Slim-Fast Breakfast and Lunch Bars? I'll Have Pancakes, Please
Written: May 24 '01 (Updated Jan 19 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some vitamins and minerals.
Cons: A lot of sugar; bad taste; very little protein.
The Bottom Line: Other than some vitamins and minerals there are no redeeming qualities to these bars.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Slim Fast Breakfast and Lunch Bar |
Having found that I gained some extra pounds that I lost several years ago and having no success at doing what I preach which is eating 5 small healthy meals a day, I resorted to Slim Fast. Truly as I was reading a positive review on Slim Fast, I saw a commercial on television and saw that as a sign! I have written a review on the Meals On The Go Bars, which I tried awhile ago not as a weight loss method, just because I was hungry. I will not be comparing the two bar per se. I will review the Slim-Fast Breakfast and Lunch Bars on their own occasionally comparing them to Meals On The Go.
I am not reviewing Slim Fast as a diet program in this review either. I am reviewing the dutch chocolate flavor because I crave chocolate and these bars are full of chocolate flavor. I would not call them delicious, however. (Slim Fast Meals On The Go are delicious, in my opinion.) I paid $5.49 for 8 1.2ounce bars.
The bars are edible but they do leave a slight aftertaste. The dutch chocolate contain peanuts, which I can’t taste (unlike the Meals On The Go that are chock full of nuts -Milk Chocolate Peanut flavor, for example). They do not taste like a candy bar unlike Meals On The Go; however, they have a lot of sugar so they should taste better.
I read (I don’t know where so I can’t back up this statement) that if you are eating healthfully you should eat no more than 16 grams of sugar a day. One bar has 12 grams of sugar. Again I am not reviewing the diet, but each product contains a lot of sugar so if that is a concern of yours these bars are not for you. In fact, I do have a problem with sugar, hypoglycemia. Which means sugar raises my blood sugar level very high for a short period of time and then I come down very quickly making my body want more.
But that is my problem, this product doesn’t advertise itself as low sugar nor does it tell you to eat 5 small meals a day. The bar is intended to replace either breakfast or lunch and I would only buy Slim Fast products while attempting to lose weight. As a meal replacement bar, in my opinion, there are healthier ones. The box claims that they are incredibly delicious so don’t overeat them. “Remember, the purpose is to help you keep your weight down.” Don’t worry, you won’t be tempted to eat more than one. You will be tempted to eat more than one Meal On The Go Bar, however.
Also please note, that the Slim Fast Breakfast and Lunch bars are intended to be nutritionally balanced only when you have a glass of fat free milk with them.
The box claims that the bars have 18 vitamins and minerals and is a good source of protein. Let’s take a look at the other claims.
The dutch chocolate bar contains Vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, D, Calcium, Iron, Thiamin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Iodine, Riboflavin, Copper and Pantothenic Acid. (I just realized there is 25% iodine in this and I am allergic to it, which may be compounding my hypoglycemic episodes!) The percentages range from 4% to 25% but when adding in 8-ounces of fat-free milk the percentage of vitamins and minerals goes up from 10% to 40%. In my opinion, that is a fairly impressive scorecard especially when you know that you are drinking a shake which probably has similar amounts and eating dinner. (I haven’t reviewed the shake yet, so I am just guessing on that.) You may also be taking a multivitamin. The “diet” is intended for you to have a shake or two a day or a shake and a bar a day along with a sensible meal.
Given the above, this is certainly better than a candy bar for breakfast; however, if you are taking a lot of vitamins a day, you won’t need the additional vitamins in the bar so if you want a Milky Way, go for it. Of course, that defeats the "diet", but that is another review.
There are 140 calories in this product with 5 grams of fat, 3 of which are saturated. Remember that this is a very small bar, only a little over an ounce. It isn’t going to fill you up at all or satisfy you. You will need the milk to feel satisfied adding another 100 calories, which is fine. You should be eating at least that amount at each meal. There are less than 5 mg of cholesterol, 80 mg of sodium, 130 mg of potassium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar and 5 grams of protein.
The ingredients excluding the vitamins and minerals already noted are: dry whole milk, sorbitol, corn syrup (sugar); partially hydrogenated vegetable oil; sugar, soy, nonfat dry milk, dry malt extract; peanuts, chocolate liquor, invert sugar, cocoa, cellulose gel, glycerine, soy, natural and artificial flavors, fructose, salt, mono and diglycerides, sorbitan, guar gum and may contain traces of wheat
I am not impressed with this list of ingredients and the taste goes along with that. The bar looks like a brownie, but isn’t chewy. It breaks into pieces easily. It isn’t covered with chocolate and is more like one of the not so delicious protein bars but without the protein.
If you like they offer a free “Guide to Healthy Living” by writing to them or visiting their website at www.slim-fast.com or calling 1-877-375-4632.
In summary,I am not recommending Slim-Fast Breakfast and Lunch Bars as a meal replacement or for anything. I would choose the Meal On The Go Bars as part of the Slim Fast diet before the Breakfast and Lunch Bars and skip the milk. How do I rate this bar? I am giving it a 1. I can’t rate it higher because it just has too much sugar in it for me to say it is a decent meal replacement bar and I also don’t like the taste.
By the way if you want to know the exchange on this product for some other program you may be on one bar equals ½ fat and 1 ½ carbohydrate. “This exchange is based on the exchange lists for meal planning put out in 1995 by the American Diabetes Association.
If you would like to read other reviews on shakes and nutrition bars that I have reviewed here are some urls:
Myoplex Shake
Optimum Soy Protein 90
Other Slim-Fast reviews you might be interested in are:
Ultra Slim Fast Powders
Slim-Fast Meal on The Go Bar
Slim-Fast Breakfast and Lunch Bars
Slim-Fast Shakes
Slim-Fast Juice Based Shake Mix
Slim-Fast Juice Based Shakes
Recommended:
No
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