Zone Perfect Dark Chocolate Almond Bars – Good, Healthy and Tasty?
Written: Aug 05 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gives a decent amount of protein in each bar and extra vitamins and minerals!
Cons: Some of the ingredients (palm kernel oil, fructose)?
The Bottom Line: If you are trying to eat better or want a decent alternative to complete junk, these might be a good option!
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| Magick1's Full Review: Eas - Zone Bar Dark Chocolate Almnd 12/Bx |
I have been doing kickboxing for a while now, roughly 1 1 /2 years. I have been trying to lose some extra weight and get more active, since I haven’t been doing a lot over the past few years. My daughter is 6 now, is very active and I want to keep her active and not become a statistic of couch potato family members carrying that on down the line. Well, I wasn’t a total couch potato, but I knew that I needed to keep up with my kid and I needed energy and stamina to do that!
Working out, I found that I was feeling pretty worn out, not even halfway through the class. A lot of the people I worked out with said that I likely wasn’t getting enough calories taken in and likely I was lacking protein. A lot of them started to take a protein shake to help them and they were seeing some really awesome results without changing their diets much and keeping their workouts the same.
I started to look around and to see what should I be taking in calorie wise and compared it to what I actually was eating, and I was way off…especially in the protein department. My husband is also trying to get better because in another couple of years, he will be testing for his black belt in karate and it is a very lengthy test of stamina and strength in addition to knowing the karate “katas” or routines.
The Product
The bar looks like a candy bar. It has a nice flashy-looking wrapper and it looks might delicious in the photos. Plus, it gives you a great 24% of your daily protein in just one bar! But, how does it taste? Well, surprisingly, it’s not too bad. I had a lovely dark chocolate exterior that melts in your fingers as soon as you pick it up. The inside of the bar seems like crunched up Oreos, but it isn’t. But it is like a crunched up cookie inside. There are bits and pieces of almonds inside too. (The photograph on the wrapper makes these almond chunks appear to be really good sized bits, but they really are not. They are just little chunks smattered throughout the bar!)
The taste has a slight bitter bite to it, like some dark chocolates do, but it’s not terrible. It is also not very sweet, which is nice. Having a sickly sweet taste can be overpowering and unpleasant to eat! But, this isn’t too bad at all.
Nutritional Facts
This information is taken from the wrapper for those that might be interested. It has a lot of positives to offer, even if you are not actively working out, or if you are looking for an alternative!
Serving information is 1 serving (1 bar) and will show percentage of daily intake based upon a standard 2,000 calorie diet.
Calories 190
Fat Cal. 50
Total Fat 6 g or 9%
Saturated Fat 4 g or 20%
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol < 5 mg or < 2%
Sodium 180 mg or 8%
Potassium 170 mg or 5%
Total Carb. 22 g or 7%
Dietary Fiber 2 g or 8%
Sugars 13 g
Protein 12 g or 24%
Vitamin A 25%, Vitamin C 50%, Calcium 10%, Iron 10%, Vitamin E 90%, Thiamin 20%, Riboflavin 40%, Niacin 40%, Vitamin B6 40%, Folate 20%, Vitamin B12 35%, Biotin 20%, Pantothenic Acid 20%, Phosphorus 15%, Magnesium 10% , Zinc 20%, Selenium 25%, Chromium 30%, Molybdenum 30%
The Ingredients
Soy protein nuggets (isolate soy protein, cocao [processed with alkali], tapioca starch, salt), chocolate flavored coating (sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa powder [processed with alkali], soy lecithin, vanilla), corn syrup, roasted almonds (almonds, safflower oil), soy protein isolate, fructose, chocolate powder (cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla), chocolate cookie pieces (bleached wheat flour, sugar, cocoa [processed with alkali], sunflower oil, salt, baking soda), chocolate liquor, cocoa fructose (fructose, water, corn maltodextrin, cocoa [processed with alkali], natural cocoa, salt, carrageenan, natural flavors, tocopherol, ascorbic acid), cocoa [processed with alkali], high oleic safflower and/or high oleic sunflower oil.
Less than 2% of the following: glycerine, natural flavors, caramel color and salt.
Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium phosphate, ascorbic acid, 3-Alpha tocopheryl acetate, magnesium oxide, niacinamide, zinc oxide, calcium pantothenate, ferrous fumarate, pyridiozine hydrochloride, vitamin A palmitate, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, chromium chloride, biotin, sodium selenite, sodium molybdate, and cyanocobalamin.
Contains soy, almond, wheat and milk ingredients and is processed in a factory that processes peanut and other tree nuts and eggs.
This bar does have the Circle U – D indication for those watching for Kosher type status information.
Overall Impressions
While the bar isn’t as delightfully sinful tasting as a bad candy bar, it is reasonably tasty which surprised me. I was expecting something terrible, cardboard like and was pleasantly surprised. The bar is good, gives you a good amount of bar that tides over your hunger for longer than some granola bars I have tried and the flavor is appealing.
The extra bits and pieces you get (higher protein content and some vitamins and minerals) help you feel like you are doing more for yourself and helping take care of your body better. (Reading some of the ingredients though, might make you wonder….Isn’t Palm Kernel Oil bad for you?)
If you take it in moderation, alter your diet with healthy offerings (like maybe a handful of almonds by themselves), you likely will do more and treat your body better. But, if you are like me and like a more instant, quick fix of something already prepared, easy to grab and go, this might be an option for you. The flavor is decent, but make sure to have a glass of water or milk nearby because the bars are a bit on the drier side. I hope this might be something that will help keep me on track with protein levels and help my workouts go to the next step!
As a side note, my daughter feels that these are just as good as candy bars (and, they are a bit better for her). So, we will let her have some every now and again. Extra protein always does a body good! Cost wise, depending on where you buy these, they cost roughly the same as a candy bar on the shelf.
~Thanks for spending time with me today!~
Recommended:
Yes
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