Flavors Tried: Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond
Price: $5.99 for 5 Bars ($1.20 per bar)
Nutrition: 200 Calories, 5g Fat, 28g Carbs (7g Fiber & 10g Sugar), 15g Protein
Sometimes, a protein bar comes out of nowhere and completely surprises you, and that’s exactly what we have here.
Truth be told, I had never heard of Ready Nutrition before. I must be living in a bubble because the company sponsors Giannis Antetokounmpo and Aaron Donald (two superstar athletes, if you’re unfamiliar) so clearly, they must be a pretty big company.
I found myself at Walmart, and I saw a box of 5 Ready Clean Protein Bars for just over $5, so I knew I needed to give them a try.
Considering each bar only costs $1, I naturally had extremely low expectations.
Nutritionally, nothing really stands out about these protein bars. With 200 calories, that’s very standard for a protein bar, but the 15 grams of protein is on the lower end of protein.
Don’t get me wrong- 15 grams of protein is still solid. But, with most protein bars containing around 20 grams of protein, it’s worth pointing out.
The one thing I really like about this bar is that it’s not a keto-friendly protein bar. Since most protein bars are jam-packed with fiber and no sugar, I rarely reach for a protein bar after my workouts.
After a workout, I try to get some protein and carbs into my body, so I love to see that these Ready Clean protein bars contain some carbs.
Chocolate Chip Ready Clean Bars
When I opened up this protein bar, the very first thing I noticed was just how much it resembled a Chewy granola bar.
On looks alone, this is different than any other protein bar I’ve had, and that’s very exciting to me. Every protein bar that has hit the market in recent years seems to be peanut butter based, so this is a lovely change of pace.
You’ll also notice that these bars are a very generous size. In terms of weight, they’re not different than other protein bars, but since they’re so light and airy, they end up being a very good size.
Biting into this bar was extremely pleasant. I am so used to protein bars that are incredibly dense and chewy, and this protein bar is the complete opposite. In fact, it eats just like a granola bar.
The Ready Clean protein bar practically falls apart in your hands (in a good way) and is soft, yet crunchy. Overall, it’s crunchier than a traditional granola bar due to the soy crisps they use, but it still has that perfect fall-apart consistency of a granola bar.
It’s a tad chewier than a regular granola bar, but nowhere close to the chewiness of other protein bars out there.
The flavor of this bar is awesome. I could see some people finding the bar a little too sweet, but as someone with a huge sweet tooth, I didn’t mind at all. You taste hints of honey (looking at the ingredients list, I suppose that’s agave syrup) and the chocolate flavor is very prominent.
With a chocolate coating and tons of chocolate chips throughout the bar, you taste plenty of chocolate, yet it’s not overpowering. All in all, this reminds me of the granola bars I used to eat in grade school, and I am very into it.
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Ready Clean Bars
There’s not a huge difference between the regular chocolate chip and the dark chocolate sea salt flavor, but enough of a difference to please fans of salt.
The subtle salt flavor definitely comes through, but I wouldn’t describe this bar as “salty” at all. It’s the perfect balance with the chocolate.
I found this bar to be sweeter than the regular chocolate chip, which is really surprising considering this one is dark chocolate.
I love chocolate & sea salt together, but I actually prefer the regular chocolate chip flavor to this one. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of that bar reminding me of a Chewy bar, but it gets the slight edge for me.
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ready Clean Bars
This bar tastes so much like a regular peanut butter granola bar. It has a distinct sweetness to it, likely from the agave syrup, that makes it taste slightly different, but it’s extremely similar overall.
The flavor of the peanut butter comes through perfectly, and the chocolate coating on the bottom of the bar balances the peanut butter really well. It’s not a 50/50 peanut butter & chocolate flavor like a lot of peanut butter cup-flavored snacks tend to be, rather mostly peanut butter with a subtle taste of dark chocolate.
If you’ve ever had a peanut butter Chewy bar, there’s no reason you wouldn’t love this protein bar.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond Ready Clean Bars
The flavor of this protein bar is definitely accurate to the name. Coconut flavor comes through, but it’s not insanely overpowering (a huge bonus for me, because I don’t love coconut).
The bar itself contains almond pieces, which adds a completely new texture to this bar. There’s a very interesting contrast between the chewy almond pieces and the crunchy whey crisps- I don’t prefer it over the other flavors, but if you’re looking for something different, you may love this one.
The sweetness of this bar actually tastes very balanced, and it isn’t too sweet like a couple of the other flavors.
Ready Clean Bars: Overall Thoughts
I feel crazy saying this, but this has become one of my favorite protein bars on the market right now.
It’s incredibly rare for me to discover a new protein bar and have it move to the top of my list, but Ready Clean Bars have done exactly that.
The texture and flavor of these bars are different than every other bar out there, making it a great way to switch things up. If you’re tired of the typical dense & chewy protein bars, I highly recommend checking these out.
Plus, with a little bit of carbs & sugar in these, I’ll happily be snacking on these protein bars as a post-workout snack after my early morning workouts.
