Protein bars: good or bad?

**PO9** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 8:53pm

That's what I said, minus all the technical mumbo jumbo.

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**Phrost** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 8:58pm

Actually I was wondering about this myself... anyone know of any good protein shakes that taste good without milk? The only ones I've found are the Strawberry MetRx ones.

**Equipoise** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:09pm

Ahh, they're lethal without milk. I wouldn't try it. I did once, That's all I tasted, all day. As for mixing them with milk or water, the one that mixes really well for me is called ON (Optimum Nutrition) Whey Protein. It mixes realitively clean and you can actually do it with a spoon. No blender needed.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:14pm

Yeah, but if it doesn't taste halfway decent, I won't touch it. I had a batch of Muscle Milk that I threw out after the first shake because it tasted (literally) fishy.

**Equipoise** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:20pm

This stuff isn't bad, it tastes like Swiss Miss cocoa. Not natural Hot Chocolate, but edible.

**antonanton** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:33pm

growproteins.com - classic grow mrp- sooo good- just throw in some fruit and its a delicious fruit shake-or leave it alone and have a nice milkshake- i love this **** 40 grams per shake

**Equipoise** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:35pm

That's the stuff with Micellar Casein isn't it? hmm, MC is definitely good for halting any catabolism while you sleep, and to prevent that 4am snack.

**bwerb** · Posted On: 1/10/2005 9:59pm

Couple mix it up tips...grab a bag or two of frozen berries, to throw in the shakes. I also like peanut butter with chocolate shakes.

I haven't really found any which aren't significantly improved with Milk. I just taught myself to "Fear Factor" them down if I have to make them with water. I put "servings" into small rubbermaid containers and mix them in a 1.0L Widemouth Nalgene bottle by shaking.

You can also mix protein powder with almost anything. Protein powder in pudding is quick and good. I throw it in waffles, mix it into cereal, you name it.

**Renn** · Posted On: 1/11/2005 12:50am

Protein shakes are certainly the way to go. I would stay away from GNC though (R I P O F F). Discount or not they still charge you such exorbitant prices it's ridiculous. Actually i would say never buy from GNC. Buy online. Just my opinion though.

My beef with protein shakes are that they are not always convenient and can be a slight pain in the butt. I'm hardly home so I personally hate porting around my shaker and sometimes it's just not feasible to have a shaker with me. And as a side note, protein shakes always seem to give me gas..... (i do typically consume one every day though).

Protein bars also create their own problems typically because MOST are made with chocolate and melted bars can be quite messy. I am a huge advocate of the Tri-o-plex bars. These bars are made with no chocolate and they taste pretty decent.. The sugar count is reasonably low (comparing it to many other protein bars) and they follow a zone diet distribution. 40-30-30. They are made with natural whole grain rolled oats and these are pretty big bars. They are 118 grams and typically have around 430 calories, 30g protein, 4g fiber and other vitamins as well. Pricewise... well they certainly aren't cheap. They come out to about $1.50 a bar and i've only been able to find them online.

As far as protein shakes go, i like the Metrx Ultimate Chocolate. Personally i find the GNC whey protein stuff pretty darn vile and overpriced. I would always have to mix it with juice and fruits for it to be palatable. At least with the Metrx i can just add water and don't have to add all the extra sugar. The protein blend they use is also interesting. Supposedly it allows it to be digested slower or something like that... i read up on it before but i can't remember everything and i'd rather not give false info. Another protein powder i like is the Labrada pro-v60. It doesn't taste bad at all.

**Can Chaser** · Posted On: 1/11/2005 1:46am

I don't know what kind of protein powder I use, I actually did read it before I got it the first time, now mom just picks the same stuff up whenever I need it. You can seriously put any-fucking-thing in a fruitshake and not taste it, unless it's in horrendously large quanitites. I religiously have a fruit smoothie with protein powder for breakfast, but I don't notice any difference in taste with or without protein powder.

For portability, though, it sucks. My lunch usually consists of some sort of bar that has been in my pocket all day, often while on horseback, washed down with a slurp of hosewater if I'm lucky.

If it weren't for the all-consuming convenience factor, I would never consume protein bars, but the fact remains that they're about the only thing I can keep a stash of in my trunk without worrying about freezing or going bad.

The nutrition part depends a lot on the individual bar/brand. Some of them are no more than a glorified candy bar. The closest ones to not tasting like shredded tires that I've found are luna and cliff bars, while retaining a nutritional value decently close to what I want.