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Can you imagine? Some of the Clif brand Builder snack/meal replacement bars I've recommended for a couple years are being recalled because they may contain contaminated peanut butter from that plant in Georgia! It's enough to make you want to grow your own food. I thought those bars were organic, even. Oops. Dang.
Real food is always best, but occasionally even I need something decent that I can leave in my briefcase or the glove box for use in an emergency like, "feed me NOW or I'm going to do the drive-thru/start eating my arm." I have been compiling a little folder of recipe ideas maybe to make bars at home – but the project has never gotten to the action stage.
So guess what? Instead of a recipe, I have for you a tip (not a paid endorsement, by the way – how do people get those deals, anyhow?). The tip is YOUBARS.
Here's the deal – visit www.youbars.com, select your ingredients (this is easy, really) and these folks will custom-make you a baker's dozen of bars. Quite a few of their ingredients are organic; they tell you which ones. Folks, this is brilliant.
As you compile your bar recipe, you watch the nutrition label evolve, and at the end, they perform an imaginary taste test. If you've specified a combination that will taste like the gray ice-crusts on I-295, they'll help you fix it. They print your name on the wrapper of each bar – that's why they're YOUBARS! I think this offers several entertaining possibilities, though I probably just need to get out more.
This rocks especially if you are a picky eater/foodie, or have food sensitivities to work around, or a problem with sugar. You can ask for extra protein or fiber (I recommend you do both); specify what and how much sweetener (low-glycemic agave nectar or stevia, even!); insert hemp, flax, or chia seeds, or request no nuts/seeds; choose krispies or granola or no grains, etc.
The bars I made had almond butter and dates for the base, extra whey protein, cocoa powder, coconut, agave nectar, extra fiber, and flax seeds. They were yummy, and they were actually made from FOOD.
YOUBARS are a little more expensive than bars from the supermarket; with shipping, mine came out to around $3.50 each. They took about a week to arrive. For me, this is money well spent, and I'm thinking YOUBARS will be catching on in a big way. You heard it here first! |
