Because of the nature of my job, I’m on the road a lot and don’t always plan out every single meal.
There are times when I need something to hold me over between meals that will have the pick-me-up, energy-boosting combination of clean protein, fiber, healthy fats and low sugar.
As best as I can, I also make it a priority to stick to the same standards in my snack food as I do with my meals.
I like to think of snack as a TIME vs. a particular type of FOOD (thanks, Dina Rose!). That helps me prioritize health and feeling good whether I’m snacking or sitting down for a full meal.
Here are some of the standards that are important to me whether I make it myself or buy it in the store:
- Real (the ingredients are actual food, not chemicals, and I can see them when I look at the product)
- Whole
- Minimally (if at all!) Processed
- Non-GMO (not genetically modified)
I forget exactly when it happened, but one day I was at Whole Foods in Baltimore before heading to a meeting, and I was hungry. I didn’t want or have time for a full meal, so I went to the bars section.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that a lot of the bars have over a dozen ingredients and contain ingredients that I can’t readily identify as food OR they have as much sugar as a candy bar, so I tend to steer clear of them.
I saw a new bar that had been added to the shelves, so I turned over the packaging to check out what was in it, and this is what I found:
- 14 grams protein
- 7 grams fiber
- 12 grams fat
- 9 grams sugar
- 15 mg sodium
Since (real food) protein + fiber + fat = sustained energy (and that’s what I was looking for!), I decided to try it.
That’s how I found out about Ever Bars đ
These bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and locally made in Olney, Maryland! I could also identify all of the ingredients as “food,” which isn’t always the case with bars.
While most bars list whatever sweeteners they use as one of the first three ingredients (because those bars are more sugar than anything else), Ever Bar has sweeteners as their last two ingredients, and the primary ingredient in every bar is organic hemp seeds.
Packed with mineral-rich, plant-based protein from hemp seeds, almonds, and sesame seeds, Ever Bars are one of our healthy snack staples. They’re a bit chewy, compared to some other more crumbly bars, but even that varies based on which bar you purchase.
I’d recommend starting with the Almond Cranberry followed by the Blueberry Cashew and then the Green Power bar. I find that is the best progression in terms of taste based on what most people are familiar with when it comes to bars.
Here’s what the 3 bars look like…up close and personal đ
I served the Almond Cranberry bars at a workshop for a client about How to Eat Healthy on the Go, and everyone loved them. The following week, some of the workshop attendees told me they had already gone to the store to purchase their own đ
You find them locally at Whole Foods and MOMs Organic Market or order online from their website.
I had the opportunity to meet some of the team members who are behind Livity Foods and Ever Bar when I was at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. They were so nice and had a super cool display.
I love meeting the great people behind the foods I eat!
Livity Foods is based in Olney, MD. Here’s what they have to say about their bars (and one of the reasons I stand behind them and buy their stuff!):
Ever Bar, handcrafted in Maryland, has ingredients that look like they did when they came from the earth; they are the barâs source of sustenance as well as flavor and energy.
Working in an environment not based on social hierarchy or a one-way chain of command, but exchange and contribution. The company is structured, but open to participation by everyone involved. This, we believe, is conducive to a cohesive and multi-skilled work dynamic, but is also an end in itself, a desirable social model which embodies effective human cooperation.
To order bars directly from them and to learn more about them, check out their website.
Disclosure: I received free bars in exchange for writing this review, but I loved the product and what it stood for before this opportunity arose! All opinions are my own, and maintaining the integrity of all content on this site is of utmost importance to me. I will never promote products I donât love and use myself! đ