Healthy Gamer Snack Review: Julian Bakery Pegan Bars

First, you may be wondering just what in the heck “pegan” means. In a nutshell, it’s paleo + vegan. So, a pegan protein bar will be egg free, dairy free, soy free, refined sugar free, peanut free, grain free, gluten free…you get the idea. With all of these qualifiers, you might be wondering how they taste… I definitely was, too!

I see these bars everywhere, and have been curious to try them. So, when a friend ordered them online, and graciously offered to let me try them out, I thought I’d write a review!

Healthy Gamer Snack Review: Julian Bakery Pegan Bars

Available Flavors

Julian bakery has created several lines of low carb bars, so there are quite a few flavors of their regular paleo and primal bars. In terms of their pegan bars, it seems like right now they just have ginger snap cookie and cinnamon raisin roll.

To see the full line of flavors and varieties, check out the selection on Amazon or on their website.

Taste:

If you read reviews on Amazon, or other vendors for these bars, you’ll likely notice that people complain about the taste. I’m about to break that down for you here.

These bars are not overly sweet. While I hear some of the other Julian Bakery bars rely heavily on sweeteners to mask some funky flavors, the pegan protein bars do not. Instead, these bars have a more subtle sweetness, which can be disappointing to people who expect this bar to taste like an actual cookie or cinnamon bun.

The dominant flavor in these bars is either ginger, or cinnamon, and is pretty strong. So, if you aren’t really a fan of either of those flavors, these bars may not be for you. However, if you are a fan of those flavors, and aren’t looking for a candy bar, then I’d definitely give these guys a try!

Texture:

I really like the texture of these bars. They’re soft, and surprisingly smooth. Many protein bars are kind of gritty or chalky, and these somehow manage to avoid that pitfall.

Unlike more sugary bars, these lack the chewiness and tack you typically find, but instead have more give. It’s a pleasant texture, and I can’t really think of anything negative to say about it!

Ingredients:

Part of the appeal to these bars is the impressive ingredients used. As mentioned before, they’re free of eggs, dairy, refined sugars, soy, peanuts and nuts in general. This is not only great for vegans, and those following a paleo diet, but also basically anyone with a food allergy to the big eight allergens.

The ingredients are actually somewhat different between the two pegan protein bars, so I’ll list them out separately here:

Ginger Snap Cookie:

Organic Pumpkin Seed Protein (Seed Protein), Organic Digestive Resistant Prebiotic Fiber (From Organic Tapioca), Organic Sunflower Seed Butter, Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil, Monk Fruit (Lou Han Guo), Cinnamon Leaf Oil.

Cinnamon Raisin Roll:

Organic Sacha Inchi (Seed Protein), Organic Prebiotic Fiber (From Organic Tapioca), Organic Sunflower Seed Butter, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Raisins, Monk Fruit (Lou Han Guo).

Macros:

The macros are super desirable with these bars. High in protein and fiber, and low in sugar, both flavors certainly deliver in terms of nutrition. Again, the bars are pretty different, so I’ll list the macros for both below.

Each Ginger Snap Cookie protein bar contains:

• calories: 170
• carbs: 28g (1g net)
• fiber: 27g
• fat: 6g
• protein: 20g

Each Cinnamon Raisin Roll protein bar contains:

• calories: 210
• carbs: 22g (5g net)
• fiber: 17g
• fat: 10g
• protein: 20g

Price:

Bars are a bit costly, and you have to buy them in a case of 12 online. The price works out to $2.49 per bar, which isn’t cheap, but also isn’t too bad. They’re about on par with Quest bars.

Other Notes:

If you’re looking for a sugary bar that tastes like a dessert, then these bars aren’t for you. However, if you want a nutritious and easy snack to grab while raiding, or running around and playing Pokemon Go, then these will hit the spot!