me because if something tastes so bad you can't drink it, your not going to stick with it no matter how healthy it is.  It does have a very slight artificial sweetener taste, it's almost unnoticeable most of the time.  This product gets a 9.5 out of 10 on taste.

Protein (and vitamins & minerals):
This is why most people are drinking these shakes in the first place so it's an important category.  Muscle Milk has 16 grams of protein per serving and is also loaded with about 15-20% of around 20 vitamins & minerals.  This isn't the most protein I have ever seen in a shake (most have about 24 grams) but it does have the vitamins and minerals many other shakes do not have.  I drink mine mixed with 1 cup of milk so I take in 24 grams of protein.  You could also mix this with other ingredients if you wish, like a banana or peanut butter, whatever you like.  It isn't necessary though, because as I said before, it tastes great.  The serving size is 35 grams, only 16 grams of that is protein, meaning the rest is made up of other ingredients (carbs and fat but this has the good kind mostly-2 grams of fiber which is a carb, etc).  This product gets a 8 out of 10 on protein.

Servings:
1 container has 25 servings.   This breaks down less than $1 per serving.  I eat 5 times a day so having 1 of my meals cost less than $1 (plus the cost of 1 cup of milk) is pretty nice.  Usually with protein shakes, buying in bulk lowers the cost per serving but I bought a smaller container (1.93lbs) just to try it out and see if I liked it.  It's also nice when a container has about a months supply, so even if you buy the smaller container you only have to buy it once a month.  8.5 out of 10

Artificial ingredients:
In our culture, unless you grow all of your own food, it's impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and the like 100%.  That said, I try to avoid them as much as possible.  This product does have a few of them in it, namely acesulfame potassium and sucralose (splenda) but they are among the last ingredients listed, meaning they are the least out of everything in it.  Unfortunately, 95% of protein shakes have at least some of these ingredients in them.  7 out of 10 

So overall I like this product and I can actually drink it because it tastes wonderful.  Mixing it with milk I get 24 grams of protein (you don't want to take in to much at a time anyway since you can only digest so much at once).  For the price it's good.  I would buy this product again but because I want to avoid artificial sweeteners I will rotate this in with other drinks from time to time instead of just always drinking it. 

Overall Score: 8.4 out of 10