Interested in a fun alternative to pre-workout drinks? How about pre-workout fruit chews? Just like the kind you had as a kid, but with complex carbs, vitamins, and caffeine added. ProBar has recently added their Bolt line of products, which are just that: delicious fruit chews for athletes to use as a pre-workout snack.
Not only is the idea as fun as it sounds, but these chews also aren’t just chemical-laden novelties – they are organic. ProBar, a Utah-based company, prides itself in providing products founded in values and quality. All of their products (and I’ll be reviewing some of their protein bars next week as well), are created using sustainable, organic ingredients sourced from whole foods whenever possible.
ProBar currently offers four flavors for the fruit chews: Berry Blast, Strawberry, Orange, and Raspberry. Each flavor is more or less what you’d expect, and the flavors are not dramatically different from one another. You can’t go wrong picking the one that sounds the best or going with the variety pack that ProBar offers. The chews are not hard or excessively chewy, in fact quite the opposite. They are soft, easy to chew, and they don’t get stuck in your teeth like the kind kids eat.
The chews offer 100% of a few of the B vitamins, namely niacin, B6, and B12. Because the vitamins aren’t excessive, they don’t affect the flavor. Two of the four flavors (Berry Blast and Raspberry) also offer a 40mg of caffeine per pack, a little less than half of what you’d find in a cup of coffee. This is just enough for a little kick, but without making you jittery. Still, this means these flavors may not be appropriate for children.
Each pack has 48g of carbs, half of which come in the form of sugar. The blend of sugar and caffeine will be a great addition for some athletes, especially endurance athletes, but some may find that to be too sugary. I’ll leave you to judge that for yourself.
With organic ingredients, caffeine from yerba mate (in some flavors), and some vitamins, there’s a lot packed into these delicious chews, and you pay for it. While they aren’t cheap, that’s a good thing when you consider quality and what they replace – either a pre-workout beverage or a caffeinated beverage. Still, the price may be a turn-off for some.
If the sugar and price tag work for you, then I’d recommend giving these chews a shot. They are a delicious, high-quality, portable, and effective way to get an energy boost – a solid product all around.
ProBar Bolt are available for $2.69 for one or $29.93 for 12 at Shop.TheProBar.com.
