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Healthy snacks raise the bar on good flavor

By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published January 24, 2007

At my local grocery store, nearly an entire aisle is filled with supplement bars. Some are protein bars, some are fiber-filled, some are low-calorie and others are billed as meal substitutes. Whatever they are, they are selling like hotcakes.

Admittedly, comparing the bars is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Taster's Choice didn't want to question the purpose of the bars. In our survey, we asked one question: Which bar tastes the best?

We started by searching store shelves for as many brands as we could find. We hit a couple of specialty nutrition stores, but even their clerks admitted grocery stores probably have the largest selection of the most popular brands. We decided to test chocolate-peanut butter-flavored bars because most brands offered them.

I'm a fan of the bars, but I especially like the sweeter, low-calorie bars that make me feel like I am getting a treat without the bad stuff. My teenage son, on the other hand, packs the protein bars to snack on before playing baseball and basketball games.

My neighbor said she likes to eat the largest bar she can get for the least amount of calories.

Taster's Choice judges put 17 brands to that same test.

Their favorite was the Meal Replacement Bar by South Beach Diet $1.69 at Publix. The chocolate-peanut butter bar has 210 calories and 19 grams of protein. But mostly, it was packed with flavor.

"It's like a Rice Krispies bar with chocolate on the bottom," said one panelist.

Another said, "It has a sweet, granolalike taste with a slight nuttiness."

Judges liked the South Beach Diet bar because it had just enough chocolate-peanut butter flavor without being too sweet or tasting fake.

One judge described the bar as "handsome."

Panelists gave the 2.11-ounce bar 60 of a possible 100 points.

The Detour bar ($1.29 at Publix), which I once hunted down for a week after hearing that it tasted like a Snickers, was their second choice, with 50 points.

The 1.5-ounce Detour, described by its makers as a Deluxe Whey Protein Energy Bar, contained 16 grams of protein and 180 calories.

Judges said the Detour definitely met the candy bar comparison.

"This is a good offering of crunch against smoothness," said one.

Another panelist said the "energy bar" claim is bolstered by the fact that it takes a lot of power not to eat the Detour bar.

Right behind the Detour was the Luna Peanut Butter Cookie bar, which received 49 points. Judges liked the Luna (99 cents at Publix) for its granola bar-like texture. They raved about the crunch and the white chocolate cream. The 1.69-ounce bar had 180 calories and 10 grams of protein.

"It's not trying to be a candy bar, and it still has great taste," said one judge.

The following bars were also sampled (bars were purchased at Publix unless otherwise noted): Clif Energy Bar (99 cents); Pria Complete Nutrition Bar ($1.25); Power Bar Protein Plus ($1.50); Myoplex Dietary Supplement ($2.19); Power Bar Harvest Whole Grain ($1); Balance Nutrition Energy Bar ($1.25); Atkins Advantage High Protein ($1.67); Marathon Energy Bar (99 cents); Zone All-Natural Nutrition Bar ($1); Gatorade Energy Bar (99 cents); Slim-Fast Optima Snack Bar ($3.99 for six); Pure Protein High Protein Bar ($1.25); Genisoy Soy Protein Bar ($15.48 for 12 bars); and Kashi Go Lean Protein & Fiber Bar ($1.29 at Sweetbay).

Panelists were: Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620 consumer and mother of two teenagers, Melinda Pletcher; and Jeffrey Fredrickson, executive chef at the Tradewinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach. All foods were tasted blind. Send suggestions for product tasting to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to krieta@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to www.sptimes.com/food.

Rankings

Supplement bars

1. South Beach Diet

2. Detour

3. Luna

[Last modified January 23, 2007, 11:46:49]