Monday, August 19, 2013

Bearded Brothers Energy Bar Review

Saturday: 5 Miles (Hills)
Sunday: 6 Miles (Free Run) + Core Strengthening Workout at the gym



I am extremely excited for today's post. I have been given the opportunity to review Bearded Brothers Energy Bars! I fell in love with these bars when one of them came to me in my StrideBox a few months back. I reached out to the company, telling them how much I enjoyed their bars and what I was doing with my blog. They were generous enough to understand a girl trying to make her mark in the blogging world and have given me the opportunity to write a review about their products.

First, I want to explain a little bit about the company. Bearded Brothers began with two outdoor-lovin' guys based in Austin, Texas. They shared a passion for healthy food and quality. Here is a direct quote from their website: Most of our handmade energy bars are 100% organic, mostly raw, gluten free, vegan friendly and amazingly delicious. Another fun fact, the wrapper is compostableThe bars come in four flavors: Mighty Maca Chocolate, Colossal Coconut Mango, Fabulous Ginger Peach and Bodacious Blueberry Vanilla. 

The first time I tried the Bearded Brothers product, I had Bodacious Blueberry. I instantly loved it! It definitely tasted like blueberry but had a nice finish with the mellow vanilla flavoring. The bar curbed my appetite and left me feeling satisfied.  I am a pretty conscientious eater, and I like to know what is in my food before I put it in my body. I loved that these bars are made with simple ingredients that you can actually read (unlike a lot of products that use food jargon you can barely pronounce). The ingredients consist of mainly fruits and nuts. Not only was it healthy, but it tasted great! I knew that I wanted to spread the word about these wholesome bars right away. Plus, I live in Portland...we are all about small businesses, and hand-crafted, organic products! I was so excited to get the opportunity to review and try the other flavors Bearded Brothers has to offer. I literally yelled with excitement, scaring my husband who was in the other room at the time. 

Testing the Mighty Maca Chocolate and Colossal Coconut Mango

The compostable wrappers

Here's a shot of the actual Colossal Coconut Mango Bar

So the question is...how were they?

The Fabulous Ginger Peach was the first that I tried. I ate it in the late afternoon, hoping it could get me through the rest of my work day and until dinner. I was shocked at how full I felt. I have low blood sugar so I typically eat every two hours to keep my sugar levels at bay. The bar kept me feeling full and held my blood sugar levels for twice as long! I was amazed! Perhaps it was the Chia Seeds in the bar that sustained my hunger, regardless, it worked very well! Within the first bite, I instantly tasted the ginger. It is pretty powerful, so if you are not a fan of ginger, this particular flavor may not be one you would prefer to eat. I like ginger, so it was enjoyable to me. I liked the small bits of peach as well. Every couple of bites, you get a good chunk of peachy goodness, if you will. The texture initially took a second to adjust to, it's definitely nutty but also very soft. However, you have to remember, the ingredients are mainly nuts and dried fruits so it makes sense that this is the consistency. I was ready to try the other two!

The Colossal Coconut Mango and Mighty Maca Chocolate were probably my favorites of the bunch. The Colossal Coconut Mango was a mild bar. It has a nice tropical flavor to it. There weren't any over-powering flavors, it had a nice balance with the mild mango taste and a good bite of coconut. The Mighty Maca Chocolate had a great spice to it. They added both cocoa nibs and mexican chocolate to the bar. It therefore had a great chocolate depth with a cinnamon spice punch. Both were delicious and  nutritious! I felt good putting clean foods into my body. As a runner, I am always looking to fuel my body with wholesome foods that will keep me going.

Thank you again so very much Bearded Brothers for the opportunity to review your awesome energy bars! These are a great source of nutrients for runners as well as anyone looking for a healthy alternative for a quick, grab-and-go snack! If you would like to learn more about this great company, check them out Here. I not only love their clean eating approach to energy bars but I also love what they stand for. I am also incredibly humbled by the fact that they sent me samples, even though I had just begun my blog. I received the nicest note from one of their representatives with wonderful words of encouragement and support for my blog. It's nice to know that just because you start small, doesn't mean you can't make it big. I hope to work with them in the future. I am officially spreading the Bearded Brothers love around Portland. So get out there and try these bars! I would love to do a giveaway with them so please leave a comment if you would like me to provide a giveaway on my blog! 

I also wanted to clarify, some people have been wondering if you can still follow my blog if you do not have a google + account. At the top of my page to the left of my posts, you can follow me by email. Just type your email in and when I write a new post, you will be notified by email. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or need a walk through to do this. Thank you all again for the wonderful feedback and support. I still need your help though, I still need more followers! This was a great opportunity with Bearded Brothers and as I am trying to build a reputable blog, I need more followers in order to have more product-related posts and exposure. I would love to see who my audience is and continue to provide informative material. 
Have a great Monday and do something for yourself today--get out and get movin'!

(Reason #1,098,345,623 why I love running--watching the sun rise this Sunday morning during my run.) 


Would you like to see product giveaways on my blog? What types of products would you like to see given away? What do you look for when you choose snacks or meals on the go?

3 comments:

  1. Those look yummy cuz! :) Nice post! Love your blog <3

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  2. Those sound delicious! Fantastic mileage too - do you usually try to run 5+ miles a day?

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  3. Thank you Kayla! Yes, at least 5 for my base. I'm tapering right now for my race next weekend so my milage isn't very high. However, I'm learning to enjoy shorter and speedier workouts as I have been adding them to this training cycle.

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