Keenan woke up again at 1:30 a.m. last night, the first time in about 4 days. I thought we were over this little “phase” of him waking up at night, but apparently we are not! Fortunately, he went right back to sleep after tucking him in and singing a song, but it made it hard for my husband and I to go back to sleep! Everyday I talk to him about staying asleep at night, and if he wakes up, to snuggle with his critters and go back to sleep, waking up only when it is light outside. But, the “talk” hasn’t seemed to help much. I just don’t know what is causing him to wake up…meanwhile, it makes for one tired Mommy!
Anyhow, I’m excited to talk about CORE Foods today! About a month ago, they sent me a sample of their Defender Meal Bars to try, as part of being a Sweat Pink Ambassador with Fit Approach. I had heard so many good things about the bars since they are fresh and made with very few ingredients. Since my husband and I were in the middle of our Paleo Challenge when the bars arrived, I had to wait to try them (as they contain oats). I put my bars in the freezer and just took them out to thaw in the fridge the past few days.
My two favorites!
CORE Foods makes bars that equal a full bowl of raw oatmeal to go. All of their bars are made with fresh ingredients, thus the reason why they have to be refrigerated or stored in the freezer. In fact, you can see that the back of their packaging states one of their bars + a glass of water = a full bowl of oatmeal. The bars are meant to be for quick, easy meals that you can eat on the go, either before or after a workout, when traveling or whenever you need a healthy snack/meal while you are out and about. They have two different type of bars, Defender and Warrior. The Defender bars are their regular bars that contain 11 grams of protein and about 350 calories, depending on the flavor. The Warrior bars are higher in protein, containing approximately 18 grams of protein and roughly the same amount of calories. They have three flavors for both types of bars: Raw Almond Raisin, Raw Walnut Banana and Raw Cashew Cacao. Each bar contains five to six ingredients: whole oats, nuts (raw almonds, walnuts or cashews), fruit, flaxseed, ground spices and cacao. Since the Warrior bars contain more protein, the faxseed is taken out and whey protein is added.
The back of the packaging.
I tried the Raw Almond Raisin Defender bar first for a pre-workout snack and wow, it was really good! I actually only ate half of the bar, since I didn’t want to be too full prior to doing CrossFit. What impressed me the most was the intensity of the flavors and the texture. The taste and texture reminded me of eating an oatmeal raisin cookie! It was very tasty and didn’t leave a weird aftertaste, as some other bars do. I didn’t notice a difference in my energy levels for my workout, but I wasn’t really looking for that. I was more interested in the taste and if I would feel satisfied after eating the bar. The second bar I tried was the Raw Walnut Banana, which I also ate as a pre-workout snack and it was very good, too. The third bar, Raw Cashew Cacao, was my least favorite, as I’m not a big cashew fan, but it was very chocolaty! My husband and I split that bar for an afternoon snack.
The product line-up.
CORE Foods is a small company based in Oakland and was founded by Corey Rennell, who used to train elite athletes. He lived with twelve tribes around the world and did extensive research about the biology of food, discovering that at the end of the day, good nutrition is very simple. They apply the principle of simplicity to their foods, making convenient, healthy and fresh products. CORE Foods is a not-for-profit corporation and 100% of their profit is reinvested into food, their community and our planet. I love their mission, as they believe that healthy food is a human right and they aim to distinguish food from profit in the way that they conduct business.
Overall, I am very impressed with CORE Foods, both as a company and with their products. The bars were very good and I love that they are made with fresh, simple ingredients, so you can still eat healthy, “whole” food while on the go! I would prefer the Warrior bars because they have more protein, but both types are really well-made.
**If you would like to try some of their bars, CORE Foods is offering all of you wonderful readers a special discount of $5.00 off your online order, and a chance to win a free case that is worth $40! To get your discount, you can find it here!
Well, it’s time to get ready for CrossFit. Have a great afternoon!
Questions:
– What do you eat while you are on the go? I like to eat roasted almonds, homemade trail mix, fruit or a good, healthy nutrition bar.
– If you eat nutrition or protein bars, what do you like for them to contain? I look for few, simple ingredients, high in protein and fiber with a relatively low total calorie amount.
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and I was not compensated by CORE Foods.
For on-the-go snacks, apples travel well. I also keep almonds, pistachios and dark chocolate in my purse at all times. 🙂
For a protein bar, I look for low overall calories, low sugar, clean ingredients, and high protein, of course.
Ooh, dark chocolate is a good idea! For the protein bar, I forgot about sugar. I always look for as little as possible, too!
I usually eat almonds or walnut. Sometimes almond butter and celery. I also like Kind bars.
I am excited to try these Core bars. I am going to order some this afternoon. I really liked those Raw ones so I’m sure these are also amazing.
Let me know how you like the CORE bars! They are definitely one of my favorite bars!