- Bars contain cricket flour, made by removing moisture and grinding them up
- Research found crickets are 69% protein by dry weight
- This compares to 31% for chicken breast and 29% sirloin steak
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A food company has created a range of energy bars made from ground up crickets.
What
started out as a far-out Kickstarter project last year is now a real product
available to buy – and makers say the bars are a more sustainable source
of protein than other, animal-based alternatives.
The protein bars are created using cricket flour which involves removing the moisture and grinding them up.
Exo, the company behind the product, discovered crickets have an incredibly high protein-to-weight ratio
The energy
booster, which comes in Cacao Nut or Peanut Butter and Jelly flavour, is
the brainchild of founders Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz.
Gabi,
from Glasgow, and Greg Sewitz, from Los Angeles, California, believe
the biggest stigma in the Western World is eating insects.
The pair hope their work will even help tackle the world’s growing population demands for protein in years to come.
Their company, Exo, carried our research which discovered
crickets have an incredibly high protein-to-weight ratio.
They
found crickets are 69 per cent protein by dry weight while chicken
breast (31 per cent) and sirloin steak (29 per cent) are significantly
lower.
The insects are also 20x more efficient as a source of protein than cattle as well as providing 80 times less methane, the research found.
The bars come in at £22 plus postage for a pack of 12, and you can choose from three flavours
But while many could eat a 12oz steak for dinner, how many insects could you stomach in one go?
Gabi said: ‘Crickets are exceptionally nutritious and uniquely sustainable.
‘They are high in complete protein, iron and calcium but require a fraction of land, water and feed conventional protein sources need.
‘When people taste the bars and learn about the nutritional and environmental benefits of consuming insects we see the light bulb moment.
‘Of course there are some who refuse to taste the bars because they can’t get past their initial gut reaction.
‘If we can get those sceptical people to taste the bars they often become strong supporters once they realise there’s nothing to be scared of.
‘We chose crickets because their consumption comes with a lower psychological hurdle than most other insects.
‘I think we’d have a much tougher time hawking protein bars made with mealworms or dung beetles.’
Each bar contains around 40 crickets, 270-300 calories, 10g protein, 14-20g fat, 13-18g sugar, and 5-7g fibre
‘There are some who refuse to taste the bars because they can’t get past their initial gut reaction’
Personal trainer Jack Braniff still isn’t convinced.
‘It sounds a bit ridiculous if I’m honest. You can get in perfectly good shape without eating crickets,’ he tells MailOnline.
‘The research is interesting, especially the point about the methane, but I still love steak. Cricket protein seems a bit far out in my eyes.’
If you want to try it for yourself, a 12 pack of Cacao Nut cricket bars will set you back £22 plus postage from Exo Protein’s website.
The energy booster is the brainchild of founders Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz
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