Zing Plant Based Protein Bar | Coconut Cashew Crisp, 12 Count | Cashew Butter and Coconut Flakes| 10g Protein and 5g Fiber | Vegan, Gluten Free, Non GMO | Created by Professional Nutritionists

The bars taste great and the texture is pleasant. Tastes more like a snack, but fills you up like a meal. The delivery was just the box, no padding, no protection for temperature. So while I appreciate the lack of environmental impact, even in the cool weather all the ones facing the sun were all melted.

[DISCLAIMER: I have no medical expertise whatsoever. Some of my conclusions may be wrong, so I encourage you to look up this information from other sources and make your own assessment]I hesitated a lot about writing this review. On one hand, something made me seriously ill, and I feel a strong obligation to warn others. On the other hand, I don't want to be unfair to the company that made this product. While I do have my suspicions, I can't definitively say that their product made me sick.In the end I decided that I'm just going to share some established facts about tapioca, an ingredient in this protein bar. There's something interesting about tapioca that I think everyone should know before they make it a part of their diet.Tapioca comes from a plant called Cassava, which normally contains Cyanide, a dangerous poison. My understanding is that Cassava always has Cyanide in it, the questions is how much. In any case, Cassava is unsafe to eat until it goes through a cleaning process, and even then, it's not guaranteed that all the Cyanide has been removed.If you ingest a very small amount of Cyanide, depending on how small, and depending on your individual body, your system may be able to get rid of it. However, if you ingest a large amount from a plant that wasn't properly cleaned, you can get seriously sick: "vertigo, vomiting, and collapse. In some cases, death may result within one or two hours."Another way you can get seriously harmed is through long exposure; ingesting small amounts over an extended period of time. "Chronic, low-level cyanide exposure is associated with the development of goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) and with tropical ataxic neuropathy, a nerve-damaging disorder." There's more horrible stuff, but I'll stop here.I didn't know any of this until recently when I got sick and needed to investigate the cause. For over a year now, I have been regularly eating protein bars that contain Tapioca. The product I bought and consumed most frequently was the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Zing bar. I have also been consuming similar protein bars from another brand called "ALOHA," which also contain Tapioca.About a month ago, I ate half an ALOHA bar from a new box (and a new batch) that I had just opened. A few hours later I got extremely sick. I have a mild food allergy, and the symptoms I had were similar to my allergic reaction, but much more severe, and this sickness was worse than anything I've experienced before.The next day, when I started feeling well enough, I went back and checked the label on the ALOHA bar to see if it contains my allergen food, but it wasn't in the ingredient list. Of course, the protein bar was not the only thing I ate prior to getting sick, so it was difficult for me to pin-point the cause. I decided not to eat any ALOHA bars until I know more, but I continued to eat the Zing bars almost daily. The Zing bars never made sick at that point, and I have been buying them for over a year.A few weeks later I started noticing bizarre and extremely alarming symptoms. Things like vertigo, vomiting, and headaches are too vague, but the new symptoms were unusual, so the search quickly lead to Cyanide. My new symptoms were a close match to symptoms of long-term Cyanide exposure.To be clear, I make no claims that this product, or any other product I mentioned, contains toxins or had anything to do with my sickness. I still don't know for sure, and I'm keeping records and samples of both products until I know more.What I'm sure about is that I'm staying away from Tapioca, and any other type of food made from the Cassava. While it appears that a lot of people consume it regularly, and that in some countries it's a fundamental food source which they can't go without, it's also clear that Cyanide poisoning is a familiar condition. Everywhere Cassava is mentioned, there's always a warning attached about adequate cleaning and processing. For Tapioca specifically, I saw conflicting statements, some claiming that Tapioca is safe because it's a highly processed form of Cassava, while others give a general that includes Tapioca.I have no doubt that the companies who make these bars want to provide a good and safe product to their customers. What I worry about is unintentional contamination. This is a dangerous plant by nature, and it's not far-fetched to think that they might receive a bad batch from their supplier. Do they test the ingredients they use every single time to ensure that they are safe? How much leftover Cyanide is considered safe and acceptable? Maybe the average person can tolerate a certain amount, but how do you know you're an average person?

The first rule of nutrition/snack/energy bars when it comes to adding chocolate; put the chocolate INSIDE the bar.Clif, RX Bar, Larabar, Powerbar (the energy bar type, not the protein type), Raw Revolution all put chocolate inside their products, not on the outside where it will melt and make a mess.The Zing Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar chocolate coating was melted and messy upon delivery (from Amazon), and of course since it was a 90 degree August day. So I put the bars in the refrigerator, but that made the bars impossible to bite into!The melted coating sticks to the wrapper so when the bar is opened, it's either a gooey mess, or if the bar has cooled since it its initial exposure to heat bits of chocolate fall off onto your hands, onto your clothes, onto the floor... you get the idea. Either way it's a bloody mess.So this Zing bar has a very narrow temperature range of usability - I'd say 50˚F to 70˚F is it. You can't put one of these Zing bars in your pocket or cycling jersey without creating a real mess when it's opened, and you can't keep them cold without breaking your teeth on them.Otherwise, the Zing Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bar tastes decent. It has a chewy consistency, not as sticky as a Tootsie Roll but about as stiff. I recommend small bites. It's not too sweet and the peanut flavor is modest. The chocolate could be better - it isn't all that rich. It didn't "wow" me.One of these bars keeps me satiated for a couple of hours and for me has a glycemic index low enough that my insulin doesn't spike. But keep in mind these bars do have sugar.Zing makes a big deal about the fact their products are created By professional nutritionists... yeah well those professional nutritionists might want to learn a thing or two about the melting point of chocolate.

Bought with 12 packs of Cashew Cranberry and 12 pack of Almond Blueberry. I am not a fan of chocolate, but this flavor in particular is my favorite of the 3. Easy to eat, not to chewy. I hear dark chocolate has a very bitter taste, and i can vaguely remember the taste pure dark chocolate. This wasn't bad, I think the hazelnut evened out the taste really well. I would recommend this product to those who find zing bars hard to consume and love chocolate. Would I buy this again though? Probably not, because i really am not a fan of chocolate... =/Cashew Cranberry Orange::::Product if very chewy. I do not have a sweet tooth, so this one in particular was very sweet. Out of the 3 I bought, this is the one i like the least. I bought this for my work to keep at my desk for snacking. After a while I started giving this flavor away to my co-workers. I'm sure its good, but for my taste buds, it was way to sweet for me. I did not mind the gum chewing texture, but I wouldn't prefer it. It took some time to consume this.Almond Blueberry::::This flavor was my 2nd best of the three i bought. You can really taste the almond and blueberry, it is very distinct. The only downside to this flavor for me was that it was very chewy and hard to bite. It would often get stuck to my teeth and i have to pry really hard with my tongue to get it off. Other than that, the flavor was great. I would put this above the Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, if it were easier to consume. Overall I would recommend this to others if you don't mind that chewing battle.

Good product