On A Quest: Part III

I was originally planning to have a nice introduction to this post, but let's be real.... You just want to know my thoughts about all these marvelous bars! This post was originally written on March 19th and followed by a full review of all 16 bars on March 31st. 

Unless you live under some rocks, I would think you have heard that Quest Nutrition released a new Quest Bar, S'mores! And if you are living under a rock or have not heard of Quest bars, then welcome!

1. Cookies & Cream. Hands down DELICIOUS! I can now truly say that this is by far my favorite Quest Bar, and I was pretty much expecting that it would be from all those fellow Quest lovers recommendations! This bar has all the essential components for a delicious bar - the white chocolate chunks and then the cookies part. There are sections of oreo cookie crumbles, like the crumbles you find in the ice cream store, crushed oreo of sorts, but not with the cream filling. So its like the oreo cookies crumbles that are used for an Oreo McFlurry. Go out and buy one TODAY!

3rd Edition Note: No need to make any additional edits to this bar! It is still, in my opinion, the BEST Quest bar!!!!I can eat this bar day after day, and never tire of the flavor!

2. S'Mores. This bar was released at the end of November 2014, and is a hit in my books! I tried this bar both cold - straight out of the wrapper, as well as broiled! And well, I liked it both ways! If you decide to broil the bar, make sure to monitor the oven; flip it over too so both sides get some grill action. This bar should have been released in the summer because it made me think of camping! Why?!?! I don't know because this girl (i.e., ME) has never been on a camping excursion that I found pleasurable! Then again, when is camping season!?! LoL! I digress, this bar is a nice balance of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker goodness all wrapped up - none of which overpowered another! But, without all of the guilt of a traditional s'mores.

3. White Chocolate Raspberry. This was the very first one I tried, and at first, it was my favorite until I tried Cookies & Cream! OMG! So yummy! There are bits of white chocolate within the bar, so please savor those sections for last! Please tell me I am not the only person that does that :).

3rd Edition Note: This bar has been moved to the #3 spot, instead of being a split between itself and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I will discuss the rationale more when I discuss that bar, below. This still is a good bar, and I would suggest consuming this one as a mid-morning snack or with a cup of tea. You know high-noon tea with a Quest Bar, seems pretty normal to me! And yes, I still savor the white chocolate chips when eating this bar; try it - you will thank me later!


4. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bar is pretty darn good! Coach Kemp likes this one straight out of the oven with a glass of almond milk. Maybe I can fool him with a dozen Cookie Dough Quest Bar cookies, when he is desiring something sweet! Now, I actually think I prefer this bar cold, right out of the wrapper verse in the oven, which was completely shocking to me! But my reasoning is that when the bar is room temperature, you can see the huge, and I mean HUGE, chunks of dark chocolate. I had to look at the ingredients list a few times, to make sure they didn't stick some Hershey's chocolate in there! Whether it is eaten hot or cold, I highly recommend that you pair it with a cold glass of almond milk. Hey, that only adds 150 Calories, 3g Fat, 5g Protein, and 27g Carbs. Just a little FYI for those of you counting those macros :)

3rd Edition Note:This bar has moved down slightly on my list, only because after consuming too many of these bars, I begin feeling like I have ingested too much chocolate! I know, I question how this is even fathomable, but at times the chocolate chunks overwhelm me - and take over the bar. Because of this, I must balance and rotate this bar with the other flavors, or they are simply not enjoyable!

5. The Banana Nut Muffin bar could almost fool one into really thinking they are eating banana bread. As I explained to Coach Kemp, if you close your eyes and don't think about the consistency (which is off), you could really fool yourself into thinking you are eating Banana Nut Bread! And guess what? Coach Kemp agreed! I then tried it in the oven, and I was even more convinced that I was eating banana bread. Huge score!











6. The Apple Pie is pretty scrumptious warmed in the microwave for about 20 seconds. This one surprised me since I despise apple pie, in general. I am not a huge fan of cooked fruit, but lately my tunes have been changing. I only had this one warm, so I can not attest to the flavor if cold.

7. I was happily surprised that I enjoyed the Double Chocolate Chunk bar. I automatically assumed that because I disliked the Chocolate Brownie, that my sentiments would be equally disdained for this bar. I was so not looking forward to it, but it ended up being very tasty, and a bar I would definitely reach for when in need of a "chocolate" fix!

8. Now, I was really surprised that I enjoyed the Mixed Berries as mush as I did. I swear this whole

challenge/change in diet may be having an affect on my taste buds. I used to hate cooked fruit, like I already said, and fruits in my desserts, in general, but I really liked the Mixed Berries bar. After trying this one, I wished that components of this bar had been embedded into the Peanut Butter and Jelly bar. It was very fruitful and overall nice tasting.











9. This too was one that I was surprised that I liked. As you can read below, I was not very satisfied with the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar, Peanut Butter Supreme, and Chocolate Brownie. Taking that all together, I was apprehensive about this bar. But, I really enjoyed the Chocolate Peanut Butter bar.  This bar is more chocolate than peanut butter, but there were bits of peanuts/almonds visible!

10. Coconut Cashew was pleasant and "light" tasting. I could taste the coconut, not so much the cashew, but I overall, liked the bar.

11. Lemon Cream Pie was refreshing, not too tart, and pleasantly sweet.

12. The Cinnamon Roll bar was good. It did not leave a good or bad impression on my mind, and I remember thinking, "I'd eat it again because it was sweet!" Hey, can you knock a girl for admitting her sweet tooth.

13. The Strawberry Cheesecake was ok. I think I was yearning for a little more cheesecake flavor than what I got in my mouth. It was nice to taste the freeze dried strawberries though.

14. This is another bar that I had high hopes for... The Peanut Butter Supreme, and again, I think my hopes were a little too high. The picture on the packaging is of a peanut butter pie, which I can't recollect if I have ever consumed, but I am sure I have. Now I swear I saw a swirl of peanut butter so that did bring joy to my life, but I was not sure what to expect. Because of this, I can't say that the bar was a complete flop, but the overall taste did not remind me of a pie, like I figured it would from the picture. Maybe I should go out and purchase a Peanut Butter Supreme Pie to compare! Ha, not! That comment will certainly be mentioned by Coach Kemp, since he swears I am neglecting a certain food group (i.e., Desserts!).

15. Although I love Peanut Butter and Jelly, this Quest Bar fell short in my opinion. I was so looking forward to this one too! I am not sure if my hopes were so high since it was the second bar I tried after the White Chocolate Raspberry. There are chunks of almonds within the bar, but I did not get a lot of jelly visuals. Maybe I wanted to "see" swirls or something, as the flavor was there but I was searching for a chunk of jelly which I never got!










16. So, I have a confession, I remember eating the Vanilla Almond Crunch, can't provide a review as it obviously did not leave a positive or negative impression. It is at the bottom of the list, simply because I can't remember!

17. I hate to say that I disliked, maybe even despised one of the bars, but the Chocolate Brownie did nothing for me. Now, I must admit that I am not that fond of plain brownies, in general, and I think this may be playing a contributing factor. Jason said he liked them, so I am hoping he delves into 12-count box because I am having a hard time eating them.

3rd Edition Update:  This bar grew on me eventually, although it is still my least favorite. I broiled this bar a few times and then added natural nut butter for Coach Kemp, and he was in heaven every time! Oh, and did you know that the Quest Nutrition website has recipes for all of their bars! Crazy fun, right. Many of their recipes can be found on the Quest Blog, and you can always search for them over Instagram! I must admit that I have not been too adventurous with using quest bars for extravagant desert making, but my mouth always waters when I browse the concoctions.

Disclaimer:: I was not endorsed in any way for this review or any of the two previous posts. I just happen to really enjoy Quest bars, and figure it would be handy to sample all of the flavors and let others know my thoughts on the bars. Again, my particular taste preferences play a role in my thoughts for these bars. Overall, they are all super delicious and I highly recommend them for anyone looking for a healthy protein bar!

Question of the Day: Which Quest bar is your favorite?

Michelyn