Flavors Tried: Peanut Caramel & Cookie Dough
Nutrition: 220 Calories, 8g Fat, 21g Carbs (2g Fiber & 2g Sugar), 20g Protein
Price: $7.99 for 4-pack
Kroger’s Simple Truth brand has been around, but they’ve recently gone protein-crazy and have released protein EVERYTHING.
I’m working my way through the products to write up some reviews, but they’ve got protein chips, crackers, cereal, pancake mix, and even water. Luckily, they decided to also keep things “normal” by introducing new protein bars, too.
When I saw these on shelves, I couldn’t help notice the similarities to Barebells. I still consider Barebells the best protein bar on the market, so that had me excited.
Based solely on the photos, these look to be a knockoff version of Barebells. Looking at the nutrition facts, the similarities continue.
The only main difference between these protein bars and Barebells is that these bars utilize soy protein as their main ingredient, which leads me to believe that the exterior of the bars are coated with soy crisps.
Barebells uses soy as well, but lower in the ingredients list. Otherwise, you’ll find the same protein blend and even collagen, making these nearly identical to Barebells.
The ingredients match, the macros match, and the aesthetic matches, but how about the taste?
Opening up the package, you would never know these weren’t Barebells. The rectangular shape may be a bit too perfect, but otherwise, you’ve got the same chocolate-coated crunchy exterior.
The interior of these bars is soft and chewy, each with a decent caramel layer. Again, just like Barebells.
But if we look exclusively at the flavors, these are a step down from Barebells bars. Between both flavors, the sugar alcohol taste comes through a bit. It’s not nearly enough to make it off-putting, but I never enjoy the slight aftertaste that accompanies sugar alcohol.
Maybe it was because I was searching for criticism, but I also felt like I could taste the protein coming through a bit. Again, it wasn’t egregious, but it was present.
The flavors of each bar are pretty solid, too. I wouldn’t consider them top tier, but certainly above average.
The cookie dough flavor is surprisingly accurate, which is something I don’t often experience with protein bars. The interior truly has a cookie dough flavor, you just get that artificial taste on the back end.
Peanut caramel is not quite the Snickers experience you’d expect. I think this bar would be much more accurate had it simply been called “chocolate peanut butter” because the interior of the bar is mostly a peanut butter flavored bar with no peanuts mixed in, and the caramel doesn’t add a whole lot.
If you’ve ever had a peaut butter flavored protein bar before, this bar has that same fake peanut butter flavor that a lot of other bars have. Is it bad? No, it’s actually decent. But it’s not what I was expecting from a peanut caramel bar.
When it comes to protein bars, an amazing texture will overcome a less-ideal flavor, and that’s exactly the case here. Overall, I think the flavors are actually pretty good, but they’re a noticable step down from the likes of Barebells.
Still, the texture is nearly identical to Barebells, which is a huge bonus. I was able to snag these on sale, and at the time, a box of 4 was only $7, making these a smash buy.
If these Simple Truth protein bars are sitting on shelves next to Barebells (which they were at my store) but priced the same, I’d choose Barebells every single time. They’re the best in the game.
But if you can save a few bucks, these are darn close to Barebells.
And if you read this whole review and you’ve never even tried Barebells protein bars before: first of all, I appreciate your patience reading this entire thing. Second, go ahead and try those first. They’re fantastic.
