My 5 Favorite Protein Supplements, No Shakes Allowed

Let’s face it we all get busy and don’t always have the time to cook up organic bison steaks, seasoned with paleo magic.  Most of us try to eat healthy and stay away from fast food joints, but it can be hard to get enough protein in your diet without carrying around a chalky tasting protein shake that smells like a port-a-john, when left in your car over night.  Keep reading this article for my top protein supplements, no shakes allowed.

Like most folks, I’ve used protein powders in the past, and I’ve found that some of them are pretty good, and others, not so much.  I’ve really never found one that was convenient to carry around, or that would mix easily, which has caused me to gradually shift away from powders, to bars and a few other types, when I need a quick, healthy snack.

I should also mention that while I’m a big fan of these protein supplements, that does not mean that you need to eat tons of these ever day.  One or two bars won’t be any big deal, but you do need real food, which is to say something that was alive once.

These protein supplements will have links to Amazon so you can give them a shot if you wish.  Thanks to our relationship with Amazon you get the lowest price, and they support our site for referring you to them.  Everyone wins!

Quest Bars

These bars are my jam.  They have a lot of flavors, and they have somehow managed to avoid the odd consistency that plagues so many other protein bars.

They’ve recently come out with a line of new flavors called Hero Bars. The best is the blueberry cobbler bar.  It tastes like a donut to me, and I think it’s probably the best flavor of theirs over all.

If I had to pick a second flavor of bar, I would go with their chocolate chip cookie dough.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the chocolate chips in the bar are real.

These bars are 180 calories with 16g of protein, which is about average for this amount of calories.  Basically, these bars are made of protein and fiber, with some no calorie flavoring in there as well.  Give these a shot, highly recommended.

Protein Chips 

These are an odd one for most folks.  In fact, I didn’t even know these existed until about a month ago.  These chips are made by Quest as well, and they are basically 90% of the same taste as a regular bag of chips.

The BBQ chips are the best that I’ve tried, with the salt and vinegar coming in a close second.  The BBQ tastes almost exactly like lays BBQ, but they have a slightly different after taste, which doesn’t bother me, but it’s definitely noticeable.

These bad boys have 21g of protein per bag, and only 180 calories which makes them almost pure protein.  I like to pack these for a lunch as they fit right in with more “normal” food.

Combat Crunch Bar

These bars are my go to when I get tired of the other protein bars.  They are very popular and come in a variety of flavors, but they are bigger and more nutrient dense than the Quest offerings.

They are 210 calories, with 20g of protein.  A word of caution with these, try to keep them at room temperature because the chocolate covering melts rather easily.

The peanut butter and chocolate flavor is my favorite, but they also have some interesting flavors that you won’t find anywhere else, i.e their birthday cake bar. 

Paleo Bars 

Normally, I’m a little leery of things that are labelled paleo, not because I think there’s anything wrong with that diet, it’s just become such a marketing scheme that it almost means nothing.  It’s like saying gluten free water.

I find these bars to be very hit or miss.  I don’t really like most of their flavors but blueberry tart tastes like taffy to me, and that shit is delicious.

 

Feel free to try a few of their flavors, but I definitely think these are the way to go.

Lenny and Larry Protein Cookie 

These are great and they are something I can generally find on Amazon as well as in your normal 7/11, which is nice when you need a quick snack, and don’t have anything with you.

They make a ton of cookie flavors, but their snicker doodle is pretty dang good, and who doesn’t like snicker doodles? 

These cookies taste very good, but they also have 48g of carbs if you eat both cookies, with only 16g of protein which brings them to 360 calories for one package of 2 cookies.

Final Thoughts 

There are probably tons of other good protein snacks, but don’t under estimate actual food either.  I know a lot of places will stock hard boiled eggs that are peeled, as well as cheese and nut packs that have a good amount of protein.

Feel free to mix and match and find out what works for you.  I think you’ll find that these protein snacks are very convenient whether you driving to work, or if you missed lunch, they’ll keep you from going postal at the office later on.