If you've been eating a low-carb diet for very long, you've probably discovered that it's very difficult to find a decent low-carb nutrition bar. They almost all have objectionable ingredients such as maltitol, and very few of them even taste good. Well, the makers of Quest Nutrition Bars noticed, too! That's what motivated them to spend years developing their new low-carb bars. They were actually told by experts that what they wanted to do couldn't be done, but they persisted, even getting a patent along the way!I have tried the two flavors they currently have - Vanilla Almond Crunch and Peanut Butter Supreme (they soon will have more flavors available). They are both chewy, with a background flavor similar to a mild caramel. They are mainly sweetened with inulin made from chicory root, with small amounts of Lo Han Guo (a fruit extract) and sucralose. The total non-fiber carb count is just 4 for the Vanilla Almond Crunch and 5 for the Peanut Butter Supreme. They also have 20 grams of protein. Eating a whole one does not raise my blood sugar at all, and I'm told that they have done lots of blood sugar testing on the bars.
And it gets better - as a trial offer, the company will send out two free Quest Bars to you - one of each flavor. Of course, we've eaten both of our free ones. Earlier today my husband asked, "so, have you ordered any of those bars yet?" It's very seldom that both of us are enthusiastic about a new low-carb product, but Quest Bars are the exception. (I'll be writing a full review of the bars before too long, with more details.)
Image Courtesy of Quest Nutrition
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They sound great!
Is there a special page, or code to type in for the free samples?
Where is the link to the samples?
Thanks – I’ve fixed the link, which is
http://www.questproteinbar.com/free
Well, I’m definitely interested in this. I haven’t even tried the low carb bars out there because reading the ingredients is scary … looks like they make them out of primordial soup or something. But the ingredient lists for the Quest bars have only a few ingredients.
FYI, their website says that due to high demand, delivery time is now about 6 weeks.
-Steve
The website says the free ones are 6 weeks out. They only give away 10,000 per week. I just ordered free shipping. I should get them this week. They sound good.
YAY! the link got me to a great description and the fact sheets about both kinds’ ingredients and nutrition breakdown.. I was impressed enough to just go ahead and order… they seem expensive at about $2 each but in my book they are worth a serious try, in spite of unemployment running out soon and other financial challenges. At the end of the order, there’s a place to type in the discount code for free shipping, then a recalculate button … it worked smoothly.
I was going to order a box but then saw 230 cal per bar. They sound great but I could never fit a treat with such a high caloric content into my diet.
I was so excited until I read that they included sucralose! Sooo disappointed they included such an unhealthy ingredient! Please check out this link with info on sucralose.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/12/25/lawsuit-against-splenda-moves-forward.aspx
Unfortunately, these bars are not available to those of us who live outside the United States.
I was about to buy the two bars w/ free shipping when I saw that they had sucralose/splenda in it also. So sad that such a healthy bar has to have this dangerous chemical in it. Wish they could have used Stevia instead. I hope they consider changing this in the future. Hopefully someday more companies will switch to it so we can start having healtier alternatives.
I am excited about these bars and will try them. I was concerned, however, after after reading the below comments about the dangers of Splenda. I went to the link provided and that was written in 2008! Here is an update of the lawsuit against Splenda for your info: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/54823.php
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Can’t wait to try these new bars.
I got my free samples today and currently eating the Peanut Butter Supreme – all I can say is WOW!! 5nc’s so maybe a little high for those on Induction levels but these are seriously good – and I’m fussy
I requested my free bars the day I read your blog about them. I received them September 10th which was much faster than they estimated I would. I have a problem, though, that I thought I’d bring to your attention. It’s one I should have noticed on the site before even putting in my request and I hope you can comment. I’ve written to Quest Nutritionals and as yet have received no reply from them.
They are quite good, especially the vanilla one, but there are 24 extra calories that are not allocated to any of the 3 macronutrients. What slot do those calories belong in? They have 12 grams of fat(the bar says 110 fat calories), 20 grams of protein (80 calories), and 4 net carbs (16 calories), and 15 grams of fiber(0 calories).
That adds up to 206 calories, but the vanilla almond bar has 230 calories. So, where do those extra 24 calories belong? Could it be these actually have 10 net carbs each? I’d really like your input please. (The peanut butter bar has the same “uncharted” 24 “excess” calories.)
Carla, I think the answer to your question is here:
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/questionsandanswers/f/solublefibercal.htm
Soluble fiber does have calories, but it doesn’t raise blood sugar.
Also, I purchased more bars and will be reviewing them soon, and one thing I will include with the full review is that inulin gives some people gas (me yes, my husband no). The reason is similar to the gas you get from eating beans – the fiber is fermented by the bacteria in the colon. This probably good health-wise, but personally I won’t eat one of these bars when I’m going to be around a lot of people! On the other hand, I’ve spoken with the Quest people, and they tell me they are working on a way around this.
Quest wont allow my application for 2 free bars as I am in Australia and cant supply a “State in the US” as requested in the application.How can I get around this
Regards
These bars are GREAT!
And what a deal, they dont even charge shipping for the samples, and if you decide to order some more of these deliciously health-conscious treats, at checkout enter the code: SHIPFREE and standard, ground shipping is on the house! (doesn’t work with fedex 2day but who cares, free is free! lol)
ENJOY!