Dr. Melina Protein Bar, Lemon Raspberry, 1.58-Ounce Bars (Pack of 15)
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Customer Reviews of Dr. Melina Protein Bar, Lemon Raspberry, 1.58-Ounce Bars (Pack of 15)
Customer Review: I'd order this again
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I'm not a health expert or health obsessed. I'm a guy who used to be able to eat as much of whatever I wanted and now realize this is no longer true. I'm a guy who likes being outside. I run, kayak, walk, and otherwise try to get away from my desk and get out and do interesting things.
When I'm out and about I forget about eating. But when work intrudes and I have to curtail my exercise, staying inside and at a desk, I find that I tend to snack a lot. My body wants to make up for lost time.
Because I work from home snacks are plentiful and convenient. It's far too easy for me to pick up a handful of this or a little bit of that.
Which means that I really was eager for a replacement. Something that would satisfy those snacking urges while providing a healthy balance for my day, for when I can once again get outside and be active.
The lemon-raspberry protein bars by Dr. Melina are perfect for this. Well balanced in texture, sweetness, and size. Not too hard, and certainly not too sweet. Like eating a piece of fruit.
Tasty and helpful. Enough so that I'm planning to get a box of these every month. That's really the best kind of endorsement possible.
To add a little to this, however, I would like to highlight something Dr. Melina herself has said in response to comments. This to me was extremely interesting but was buried in a place where few would read it:
"This is Dr. Melina and I wanted to address a few points in this review and others. First of all, i'm a nutrition doctor (M.D.) that see patients who want to improve their diet on a daily basis so I think that creating a bar that works in my nutrition program is not like a chef doing surgery (that was a funny image though - I do have a sense of humor). Regarding the flavor, i'm sorry it wasn't to your liking - most of my patients and friends LOVE this flavor but i'm a chocolate lover myself! Regarding the vitamins/minerals, I PURPOSELY did not include any other vitamins and minerals because most Americans get MORE than enough of most nutrients by taking a daily multivitamin and through all the other fortified foods.
I did not feel any reason to add lots of vitamins and minerals which the average person does not need and which would increase the cost. I chose to add more Vitamin D than any bar that I know of because it is emerging as one of the most important and deficient vitamins in the American diet. And calcium is often deficient too since most people don't get the 3 servings per day of dairy, especially if they are trying to cut calories. The bar was designed to be a very tasty and satisfying snack containing mainly high quality whey protein and 5 grams of fiber to keep blood sugar stable and control hunger for several hours. It is not a sports performance bar (too low in carbs) or a meal replacement bar (although I grab it for breakfast with a latte on occasion).
I tell my patients that this bar works in addition to, not in place of, a healthy diet so it does not need to do everything! I fully respect the opinion of all the reviewers and many of them have some very well though out comments. I'm thrilled that so many people are interested in and have a knowledge of nutrition!!! In good health, Dr. Melina Jampolis"
I had one with a cup of coffee this morning, instead of a heavier breakfast, and found it once again a "tasty and satisfying snack". Just what I was looking for.
Customer Review: Another competitor to the growing "bar" market
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Yes, I've tried just about every protein / food bar out there over the years. Typically when I try one I'll get an entire box (or two) and work on it for 2-4 weeks, eating the bars on a regular basis as a meal substitute or snack. I use bars when I'm on a strick exercise plan or throughout those months where I'm running between meetings at work.
MY FEEDBACK:
- According to the 2007 Consumer Report, the best diet book based on scientific research was Volumetrics. This book basically says to eat items where the calories in the product are close or less than the size of the serving in grams.
For instance if a single serving is 45 grams in weight and 45 calories then you have a ratio of 1.
The books says this is very good and the food will satify you LONGER with less calories, which can better assist with weight loss or easier weight management.
Why do I mention this?
Because this item has the very first ingredient as a high calorie sweetner (Syrup blend). Also there are three other sweetners mentioned (sucrose, maltitol syrup and sucrose again) in the listed ingredients.
Thus the calorie/gram ratio is over a 4 (180 calories to 45 grams), which based on Volumetrics is exactly the kind of food you want to avoid.
- I'm not saying that Volumetrics is the end all, be all of what to eat or not eat, but. . .If I ate one of these bars I found I'm defintely hungry 90 minutes later
- I like the taste. Berry-sweet with a little lemony tang. If lemon is not your thing then pass on this bar. Having a variety of flavors would be preferred, but this one works for me.
- The item is easy to chew. It seems more solid than those rice-cripy treat type of bars that feel hollow and empty. Also its not so overly solid that its like chewing tire rubber like some bars are
- Like most bars, this is kinda dry so keep a tall glass of water handy. It isn't terribly dry like eating jerky or PowerBars, but you will get thirsty.
- In a world where it seems more and more people suffer from allergies with dairy and nuts, this has both ingredients. The packaging at least gives a nice bolded warning to help these types of folks quickly identify possible harmful ingredients.
- 14g of protein per bar. Nice!
- 5g of Fiber per bar. Very nice!
- 180 calories per bar = average with most bars
- If it wasn't for the sugars (10g) this would be a much better product.
- None of the ingredients are organic. . .a trend in today's day & age I'm surprised isn't included here
- Vitamin A and C = 0%. We are in the 21st century and I expect more items to be vitamin enriched. But its not a big deal since I take a Daily and supplements like many people.
- A $1.50 per bar is a bit steep. Especially considering there are many competitor products that are less expensive.
- At least the bottom ingredients are actuall oat fiber and freeze dried raspberry. . . .not some artificial ingredient
OVERALL:
If I found a competitor product on sale at the market with compariable ingredients I'd buy the sale product instead of paying the $1.50 per bar for this one. If nothing was on sale, I could see myself making a 60/40 decision in favor of getting this bar due to the high protein, high fiber and good taste.
Customer Review: Filling, but not all that healthy
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
As with many bars masquerading as health bars, at first glance Dr. Melina's lemon raspberry flavor protein bar looks like it has to be healthy. The problem is in the details.
The biggest problem with this bar is the 2 grams of saturated fats, which is 10% of the recommended daily value of a 2,000 calorie per day diet. Eat 11 of these bars and you are at the 2,000 calorie limit, but you are 10% over on the recommended amount of saturated fat; this cannot be good. Incidentally, I think a good chunk of the saturated fat comes from fractionated palm kernel oil, which is the most processed palm oil and the least desirable palm oil; two for one!
I also have to warn vegans, though they generally assume that a processed food is not vegan friendly unless proven otherwise. This bar contains whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, whey powder, and nonfat powder milk. Your average vegan will not touch this bar. Even your non-average vegan will avoid this bar. This bar also has either allergens or has been exposed to allergens during processing. The stuff in this bar includes milk and soybeans, and it was processed in a facility that also processes wheat, peanuts, fish, eggs, and nuts. I was surprised that the ingredients list was missing peanuts, but I would not guarantee that the bars are free of peanuts without further investigation.
On the other hand, this bar does have some good stuff in it. It has 20% of the recommended daily amount of calcium and 30% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin D. This bar contains 5 grams of fiber, which means you can just about get all the fiber you need from five bars. I think this bar is very filling, partially because of the fiber. I also give this bar high marks for flavor, but I like lemon flavor and in my opinion this bar has a very good lemon flavor. Consider that other reviewers have remarked that the lemon flavor is too strong and has a fake taste. The raspberry flavor is muted, partially because of the overpowering flavor of the lemon.
I am mixed about the way the bar feels in my mouth. This bar has a granular texture to it, but it is easier to chew than some protein bars. The bar chews like a drier bar, yet it crunches like it moist. The texture is difficult to describe.
Protein bars and various snack bars with protein and various grains initially look like they should be great health food. Unfortunately, many of these bars are high in calories or in undesirable fats. Other bars have allergens or have been exposed to allergens. This bar seems to be middle-of-the-road for most of these attributes. This bar could be a treat between a light breakfast and a light lunch, or, if you are into endurance sports, a pick-me-up to get you through a workout.
I did enjoy the flavor of this bar. I liked the lemon and I liked the way the bar filled me up. It may not be a perfect treat or diet food, but then again, what is?
Good luck!
Customer Review: Raspberry is a Perk
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
To tell you the truth, I am not qualified to write a review on protein bars, whereas I have limited experience with them, but coming from someone who wants to start a workout schedule, and needs energy to do so, I want get better acquainted with them. Here is my take. First off, I like raspberry. It has that uncommon feature as being full flavored, even in small quantities. Blending it with a hint of what I consider to be lemon zest, because it reminds me of a twist of the lemon skin, rather the juice.
Knowing I needed help with this one, I went to a friend of mine, who I consider a protein bar fanatic. Every time we go out to eat, he eats 2 of them before his meal. (He lifts weights a lot) Since he tries them all, I gave him one, and asked for his comments. What he said was, "It has more flavor than most of the other bars. Some other bars have a chalky flavor, at least a significant amount of them do, and this one isn't chalky at all. He especially liked the crispy things on the top. It is sweeter than the rest, even though it only has 180 calories." Then I asked him if he would buy one, and he replied, "Definitely, I like the flavor a lot"
I noticed, by looking at how it is put together, it has a cream colored bottom layer, topped with a thin coat of rasberry; just enough for full flavor, but light enough to not dominate. Then the top has crispies all over it.
One other thing is that I looked up a run off of the top 10 bars, and universally the run off was rated by which ones had the most amount of flavor, and yet light on calories. This one falls right in line with that philosoply, and has an ingredient level in keeping with the ones that were better rated.
Like I said, "I am not a protein bar expert, but now that I have really gotten a chance to eat these, I've acquired a taste for them. I'm finishing a fitness room up in the basement, and will soon be working out on a regular basis, and felt like I needed an energy boost at workout time. I wouldn't hesitate to get more of these.
Customer Review: Not bad, but not perfect either
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I've never written a review of a food product before so I'm not sure what exactly I should be including. But I'll give it a try.
I've been trying to lose weight for about 6 months or so now and the hardest part for me is eating healthy and not junky foods. I don't do well on a diet since I'm not much of an advance food planner. I'm more of a "what do I have in the freezer I can cook quickly when I get home from work" kind of person. So I thought trying protein bars may help curb the cravings for sweets. (My weakness!)
I've tried several different kinds in the past, even before it became important for me to lose weight, and often times they have a bitter aftertaste or leave a chalky-feeling residue in your mouth. These Dr. Melina's Protein Bars in Lemon Raspberry flavor aren't perfect, but they are loads better than many other kinds I've tried. There is no aftertaste or bad feeling you can't seem to wash away. They are a little dry and you'll likely want to have some water on hand to drink afterwards as a result. The taste is a strong pleasant flavor, though I'd like if I could taste the raspberry a little more. The lemon overpowers the berry flavor.
One thing I was hoping for was that these bars, being high in protein, would help keep me from feeling hungry in between meals. Unfortunately that didn't really work out. I tried eating them as a breakfast or lunch replacement bar and was hungry again in a couple hours. I found they worked better for me when I was having a craving for something sweet, not when I was eating them as a snack to fend off hunger until my next meal, or as a meal itself. As a fill in for a candy bar they worked quite well and I may have to try one of the chocolate flavors which would work even better to fend off the cravings.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, January 2008. All rights reserved.