Come to the dark side...NuGo Dark protein bar review

"Disclaimer: I received a variety pack of NuGo Dark to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"
 
I am  a self-professed snack-a-holic. At a minimum I eat  3 meals  and 2  snacks a day. I’m  always thinking about my next meal. But, I struggle with finding something “healthy” that also satisfies.  I  was excited to try these NuGo Dark chocolate protein bars.

I received the following:

• 3 dark  chocolate  pretzel with sea salt
• 3 dark chocolate chip
  
• 3 dark chocolate coconut almond
  
• 3 dark chocolate mint chip
  

My box arrived just before Christmas, which was the perfect timing to get my attention away from holiday cookies and other treats with not nutritional value.  These are all vegan and gluten free, by the way.

I am currently counting macros, so protein really counts in my book. Most other protein bars I have tried are chalky, too dense, or just plain tastes like crap. The cool thing about NuGo is that every bar is dipped in REAL 100% dark chocolate. The inside is crispy, think chocolate covered rice krispy treat with protein and delicious sweetness! Dark chocolate has antioxidants and flavanoids which are good for us - so to me it's a win-win. NuGo promotes that they use "Real" chocolate - as it turns out many companies advertise chocolate but if you read their ingredient list they use palm kernel oil instead of cocoa butter. You can read more about this deceptive practice here.

The first one I dug into was chocolate pretzel with sea salt because I have always loved the combination of chocolate and pretzel and knew that this one was going to be a winner. Ridiculously good!  It does have 15 grams of sugar (why it tastes so good!) .

Nutritional facts – 200 calories, 28 g carbs, 5 g fat, 10 g protein

Next was the chocolate  coconut. I also love this combo, and have found it in a competitor version that I really like. The result? Also amazing! I’m kind of picky when it comes to protein bars and I’m usually disappointed. This was heavenly. These grab and go bars were perfect for my mid-afternoon cravings.
 
Nutritional facts – 200 calories, 27 g carbs, 6 g fat, 10 g protein

I knew chocolate chip would be a pretty safe choice.  Tastes just like a candy bar.  Note to those who don’t think they like dark chocolate because it can be “bitter” – these don’t have that dark chocolate bitter taste at all. If you didn’t tell me it was dark chocolate and good for me, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell. Dark is my favorite. I enjoyed this one before spin class.

Nutritional facts – 200 calories, 5 g fat, 29 g carbs,  10 g protein

I saved mint chocolate chip for last because honestly mint isn’t my favorite and I was worried that I wouldn’t like it.  Well I am happy to report that I was wrong!  The mint is not strong or overpowering. The whole inside is dark, but it really is delicious. It is like a girl scout thin mint without the guilt!

Nutritional facts – 200 calories, 5 g fat, 29 g carbs, 10 g protein

There are some other NuGo dark flavors out there that I want to try – there are also:

Peanut Butter cup – you had me at peanut butter!
Mocha – um, coffee – yes please!
Spicy Chocolate – I am intrigued by this one as well.
 
Where can you buy these? I’m glad you asked. I found them at my nearby Sprouts store, but they are in grocery stores and convenience stores everywhere, check out the store locator.

Overall, I’m in love.  I will say that since I’m counting calories and macros that I only eat half a bar at a time. NuGo also makes a line called NuGo Slim – with less sugar, less carbs, higher protein for roughly the same amount of calories. I plan on trying this, too, because this fits better into my daily macro goals.  I’m still in full damage control mode from the holidays!
Want to try for yourself? Right now you can save 15% on NuGo Dark with code BIBRAVE1!!!

And be sure to join us for #bibchat on Tuesday Jan 31  at  8pm  Central.