Dave's Killer Bread, Kirkland Protein Bars, Rao's Pasta Sauce: Product Review Roundup
A review of nutrition facts and ingredients to help you make an informed choice.
Hello, readers, and Happy New Year! In this week’s edit, I’m reviewing three popular products: Dave’s Killer Bread, Kirkland Protein Bars, and Rao’s Pasta Sauce.
If this is your first review roundup, check out my previous roundup here for some important context. As a reminder, when I review a product, I’m considering:
Level of processing.
How the product fits into a healthy dietary pattern. Reminder: no single food has the power to make you healthy or unhealthy.
Where nutrients are sourced from in a product (ingredients), and how significant an ingredient is in contributing to the nutritional value of the food (nutrition facts).
Marketing claims.
How the product compares to others on the market.
Let’s dive in.
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Dave’s Killer Bread
Dave’s Killer Bread is a line of organic, whole-grain, pre-sliced bread. It’s available in five flavours: 21 Whole Grains and Seeds, Good Seed, White Bread Done Right, Powerseed, and 100% Whole Wheat.
Nutrition Profile
Dave’s Killer Bread (21 Whole Grains flavour) has 22g of carbohydrates per slice sourced from whole wheat flour and cane sugar as well as other whole grains (for example quinoa, triticale, barley, oats), though to a lesser extent. Each slice contains 5g of fibre from whole grains and seeds, and 4g of sugar from added cane sugar. Lastly, each slice has 6g of protein from whole grains and seeds, and 1.5g of unsaturated fats from flax and sunflower seeds.
Overall Review
Dave’s Killer Bread offers a whole grain, minimally processed bread option that is a great source of fibre from whole grains. The bread uses enzymes to maintain its integrity and is free of alternative preservatives or additives. On the downside, some flavours are high in sugar, up to 5g per slice. This means a sandwich could contribute a hidden source of up to 10g of sugar to your day. To put this into context, competitor brands of whole grain pre-sliced bread typically contain 1-3g per slice.
This bread is an otherwise excellent product that contains fibre, protein, 100% whole grains, and seeds and is free from additives. If your diet is otherwise low in added sugars, 8g of sugar from two slices of Dave’s Killer Bread will not contribute to an excessive sugar intake alone. This bread is as close to homemade as you can find in the bread aisle, and the benefits of this bread in terms of ingredient quality and nutritional value outweigh the higher sugar content. However, the Powerseed flavour is an excellent low-sugar option that offers the benefits of Dave’s Killer Bread with only 1g of sugar per slice.
TL;DR: Dave’s Killer Bread is a great option 👍.
Kirkland Protein Bar
Kirkland protein bars are milk-protein-based bars. They are available in two flavours: Chocolate Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, at Costco locations across Canada and the U.S.
Nutrition Profile
Kirkland protein bars (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavour) contain 21g of protein from milk protein (contains both casein and whey) and whey protein. They contain 22g of carbohydrates from corn fibre, isomalto-oligosaccharides, and erythritol. Of this, 10g is fibre from isomalto-oligosaccharides and corn fibre and 2g is sugar, which comes from trace amounts of sugar found in various ingredients. They also contain 7g of fat from cashew butter, chocolate, and to a lesser extent, cocoa butter. Each bar contains 190mg of sodium from sea salt.
Overall Review
Compared to other protein bars on the market, these bars contain fewer ultra-processed ingredients and provide a source of balanced macronutrients. The main source of fat in these bars is cashew butter, a minimally processed ingredient. They are also high in protein, with most protein bars on the market ranging from 12-21g of protein, putting Kirkland protein bars at the top of the range.
Note: competitor bars with similar protein content tend to have more additives, are higher in sugar or non-sugar sweeteners than Kirkland bars.
Kirkland protein bars are low in sugar due to their use of isomalto-oligosaccharides (which also act as a fibre), erythritol, and stevia. Though sugar alcohols such as erythritol can cause adverse GI symptoms in high amounts, there is only 2g in this bar which is much less than other bars on the market (the Canadian version is higher in sugar alcohols, with 4g per bar). The sodium content is average compared to other protein bars on the market.
Kirkland protein bars contain two non-nutritive ingredients - sunflower lecithin and natural flavours. Both of which are safe for consumption. You can read more about lecithins in my blog post here. You can also check out my past deep dive on natural flavours for everything you need to know in the link below 👇.
TL; DR: Kirkland protein bars are a good option for someone looking for a high-protein bar 👍.
Rao’s Pasta Sauce
Rao’s has a line of pasta sauce described as “homemade…simmered slowly and made in small batches with only the best ingredients – no pastes, starch, filler, added colors or sugar”.
Nutrition Profile
A ½ cup serving of Rao’s Pasta sauce contains 7g of fat from olive oil, 6g of carbohydrates, including 1g of fibre, and 4g of sugar from tomatoes. It also contains 2g of protein from tomatoes and 420mg of sodium from added salt.
Overall Review
Rao’s is an excellent quality sauce made with similar ingredients as you would use at home - tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt and spices. Rao’s contains 420mg per of sodium per serving, which is average compared to other sauces on the market. For context, the sodium content of pasta sauce you’ll find in the grocery store ranges from 75-926mg (!!) of sodium per 1/2 cup serving. If you’re consuming close to the serving size of this sauce, and otherwise not adding significant sources of sodium to your meal, this is still an appropriate amount of sodium for a meal as part of a healthy dietary pattern. However, if you’ve been advised by a healthcare professional to follow a low-sodium diet, you may want to consider a low-sodium alternative.
TL; DR: Rao’s pasta sauce is a great option 👍.
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Talk soon,
~Brittany
“The Grocery Edit” is written by Brittany Raftis, MScFN, RD. She works as a Registered Dietitian and is passionate about helping people sort through the confusion of ingredients and nutrition facts to reduce stress surrounding daily food choices. She uses an evidence-based approach to clear up misinformation about nutrition and help people select the right products to support their health and enjoyment of food.
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what does MScFN stand for?