MET-Rx Source One: Serious Nutrition for Serious Women & Men
Written: Sep 22 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Calcium and Folic acid levels, 15 g of protein, 3 g of fat, under 200 calories, taste pretty good
Cons: Some flavors bland and/or a little gritty, don't travel well
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| WorkingMomof2's Full Review: Met-Rx Source One Bar |
Introduction
This is part of my ongoing analysis of the protein/energy bars out on the market. As part of my attempt to maintain my “girlish figure” <GRIN> I workout 3-5 times a week, and try to eat in a relatively healthy manner. Nonetheless, I have what could be described as a “healthy appetite” – especially when I’ve been exercising. I also can’t eat a big meal before exercising, so I often have a protein bar in the morning, or as a mid-afternoon snack.
Over the last few years I think I have tried almost every protein bar on the market. There are some relatively recent additions that have taken basic energy bars to a new level. Some, like the Promax bar, are simply a basic energy bar, with a little upscale presentation. Others like the Clif Luna bar and Balance Outdoor bar have integrated unique flavors, nuts, grains, etc. to appeal to a broader market. Finally there are a series of bars that have come out relatively recently that tap into this market, by offering healthy snacks or nutritional supplements in a bar, like the Jenny Craig bar and the Think bar.
In this series, I will attempt to look at each “line” separately. Please forgive the redundancy in the introductions, everything beyond this point is original!
History:
Long before there was a Clif Luna bar, Met-Rx had already realized the power of marketing to the specialized needs of women. In addition to women’s specific dietary needs (which do differ in several significant areas) women are far less likely - overall – to get all of their nutritional needs met by diet alone. The Source One bar was introduced with added calcium and folic acid, as well as a better tasting bar than the traditional Met-Rx bar. The protein in the Source One bar, like all Met-Rx products, comes from Metamyosyn protein. This is a formulated protein that has special amino acids in it to help with absorption into lean muscle mass.
Details:
The Source One website tells us that each bar has:
· 15 grams of MET-Rx METAMYOSYN® protein
· Half of your RDA for calcium and folate in each bar
· 340% of vitamin E and 130% of vitamin C
· Only 3 grams or less fat per bar
There are also six flavors available: Six tasty flavors: Chocolate Roasted Peanut, Devil's Food Cake, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Raspberry and Iced Oatmeal Raisin.
Each bar has less than 200 calories, and is a cross between a candy bar and a nutritional bar. I’ve reviewed each of the three bars I tried below, so let’s take a look at the bar by bar analysis!
Bar by Bar Analysis
Met-Rx Source One: Iced Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Tagline: Engineered Nutrition
Appearance: Approximately 2” x 3”, a dark tan cookie looking bar with a transparent white icing. Solid tan inside with a few tiny darker flecks visible.
Taste: This has a very sweet flavor, with some hints of oatmeal and definite sweet icing taste. It is somewhat like a soft oatmeal flavored cookie, although I don’t get any raisin flavor at all. Not much chalky flavor, and the aftertaste is mostly the sweet taste.
Texture: Chewy, without any large chunks or grains. There are a few gritty bits in here (tiny ones) but nothing to cause a major objection. This is basically a pretty smooth bar, like a soft cookie without oats or nuts (or raisins).
Overall Satisfaction: Not bad, really. This isn’t the best bar I’ve tasted but I’ve sure had a lot worse. The flavor is good and the texture is good, no major chalky taste or gritty texture. It isn’t as fun to eat as some of the grainier bars, but the flavor is enjoyable. It’s definitely a huge improvement over the original Met-RX bars!
Cost: .99 at the drugstore
Nutritional Info:
Package says 99% Lactose Free
Serving: 1 bar (2.2 oz, 62.5 G)
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 25
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 65 mg
Potassium: 400 mg
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 15 g
Sugars: 5 g
Other info: 99% Lactose Free.
http://www.met-rx.com/products/source-one-food-bars.html
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Met-Rx Source One: Chocolate Roasted Peanut
Tagline: Engineered Nutrition
Appearance: Approximately 2” x 3”, a dark chocolate colored coating outside with a solid tan inside.
Taste: Not too sweet, this has a mild peanut flavor but is generally pretty bland. There is a nice chocolate flavor in the coating, but that melts away very quickly and all that is left is a chalky taste with a hint of peanut. Not horribly unpleasant, but not nearly as good as the iced oatmeal cookie flavor.
Texture: A solid chewy bar, without any large chunks. There are no peanut chunks, which is disappointing (evidently the “roasted peanut” in the title was a general flavor only). It has a fairly noticeable grittiness to it, which is more noticeable than in the oatmeal flavor. Still, it’s a “fine” grit and not as grainy as some other bars I’ve tried.
Overall Satisfaction: This isn’t a bad bar, it’s just boring. It certainly was good enough for me to finish it, and it held me over as a mid-afternoon snack until I finally got a (late) dinner. This wouldn’t be my first choice of flavors, though, and I probably wouldn’t buy this one again – not because it’s “bad”, but because there are so many better tasting alternatives out there!
Cost: .99 at the drugstore
Nutritional Info:
Package says 99% Lactose Free
Serving: 1 bar (2.2 oz, 62.5 G)
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 30
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 95 mg
Potassium: 400 mg
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Fiber: <1 g
Protein: 15 g
Sugars: 4 g
Other info: 99% Lactose Free.
http://www.met-rx.com/products/source-one-food-bars.html
Overall Rating: 3 stars
Met-Rx Source One: Chocolate Cheesecake
Tagline: Engineered Nutrition
Appearance: Approximately 2” x 3”, a dark chocolate colored coating outside with a solid lighter brown inside. No visible chunks or flecks, a cake-like appearance inside.
Taste: The first taste is the coating, which is fairly sweet and chocolately. It melts away quickly like real chocolate does, and has a nice flavor. The inside is less chocolaty, with a mild chocolate and very mild cheesecake like tone. There is a very mild chalky flavor but not bad at all.
Texture: This is a pretty smooth bar, with no grains, oats or nuts. It does have a little gritty texture, less than some other bars but it’s there. It’s a fairly chewy bar but soft, like a brownie texture.
Overall Satisfaction: This is pretty good, overall. I like the chocolate coating flavor and the chalk/grittiness are not too strong, although there. The flavor is pretty good, and this did hold me through a long weight-lifting class. I would probably buy this again.
Cost: .99 at the drugstore
Nutritional Info:
Package says 99% Lactose Free
Serving: 1 bar (2.2 oz, 62.5 G)
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 25
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 40 mg
Potassium: 400 mg
Carbohydrates: 30 g
Fiber: <1 g
Protein: 15 g
Sugars: 4 g
Other info: 99% Lactose Free.
http://www.met-rx.com/products/source-one-food-bars.html
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Summary:
I hadn’t tried one of these in about two years, and couldn’t remember much about them. I used to eat these all the time, and I now remember it’s because they were so much better than the Power bars and regular Met RX bars. However, relative to some of the new bars that have come out since I first tried these, they are a little bland (although it varies dramatically flavor to flavor).
These have a fairly high protein content (15 g) and relatively low sodium and sugar contents. There is a typical chalky/gritty taste to these, which is far more apparent in certain flavors than others. Each package is date stamped for freshness, which I always like. I also found that these bars did hold me as either a meal replacement or a mid-afternoon snack – I had the chocolate peanut one on a day that I had worked out at noon, and had a late dinner so that was a fairly significant credit to the staying power of the Source One bar. That's a pretty significant criteria for me.
For overall taste and value, I still prefer the Clif Luna bar to these. However, I can’t ignore the higher protein content and the fact that these do have a pretty good staying power. What they don’t offer that the Luna bars do is travel compatibility – toss a Source One bar in your purse or gym bag, and you’re apt to end up eating a smashed and/or melted bar later in the day. They’ve also got a little more “grit” than I like.
Nonetheless, I can recommend these for overall value for any athlete, male or female, who wants a relatively inexpensive protein bar to hold them during or after a workout. These are far better tasting than most of the traditional athlete-oriented bars (Met-Rx, Power bar, etc.) and still give you a good protein kick. The price is also far better, I paid under a dollar each for these at the drugstore. I would say that these are a nice rotation for anyone who wants a high-protein bar to carry them through a workout. As most of us know, it’s easy to get tired of just one kind of bar. I’d give the Source One bar four stars overall, and I’ll keep a few around to rotate in my selection.
Recommended:
Yes
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WorkingMomof2
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Member: Amy
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 313
Trusted by: 539 members
About Me:
Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.
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