Your Protein Opinion

Protein Review - MusclePharm Combat Crunch (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough)

MusclePharm's combat crunch bars are a double layered protein bar with a whey centre and a coating of chocolate on the outside. They are marketed as having a unique baking process which supposedly means that the inside tastes like a 'soft batch cookie' (their words exactly). But as always, we'll see for ourselves how true that is.

Taste - 8/10

Overall, the taste for this protein bar was really good, definitely closer to a real chocolate bar as opposed to 'diet health bars'. The outside had a generous layer of chocolate (whilst keeping the macros reasonable) and the inside was a fairly tasty chocolaty whey center. Thankfully, the whey did not have the pitfall chemical taste as do some protein bars which is a definite plus. However, I did not give this bar any higher in the taste score as firstly, I could not see nor taste any of the chocolate chips in the center (as advertised on the packet). Secondly, the taste whilst good is fairly generic and not particularly unique. Many different companies offer this flavour and to be honest, if didn't tell me the brand, it could have been made by any company, such as the Grenade Carb Killa Caramel Chaos bar.

Macros - 7/10

The macros for this bar are fairly standard with nothing out of the ordinary for a ~200 calorie protein bar. This bar specifically has 210 calories with 20 grams of protein giving you 10.50 calories per gram of protein. In addition, this bar packs a decent 12 g of fibre content per bar and whilst not everyone likes high fibre bars, personally, I find it to be a positive as I often lack fibre in my diet. Also, a plus is that it only has 1 g of sugar alcohols which some people are sensitive to.

Texture - 8/10

As you might know, I'm a big fan of contrasting textures, especially if one of them adds a bit of crunch which is why this one scores pretty highly . The outside coating consists of a chocolate coating riddled with crunchy pieces which feels more decadent whilst the inside layer is a chewy whey protein centre. Surprisingly, this protein bar did indeed have a softer protein core and did not seem to have an as extremely rubbery and chewy texture compared to some other companies and was a good mimic of cookie dough (that delicious childhood treat). However, this bar was kept at a warm ambient room temperature (as my room is fairly hot) which would have softened the centre somewhat so if you live somewhere colder, the centre may be harder and more chewy (do let me know if that's the case!). So, the moral of this story is keep it somewhere a bit warmer than standard room temperature if you find it too hard (but not too hot as the chocolate coating will become a sticky mess as I found out after I left it in my pocket for a few hours).

Cost - 6/10

I picked a box of 12 up for £24 so each bar worked out to be around £2 (~€2.30) which is a fairly standard price for a box of protein bars in the UK so it was neither cheap nor expensive. However, if you want to pick a box up for youself, have a look around online as there are frequently deals going on like buy one get one half price which knocks the price down to about £1.50 per bar which is a very nice price for what you're getting.

Bonus - 2 Point

To be honest, this bar is pretty solid in all fields with taste, texture and macros all being pretty competitive. However, it doesn't have any unique characteristics that boost up its bonus points other than it having a surprisingly satisfying chocolate coating.

Total Score - 31 Points

Overall, this bar performs really well in taste and texture but as I mentioned before, many other companies makes bars that taste really similar and you really wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you had them side by side. Similarly, it performs decently in the macros department for a >200 calorie bar but if you are on a diet or a strict cut, then there are other protein bars that deliver the same amount of protein for about 160 calories (which may not sound like much but is almost 25% less). For me, this bar is great as I'm flexible with my macros and the taste is good enough such that I look forward to eating it (unlike some bars where it is almost a chore).