Lunch packers comparing fat
If your ploughman’s lunch includes cheese, you may want a sweet bar alongside it without overlooking the bar’s fat and saturated fat. Compare labels per 100g and per bar, as portions differ.
Who is this for?
Protein-focused lunch packers
A bar can add protein when lunch preparation is limited, but its protein figure does not tell you its fat content or portion size. Check those values together on the flavour you plan to pack.
People checking ingredients before sharing
Allergens and sweetener warnings can differ between bars and flavours. Read the physical pack before putting a bar in someone else’s lunch.
What to compare
Start with comparable per-100g figures, then look at what one whole bar adds to a lunch that may already contain cheese.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Total fat | Compare the exact flavours per 100g, then check fat per bar. The NHS describes 3g fat or less per 100g as low fat; a lower-fat comparison does not itself meet that threshold. | I want a sweet addition to a cheese-containing lunch, so I need to know whether a bar is lower in fat than another option—not just whether it says “reduced fat”. |
| Saturated fat | Read saturates per 100g and per bar separately from total fat. Tesco lists 5.6g per 100g and 3.1g per 55g bar for Barebells Cookies & Cream. | With cheese already in my lunch, I want to see what the bar contributes before choosing a flavour. |
| Protein and portion | Compare protein and energy for the serving you would eat, alongside bar weight. Myprotein UK lists 15g protein per 40g Lean Layered bar; Tesco lists 20g per 55g Barebells Cookies & Cream bar. | A protein figure is useful to me, but I also want to compare the size and nutrition of the whole bar I would pack. |
| Sugar and other values | Check sugars, total fat, saturates and salt on the same flavour’s label. A low-sugar or no-added-sugar description does not state its fat content. | If I choose a bar for its sugar information, I still want to check its fat and saturated fat rather than assume those values are low too. |
| Ingredients and warnings | Read the exact pack’s ingredient list, allergen information and any warning about excessive consumption of sweeteners. Do not substitute another flavour’s label. | Before packing or sharing a bar, I need to know whether its ingredients and warnings are relevant to the person eating it. |
Common buying mistakes
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Reading “reduced fat” as “low fat”
A comparison with another bar does not establish that a product meets the NHS low-fat threshold of 3g fat or less per 100g.
Compare fat per 100g on the exact flavour, then check the amount in the bar you intend to eat.
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Choosing by protein or sugar claims alone
Protein, sugars, fat and saturated fat are separate label values. Tesco’s Barebells Cookies & Cream listing, for example, states 20g protein per bar and 12g fat per 100g.
Read the full nutrition table on a consistent per-100g basis, then compare whole-bar servings.
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Assuming every flavour has the same ingredients
Allergens and sweetener warnings matter when you are packing food for yourself or sharing it with someone else.
Check the current physical pack for the specific flavour, including its allergen statement and consumption warnings.
Relevant brands and retailers
These references help distinguish fat-focused choices from bars selected chiefly for protein or sugar information; they do not establish that every product is available on Joybuy.
Myprotein
Myprotein UK positions Lean Layered as lower in fat than its stated typical protein-bar comparator.
- Its Cookie Dough and White Chocolate & Raspberry flavours list 8.1g and 8.6g fat per 100g respectively, against the brand’s 14.2g comparator.
- Neither figure meets the NHS low-fat threshold of 3g fat or less per 100g.
Barebells
Barebells Cookies & Cream is a 55g single bar listed by Tesco for shoppers comparing protein with the rest of the nutrition panel.
- Tesco lists 20g protein per bar.
- The same listing gives 12g fat and 5.6g saturated fat per 100g, and says the bar may contain gluten-containing cereals, soya, peanuts and nuts.
PhD
PhD Smart Protein Bar is an option to examine when protein per bar matters more than minimising fat.
- PhD lists 21g protein per 64g Choc Brownie bar.
- That flavour also lists 14g fat and 5.2g saturated fat per 100g.
Grenade
Grenade describes its Carb Killa range in terms of protein and sugar, rather than an exact fat figure shared by every flavour.
- Grenade UK states that Carb Killa bars contain up to 24g protein and less than 2g sugar per bar.
- Those range-level figures do not establish that a particular bar is reduced in fat; check its own nutrition panel.
Quest
Quest Nutrition describes its US OG protein-bar range as containing protein and sugar alcohols.
- Quest Nutrition states that OG bars contain up to 21g protein per bar.
- For a UK lunch purchase, use the exact UK pack to check fat, portion size, ingredients and warnings rather than applying a US range description to every bar.
Tesco
Tesco is a retailer reference for the specific Barebells Cookies & Cream 55g bar, not a protein-bar manufacturer.
- Its listing gives nutrition both per 100g and per 55g bar, making the two comparison bases clear.
- Read the physical pack when checking current ingredients and allergen information.
Grenade bars on Joybuy
These Grenade multipacks are protein-bar options for a packed lunch, but their product names do not establish that they are reduced in fat. If fat reduction is your main reason for adding a bar to a ploughman’s lunch, compare the exact pack’s fat and saturated fat figures before choosing one.
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Grenade High Protein Low Sugar Oreo Flavour, 4 × 60g
A four-pack for adding a bar to a packed lunch. Check this Oreo flavour’s fat, saturated fat and ingredients on the pack before pairing it with cheese.
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Grenade High Protein Low Sugar White Oreo, 12 × 60g
This White Oreo variant comes as twelve 60g bars. Compare its own per-100g fat and saturated fat values rather than assuming they match the Oreo-flavour pack.
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Grenade Soft Core Double Chocolate, 12 × 50g
These 50g Double Chocolate bars are smaller than the 60g Grenade variants listed here. Compare both per-100g nutrition and the amount in one bar for your lunch.
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Grenade Soft Core Golden Caramel, 12 × 50g
A twelve-pack of 50g Golden Caramel bars. If you are choosing it for a cheese-containing lunch, check this flavour’s fat and saturated fat per 100g and per bar.
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Grenade Soft Core Peanut Butter, 12 × 50g
This Peanut Butter variant comes as twelve 50g bars. Check its exact ingredient and allergen statement before packing or sharing one, as well as its fat figures.
Questions about protein bars at lunch
Is a reduced-fat protein bar necessarily low in fat?
No. The NHS describes 3g fat or less per 100g as low fat. Myprotein UK lists 8.1g and 8.6g per 100g for two Lean Layered flavours: below its stated typical protein-bar comparator, but above the NHS low-fat threshold.
What should I compare before adding a bar to a ploughman’s lunch?
Compare fat, saturated fat, energy, protein, sugars and salt per 100g and per whole bar. Bar sizes differ, and checking the whole portion shows what the bar would add alongside foods such as cheese and bread.
Does “no added sugar” mean a protein bar is reduced in fat?
No. Sugar and fat are separate nutrition measures. Tesco lists Barebells Cookies & Cream as having no added sugar, while its nutrition panel gives 12g fat per 100g; check the exact flavour’s fat figure independently.
Should I check allergens for every protein-bar flavour?
Yes. GOV.UK says that any of the 14 regulated allergens present as ingredients in prepacked food must be clearly identified in the ingredients list. Tesco’s Barebells Cookies & Cream listing also gives may-contain information, so read the current pack for the flavour you are buying.
Why do some protein bars warn against excessive consumption?
The Myprotein Lean Layered, Barebells Cookies & Cream and PhD Smart Bar product information includes warnings that excessive consumption may have laxative effects. Read the warning on the exact pack, particularly if you are considering more than one bar.