While whole, natural foods in their unprocessed form are always the best snack choice, sometimes a fruit tray or bowl of nuts isn’t always on hand. In a pinch, a protein bar can keep you from getting hangry (angry as a result of hunger) on an airplane or while waiting in line for Katy Perry tickets.

Quest Bars

Photo by Paulina Lam

My advice? Go for a Quest bar! Quest bars are great because they pack a protein punch and are high in fiber. These bars are nutrient power houses when you’re on the go. They are also gluten free, have no sugar or sugar alcohols and are around 200 calories a bar (which makes them the perfect snack). The bars range from 20-21g of protein which is nearly the amount found in a 4oz salmon filet or 1 1/4 cups of chickpeas.

Well and Good NYC voted Quest bars one of the top five nutrition bars on the market. They are advertised as “not just candy in disguise” like other protein bars that are pumped full of gelatin and artificial sugar. They have a short list of ingredients and will make your tastebuds happy. In their original form, these bars have a consistency similar to frozen cookie dough: thick and chewy. But what most people don’t know is that you can bake your bar.

Quest Bar

Photo by Paulina Lam

In seven minutes at 350 degrees, your bar can leap from good to exceptional. After baking, the bar is more like a dense cookie: softer and yummier than before.

Feeling a creative culinary streak? Quest bars can be flattened to make a mini pumpkin pie crust, or folded over baked apples for an apple turnover. The possibilities are endless and can be found online at blog.questproteinbar.com.

Quest Bar

Photo by Paulina Lam

The flavor considered most health conscious by Well and Good NYC is coconut cashew. My personal favorites are cookies and cream and white chocolate raspberry.

Quest Bar

Photo by Paulina Lam

The most famously delicious flavor, raved about by foodies and consumed rapidly by loyal Quest bar lovers, is chocolate chip cookie dough. With 60 less calories, 18 less grams of sugar, 20 more grams of protein and 16 more grams of fiber, a baked chocolate chip cookie Quest bar defeats a regular old chocolate chip cookie any day. So make the switch when you’re in a pinch and eat a Quest bar!

Follow on instagram for inspiration @questnutrition.