{"id":184597,"date":"2024-10-31T10:43:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T15:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=184597"},"modified":"2025-02-21T13:09:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T19:09:35","slug":"the-4-best-protein-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/health-fitness\/the-4-best-protein-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Best Protein Bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You know that getting sufficient protein in your diet<\/a> is essential, as this macronutrient provides the building blocks for muscle, tissue repair, enzyme and hormone production, and overall cell function. Protein supports your overall strength and health<\/a>, and most people would do well to get at least .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight.<\/p>\n

Yet you also know that in our busy, modern, on-the-go world, it can be hard to hit this target.<\/p>\n

Enter the ever handy protein bar.<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s best to eat whole foods, but it\u2019s not always possible to grill up chicken breasts and tote them around. Protein bars are an easy way to supplement your diet and hit your protein goals each day.<\/p>\n

Protein bars used to be poo-pooed by the average joe as being chalky and gross-tasting and by nutritionists as essentially being fortified candy bars. But very few contain much real sugar these days, and their taste and texture has greatly improved; they\u2019ve come a long way in the last couple decades, and now many boast good flavors and nutritional profiles.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re certainly not all created equal.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re big fans of protein bars around here and are veritable protein bar connoisseurs. We\u2019ve tried just about all of them.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been plenty of misses.<\/p>\n

Quest bars seem to have plenty of fans, but, even as folks who don\u2019t mind the taste of stevia, we found them so awful as to be nearly inedible.<\/p>\n

ONE bars used to be our go-to favorite. But then Hershey\u2019s bought the company and introduced a \u201cnew and improved taste and texture\u201d that is anything but.<\/p>\n

Kirkland bars are cheap, Barebell bars are pretty tasty, but both contain sugar alcohols that can make you gassy and bloated.<\/p>\n

Over time we\u2019ve found some good ones too, though (interestingly, nearly all the ones we\u2019ll recommend below were introduced fairly recently, a sign that the market continues to evolve). Our criteria for a good bar involves the intersection of several factors:<\/p>\n