PR Nutrition Bar Review - Run Run Johnny

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I’ve taken several approaches to my nutrition when if comes to running. From a steady diet of protein shakes to rice cakes to a Nutella-PB-and-honey sandwich on white toast. While I’m not the biggest fan of nutrition bars, I do find them to be very convenient – grab and go. PR Nutrition was kind enough to send me a sample of their bars for review. I chose Peanut Butter Granola and Yogurt Berry. When the order was processed I noticed that they were sending me 2 boxes of 12! That’s a lot of nutrition bars for someone who is at the low point of the season (I’ll be back at it in a week or so). So I decided to try a few of each flavor myself and then offer some running friends to try them in exchange for their opinion. Power in numbers, right? I tried the bars in a number of scenarios: breakfast replacement, post-run recovery, midday snack and pre-workout snack.

Nutrition

PR Bar Peanut Butter Granola Nutrtion Facts

Nutrition Facts for PB Granola from their website

The bars are packed with 15g of protein, making them great at holding off hunger and muscle rebuild post-workout. Its a blend of soy, whey and rice protein. They average at 200 calories each (Yogurt Berry was 210 calories). For a snack I would probably only eat half a bar, but that’s a good calorie range for me when it comes to breakfast. The day I tried it for breakfast, I made it to lunch without looking like this: None of my taste trials lead to an upset stomach, which is always an important thing to note. It may be because they are gluten-free, but that’s not my niche. As a proud Italian American, I love me some gluten-filled pasta!

Texture

Most, if not all nutrition bars have a common downfall. They require a lot of water to wash down. Sadly PR Bars were no exception, but its just something you come to expect. The yogurt coating on the Yogurt Berry helped in this respect, but the PB Granola left me craving a big glass of milk.

Taste

Lastly, my comments on the taste. I wasn’t blown away by the Peanut Butter Granola. I think I was expecting a little more likeness to granola when I requested it. Maybe if it had some crunch to it. I let my son have a piece. He ate it with zero complaints. The kid loves peanut butter, so it passed his test. I found myself opting for the Yogurt Berry. Upon the first bite, it reminded me of a Pop Tart, although I don’t think I’ve ever had a cranberry Pop Tart. The bar is coated in yogurt that very much reminded me of a frosting glaze. I was very happy with this flavor choice. These aren’t the only flavor choices they have available. PR Bars also come in:

Apple Pie
Iced Brownie
Mint Chocolate
Granola Oatmeal Raisin
Double Chocolate
Chocolate Peanut

What My Friends Thought

Like I said earlier, I passed out some bars to volunteer taste testers in my running group. Some quotes were:

Didn’t like the [Yogurt] Berry. It had a weird texture.

[Peanut Butter Granola] was similar to the other bars I eat, Luna and Cliff.

Seemed really great for my blood sugar!! I crashed hard on GU.

Taste is fine, texture is a tad dry, but most bars are. Wouldn’t eat one while running without having water to wash it down.

Conclusion

Pros:

Good source of protein – 15g!
No upset stomach.
Yogurt Berry tastes like a frosted Pop Tart (that’s a definite pro in my book)

Cons:

Makes you very thirsty. (PB Granola more so than Yogurt Berry)
Peanut Butter Granola lacked a crunch.

I would recommend PR Bars to anyone who regularly uses nutrition bars. They retail at just over $2 a bar or $25 for a box of 12. However until the end of November, you can use promo code RUNRUNJOHNNY for 15% off your online purchase.

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Disclaimer

The opinions on this review are my own (as well as the quoted opinions of my friends). I was not paid or persuaded in any way to give a particular opinion on this product. PR Bar provided a free sample of their product for this post. You can read my review policy here. If you have further questions on this product or would like me to review a product, you can reach me through my Contact Page.