Built Bar – High Protein, High Fiber, Low Sugar, but Somehow Incredibly Tasty
Protein and energy bars rarely top the list for flavor; I eat them because I need the calories or protein, not because I enjoy the way they taste. I often suffer through bars that taste unnatural, have horrendous texture, or are hard to chew or swallow to meet my body’s needs. I have done this for so long, I have forgotten what it is like to eat something tasty on the go.
But the Built Bar protein bar is different, so different. Somehow, they contain the correct macronutrients in the proper ratios, but the bars taste good; they straight up taste like candy bars. A light, fluffy texture combined with a pure chocolate coating delivers a treat that is so much easier to eat than other bars. The one caveat is that the real chocolate and other natural ingredients are not stable under high heat.
Built Bar Nutrition and Flavors
Active people and athletes want the numbers, and Built Bar has them; at least 17 grams of protein, with as little as four net carbohydrates, with some bars containing only 130 calories. For those needing energy, Built Bars deliver up to 21 grams of total carbohydrates and 180 calories. These bars also include up to 7 grams of fiber and between 2.5 grams and 7 grams of fat.
The flavors that make Built Bar one of the best tasting protein bars are all-natural; besides the 100% real chocolate, Built Bars contain real fruits and nuts. If it tastes like apples and almonds, that’s because it is apples and almonds.
Each Built Bar flavor is available in boxes of 6 with an MSRP of $15 or boxes of 18 with an MSRP of $38. Mixed and “build your box” packs are also available in boxes of 18 at an MSRP of $38.
Built Bar in the Field
I tested a random sampling of Built Bar’s 19 available flavors. Some are simple, like Peanut Butter or Raspberry, while others are multilayered, like Carrot Cake with Walnuts or Lemon Almond Cheesecake. But the common denominator is the 100% real chocolate coating. And what a difference this made compared to other bars – all the flavors I tested were desserts to me, desserts that delivered the macronutrients my body craved.
Another massive differentiator of the Built Bar was the texture. Light, easy to chew, fluffy, just like some candy bars. There were no battles with overly dense and chewy textures that gave my jaw a workout or threatened to break or pull my teeth out, even when the outside temperature dropped. And when it was brutally hot, no dryness that makes other bars hard to swallow.
The one negative, and it could be a big one for some, was the real chocolate and other natural ingredients melted into a gooey mess in summertime temperatures or underbody heat from packing them in cycling jersey pockets and the like. My solution was to carry the bars in a small nylon zip case with equally small freezer packs. This cold packing required some planning and added extra weight and bulk while on the go, but I gladly tolerated these inconveniences for the bars’ superior flavors and textures.
Conclusions
Since high school, I have been an outdoor athlete and suffered through the original energy and healthy protein bars of the mid-80s that wore my jaw out from chewing or threatened to break my teeth when colder. Then came the tastier, more natural bars, but they were dense, dry, and hard to swallow when it was hot. Then energy gels and chews burst on to the scene, and they were way too sweet and unnatural tasting to me. I went without commercial bars altogether for a while, making my own energy food, which ate up valuable time.
Built Bar checks all the boxes. Tasty, with the correct texture and density, and natural ingredients and flavors. They are easy to eat and swallow, and the flavors entice you to eat enough when it matters. The sole limitation is a lack of high-temperature stability, but, for that, there are solutions. The Built Bar is my new go-to bar for all my athletic and outdoor endeavors, and I consider it one of the best protein bars available.
