2017 was the year of the ‘Boost Bar’ style protein bar. With several different brands releasing their own flavour choices. PhD Smart Bars were among the most popular, quickly becoming a firm favourite of many! Unsurprisingly, there was a great amount of hype surrounding the release of their latest white chocolate blondie bar. As a huge fan of white chocolate flavours myself, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one.
The bars look great aesthetically. They contain a soft inner layer surrounded by white chocolate caramel, a crispy coating and, of course, white chocolate. Unlike similar bars by competitors, they hold their own and aren’t flimsy with caramel sticking to the wrapper.
For me, the winning feature of these bars lies in the texture. I’m sure we all remember just a few years ago when protein bars were either a jaw workout or sweetened mush surrounded in cheap chocolate! Modern protein bars really are just as good as any regular chocolate bar. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that each layer of the bar held its own as well as it could have. I’d have liked a more milky bar-esque white chocolate and the ‘dark chocolate’ flavour to the crispies could have been more prominent. In this regard, the triple choc cookie Diet Whey Bar does a better job.
As expected though, the overall taste of the bar is lovely and one that you could buy a box of and not get bored half way through. If I hadn’t already fallen so in love with the jammy Dark Choc Raspberry bars, this would be my favourite!
Another positive to the Smart bar range in general is the macro breakdown and satiety factor. The 64g bars certainly feel like they should be providing more than a mere 241 calories. They also contain less than 2.5g sugar with fairly minimal artificial sweetness. 21g of protein is pretty standard for a protein bar and a nice contribution towards your daily goal!
Overall: 8.5/10
(Dark Chocolate Raspberry is a 9.5)