Do Protein Bars Belong In the Fridge? These Brands Say So
The unofficial Healthyish office motto is A.B.S.—always be snacking—and we’re constantly on the lookout for the next great healthyish snack. Protein bars have felt pretty standard (read: boring) for a while, but over the past few months we’ve gotten mildly obsessed with a new kind of bar—one that’s best served cold. These refrigerated bars go heavy on the nut butter, which can separate and turn oily in the heat, and some contain probiotics, which are most potent when kept cool. Overall, we love these bars because they taste more like, well, food. And don’t worry: They can all sit at room temp for a while if you’re traveling or you just forget about them in the bottom of your gym bag. Here are six of our favorites, reviewed.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle1/6Perfect Bar
We’re an office of peanut butter fiends—so when we realized this bar is the closest thing to eating peanut butter off the spoon, it was a pretty big deal. The creamy nut butter consistency even sold us on their Pumpkin Spice bar—a flavor we stay away ever from since The Great Pumpkin Spice Taste Test of 2017—with a pleasantly surprising kick from those warming fall spices. It’s a smooth blend of peanut butter and honey, and we just can’t argue with that.
How long can it be outside the fridge? One week.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle2/6ProBar Live
These bars need to be stashed in the fridge because they’re teeming with 1 billion CFU (colony-forming units) probiotics per bar—in addition to 10 grams of nut butter-based protein. The classic Almond Butter flavor is sweetened with date paste and fortified with four(!) kinds of butters: sunflower butter, cashew butter, cocoa butter, and, yep, almond butter. It’s also studded with little crunchies like sorghum flakes and slivered almonds, which create an interesting craggy texture. Plus there’s a gentle probiotic tang at the finish, to remind you those little guys are there.
How long can it be outside the fridge? A few days.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle3/6OHi Superfood Bar
While some bars go for the mushed together approach, OHi keeps things whole. The Almond Crunch bar is basically like ultra-compressed trail mix—we spotted (and tasted!) goji berries, almonds, pepitas, and chia seeds. The whole thing is bound together with cacao butter, which has a neutral flavor that allows the mix-ins to shine through. The bars are gluten-free, grain-free, and not too stodgy. The next time we take a hike, we’re throwing these in our backpacks.
How long can it be outside the fridge? One week.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle4/6Wella Bar
These are pretty similar to Perfect Bars. Wella Bars contain that same smooth mix of honey and nut butter, laced with fairly straight-up flavors like almond blueberry and hazelnut cacao. Comparing them to cookie dough would be overly generous, but the texture is similarly creamy and sweet. We suspect they would be great heated up, although microwave too far and you’ll end up with a pile of goo.
How long can it be outside the fridge? Two days
Photo by Chelsea Kyle5/6Naked Green Machine Fruit, Nut, and Veggie Bar
Green Machine was one of the first green juices we ever had, and we’re not ashamed to admit it’s been a go-to buy at airports, vending machines, and other semi-hopeless food places for years. So we had high hopes when we saw it had found new life in bar form—and that the oat-based bars still have that distinct swamp green hue. The color is matched by a citrusy vegetal flavor thanks to ingredients like mangoes, kale, and dried broccoli, with a Rice Krispie treat-like chew. It’s like eating a granola bar dunked in green juice, which isn’t as bad as you’d think.
How long can it be outside the fridge? A couple weeks.
Buy it: Naked Green Machine Fruit, Nut, and Veggie bars, $2 for 1.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle6/6Nuttzo Bold Bitez
These “bitez” are about half the size of the other refrigerated bars we tried, which actually makes sense with such a dense food. Still, that doesn’t mean these pared-down bars are low-calorie. They come in a variety of flavors with buzzy wellness ingredients like collagen, cacao nibs, and probiotics, but we were most impressed with the more traditional “Peanut Pro” flavor, which packs an impressive 12 grams of protein into the small package with the help of pea isolate. Good for throwing in an overstuffed bag and finding later for a mid-commute power up.
How long can it be outside the fridge? One week.
Buy it: Nuttzo Bold Bitez, $38 for 12.
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