Product Review: Quest Protein Chips — Timmy Hendren Fitness

My product review posts are strictly “no BS". My readers will get my honest, straightforward opinion on each product reviewed. If I haven’t tried something, I won’t review it, and if I think it sucks, I’m going to tell you. As of this writing, I have no affiliation with any company other than Amazon who gives me a small commission on anything a reader buys when they get to the store via the links in my blog. My main goal is to help my readers make informed decisions when investing in fitness or nutrition products. Now that the necessary logistics have been stated, on to my review…….

When it comes to snacking, it’s hard to go wrong with chips. Pretzels and crackers are cool, no doubt, but chips are where it’s at. BBQ, sour cream and onion, and if you’re around the Baltimore area, crab chips lead the way for me. What’s not to love about a snack with great flavor, a good crunch, and just the right amount of grease? Ahhh yes, the calories and macros. There is a price to pay for that glorious snacking and it comes in the form of double chins and man boobs. Per oz., chips are one of the more physique damaging foods in existence. A 1 oz. bag is roughly 130-150 calories 9g of fat and 10-15g of carbs. Read that sentence again so that it sinks in, that’s in 1 oz. Take a potato, strip it of its naturally occurring nutrients, drop it in a cheap concoction of oil, then sprinkle in some powdered flavoring and Voila, it’s ready to be consumed and wind up in crumbs all over your chest and couch during a Netflix binge.

An Alternative

It probably speaks to my level of crazy, but I thoroughly enjoy scanning the local Vitamin Shoppe searching for that diamond in the rough. That one item that tastes pretty good and has a macro friendly nutrition label to boot. It doesn’t happen often, there is always something holding it back, whether it’s too much fat, not enough protein, too many carbs, a red flag on the ingredient list, or it tastes like dog shit, it’s always something. As I’m strolling though, I came across Quest Protein Chips. I had tried Quest bars, and those were pretty good, so I figured I would take a closer look. When I flipped the bag over and checked the macros, I was stunned. 130 calories, 21g of protein, 4g of fat, and 4g of carbs. My initial reaction was to snag a couple of flavors and give them a whirl. Let’s see how Quest Protein Chips graded out.

Taste

My expectations when first tasting the chips were very low. With that macronutrient count it must taste awful, right? Wrong!! I was floored at how “chip like” these tasted. Now, I’m not telling you they tasted quite as good as Pringles, but they had the crunch and saltiness you are looking for in a chip without the grease. If picking a real potato chip counterpart, Baked Lays comes to mind. Of the flavors I tried (sour cream and onion, cheddar and sour cream, sea salt, and BBQ), I personally liked cheddar and sour cream the most although some others have reported to prefer the BBQ. The flavors are lightly dusted across each chip to provide the perfect amount of taste. The biggest drawback for these chips is they will dry your mouth out at warp speed. Make sure you have some water on hand or your mouth will feel like you have been stranded in the Sahara for 2 weeks with no Camelbak.

Nutrient Profile

Quest Protein Chips dominate anything else I have seen in the “protein snack” category as far as ratio of protein to carbs/fats. These will fit effortlessly into almost any diet and taste good enough to satisfy cravings for the real thing. It beats every protein bar (including Quest bars) I have come across and honestly, it isn’t even close. At 130 calories, 21g of protein and only 4g of fat and 4g of carbs, these are all alone at the top of the “macro friendly” snack rankings. Be careful however if you are one of the unlucky souls that has a problem digesting dairy products, the protein comes from a blend of whey and milk protein isolates.

Overall Ranking: 9/10

If you are looking for a decent tasting way to increase your protein count, give these chips a try. While they taste pretty good, keep in mind that you are also getting great nutrition. Don’t forget the water either. You can find them in any GNC or Vitamin Shoppe or click on the Amazon link below the article. Happy snacking!