I just polished off the very last of the YOU Bar samples I had received from the very innovative protein bar company and here’s what I thought! To start, I love the fact that you can customize your own protein bars based on your dietary needs, allergies or preferences. This is a very unique concept that provides nothing but guaranteed satisfaction.
I was sent a sample package of 10 of the most popular bars this company has to offer:
-4 Fresh nutrition bars: Peanut Butter Chocolate; Great Date with Chocolate; Cookie Dough & Peanut Butter Raisin
-3 Whey protein bars/High Protein (All Gluten-Free): Vanilla Almond; Peanut Butter Apple; Coco-Coconut
-2 Paleo protein bars: Chocolate & Vanilla Coconut
-1 vegan protein bar : Vegan Delight
Here’s what I loved:
These bars came in a fresh variety for ultimate flavour. They contain simple, organic, raw, pronounceable and wholesome ingredients; there’s no need to spend 5 minutes reading an ingredient list here! The original and appealing flavours are not overly sweet, they are in fact very accurate as you could taste the crunch of the coconut, apple or peanut butter and the chocolate was on point. More specifically, I would use these adjectives to describe the flavours and textures of the bars: creamy, delicate, filling, moist, light and crumbly. The protein contents were high, even the nutrition bars had a solid 5 grams. Because these bars contain quite a few nuts, the fat content was also higher but this is perfect for sustainable energy. The fiber content was super high especially on the Peanut Butter Apple Bar… A whole 18 grams! This company also offers gluten free varieties that are just as delicious. Some of the bars contained stevia which provided the perfect combination of protein and low-sugar content. The consistency resembled a Quest Bar or maybe the inside of a Mars Bar; chewy and dense (especially for the high protein bars) but even better with added texture from the nuts, seeds or dried fruit. Overall the held together really well and could easily be kept a few moths as a delicious emergency snack!
Here’s what I didn’t like as much:
Considering how hard it is to find a decent protein bar when you have to consider the nutrition values and the ingredients, I don’t have many complaints for YOU Bars, especially since most of these request could be met upon a bar customization. However, it is a review and here’s what I have to say.
Because most of these bars were date-based their sugar content was high, it is natural fruit sugar but any sugar should still be monitored. For example, the Great Date with Chocolate contained 28 grams of sugar. Also, (besides the high protein bars) these bars were generally quite small leaving me feeling hungry more quickly than expected. Some of these bars additionally contained agave nectar which has had a lot of controversy lately so I would rather steer clear. It would also be nice to discover different textures in these bars as they were fairly uniform; for example a crunchy outside and chewy inside would some of many nice characteristics for a nutrition bar. Finally, these bars-as far as I am aware are NOT available here in Canada making them difficult to access and expensive to ship. Price is another thing to keep in mind when purchasing these bars, the price is fair, but when you start to customize your bars it can become expensive.
All in all, I would definitely buy these bars again because YOU Bars is a company I can trust with the food going into my body. I would most definitely consider creating my own nutrition or protein bars with this company as well.
So give them a try and let me know what your favourite flavours are! & remember,
Stay Healthy,
Proteen Queen
PS: My favourite was Cookie Dough!