Sunday, April 20, 2014

Review: Ab Cuts Smart Bar Chocolate Fudge Brownie Flavour


Taste: It's straight up chocolate. Not too sweet, but nothing like dark chocolate either. There is nothing really special or especially delicious about it, but sometimes the plain and simpler things are just what I need.


Texture: This bar is one of those "crunchy" bars, meaning tons of soy crisps. While it's not chalky like the NuGO bar I was so utterly disappointed in, I just don't think I'm a fan of the soy crisp crunch. Soy crisps, it's not you. It's me. I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy you, but I'm still Team So-Chewy-It-Hurts-My-Jaws. Another thing I want to point out is that (and maybe it's because of the CLA in the bar), the chocolate coating (which might I add is a tad too thin for my liking) melts extremely quickly and under pretty low temperatures. This could make eating the bar messy if you are on the go.

Nutrition: Mehh. While I do understand that this isn't particularly marketed as a protein bar, I am eating it as one. The sugar could be lower, especially if there are already sugar alcohols. The protein is not super high, but this is also on the lower end in terms of calorie count. I do like the amount of fiber though. 9 grams of protein, 22 grams of carbs, 7 grams of fiber, 5 grams of fat, 150 calories.
Ingredient list: Soy Protein Nuggets (Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, and Salt), Inulin, Dark Chocolate Coating (sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa processed with alkali, lactose, palm oil, soy lecithin, and vanilla), Chocolate Layer (maltitol syrup, modified palm kernel oil, skim milk powder, chocolate liquor, water, glycerine, cocoa, soy lecithin, disodium phosphate, salt, carageenan, vanilla extract), Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Glycerin, Gluten Free Rolled Oats, Cocoa Powder, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (safflower oil, glucose syrup, sodium caseinate, silicon dioxide, soy lecithin, tetrasodium diphosphate, mixed tocopherols), High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Gum Acacia, Natural Flavor, Cocoa Extract, Sea Salt, Vanilla Extract, Soy Lecithin (as emulsifier) 
My final thoughts: 7/10 - It's a good bar to have if I want something with more fiber and lower calories. However, I don't think I would buy it again because it's a bit pricy for a box four bars + it's not too travel friendly.