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Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars vs. Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars

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Hungry? We hope so. Because this Food Fight of Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars vs. Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars is dang filling. This one is definitely for the protein-bar junkies out there! And especially the dudes in the house …

Taste and Texture

Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars: Although these are “soft baked” bars, we found these to be more crunchy than anything. A little chewy and filled with little rice crisps (reminded us of the Little Debbie Star Crunch, actually!), these are sweet but not overly sweet. In fact, the Double Chocolate Vanilla Crunch is actually kind of bland, although it’s dense and filling as heck. The Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch is certainly the tastier flavor and is nice and peanutty. Both are a touch chalky and have a slight sugar alcohol aftertaste.
Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars: These might be the largest protein bars we’ve ever seen. Seriously, they’re enormous — but more on that in a second. Let’s talk texture. These are unique in that they’re basically a chewy protein bar totally coated with chocolate and other flavors. The Cookies and Cream has a layer of cookies and cream and then has a whole outer coating of chocolate, while the Peanut Butter one has an inner section of peanut-butter goodness, coated by crunchy chocolate and a drizzle of peanut butter flavor. Both are quite decadant and have a nice texture of chewy and crunchy. Peanut Butter was the better tasting flavor of the two — and is definitely a little more savory than just sweet, which we dig. The Cookies and Cream tastes good, too, but there’s an ever-so-slight hint of anise that’s just kind of odd. At least we thought it was.
Winner: Going to give this one to Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars!


Nutritional Facts

Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars: A 1.58-ounce bar has 190 calories, 8 grams of fat, 14 carbs, 1 gram of fiber, 5 grams of sugar (4 grams of sugar alcohol) and 17 grams of protein.
Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars: About double the size of the Pure Protein bar, the Fit Crunch Baked Bars are 3.10-ounces big (DANG!), and have — wait for it — 380 calories per bar (hey, at least they don’t call it two servings …), 16 grams of fat, 27 carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and a whopping 30 grams of protein. Thirty grams! This is truly a meal and not a snack. Unless you’re in serious training for an event or you’re a huge dude.
Winner: Yeowsers. If you only eat half the bar, the Fit Crunch Baked Bars would be in the running (we do like that they have less sugar ounce for ounce), but from our experience, it’s hard to not just eat the whole thing when you have a bar. So, Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars win it!

Ingredient List

Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars: A mix of whey and soy for protein, this ingredient list isn’t the cleanest one we’ve seen in our lives. From wheat to soy lecithin to sugar alcohols, eek.
Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars: Said to be baked from scratch, these also have a fairly long ingredient list that we’re not exactly smitten with. With wheat and soy lecithin, there are no sugar alcohols, but there is sucralose.
Winner: Honestly? This is a tie. We’d like to see a more natural ingredient list for both of them!

And the Food Fight Champion Is…

Well, it’s a tie. But we won’t leave you hanging like that! So follow this recommendation instead:
If you need a meal replacement or are trying to put on weight and muscle (or you are actually THE Robert Irvine — whom we love): Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch Baked Bars!
If you are trying to lose weight or just want an on-the-go high-protein snack: Pure Protein’s Soft Baked Bars!
Or, you know, try one of these bars that are more natural and we dig a little harder:

Have you ever eaten a 380-calorie protein bar before? We’re still reeling over it … —Jenn

FTC disclosure: We often receive products from companies to review. All thoughts and opinions are always entirely our own. Unless otherwise stated, we have received no compensation for our review and the content is purely editorial. Affiliate links may be included. If you purchase something through one of those links we may receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!