Review Round-Up #3

Time for another review round-up! As always, these are just random, new-to-me food products that I’ve found at the supermarket (or elsewhere) and given a try. I’ve got a few different ‘bars’ this time, some fake meat, and so on. Click through to the full post to read about them!

Marathon Bar, Chewy Chocolatey Peanut — The Get in Gear post-race food included several varieties of these (new?) Snickers energy bars, so I grabbed ‘em, in the name of review. Each one has a different calorie/protein count, and the Chewy Chocolatey Peanut is right in the middle (13g protein). I have to say, I just about didn’t eat this one, because the ingredients list was so atrocious. Corn syrup with a bit of HFCS for flavor, anybody? Given my past recent experiences with chocolate candy bars (HUGE, miserable sugar crash), I was wary. But science demanded that I try it, so I did. The flavor was good, and I was really happy to find that the chocolatey layers were actually chewy protein… stuff instead of real chocolate (which might sound strange, but real chocolate would have been too sweet). It promised long-lasting satisfaction (or some such), and it really did keep me going until dinner. I couldn’t justify buying it again, given the amount of HFCS, but it was a decent treat.
Marathon Bar, Honey and Toasted Almond — This is the smaller bar (10g protein), and I liked it a LOT more than the other one. I ate it right after running the 10k on Saturday (after being totally bummed that the provided yogurt was NOT vegetarian!). It has a thin chocolate base, a layer of caramel, and the top is crunchy cereal (and whatnot). It tasted like Cracklin’ Oat Bran and was the perfect balance between granola bar and candy bar. I didn’t inspect the ingredients, though I imagine they’re not much better than the other bar, but I probably would make an exception for this one and buy it again. Because it was so tasty. I still have one more bar left to try: the whomping big Caramel Nut Rush (20g protein).
VegeUSA ‘Fish’ Fillets — I should say that the photo/product in that link is NOT what I actually bought, but the company doesn’t seem to have a page for their breaded mock-fish fillets. This is what they really look like. I went to a different supermarket last week and came across the VegeUSA line, and I had to pick up a box of these. I’ve often said that fish is the only thing that could make me break my vegetarianism (not that it has, nor do I expect it to, but that’s the only thing I’m ever tempted by), because there’s just no good substitute. Well, these weren’t very fishy, but they WERE delicious. They’re wheat-gluten-based, so they’re chewier, like fake chicken, instead of being flaky, like fish. But I’d still buy them again. (Although their protein content isn’t impressive, for a meat substitute.)
Spirutein Black Cherry Chocolate Powder — Spirutein seems to make the widest variety of protein powders, so I grabbed a couple packets the last time I was at the co-op. I tried this flavor in a smoothie with a cup of soy milk and some frozen cherries (I used only half a serving of the powder), and it was amazing. A definite repeat buy. I also tried their Cookies ‘n’ Creme flavor, which was good, but not as outstanding as this one.
Quaker Instant Oatmeal: Raisin, Date, and Walnut — I finished off the packets of Three Sisters oatmeal I got a while back, so I decided to restock with an easy-to-find box of Quaker oatmeal. I usually have instant oatmeal (with a little egg white mixed in) the night before a longer run. I’d only ever had lower-sugar versions of Quaker instant oatmeal, and this kind (just the regular version) is much better! That picture on their website is a bit ooky, though — it looks so dry. I like to add almond milk after cooking to smooth it out (and cool it enough so I don’t scald my mouth… as often).