Would you eat cricket flour?
[+ other unique protein sources]
Heyyyy. How’s your day going? I’m slowly crawling out from the black hole of tiredness that a red-eye flight will do to you. We all slept about 3 hours on the first flight, and then got home from the airport, ate breakfast, then Liv and I took a nice, long nap to make up for it. Teaching spin last night finally woke me up! Our sleep is way off, but that didn’t stop us from watching the Game of Thrones finale last night. I’m seen about 4 episodes, but I read all the spoilers haha, and the Pilot is great at giving mini-synopses during the show.
This morning, I cracked an egg onto the floor, missing the bowl by at least a foot. Just a snapshot of the day haha.
So this afternoon, let’s talk about bugs.
Have you seen these bars?? They’re Exo bars and their main protein source is (you guessed it) cricket flour.
Wanna bite???
(Use the code “FITNESSISTA” to get 20% off all products. Not getting affiliate or commission, just wanted to share the word!)
When I first saw an article about these, months ago, I was instantly intrigued. I’m a bit of a protein bar connoisseur, and am always looking for new combos and recipes. Since I’m not drinking my beloved Shakeology during pregnancy, it’s encouraged me to get out of the box and try some new protein sources to fuel my teaching, workouts, and life.
Exo sent me a box to try, and I was apprehensive about it for a while. I’ve had crickets before (chapulines, which are well-seasoned and actually quite delicious) but for whatever reason, it creeped me out. Finally, I decided to go for it.
The verdict?
(Midway through my Exo bar tasting party for one.)
You can hardly taste the cricket flour (I think it gives an earthy flavor, similar to hemp), and the bars are sweet and delicious. My favorites were the Cocoa Nut and the PB&J. I didn’t love the blueberry or apple ones as much. The bars remind me of Go Macro bars (which I also adore), but not quite as chewy. They’re soft, sweet, and slightly nutty.
Some interesting facts about cricket flour as a protein source:
-Cricket flour has about 70g of protein per cup. That’s the same as beef!! It also contains iron, B12, and omega-3 fatty acids
-Could be a sustainable source of protein (though this recent study claims otherwise, which I found interesting food for thought). According to the UN, if edible insects become a part of the mainstream global diet, we can reduce greenhouse gases by 18% and the average cost of food globally by 33% (Source). An average 10-minute shower uses 21 gallons of water, eating a 1/3 pound burger used around 630 gallons of water, making 1 pound of cricket flour uses 1 gallon of water.
-Crickets are similar to shellfish, and it’s recommend that those with shellfish allergies avoid eating cricket flour
Am I going to start cooking with cricket flour? Welp, never say never, but I don’t intend to anytime soon. I think I would buy these bars again for sure, as the nutritional stats are much better than many of the bars I’ll see on store shelves and they feature whole ingredients.
Some more of my fave non-protein powder and non-meat sources of protein:
-Eggs. Quite possibly my favorite food, ever. Put a little salsa or hot sauce on top, and I could eat eggs or egg burritos for every meal.
-Goat’s milk Greek yogurt
-Hemp seeds
-Mung bean pasta (20g of protein per serving and two ingredients: mung beans and water)
-Quinoa
-Chia seeds
-Nuts
-Edamame (I just look for certified organic since soy is a common GMO crop)
Tell me friends: would you eat (or have you tried) cricket flour? What about any other insects? What’s your favorite non-protein powder source of protein?
xoxo
Gina
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Shannan
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(Waiting on the TRX names and emails from the company!)
All winners so far have been emailed. Thank you again so much to everyone for entering and for celebrating with me last week. Stay tuned for some Summer Shape Up giveaways coming up! <3
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I have tried the cricket flour bars (after I got past my initial freak out) and I thought they were very tasty. The texture was very interesting.
I have and I would again! I tried it in Chapul bars and couldn’t taste it at all! The bars were awesome.
i haven’t heard of those! will be on the lookout
I have a motto that I’ll try (almost) anything once. I’d definitely try cricket flour. I’d like to find a bakery that used it so I could taste test some baked goods before I tried it at home.
Very interesting about the water usage!
that’s a great motto! i’d love to be a bit more adventurous
Heyo Kristen and Fitnessista,
Matt here, from Thinksect – a Portland-based company that produces cricket powder. We’ve just started wholesaling our powder and after reading your post and comments I thought you might be interested. Simply visit this link to get yourself a free sample: http://www.thinksect.com/sample
I don’t think I could do it!
I absolutely love the chapul aztec bar, so delicious. I would eat them (and other cricket protein bars) all the time but they are so expensive!
That is so interesting! I have heard about the sustainability of cricket flour but I have never tried it. I think I would give it a try.
my hubby saw these bars on shark tank and wanted to try them! i don’t think i’d be brave enough 😡
i was afraid but they were actually really good
My cousin is a Zoological Nutritionist and she sweqrs it is the way of the future. I don’t think I could handle it, although I guess you are right never say never.
i have never heard of cricket flour, but, hey, why not? also, i never realized so much water went into producing beef. i knew farming practices were degrading to the environment, but that’s pretty wild.
yes, it’s pretty intense!
I remember reading an article that broke down how much water is needed for various foods, and chocolate and vanilla uses SOOOOOO much water! It is insane! I mean they grow in rainforests, so they are constantly surrounded by water but the numbers seemed crazy!
BTW I looked it up- beef needs about 500 gallons of water per pound, chocolate needs 2,061 gallons per pound and vanilla needs 15,159 gallons per pound! But you know, we never actually eat a pound of these things.
I wanted to try one of these bars (or a brand very similar to it) but then I went vegan. I know, I know, everyone rolls their eyes when I say I don’t eat honey or won’t eat bugs, but there are studies that show bugs act emotionally, though we probably will never know if they actually have emotions.
BUT as a vegan, I rather promote cricket bars over steak. They are so much better for the environment! I remember reading an article about bugs as food, and there was some variety of cockroach that was 65 grams of protein for about 100 calories! BUUT vegan or not, I don’t know how I feel about cockroaches. XD
I’m pretty sure I’d rather starve to death than eat anything from a roach. Shudder.
I don’t think I could do cricket flour. But never say never right?
VERY interesting. Can’t say I would give it a try (haha!), but very different idea!
If I was going to try any type of insect product, I think I’d be much more likely to do so in a flour form than in the whole insect form…but I’d have to have a really brave moment to give it a go :/
I’d definitely eat cricket flour (as others have said much better in that form than eating the whole cricket), but am not interested in the amount of sugar in these bars.
Maybe if I was stuck on an island somewhere! Crickets are like roaches that make noise. This strikes me as a cheap protein that’s being marked up as “eco-friendly” and packed in an expensive bar with nice packaging.
Cheers, Mads
http://www.whitewallcollective.com
I’m very interested especially in light of the sustainability aspect. My first thought when I read your post title was… “sure, they’re kinda like shrimp but on land” which was confirmed by the shellfish allergens!
I’ve had cooked crickets before, a handful of times in Japan (seasoned with a soy sauce & sugar reduction kind of like teriyaki) and once here in Vegas with salt and lime juice. Both were yummy! I’m not opposed to the idea of eating or cooking with cricket flour, though I don’t know that I would go out of my way to source it just yet. Those bars don’t seem like a bad idea, though!
I’ve been wanting to try these for a while—I’m more curious than grossed out.
I’ve been seeing news for years about bugs being the next big push in protein, less impact on the Earth, more sustainable– but I have to say actually seeing them being used in bars in the States is quite a trip! I didn’t realize we had moved that far forward with this trend. I don’t know if I could get past knowing it was made from crickets! Give me an egg burrito any day 🙂
You must go back and watch all episodes of GOT!
I would definitely try the bars. Eating fried crickets or something though, probably not! I just can’t get over the ick factor.
Hi Gina! Do you know if these Exo bars are available at whole foods or sprouts? Thanks!
i haven’t seen them there!