The 48Hrs Team sampled goodies from the Protein Bake Shop — a brand that offers healthy desserts. Free from trans-fat, wheat and dairy, we tell you how the treats fared in terms of taste
T he next time you are watching your weight, but are craving for something sweet, don’t work yourself into a sweat! Protein Bake Shop, a venture by Rashi Chowdhary, a nutrition expert and diabetic educator, makes eating your favourite desserts extremely healthy. Made with protein isolate to maintain a healthy carbohydrates to protein ratio, their cookies, biscotti, brownies and nut butters are proof that you don’t have to compromise on the good stuff even if you are looking to eat healthy.
We tried their Chia and Flaxseed Slice (`500 for four pieces), made with fresh bananas, protein powder, honey, chia seeds, flaxseeds and 70% dark chocolate chips. Each slice contains 9.9g carbohydrates, 3.2g fat, 6.5g protein and 89 calories. The slice was moist and resembled the texture of a chewy brownie. The chia seeds and flaxseeds added crunch and the chocolate chips lent just the right amount of decadence to the snack. Perfect as a mid-morning treat (as long as you don’t mind the taste of bananas) this one keeps you full for hours.
We also tried the Paleo Rawnola (`500 for 220g), made with almonds, cashews, coconut flakes, honey and super seeds. Without any sugar and added preservatives, it was a healthy eat. However, it was quite oily and heavy on the stomach. We couldn’t eat more than three teaspoons in one go and it worked as an entire meal rather than just a snack. If you want to give this a try, do so for it’s nutritional value, but, if you are looking for something that is both healthy and delicious, then this snack is probably not for you.
The Paleo Biscotti (`500 for eight pieces) comes in an attractive brown paper bag, with an informative label telling you about its contents. With eight pieces of biscotti that contain almond flour, coconut flour, honey, almonds and chocolate chips, each piece contains around 60 calories, 1.5g protein and 2.9g fat, with 7.7g carbohydrate content. It looks and smells delicious, but getting used to eating it takes a while. It starts off slightly too nutty, with a sawdust-like texture.
But, after you finish the first piece, you can get through the rest of the bag pretty easily, since it’s quite addictive. You also begin to like the taste as you continue to eat. After the second piece, we found ourselves craving another, and another... It keeps you full for quite a while, which means that you won’t snack unnecessarily in between.
For the price, these treats are a good option to curb your sweet cravings once in a while, but are on the expensive side if your sweet tooth pops up often. Having said that, we’d love to try some of their other products, such as the chocolate stacks (`500 for four pieces), almond butter (`400 for 200ml) and their paleo pizza — the only savoury snack on the menu.