Collagen is a protein produced by our bodies to strengthen joints and connective tissue, but its production declines with age. It’s naturally found in cuts of meat with lots of connective tissue (like brisket), and bone broth, but if you don’t eat a lot of red meat, a protein bar with collagen is the next best thing to boost your skin and body’s elasticity. Vital Proteins is known for its collagen powder, and its protein bars, which also contain whey protein isolate, are a natural extension of the brand. The chocolate-covered almond butter and salty peanut flavors look and taste like candy bars, but note that like Quest Bars, they have sugar alcohols.
Vital Performance Protein Bar
The Best High-Sugar Bar: Gatorade Protein Bars
Protein source: whey, milk
Nutrition info: 340–360 cal, 20 g protein, 10 g fat, 39–42 g total carb
Ingredients: Whey protein crisp made of whey protein concentrate, corn starch, and calcium carbonate; caramel with glucose syrup, sugar, palm oil, nonfat milk, glycerin, butter (cream salt), dry whey, corn starch, salt, mono and diglycerides, natural flavor, and soy lecithin in it; chocolate-flavored coating made with sugar, vegetable oil (palm kernel and palm oil), whey protein isolate, cocoa processed with alkali, soy lecithin, and natural flavor; corn syrup; brown sugar; glycerin; milk protein concentrate; invert sugar; vegetable shortening with palm kernel oil, palm oil, and citric acid; water; salt; natural flavor; mixed tocopherols (or preservatives); citric acid
This is what BA contributor Matt Buchanan has to say about Gatorade’s Recovery Chocolate Caramel: “Why eat a small brick of protein with the texture of nearly hardened cement and the vague, chemical approximation of chocolate or caramel when you can just eat a candy bar with whey protein injected in it?” That sweetness comes from various types of sugar as opposed to the sugar alternatives and sweeteners other bars sometimes favor. In fact, the Gatorade bar uses 40% more sugar than protein. “If you’re on the go after a heavy lifting session and can’t exactly whip a smoothie, however, all that sugar might be exactly what you might need,” Buchanan says.
Gatorade Whey Protein Bars
The Sweetest Bar: The Perfect Bar Dark Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter
Protein source: egg, rice
Nutrition info: 330 cal, 15 g protein, 20 g fat, 24 g total carb
Ingredients: Peanut butter; honey; nonfat dry milk; dark chocolate made of chocolate, cane sugar, and cocoa butter; dried whole egg powder; rice protein; sea salt; dried whole food powders like kale, flaxseed, rose hip, orange, lemon, papaya, tomato, apple, alfalfa, celery, kelp, dulse, carrot, and spinach; flaxseed oil; sesame seed oil; olive oil; pumpkin seed oil
According to contributor Nicki Campo in her 2021 review, the Perfect Bar completely lives up to its name. Made by Perfect Snacks, it vaguely resembles a chewy candy bar and also kind of tastes like one too. With a powdered blend of 20 superfoods that include things like tomato and carrot, the bar keeps things healthy with lots of vitamins and minerals that’s balanced with an addictively sweet taste reminiscent of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup courtesy of some freshly ground nut butter—which Campo also calls one of the brand’s secrets to “perfect texture.”
Perfect Bar Dark Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Bar
Best Texture: Barebells Protein Bar
Protein source: whey, milk
Nutrition info: 200 cal, 20 g protein, 7 g fat, 20 g total carb
Ingredients: A milk protein blend made with calcium caseinate, whey protein concentrate, and whey protein isolate; glycerin; maltitol; bovine collagen hydrolysate; polydextrose; cocoa butter; water; soy protein isolate; dry whole milk; sunflower oil; unsweetened chocolate; tapioca starch; natural and artificial flavors; cocoa processed with alkali; sunflower lecithin; sucralose
Commerce producer Alaina Chou loves the texture of Barebells. While the interior’s chewy like most other high protein bars, it’s got a crunchy coating covered in a delectable layer of milk chocolate. “My go-to bar is the Cookies and Cream, which is coated in ‘crunchy cookie crispies’ that remind me of the chocolate crunchies I’d get on my ice cream truck soft serve growing up,” Chou says. It’s worth noting some of that sweetness is courtesy of sugar alcohols.
Barebells Protein Bars
