Although we at David’s Way always encourage you to eat whole, unprocessed foods, we are realists. There are times when convenience is paramount and a quick, healthy snack can really help see us through until our next meal. Quite often we go for a protein bar. They’re everywhere but they are not created equally. Some are horrific masses of vitamin flavored, syrupy sweet, mealy textured substitutes for food. Some, however, can give you a protein boost and tie you over for a while with pleasure. For me, the ONE bars are an acceptable choice.

ONE bars come in many flavors and to be fair to the product, I will review them separately. I have not tried all of them so this review is limited, but as I sample them I will write about the new flavors that I try.

“Almond Bliss” is the first ONE bar that I tried. I’ve got to tell you that at first, I totally agreed with the name. It was pure bliss. If you like an Almond Joy candy bar, this protein bar is for you. It’s tastes a lot like an Almond Joy. It’s chewy and chocolatey and smells wonderful. You can buy a box of 12 from one1brands.com for $23.76 or a box of 4 at Walmart for $7.12. They will cost you about $2.31 for a single in most places. Like I said, at first I thought that I had found a treasure. While they are really good, I tired of them pretty quickly as I tried other flavors. Although this is a good bar with 20 grams of protein and just 1 gram of sugar, all of the bars seemed to taste a little alike and the Almond Bliss lost it’s edge. It’s loaded with almonds and coconut and did fill me up for about two hours. Overall, it’s good in a pinch. Eating them too often can become a habit and they don’t seem as good after a while. Reaching for any processed food habitually will eventually encourage you to overeat because they are processed, or the equivalent of partially digested. I choose to eat protein bars infrequently and fill up on whole foods to keep myself full and satisfied. This bar has 230 calories.

Ahhh…”Birthday Cake”… I thought that I had found Nirvana with this one. It’s a true Birthday Cake flavor and at first bite, it melts in your mouth. While the “Almond Bliss” remained good for me for the duration of the bar, this one did not. I have tried more than one of these over the course of a year or so and every one that I have tried has had a slightly mealy texture and seemed almost too sweet. They are so sweet that the sweetness becomes the “flavor”. The creamy, dreamy vanilla smoothness of the traditional birthday cake flavor gets lost in an overabundance of a sugary onslaught of white “frosting” and sprinkles. This one was irksome about halfway through. The price is the same as the Almond Bliss and again, it has 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. Walmart carries these single or in the box. You can have a taste of birthday cake for 210 calories.

I really liked this bar and have bought it more than once. It’s a bit sweeter than I like almost immediately but the slight tartness of the blueberry flavor balances the sweetness nicely. Before I finish one of these however, it still seems too sweet. The novelty of the “Bluberry Cobbler” flavor is pleasant but after buying a few of these, I don’t buy them very often at all anymore. It has a good chewy texture and the coating is creamy and sweet. If you miss blueberry cobbler, you will be charmed by this bar at first. It has 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar for 220 calories. You can buy these at Walmart.

I liked this bar with coffee. The only place that I’ve ever found these is at GNC. It does have that “sameness” that all of these ONE bars have and it is very sweet. The main sweetener in these bars, Maltitol, can cause GI upset for some people, so don’t overdo it. Although I liked this one the best, the sweetness was a bit overpowering. The bitterness of the coffee took some of the edge off of the sweetness and left the cinnamon taste behind. It’s a novel flavor and is very interesting at first. I would not recommend buying a box of any of these bars until you try a couple of singles. The slightly warm cinnamon flavor is crowded by the sugary aftertaste. Like the others, it has 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar.

Now… this “Peanut Butter Pie” offering is not too sweet. If you like a really sweet bar, you may not like it. For longevity, I do. Although this bar has that same “whey” taste that all of these bars have, since it’s only slightly sweet, it’s pretty good to the end of the bar. It has a nice, chewy texture and is satisfying because it has that protein punch of 20 grams with only 1 gram of sugar for 220 calories. The peanut butter flavor is authentic and not overpowered by too much sweetener. I have bought these several times.

I have tried other flavors and I will review them in the weeks to come. If I buy a protein bar, this is the ONE that I seek. They are not always easy to find but are far superior to some of those convenience store sugar and calorie bombs. Some of the so-called “protein bars” are merely candy bars with protein added. If you need a quick snack, you may want to try ONE the next time you’re late for a meal. It may help you avoid binging with the 20 grams of protein, while keeping your caloric intake low and avoiding most sugar. Never allow yourself to get and stay too hungry for too long. At David’s Way, we know that the best way to avoid empty calories is to fill up on good ones, full of nutrition. These bars can help with that on occasion.