Review: Cookies and Cream Quest Bar & Recipe

I tried my first quest bars about a year ago on my trip across the states, and I wasn't a huge fan. I felt like the bars and their taste was a bit over-hyped. Lets just say, I don't crave them. 

But then I bought a box of cookie dough quest bars, and learnt a new way to eat them....bake them into cookies!

So, this meant that Cookie Dough, White Chocolate and Raspberry, and now Cookies and Cream are actually pretty good. Read below for the recipe.

Now for the review.

Quest bars are a protein bar that are gluten free, high in fibre, and come in a variety of different flavours.

Taste: They have a strange taste, and it does have a slight artificial taste. You can taste the cookies and cream for sure. 

Texture: It has little bits of crushed up cookie in it, as well as some cookie chunks, and chunks of the "cream". Quest bars themselves can be a little hard depending where they are kept. Some people put them in the microwave for a few seconds so they soften up. 

Nutrition: 180 calories, 7g fat (3g saturated), 22g carbs (17g fibre, 1g sugar), 21g protein, 310mg sodium

A good amount of calories for a bar, reasonable fat, high carb - however if you are a net carb counter the carbs are quite low because of the fibre, low sugar, high protein, and moderate sodium. A good snack bar for on the go, after a workout.

Ingredients: The main ingredient is whey protein isolate. Other notable ingredients are; water, almonds, cocoa butter, erythritol, and small amounts of other ingredients.

Overall: 7/10

In comparison to other quest bars I have tried this is probably a little down the list. Nothing beats cookie dough flavour...However if you love quest bars and cookies and cream flavour I think this would be a good option for you.

If you want to try these, you can buy them from iHerb here. Remember to use my code LDJ484 for a discount on your first order!


Recipes: Cookies and Cream Protein Cookies 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 farenheit).
2. Cut quest bar into 5-6 pieces and spread out onto a plate. Make sure they have a bit of room between them, as they melt a little bit.

3. Microwave for 10-20 seconds depending on the strength of your microwave. You just want them to be soft.

4. Pick up a piece and mould into a cookie shape.

5. Place them on a baking tray (still with space inbetween them....they puff up a bit).

6. Bake for 5-8 minutes...you pretty much have to watch them the whole time. They will go from uncooked to burnt fairly quickly.

7. Ta-da! Protein Cookies and Cream Cookies.

Recipe: Beetroot, Pineapple, Carrot, Celery, and Ginger Juice

I've been into making juices at home a bit lately, and experimenting. Today I made a beetroot, pineapple, celery, carrot, and ginger juice.

Makes 1

Ingredients: 

• 5 baby beetroot/2 medium
• 3 small carrots (1 large or 2 medium)
• 1/4 - 1/3 pineapple (depending how sweet you like it)
• 1 (long) stalk of celery
• small cube of ginger (depends on taste...I like it strong. add small amounts until happy with it)

Directions:

Juice all ingredients and pour into a glass. Add small amounts of ginger inbetween adding other ingredients.

Nutritional Info:

165 calories, 1g fat, 38g carbs (8g fibre, 26g sugar), 4g protein, 230mg sodium

Recipe: Protein Packed French Toast

I've actually only ever had real french toast once. But on occasion I make my own protein french toast. It's an easy, quick breakfast that makes a nice change every once and a while.

You can top it with a variety of toppings and use another flavoured protein for a different flavour.

In the image below I topped it with blueberries, maple syrup, and a mixture of greek yoghurt, peanut flour, and stevia.

Makes 1 serving

Calories/Macros per piece: (no syrup/topping)

320 calories

9g fat (2g sat)

30g carbs (7g fibre, 3g sugar)
26g protein

480mg sodium

(These values may change slightly depending on what brands you use)

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of toast, uncooked
• 15g (1/2 scoop) protein powder (I used vanilla whey)
• 1 egg 
• Dash of cinnamon
• Toppings and fruit of your choice

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 farenheit)
• Mix together protein powder, egg, and cinnamon in a wide bowl.
• Lay first piece of toast in the mixture and coat both sides, repeat with second slice.
• Place slices onto a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until they are slightly crispy and toast it cooked.
• Drizzle over your toppings and fruit.

Notes:

You may want to add stevia to the mixture if you prefer it sweeter. 
If you don't like eating the egg yolk, you could use two egg whites instead.

Enjoy! 

Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Fudge

Instead of easter eggs this year, I'm going to be making my own fudge. I made it a few months back, and it was so good. The only problem - trying not to eat it all at once!

Makes 10 pieces

Calories/Macros per piece:

45 calories

3.4g fat (2g sat)

1.8g carbs (.4g fibre, 1.4g sugar) 2.3g protein

4.1mg sodium

(These values may change slightly depending on what brands you use)

Ingredients:

• 20g (2.5T) coconut oil, melted
• 15g (1T) liquid honey
• 20g (3T) whey (I used vanilla, because I don't like chocolate whey - but that would be good)
• 10g (1.5T) cocoa (or cacao) powder
• 20g (2T) peanut butter (or any nut butter, I used crunchy PB which means there are little chunks of peanut throughout)
• 10ml / splash milk or water of your choice
• Stevia to sweeten if needed

Instructions:

• Mix all ingredients together, until well combined. Add the milk/water until a good consistency.
• Roll out on a large piece of glad wrap.
• Fold the glad wrap over so it is covered and press down to smooth it out. 
• Put in the freezer until frozen (not sure how long it would take, I put mine in overnight).
• Cut into 10 pieces and store in the freezer.

Notes:

Because of the coconut oil it will melt fairly quickly when in room temperature, so make sure to keep it in the freezer. 

Enjoy! 

What is your favourite "healthier" easter treat?