Robert Irvine's Protein Bars, Nutri-Grain Bars, Triscuit Crackers: Product Review Roundup
A review of nutrition facts and ingredients to help you make an informed choice.
Hello, readers! In this week’s edit, I’m reviewing three popular products: Robert Irvine’s Protein Bars, Triscuit Crackers, and Nutri-Grain Bars.
If you haven’t already, check out my first Product Review 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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Robert Irvine’s Protein Bar
Robert Irvine’s Protein Bars are a line of snack-sized and full-sized protein bars. They are marketed as “chef-inspired” protein bars that “satisfy your cravings” and make “getting more protein enjoyable”. These bars are available throughout Canada and the U.S.
Nutrition Profile
Robert Irvine’s Protein Bar (Chocolate Peanut Butter, snack size) contains 8 g of fat, primarily from palm kernel oil, palm oil, peanut butter, and peanuts, as well as sunflower oil and soybean oil, to a lesser extent. This includes 4 g of saturated fat from mainly palm kernel and palm oils. It contains 200 mg of sodium from added salt. Each bar provides 14 g of total carbohydrates from glycerin, sorbitol, maltitol, brown rice flour, glucose syrup, and tapioca starch. This includes 1 g of fibre from trace amounts found in various ingredients, 3 g of sugar from glucose syrup, and 8 g of sugar alcohols from sorbitol and maltitol. It offers 16 g of protein from whey and soy protein powder, with a small contribution from peanut butter.
Overall Review
On the plus side, Robert Irvine’s Protein Bars are high in protein and low in sugar. However, the primary ingredients in these bars are ultra-processed, and the bars contain a long list of additives. To be clear, additives don’t necessarily make a product unhealthy on their own, but in the context of the protein bar category, they do signify a more ultra-processed option.
These bars can maintain their low-sugar status due to the use of multiple non-sugar sweeteners (sucralose and 8 g of sugar alcohols), which may not necessarily be a healthier alternative to higher sugar content. The amount of sugar alcohols in these bars is also considered moderate-high compared to others on the market, and may not be tolerated by those with digestive sensitivities.
Though these protein bars are a good source of protein, I find the front-of-package statement, “made with whey protein” (located on the top right corner) misleading. These bars are actually made with a combination of whey protein and soy protein. There’s nothing wrong with using soy protein. Still, whey protein is typically more appealing to fitness-minded consumers, and this statement gives the false impression that the 16 g of protein in these bars comes from only whey protein.
TL; DR: Robert Irvine’s Protein Bars contain more ultra-processed ingredients and additives than others on the market. There are better options out there.
If you haven’t already, check out my protein bar guide for tips on choosing a protein bar 👇.
Triscuit Crackers
Triscuit is a line of whole-grain crackers widely available across Canada and the U.S.
Nutrition Profile
Triscuit Crackers (original, per 4 crackers) contain 2.5 g of fat from canola oil. This is mainly unsaturated fats with a trace amount (0.2 g) of saturated fat. They contain 110 mg of sodium from sea salt. Each serving provides 13 g of total carbohydrates, including 2 g of fibre from whole-grain wheat. There is no sugar in these crackers. There is also 2 g of protein per serving from whole grain wheat.
Overall Review
Triscuit crackers are an excellent, widely accessible whole-grain cracker option. They are a source of fibre from whole grains, are made with simple, minimally processed ingredients. They are baked with a small amount of canola oil, which, despite current social media coverage, evidence shows is not harmful (you can check out my review of canola oil here). Even if you prefer to limit your use of this oil, there is a very small amount used here, equivalent to less than 1/2 tsp per 4 crackers, which is negligible in the context of your total day of eating. The original flavour contains a low-moderate amount of sodium per serving (depending on whether it’s the American or Canadian serving size), but there are also low-sodium options available for those who need it.
TL;DR: Triscuit Crackers are an excellent choice!
Nutri-Grain Bars
Nutri-Grain Bars are a line of cereal bars. Their marketing leans into the fact that they are “made with whole grains”, suggesting that they are a nutritious option.
Nutrition Profile
Nutri-Grain Bars (Strawberry) contain 3.5 g of fat from soybean oil, including 0.5 g of saturated fat. They contain 135 mg of sodium from added salt (110 mg in the CA version). Each bar provides 25 g of total carbohydrates from oats, white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar (dextrose, fructose, invert sugar, corn syrup, table sugar), glycerin, strawberry purée, and starch. This includes 12 g of sugar from the sources listed above (14 g in the CA version) and 1 g of fibre from oats, whole wheat flour, and corn fibre. There are 2 g of protein per bar from oats, whole wheat flour, and whey.
Overall Review
Nutri-Grain’s main claim to fame is the use of whole grains, which they market the heck out of. However, despite using oats as the main ingredient in the crust, the rest of the ingredients are ultra-processed, and the amount of oats used does not contribute meaningfully to the nutritional value. For example, in a source of whole grains we would expect to find a significant amount of fibre, of which Nutri-Grain bars only contain 1 g. They are also high in sugar, with 12 g (US), 14 g (CA) per bar, and contain more additives compared to other granola bar options on the market.
TL; DR: Nutri-Grain Bars are low in fibre, high in sugar, and contain more ultra-processed ingredients compared to other bars on the market. We can do better.
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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.
I can attest to the fact that Robert's protein bars don't even justify the calories or ingredients with the taste haha.
I wonder who they tested them on.
Those Irvine protein bars were so disappointing.