Flavors Tried: Vanilla Caramel Churro, Fruity Cereal Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Price: $35 for box of 9 ($3.88 per bar)
Nutrition (varies): 380 Calories, 14g Fat, 43g Carbs (1g Fiber & 22g Sugar), 30g Protein
I remember having my first MET-Rx Protein Bar back in high school… many moons ago. From what I can remember, I used to really enjoy them, but I have no idea if it’s because they’re truly delicious, or I just didn’t know better at the time.
Since I’ve tried so many protein bars since my initial protein bar experience, it’s time to revisit these Big 100 bars.
The thing about MET-Rx bars is that they’re not the most macro-friendly protein bar out there. If you want a low-sugar or low-calorie option, these are not the bar for you.
Each Big 100 bar has upwards of 400 calories and over 20 grams of sugar, although they do come with a decent 30 grams of protein as well.
Since they’re so huge, these are definitely more of a meal replacement than a bar you’d enjoy as a mid-morning snack at work.
Nutritionally, they’re very similar to the full-size Fit Crunch Bars in terms of calories, fat, and protein, but the major difference is that Fit Crunch Bars utilize sugar alcohol whereas Met RX doesn’t shy away from sugar.
In today’s world, where protein bars come in all sizes, flavors, and macros, how does a classic like MET-Rx hold up?
I popped into my local 7-11 to pick up a few different flavors of Met-RX bars for this review. On the menu today, we have Vanilla Caramel Churro, Fruity Cereal Crunch, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Vanilla Caramel Churro Met-RX Bar
This bar is truly massive.
When you bite into it, cinnamon is the first flavor that hits you. It leans more towards a cinnamon roll rather than a churro, but the white chocolate coating keeps it interesting.
The caramel layer is deliciously gooey, but overall the bar comes off as very sweet.
I know I’m going to severely date myself here, but it reminds me of a cinnamon snack bar that South Beach Diet used to make (shoutout to the single person out there who will know what I’m talking about).
The overall flavor is actually very similar to the cinnamon ONE Crunch Bar, too.
While not quite delivering the expected churro vibe, it’s still a decent combination of vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon flavors.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Met-RX Bar
This flavor used to be my jam in high school, so I was really excited to revisit it after so many years.
Cracking open the package, you’re greeted with what looks like a giant log of edible cookie dough.
I was hoping for a soft bar, similar to edible cookie dough, but what you get instead is a thick and chewy bar, very much like a protein bar
While the flavors are reminiscent of cookie dough, it’s not going to fool anyone into thinking it’s the real thing. It could definitely benefit from being a bit softer, and the protein taste really comes through.
The flavor doesn’t stand out, and in the current competitive protein bar market, it doesn’t measure up to the likes of Quest’s cookie dough bar. If you want something that truly tastes like cookie dough, I’d stick with Quest.
I used to love this flavor as a teenager, and I suppose that’s because there wasn’t a lot of protein bar competition back then. Now that I’ve tried a ton of different bars, this one is not very impressive.
Fruity Cereal Crunch Met-RX Bar
When you open this one up, you’re hit with a powerful Trix cereal smell. The bar even has colorful fruity cereal pieces on top, which sets the bar pretty high that this is going to taste just like fruity cereal.
While the initial bite does taste like Trix, the sweetness and artificial aftertaste, likely from the allulose, really takes away from the experience.
I was not expecting any artificial flavor considering the sugar content is so high in these, but you can taste it enough in the aftertaste that it makes this one pretty unpleasant to me.
The bar looks like a soft Rice Krispy Treat, but it’s considerably thicker when bitten into.
Based on the look and smell of this bar, it looked like a real winner, but the overall sweetness and artificial aftertaste is a bit too much for my enjoyment (which is crazy because I typically love things on the sweeter side).
Overall Thoughts: Met-RX Big 100 Protein Bars
Met-RX bars have been around for so long for a reason.
For a newcomer to the protein bar world, they offer a fun assortment of flavors that could serve as a decent introduction to the protein bar world. Considering their other flavors such as Peanut Butter Pretzel, Apple Pie, Jelly Donut, and more, there are lots of options to fit most taste buds.
But for a seasoned protein snack veteran such as myself, these bars fall short.
Credit where it’s due: it’s really cool that each flavor is so unique. The cookie dough bar is simple cookie dough, the fruity cereal bar is like a dense Rice Krispy Treat, and the churro bar has a caramel layer and white chocolate coating.
If you’re bored of the same old protein bars, it’s very unique to see each flavor being so different from one another.
The problem is, they are quite sweet, maybe even too sweet for my liking, and the protein flavor is noticeable. Given the size and caloric content of these bars, I don’t prefer these as a snack, and with a larger size comes a heftier price tag to match.
If you’re looking for a high-calorie, high-protein option to help with bulking or other needs, these might fit the bill. Just be aware that the flavor might be a bit average, especially when compared to the current array of protein bars on the market.
