Friday, May 5, 2017

Got Runger? 5 Easy and Quick Ways to Eat a Quest Nutrition Bar

What's your favorite way to recover from a tough workout?

My favorite way to recover from a hard run or a workout is with protein. While we need carbs to fuel us while we're moving, it is generally accepted that athletes need protein to enhance muscle recovery and immune function. I know I feel better after I replenish with a protein based product after a long distance run.






The easiest way for me to refuel after an intense workout or race is to grab a protein bar. I was recently asked to sample Quest protein bars, so I headed over to my local Target to grab a couple boxes. I thought for sure they'd be located in the nutrition bar aisle--Target has just about every brand you can imagine. No Quest bars there! I decided to check the supplement aisle where the vitamins and protein powders are located. Bingo!


Quest bars come in 22 different varieties and my Target had most of them! It was tough to make a decision but this chocolate-loving runner chose the double chunk chocolate and peanut butter chocolate flavors. I have tried Quest peanut butter protein powder in the past--I made peanut butter cookies with it--and I thought it was really good.

Quest bars contain 20g of protein per bar and they are soy free, gluten free, and vegetarian (not vegan) friendly. The bars also contain 4-6g of carbs but no added sugar.

Out of the package, the bars were really tasty! But I've seen other bloggers serve the bars in creative ways, and I decided to try a few myself. These were all really quick and easy variations of eating the bar out of the package. As you can guess from the pictures below, I am not a food blogger. But when I'm hungry, I mean rungry, there's no time to mess around with a complex recipe. Trust me when I tell you that these experiments were all quick and delicious!

1. You can warm the bars in the microwave for 10 seconds to get that "freshly baked" experience. Warming the bars really enhanced the flavors. That was a pleasant surprise!

This cute gymnast really liked the peanut butter chocolate version.
2. For those of you who like their protein as balls, yes, you can eat Quest bars as protein balls! Warm them up in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften them up, then roll each bar into 2 individual balls. Bake at 375F for 5-6 minutes.

My thought was that you could roll them in powdered sugar or sprinkles, but that would ruin the whole 'no added sugar' vibe. I still might do it, though!

Chocolate protein balls, anyone?
3. Cookies, anyone? Take a Quest bar out of the wrapper. Cut the bar into 8 squares and bake at 325 for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and flatten them before they cool. Decorate them as you will.

Chocolate protein cookies
4. Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies: Take the cookies from #3 and spoon the desired amount of peanut butter on one cookie. Place another cookie on top to make a mini-sandwich!

Peanut butter chocolate protein sandwich cookies
5. Easy S'Mores: Cut a Quest protein bar in half both ways. Heat in the microwave for 10 seconds and flatten each square. Put a marshmallow and chocolate pieces in the middle. Bake at 325 for 5 minutes.

Chocolate protein s'mores!
If you want to really rock your Quest protein bars, Quest has a blog devoted to making tasty treats with the bars and protein powders! They even have a cake pop recipe!

I'm really glad I had this opportunity to try Quest protein bars and I'm so happy that my local Target stocks them. I'm there at least once a week, so I'll never have to worry about running out! I'm going to keep a box at work too, for those mid-morning snacks. Having the Quest bars on hand will be a great way to ensure that I stay away from the usual sugary office snacks but get a healthy, low sugar treat!

Have you tried Quest protein bars? What flavor of Quest protein bars will you be trying? Any creative ideas that I didn't share here?

I am linking this post with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for the Friday Five as well as Annemarie, Farrah, and Esther for Foodie Friday and Deborah and Sarah for Meatless Monday!






53 comments :

  1. I'm pretty sure the s'mores violate the no-sugar-added feature too, but YUM! Good to know where to find them at Target. They just remodeled our Target and I can't find anything.

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  2. I love the ones with the peanut butter! Or I would if I could eat them! Still hoping for a vegan version someday!

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  3. I love the cool recipes that you made with the Quest bars, especially the cookies and the PB sandwich cookies!

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  4. I need to find the Chocolate PB ones. My Target did not have them!

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    1. Those were the favorite at my house. Of course, the chocolate chunk had nuts so that was an issue...

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  5. I haven't tried Quest bars yet! I need to get on that. The chocolate version looks delightful!

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  6. You have the most creative ideas! S'mores and PB for the WIN!!!

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  7. I am going to look for them this weekend! I am hungry just thinking about it! I love the PB sandwich idea, that is right up my alley!

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  8. I've heard of Quest bars but have never bought them. I know I need to buy protein bars to have on-hand post workouts but I can never take the plunge and buy them. These look pretty good though, love all your ideas!

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    1. I liked that they were versatile--that you can heat them up and be creative!

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  9. I've tried Quest bars just because so many people swear by them but I couldn't get into them. I like karaoke bars the most. ;)

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  10. Oh I didn't know there were so many ways to eat a protein bar!

    I don't like protein bars, but I'm going to share this post for Roger, he loves his protein bars.

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    1. I think I only touched on a few of the options--I was stunned when I saw what people are doing with Quest bars!

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  11. If I could eat right now I would be all over those PB sandwiches ;)

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  12. I'm not a fan of protein bars, maybe it's the consistency? The Quest bars look like they might not be as dense as others I've tried.

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    1. I actually really liked the bars. The consistency was more like a brownie.

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  13. Who knew you could do so much with Quest bars! I've never tried them but if I did, I'd totally try all your suggestions!

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  14. I am probably one of the last remaining running souls (no pun intended) who has not tried these. I'm usually turned by protein bars because the ones I have tried taste (and crunch LOL) like cardboard. I"m gonna try these!!

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  15. I hadn't had a quest bar in a few years. They were all the rage back then weren't they? Although I do like your idea of making cookies with them. I may have to buy one now just to do that!

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    1. I liked the cookies--you didn't have to eat the whole bar.

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  16. Ive never tried a quest bar before, but between your recipes and Marica's I kind of want to try them now! Love the idea of eating them with peanut butter.

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    1. I think the peanut butter made these the perfect post run snack.

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  17. I definitely need to try this with my quest bars! Great ideas!

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  18. The smores & pb sandwiches are great ideas! I'm not really a super fan of Quest as many use sucralose, which I try to avoid.

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    1. I was surprised to find that the chocolate chunk bars had nuts in them--we've got allergies at our house. Good thing the boys know to read labels!

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  19. Replies
    1. The pictures aren't pretty but trust me, they taste yummy!

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  20. I had no idea there were so many ways to eat them!!

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    1. This is just the tip of the iceberg--I cannot believe all the creative ideas out there!

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  21. I still have some quest bars left so I'm definitely going to need to try making those chocolate PB sandwich cookies--they sound amazing! Such a great idea!

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  22. Quest Bars are my go-to emergency snack when I'm out and about and can't prepare a meal and don't want to hit a drive-thru. Thanks for the tip on warming them up, I just might try that sometime when I'm having one at home. :-)

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    1. Warming them up really changes them--I like them much better like that!

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  23. I have serious runger again now that I am training for a half. I love quest bars and your imagination with them.

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    1. When I researched for this post, I learned that the sky is the limit for Quest bars! There are so many creative ideas out there!

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  24. Oh my gosh. I love love love your ideas for eating these less like bars. I don't know why I never would have thought of any of it – – but I would not have. Brilliant!!!

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  25. I used to LOVE Quest bars. Then they changed the formula to include Corn Fiber, so I can't eat them anymore :( :(

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    1. Yeah, I was disappointed to see that too! I can't do much corn either.

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  26. Oh my gosh I would have never thought of doing ANY of the above with a Quest bar! THANK YOU for the amazing ideas! This sounds delicious!

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