Five Reasons to "Celebrate" ENS 2 in 1 Protein & Calcium Bars!

So here's something I hear a lot, especially from new-new post-ops: "I just don't know how I'm supposed to get all my vitamins in plus protein. It's too much!"

Although I'm not in that boat anymore (happy dance), I can relate. During the first six months after my surgery I had extreme restriction. I would take my vitamins and they'd actually fill me up. Ugh, it was horrible. I always felt like every time I got one area under control (protein, vitamins, water, exercise) another would fall behind!

Well our friends over at Celebrate Vitamins are trying to make things easier for us by making products that do double duty. This week, as a prize sponsor for the Bariatric Foodie Pledge, Celebrate is offering up a stash of their ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium Bars (btw, here's my official review of the bars). I wanted to know more about these bars, so I had a chat with my buddy over at Celebrate, Shannon Kisha. Here's what she has to say.

Nik: Hey, Shannon! We already know Celebrate for its many vitamin offerings, but many Foodies might not know you provide other products. Can you tell us what else you have to offer?

Shannon: Sure Nik!  We’re definitely known for our bariatric multivitamins, calcium and iron, but what some patients may not know or be familiar with is our combination products.  We offer meal replacements, protein shakes, drink mixes and our newest product: protein bars!  But they’re actually a protein AND calcium bar, which is pretty cool, because it does double duty (I’ll get to that later).

Nik: What made Celebrate decide to make the 2-in-1 protein and calcium bar?  

Shannon: So, like I mentioned, it’s a protein AND calcium bar, not the norm for a protein bar.   We recognized that getting the proper amount of calcium citrate was challenging for patients, so we created several products that combine 2, 3 or 4 different vitamins and supplements (all including calcium) that bariatric patients need to get in daily.  We call this our ENS line, which stands for Essential Nutrient System.  

Currently we have our Celebrate ENS + Protein 4 in 1 Protein Shake (combining a multivitamin, calcium citrate, protein and fiber), Celebrate 3 in 1 Drink Mix (combining a multivitamin, calcium citrate, and fiber), and our ENS 2 in 1 Protein & Calcium Bar.  The idea behind this is to be able to provide the patient with a supplement that has the ability to decrease the amount of pills / doses needed in a day, and always including calcium.  For example:  our ENS 2 in 1 Protein  & Calcium Bar provides 15 grams of protein and 500 mg of calcium citrate.  Your getting an added dose of calcium in daily, which is one less calcium pill, and eating a protein packed snack that will help curb your hunger and cravings and get you closer to your daily recommendations! 

Nik:  So, what's in the bars? Are they sugar-free, gluten-free, etc.?

Shannon: The 2 in 1 Bars are a low calorie, low sugar snack, with only 5 grams of sugar!  They have 15 grams of soy protein isolate and score a 1 on the PDCAAS scale, which means they are a complete protein and provide all of the essential amino acids.  They have 500 mg of calcium citrate, as well as 333 IU of vitamin D3 and 50 mg of magnesium.  We use sugar alcohols and Sucralose to sweeten the bar.  And of course, they’re gluten-free.

Nik: Both the current bars have chocolate in them. Are there new bars coming that have other flavors?

Shannon: Right now we have two delicious flavors; Peanut Butter – Chocolate Crunch and Caramel – Chocolate Crunch!  Yum!  No new flavors yet, but you never know what we might think of next!

Nik: So tell us...which bar is your personal favorite?

Shannon: I’m a peanut butter fanatic! So you know my personal fav is the Peanut Butter – Chocolate Crunch! I love, love, love my peanut butter! Did I mention I like peanut butter?  Haha!

Three of this week's Pledgers will win a prize pack from Celebrate Vitamins that will include a box of ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium bars! So be sure to check them out and, of course, show them love on social media!

• Like Celebrate Vitamins on Facebook
• Follow Celebrate Vitamins on Twitter 

BF Review: Celebrate ENS 2-in-1 Protein & Calcium Bars

See if you can identify with this sentiment.

You’re newly post-op and you have a LOT of requirements. You have to get so many calories and so much water and on top of all of that you have to get your vitamins. It’s stressful, isn’t it!

That’s why I’m a big fan of things that can do double duty. Protein shakes that double as liquid intake and possibly your vitamin does, stuff like that.

To that effect, Celebrate Vitamins has a new product offering for you – protein bars that help you get your vitamins!

The good folks at Celebrate sent me their ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium Bars to try. They come in two flavors currently:

• Caramel Chocolate Crunch: 130 calories, 3g fat, 18g carbs, 5g fiber (so 13 net grams of carbs), 5g sugar, 5g sugar alcohols (combo of polydextrose and malitol), 15g protein.
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch: 140 calories, 4.5g fat, 17g carbs, 4g fiber (so again, 13 net grams of carbs), 4g sugar, 4g sugar alcohols (again, combo of polydextrose and malitol), 15g protein.

So here’s where I need to make a comment on the nutritional content, because I give this information and people freak out. Yes, there are sugar alcohols in this. If you are particularly sensitive to sugar alcohols you should take heed. If you don’t have a particular sensitivity, from my experience (and keep in mind I’m not a registered dietician) 4-5g of sugar alcohol usually doesn’t do anything too terribly wonky to your system. So take that for what it’s worth.

Each bar also contains 500mg calcium citrate and 333 IU of Vitamin D.

So what’d I think?

• Smell: Smelled like something sweet. The caramel had a whiff of caramel smell to it. I didn’t pick up any obvious protein smell (and I have with bars before!)
• Texture: As you can see in the above photo, the bars are coated but beneath that they are sort of like a rice crispy treat. Crispy yet chewy. The texture helped it to not be too heavy. But then again I’m 6.5 years post-op so newbies, take that with a grain of salt!
• Flavor: I really liked the Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch (surprise, surprise). I didn’t dislike the Caramel Chocolate Crunch, however, like most caramel flavored things nowadays, I thought it was a tad too sweet (which is saying something coming from me, the person who adds tons of Splenda to everything)
• Cost/Value: A box of 7 bars is 15.75, which comes out to $2.25/bar. Each bar is about 1.5 oz. I always struggle with what a good “value” is with regards to protein supplements. I mean on the one hand you’re getting 15g protein out of 1.5 oz. of food mass. To give a comparison, 1.5 oz. of chicken is about 8-ish grams of protein, the same amount of tuna is about 5g. So if you really are limited in how much you can eat, it may be worth the investment, especially considering you are getting calcium and vitamin D as well.

Overall verdict: I actually would order the Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch. Why? Because I often forget to take my last calcium/vitamin D supplement! I like these bars and don’t envision it’d take much to convince me to have one as a snack. There’s that other calcium dose I need.

As for the Caramel, I’ll leave that to true caramel lovers. To learn more about all of Celebrate's great offerings, visit their website!

What say you, Foodie Nation? Who’s tried these bars. What did YOU think? I’d love to hear (and I’m sure your fellow Foodies would appreciate additional perspectives). Let me know in the comments!