Pro's and Con's + Homemade Quest Protein Bars/Cookies Recipes
I had the opportunity to Test and Buy VitaFiber Basic Syrup. I will explain in detail why I gave them 1 Star &#34;at this time.&#34; I will also provide Pros and Cons of this product along with some recipes for PROTEIN BARS, which is the reason I bought this in first place.<br /><br />░░░░░First, WHAT IS THIS STUFF FOR░░░░░<br />❖ VitaFiber(tm) is a sweet natural fiber providing low calorie and soluble prebiotic fiber for human digestive health. VitaFiber(tm) is non-GMO, sugar-free and gluten-free. It's made with something called IMO, lots of info available on IMO study (someone on BB website gave a great description):<br />This is a moderately sweet carbohydrate that's special because it's largely &#34;digestion-resistant,&#34; meaning that it functions as soluble fiber in your digestive tract. This greatly reduces both the caloric value and glycemic impact of things made with it relative to other ingredient selections.<br /><br />Isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMOs) are also very useful because they have properties usually reserved for high-energy foods like sugar syrups and nut butters: they mix nicely when heated, and when cooled they &#34;bind&#34; extremely well, making things stick together. This makes them an absolutely ideal ingredient for a &#34;low net carb&#34; protein bar.<br /><br />VitaFiberbis available as a syrup or powder on Amazon. On a dry basis, VitaFiber is greater than 90% soluble fiber. Based on published studies, the caloric value of VitaFiber is 1.5 kcal/g<br /><br />░░░░░COST░░░░░<br />Well the company BioNeutra that makes VitaFiber is in Canada. On their website cost of 1kg is $14.00. I am pretty sure that is Canadian dollar which is around $17 us dollar. But the product is sold on Amazon for 1.2kg for $22.00. I think it's still expensive compare to other IMO products on Amazon. VitaFiber has a reputation for being the name brand so its famous.<br />I have ordered this stuff in past from China/other countries in past. Let me tell you, read the label to verify what's all in it. They all do same thing. It's made from same stuff. To me price in a big thing and it can be sold cheaper. I paid allot less from other manufactures on Amazon and even ordering from China with expensive shipping it was pretty reasonable price.<br /><br />░░░░░CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE░░░░░<br />So one of my siblings ordered some of this stuff and I called the manufacture since the order had issue. The person that answered the call was not polite. She told me she cannot help me and I should call Amazon directly. She kept spinning the circle, I just told her have a good day and ended the call. I will give them NO STARS for their attitude when calling them. The product itself deserves 5 start. But not necessarily their brand. IMO itself was not available to consumers until recently, especially in the USA. Manufactures that make cookies and protein bar have had access for years, so my 5 Star will go to IMO only.<br /><br />░░░░░PRO'S░░░░░<br />❖ This is how I make my Quest protein bars. I have provided some recipes below. Check in out<br />❖ Can be used for other things other than protein bars. There are lots of recipes out their already.<br />❖ Fiber - Good for Adults. IMO is essentially a fiber. I just wouldn't give a child under 10 yrs old too much of this stuff.<br /><br />░░░░░CONS░░░░░<br />❖ Cost is way High, Almost not worth it, especially if I can buy Quest/Protein bars in Bulk on Amazon.<br /><br />░░░░░BOTTOM-LINE░░░░░<br />I will buy IMO products, but not from this manufactory again. It's a really good product if you want to customize your protein bars/cookies/other sweets for healthy diet. If you know what's all going inside your food mix then it's allot safer to eat. I have provided some recipes for Protein bars and cookies below alone with some pictures. Hope this helps!<br /><br />░░░░░RECIPES (These are not entirely mine. I customized them a little) ░░░░░<br /><br />░░░░░Cookies░░░░░<br />*** Zero-Carb (Oreo) Protein Cookies Recipe from proteinpow - Picture below***<br /><br />❖Ingredients for the cookies:<br />* 2 tbsp IMO syrup<br />* 4 tsps black onyx cocoa powder (I used onyx so my cookies would turn Oreo-like; if you don't care about this though, just use regular cocoa powder!)<br />* 2 tbsps of chocolate whey protein powder (could use vanilla too)<br /><br />❖Ingredients for the Filling<br />* 1 big tbsp of mascarpone cheese (or quark or cream cheese)<br />* 1/8 - 1/4 cup of vanilla whey protein powder (depending on how thick you want your mix; I used 24g).<br /><br />❖Directions<br />1. First, make your cookies by chucking all the above cookie ingredients in a bowl and mixing it up with a spoon until you get a soft dough that you can mold with your hands into `balls' (it's going to feel like play-dough!) If your dough is too sticky to allow you to do this, add a bit more cocoa powder to it until you get to the right consistency.<br />2. Shape 6-10 `balls' out of the mix (depending on how big you want your cookies) and, using your hands, flatten them and place them on a nonstick baking tray or a regular cookie tray lined with baking paper.<br />3. Bake at 200C (around 395 F) for no more than 6 minutes. Yes: NO MORE THAN SIX MINUTES. They often take 5 minutes to cook so please check them after five and if they're cooked through, take them out of the oven.<br />4. Make your filling by mixing all your filling ingredients together. If you want your mix to be creamier than mine was, feel free to use casein!<br />5. Fill the cookies with the filling and that's your cookie.<br /><br />❖ Macros/Nutrition<br />* Per cookie, solo (out of the six I got from the mix above): 20kcals, 2g protein, 5g carbs (out of which 4.5g is fiber so net carbs 0.5), 0g fat.<br /><br />* Per 2 cookie, to make a cookie sandwich with (out of the 3 I got from the mix above): 40kcals, 4g protein, 10g carbs (out of which 9g is fiber so net carbs 1) + the filling (which is 51kcals, 6g protein, 3g fat and 0 carbs per cookie): 91kcals, 10g protein, 10g carbs (out of which 9g is fiber so net carbs 1), and 6g fat.<br /><br />░░░░░Protein Bars░░░░░<br />***Homemade Quest-Inspired Bars - Cookie Dough flavor from busybuthealthy***<br /><br />❖Ingredients<br />* 2 Tbsp VitaFiber Syrup<br />* 1 scoop (30 grams or ¼ cup) whey protein, vanilla (I used Whey Gourmet Naturelle Vanilla)<br />* 2 tsp almond meal (just ground up almonds) 15 g (2 squares) no-sugar chocolate, chopped (I used Simply Lite No Sugar Added Milk Chocolate)<br /><br />❖Directions<br />- For a firm bar:<br />1. Heat the 2 Tbsp of VitaFiber Syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. When its just starts to bubble, remove from heat and immediately add protein powder, almond meal.<br />2. Place mixture in a plastic bag and knead until it starts to cool down. It will form into a bar. I also sometimes had to make it in to a dough by using my hand + adding little water and then placing in non-sticky pan to refrigerate it.<br />3. Add in the chopped chocolate once its cooled a bit. Still might melt a little.<br /><br />- For a softer bar:<br />1. In a small bowl, combine the VitaFiber syrup, whey protein, almond meal and chopped chocolate. Mixture will be slightly sticky to the touch.<br />2. From here, it can be stored in a plastic bag, or you could also bake it in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes, or microwave for 15-20 seconds, as you would to a regular Quest bar.<br /><br />❖ Notes<br />* Nutrition (of a Quest bar Cookie Dough flavor) Calories: 210 Fat: 8 g Carbs: 21 g Fiber: 17 g Sugar 1 g Sodium: 290 mg Protein: 21 g<br /><br />❖ Macros/Nutrition<br />* Serving size: Per bar (Cookie Dough flavor) Calories: 288 Fat: 10 g Saturated fat: 3.5 g Carbs: 33 g Sugar: 4 g Sodium: 131 mg Fiber: 27 g Protein: 22 g<br /><br />***Graham cracker crust 9 Bars from BB user- Picture below***<br /><br />❖Ingredients<br />* 22 tbsp IMO syrup or 330g<br />* 2 sheets of Graham Crackers<br />* 6 tbsps Nutella<br />* 6 scoops 30 grams Protein powder of your choice (I used Birthday Cake flavor here)<br /><br />❖Directions<br />Heat the 22 Tbsp of VitaFiber Syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. When it's just starts to bubble, remove from heat and immediately add protein powder and other ingredients. Mix it all with wood spoon at first, then use hand to mix it more. I had to add a little water to make the mixing process little faster. You can also use coconut oil instead of water. Place it all in Non-sticky pan to refrigerate it, then cut in bars as seen in picture below.<br /><br />❖ Macros/Nutrition<br />* 67g per bar<br /><br />***If you like this review, please mark this review as helpful below! Also, feel free to ask me questions by leaving comments. I will promptly reply. Thanks for reading***
Rating: 1 stars