Tuesday, 14 January 2025

Equipment, Protein Bars

thinkThin High Protein Bar Review – Better Than Quest Bars?

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Each thinkThin High Protein Bar provides your body with 20 g of protein, 25 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of fat, and 230 calories. They’re only one of a handful of bars to include soy protein isolate and casein as part of their protein blend.

But unlike most protein powders, there’s no creatine, L-glutamine, or BCAAs. So can they still be an effective source of pre and post-workout nutrition?

In this review we’ll compare thinkThin to two other top-rated protein bars; Optimum Nutrition Opti-Bar, and Quest Bars from Quest Nutrition.

Comparisons include the levels of protein, carbs, and fats, as well as the cost per serving, flavors, and total calories.

We’ve also summarized the most important feedback from some of the 2,200+ highly rated reviews on Amazon, such as taste and texture.

This is to guarantee you only buy the best protein bar for your current diet and fitness goal. Whether that’s weight loss, lean muscle gain, bulking, or simply to boost your daily protein intake.

thinkThin High Protein Bar Ingredients

thinkThin protein bar ingredients

thinkThins use a popular blend of whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, calcium caseinate, and casein to deliver 20 grams of high quality protein per bar.

This is similar to the PowerBar Protein Plus and Promax protein bars, but with the addition of casein. This helps to prolong the release of protein into your system, which delays the onset of hunger and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Because thinkThins have managed to shave a couple of grams of fat off each bar, they’re also lower in calories (230 cals vs. 270 cals), even though they deliver 20 g of protein.

Carbs have been kept to a minimum through the use of protein isolate instead of protein concentrate. Whereas whey concentrate typically has a protein content of around 80%, isolate is closer to 90%. Whey protein isolate is also believed to contain less fat, cholesterol, lactose, carbohydrates and calories.

Another health benefit of thinkThins is that they contain zero sugar. That’s compared to protein bars like MET-Rx Big 100, which contains 32 g of sugar per serving.

What’s in thinkThin Protein Bars?

thinkThin Ingredients Label
Ingredient Amount per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 230
Total Fat 8 g 10%
Saturated Fat 2.5 g 13%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 210 mg 9%
Total Carbohydrates 24 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1 g 4%
Sugars 0 g
Protein 20 g 40%

Protein Blend
Whey Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Isolate, Calcium Caseinate, Casein

thinkThins are manufactured in a plant that also processes eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. They also contains milk and soy.

thinkThin High Protein Bar

thinkThin Protein Bar – Product Summary

  • Every bite of our Brownie Crunch bar is filled with the rich flavor of brownies and almonds covered in delicious chocolate.
  • 20g of protein with 0g of sugar
  • Gluten free and low glycemic
  • 2.1 ounce/60g bars (pack of 10)

Weight loss or weight gain?

thinkThin Protein Bars are designed to assist with the support of lean muscle growth and recovery, as part of a regular exercise and nutrition program.

Protein bars for weight loss are difficult to find. Your best option is finding a high protein, low calorie, low carb protein bar that helps put your body in a caloric deficit each day.

thinkThins meet this criteria, but if you need more dietary fiber (16 g vs. 2 g), you may also want to check out Quest Protein Bars. They contain just 6 g of fat, 20 g of protein and as few as 170 calories.

If your goal is weight gain, you’ll need to consume sufficient protein and enough calories from healthy foods to put your body in a daily caloric surplus. High carb protein bars like MET-Rx Big 100 (30 g protein, 400 cals) or Promax Protein Bars (20 g protein, 270 cals) would be a better option.

Who are they designed for?

Runners, weightlifters, athletes, or anyone looking for a quick and easy way to increase their protein intake.

When is the best time to take it?

thinkThin High Protein Bars are ideal for pre-workout/post-workout nutrition, or as mid-morning/mid-afternoon snacks. Due to their moderate carb content, you can enjoy one as a nutritious snack anytime throughout the day.

thinkThin Protein Bars vs. O.N. Opti-Bars

thinkThins
O.N. Opti-Bars
Protein: 20 g
Protein: 20 g
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Fat: 8 g
Fat: 9 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Dietary fiber: 10 g
Calories: 230
Calories: 250
Bars per box: 12
Bars per box: 12
Bar weight: 60 g
Bar weight: 60 g
Protein density: 33%
Protein density: 33%
Cost per serving*: $1.50
Cost per serving*: $1.33

*Based on buying a box of 12 bars. Price accurate at time of writing.

thinkThin Protein Bars vs. Quest Bars

thinkThins
Quest Bars
Protein: 20 g
Protein: 20 g
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Fat: 8 g
Fat: 6 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Dietary fiber: 16 g
Calories: 230
Calories: 170
Bars per box: 12
Bars per box: 12
Bar weight: 60 g
Bar weight: 60 g
Protein density: 33%
Protein density: 33%
Cost per serving*: $1.50
Cost per serving*: $2.00

*Based on buying a box of 12 bars. Price accurate at time of writing.

What flavors and sizes are available?

With a serving size of 60 g per bar, thinkThinks are available in either a box of 10, or as a variety pack containing their most popular flavors.

At the time of writing this review, the best value for money actually came from the Chocolate Fudge flavor. Each bar was priced at $1.50, compared to $1.69 for a box of the Lemon Delight flavor. That’s why we always recommend calculating the average cost per serving, across a range of flavors and sizes, before making a final buying decision.

Flavors


  • Brownie Crunch
  • Caramel Fudge
  • Chocolate Espresso
  • Chocolate Fudge
  • Creamy Peanut Butter
  • Cookies and Cream


  • Chunky Peanut Butter
  • Chocolate Strawberry
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Lemon Delight
  • Maple Almond

Save money with Amazon

If you’re looking to save money on your monthly supplement order, you might want to consider the Amazon Subscribe & Save program.

Subscribe & Save allows you to unlock savings of up to 15% on a wide range of sports nutrition products, including thinkThin High Protein Bars (selected flavors only).

You can save 5% with a subscription to 1 product, or save the full 15% by subscribing to 5 products, provided they’re all delivered to the same address. The delivery schedule can be set from monthly, up to once every 6 months.

Although 5 products might sound a lot, if you already supplement with a protein powder, multivitamin, creatine, BCAA, and glutamine, the savings can soon add up. But it’s best to order before you run out of your current supplements, because Amazon set the day of the month each order is sent (same day each month e.g. 14th.).

Who are thinkThin?

thinkThin is a leading producer of nutritious, protein-rich foods that fuel an active life. All of their products are a good source of protein, with 20 grams packed into each of their thinkThin High Protein Bars.

To promote a healthy diet and lifestyle, none of their products contain any refined sugar, and all thinkThin bars are gluten free.

thinkThin also has a strong focus on using the highest quality ingredients, with non-GMO soy protein sourced for all of their products. The High Protein Bars are also certified kosher by Kehilla Kosher, and certified Low Glycemic due to their glycemic index scores being kept under 55.

Their current line of protein snacks includes Protein Bites, High Protein Smoothie Mix, and Protein and Fiber Hot Oatmeal. But their bestseller is undoubtedly the thinkThin High Protein Bars, which currently have over 2,200 highly rated reviews on Amazon.

Protein Bar Buying Guide

Review Overview

Overall Review Rating

4 / 5

So, are thinkThin High Protein Bars worth buying?

The protein/carbs/fat ratio is very similar to MusclePharm Combat Crunch, with just 1g more fat in the flavors we compared. The ratio is also very close to the popular 40/40/20 macros split, where your diet is 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fats, which is popular for gaining lean muscle.

As for the calorie count, it's not as high as some protein bars, such as PowerBar Protein Plus or Promax Protein Bars, as the carb and fat levels are lower.

Just be aware that the protein blend swaps milk protein for soy protein, compared to MuscleTech Mission1 and Optimum Nutrition Opti-Bars.

In terms of value for money, at the time of writing this review, a box of 10 was priced at $14.95 (approx. $1.49 per bar). This was the exact same price as MusclePharm Combat Crunch.

Overall, thinkThins are certainly one of the best protein bars on the market, based on taste, texture, value for money, and macro split. But if you need a bar that's high in fiber, a better option would be Combat Crunch (12 g vs. 2g).

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