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Zing Plant Bars

Vegan Dream or Overhyped Fake Food? (Nutritionist Reacts)
Remy
Remy has reviewed over 100 protein bars. He's the founder of Human Food Bar.

Are you always on the lookout for quick snacks that help you meet your daily nutritional goals? If so, you must’ve heard of Zing Plant Bars.

These plant-based bars are a market top-seller. Eliminating soy and gluten-based products from the equation helped them gain traction in health-conscious communities.

Are they really the best way to hack busy days with easy meal replacements, though? Is there quality to match the hype?

That’s what we’re here to learn. Join me for a complete Zing Plant Bar review.

What Is the Zing Plant Bar?

The Zing founders understand the importance of food to your well-being. They also know that getting all the necessary nutrients can be a challenge in the fast-paced modern world. A plant-based, nutrient-packed snack emerged as a result.

The blend of good carbs, natural sugars, and a healthy protein serving made many fall in love with the product. Here’s what one customer had to say:

“This makes for a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon or early evening, especially following having hit the gym — I’m especially liking the dark chocolate coconut with a cup of ice coffee.”

Area Man, United States

close-up of a Zing Plant Bar

Nutritional Macros 

Here are the average macronutrient counts for a regular full-size protein bar by Zing:

  • 10 g of protein
  • 25 g of carbohydrates
  • 4–6 g of unsaturated fats
  • 7–13 g of sugar
  • 7–10 g of dietary fiber

This carb amount in the regular option was too much for keto eaters, so Zing released a keto version of their product. These contain:

  • 7–9 g of protein
  • 3 g of carbohydrate
  • 15 g of fat
  • Less than 1 g of sugar
  • 10 g of dietary fiber

These figures seem pretty good at first glance. However, as any professional nutritionist will tell you, macronutrient content is only the tip of the iceberg.

Pros and Cons

testing zing plant bar
Zing Bars Reivew
The Takeaway
With great macros and ingredients to match, Zing Bars are on a short list of bars that I can recommend. With that said, I’m not thrilled that their primary fiber source is tapioca.
Taste and Texture Rating:
Macros Rating:
Plant Protein & Fiber Content Rating
Ingredients Rating:
Value Rating:
Sugar Rating:
Pros
Good macronutrient balance
An appropriate amount of fiber
Variety of flavors
Variety of ingredient and size options
Low sugar content—no blood sugar spike
Soy-free gluten-free vegan and kosher
Cons
Low-quality fiber sources
Not suitable for lectin-free diets
More expensive than equal-quality competitors
Somewhat inconvenient—melt at room temperature
4

Rating the Zing Plant Bar

zing plant bar

Texture and Taste

Zing Bars get bonus points for the sheer number of available flavors. You can get:

  • Dark Chocolate Coconut
  • Dark Chocolate Mint
  • Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • Dark Chocolate Mocha
  • Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond
  • Dark Chocolate Hazelnut
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
  • Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
  • Coconut Cashew Crisp
  • Double Nut Brownie

These flavors don’t only sound delectable. Customers agree that these protein bars are just what you need to satisfy your sweet cravings.

A slight issue arises with the texture, though. This treat gets chewy when left in the freezer for too long. Keeping them in hot temperatures makes them melt too soon.

Overall, I’d say that Zing’s got the flavor near-perfect, but it’s not there just yet.

Macros

Zing Plant protein bars keep their macro levels pretty balanced. A full-sized bar contains, on average:

  • 10 g of protein
  • 11 g of fat
  • 24 g of carbohydrates

The protein amount is around 10 grams a bar, which is the minimum for a product marketed as protein-rich. I’d like to see them incorporate a bit more for gym vegans on the go, but they meet the standard in this respect.

Plant Protein and Fiber Content

The Zing Plant Bar gets most of its protein and fiber from plant ingredients.

Plant-based protein sources include rice, nuts, seeds, and peas. The bar is soy-free and rich in good fats.

Note: The Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Zing Bar is the only one that doesn’t suit vegan nutrition, as it uses whey protein.

Fiber also comes from plant-based sources, notably organic tapioca syrup and prebiotic tapioca powder.

The amount of dietary fiber is acceptable. Anything above 10 grams is bound to cause gas and bloating, but Zing helps you get in your daily dose without overstepping this boundary.

Ingredients

ingredients in Zing Double Nut Brownie protein bar

Zing’s ingredients are mostly high-quality and plant-based.

Zing uses rice protein concentrate (organic brown rice syrup) and pea protein crisps. Depending on the product type, you also get a serving of a real nut or seed butter of your choice.

The chocolate bars are covered with real dark chocolate. This layer consists of cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, and cocoa powder, ensuring a decent serving of natural vitamin E.

Other quality ingredients further build up the nature-based, plant-first picture with Zing. For instance, I loved seeing natural peppermint in their choco mint option.

Value

Zing puts in quite the effort to provide organic, natural alternatives to unhealthy supermarket snacks. Quality is to be expected from their product class, but we have to put it into the context of the competitors to ensure your choice brings value.

For instance, take the peanut butter chocolate chip bar. One full-size serving delivers 220 calories, 90 of which come from fat. That’s a good amount of calories for a snack, but the protein count is a bit of an issue.

An average store-bought protein bar contains anywhere between 10 and 20 grams of this nutrient. You’re getting the minimum acceptable amount with Zing.

zing plant bar

Low Sugar

Zing sources sugar from organic agave syrup, tapioca, and dark chocolate. These ingredients are low on the glycemic index, slowly released into the bloodstream to prevent an energy spike and crash.

Note: Some flavors contain chocolate chips, which are made with cane sugar.

The sugar amount is decent for a sweet treat, too. You get around 10 g per bar—a bit high for low-sugar diets, but reasonable in context.

Zing Plant Bar vs. Human Food Bar

Overall, Zing Plant Bars have a lot to offer. It’s products like this one that serve as a blueprint for our Human Food Bar. We use knowledge of current options to create something even better for our consumers.

The table below describes the features of Zing bars that we improved upon in our products.

  Zing Plant Bars Human Food Bar
Dietary fiber 10 g, but from artificial fiber sources 10 g, from multiple fiber sources (prebiotic fiber and resistant starch)
Sugar levels Around 10 g a serving Only 3 g a serving
Superfoods No Yes—baobab, cacao, and tiger nuts

The health-boosting properties of the Human Food Bar revolve around boosting microbial diversity in the gut. Our products ensure better digestion and higher energy levels. Eating them daily combines these two factors to promote weight loss.

We hold flavor in high regard, with natural ingredients that remain creamy without melting. The premium ingredients, which include Himalayan pink salt, cacao nibs, and green banana flour, are of higher quality than what you’d typically find on the market.

nutritional contents of the Human Food Bar

The Final Verdict on Zing Bars

With a score of 3.5/5, Zing Plant Bars are a far cry from a vegan dream, but they aren’t overhyped fake food either.

They deliver a decent amount of macronutrients, come in various flavors that keep your gut and your palate happy, and don’t include any of the red-flag ingredients we often see in similar products.

Overall, I came to the following conclusions:

  • Zing Bars are excellent as occasional quick meals, but they fall a bit short for protein bar-seekers.
  • Zing Bars bring reasonable value, with quality non-processed ingredients but fewer nutritional benefits than you’d expect for the price.
  • Zing Bars have a healthy dose of macronutrients, and their vitamin E content is good. However, they offer very little in terms of micronutrients.

You’re not making a mistake by buying Zing, but there are better options for nurturing your body. Our Human Food Bar eliminates the issues found here, delivering everything you need for optimal functioning.

Still not sure? Check out these reviews of other fiber rich bars we tested:

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Zing Plant Bars gluten-free?

Yes, 100%. Zing has a gluten-free certificate for all their facilities, ensuring that no wheat products come into contact with the bars.

Are Zing Plant Bars vegan?

In most cases, they are. All bars except for the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter are free of animal products, while this one contains whey.

What diets match Zing Plant Bars?

Much like our Human Food Bar, Zing ensures that its products are suitable for various diet plans, including:

  • Vegan
  • Low-carb
  • Keto
  • Kosher

Note that, unlike the Human Food Bar, Zing Plant Bars do contain lectin.

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