Last year Optimum Nutrition surprised us quite a bit by launching a number of entirely new supplements. What was even more surprising about the spree of new releases was that two of them were edible, with the protein-packed snacks Opti-Bar and Optimum Cake Bites. After buying a full box of Opti-Bars and being a little disappointed, we decided to grab a bunch of the Cake Bites for review.
Two favorites
We’ve picked two of our favorite Optimum Cake Bites flavors for review today, which are Birthday Cake and Red Velvet. Unfortunately, despite the two tasting significantly different, we found they both have the same kind of problem. Basically because of the name, we were expecting something delicious from Optimum’s Cake Bites or at least leagues above the Opti-Bar. It turns out they really aren’t as incredible as we had hoped.
Birthday Cake
We’ll start with the Birthday Cake Optimum Cake Bites, which do look pretty damn tasty when you first pull them out of the packet. They’re also pretty damn tasty when you take that first bite, however only for a few seconds. You get a sweet hit of classic birthday cake and candy flavor, then it quickly turns into quite a smooth doughy experience. It’s almost like there is no flavor on the inside, and once you’ve chewed through the outer layer there’s nothing left to enjoy.
Red Velvet
Moving on to our other Optimum Cake Bites favorite, we have the similarly iced Red Velvet. Once again the product looks very delicious as you pull it out of the wrapper, and it packs a good dose of red velvet sweetness as you bite in. Unfortunately its flavor also fades fairly quickly, going from sweet to a thick tasty bite, then to a smooth, doughy, not so enjoyable treat. The fast developing consistency does seem to be slightly tastier in Red Velvet, although you are still left with an almost empty phase as you near the end of your mouthful.
Much better options available
Our two favorite Cake Bites both have a great initial hit of flavor, but it’s just not enough. When you compare it to something like Grenade’s Carb Killa or ProSupps’ MyBar, you’re looking at two protein bars that don’t have a dull point in them, and that goes for all of their flavors. More importantly you get less calories with the MyBar, and with the Carb Killa you get less calories and more protein.
With a name like Optimum Cake Bites, we were kind of expecting something significantly better than your typical protein bar, like a high protein treat that trades more flavor for a few extra calories. Instead the Cake Bites are a little more like the Opti-Bar, combining a somewhat less doughy consistency, with a sweet introductory outer layer, that gives them a bit more overall flavor, but not exactly cake like.
