The low carb segment of the billion dollar energy bar market has really heated up. This means more options than ever for dieters and diabetics alike. Energy bars can be a good between meal snack or emergency meal on the run for those watching their weight or maintaining healthy blood sugars. We recently tested the Balance Carb Well Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar to see how this low carb snack performs. We weren’t disappointed.
The first thing we noticed about this bar is its heft – fifty grams per bar. As soon as you pick it up you’re almost sure you will be less hungry after one of these bars. The first bite actually hints of coconut more than peanut butter, but after several bites you do pick up the slightest hint of roasted peanuts as well. This bar’s taste is not entirely unlike that of the Glucerna Chocolate Peanut Mini-Snack Bar. If that bar leaves you feeling satisfied then the Balance Carb Well Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar will leave you feeling like you had a steak dinner! These bars have a similar texture to most other bars in the low carb segment, which is something we’re getting used to. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see the day that low carb energy bars have the same texture and sweetness as your average candy bar.
Serving size is one bar. As mentioned, this comes to fifty grams. Each bar contains 200 calories and 8 grams of fat. Half of that is saturated fat, which is probably the only disappointment with this bar. This is probably due to the usage of palm kernel oil, and might explain the hint of coconut. You also get less than 5mg of cholesterol, 190mg of sodium, 75mg of potassium, and 14 grams of protein. The packaging screams “2 grams of net carbs”, but this figure is arrived at using the “subtract all sugar alcohols” technique. Using the “potentially half of sugar alcohol is digestible” technique it’s safe to say each bar might contain up to 12 grams of impact carbs. By our count these bars also contain 23 vitamins and minerals, including 100% of the recommended daily allowance for Vitamin C and 100% for Vitamin E. Pretty impressive!