Pure Bar Review + Giveaway

When I got home from work on Friday, I was thrilled to have a great big package waiting for me.

{Woot Woot!!! I LOVE packages, especially when they're filled with edible goodies}

When I opened it, this is what I found.

Bars. Lots and lots bars.

I got a box of Pure Bars and a box of ProMax Protein bars. If you follow me on Twitter, you have probably noticed that I LOVE the Chocolate Brownie Pure bars and whine and complain when my stock runs out.

Today it's all about the Pure Bars. I first discovered these bars last Spring when I won an auction bid in support of breast cancer research. In my package, I received 2 Cherry Cashew Pure Bars and 2 Chocolate Brownie Pure Bars. I've always been skeptical about healthy bars - I often  find them dry and tasteless or that they have an overwhelming flavour of dates and let's just say I am not a fan.

Upon tasting these bars, I was thrilled to find that I LOVED the flavour; especially the chocolate brownie {no big surprise there!}. After devouring the four I'd received, I immediately got online to find out where I could get my hands on some more. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find these bars in Canada, but lucky for me, I live only 30 minutes from the Michigan border, so I am able to slip over and replenish my bar supply every now and again.

Even luckier, the sweet people at Pure Bar sent me a big ol' box of Pure Bars to sample and share with you.

Of course I immediately tore into a chocolate brownie bar and Yep!, it's as good as I remembered. It truly tastes like a chewy gooey brownie. I've also tried an Apple Cinnamon and the Superfruit Nutty Crunch Bar.

The apple cinnamon reminded me of apple crisp. The flavour was really good, but didn't trump my chocolate brownie love.

The superfruit nutty crunch however was amazing! It's a combo of crunchy nuts with sweet hints of cranberry, blueberry and pomegranate. I also love that the ingredients include chia and coconut oil.

You can literally see all the pure and delicious ingredients in this bar!

Not only are these bars a tickle for the taste buds, but I also really, really love what this company stands for.

Their mission, as stated on their website is:

"Pure is dedicated to helping everyone live a pure, healthy life. We are passionate about

creating delicious, innovative products made with simple, wholesome ingredients.

We share our knowledge and ideas to inspire people to live a purer, healthier lifestyle,

and give back to the community in a meaningful way."

They make their bars out of pure, whole, healthy foods - you can read & understand every single ingredient in these bars! They are full of fiber, protein, antioxidants, and omega-3’s, which make these great for a pre- or post-workout snack or as a treat to throw in your purse on those busy days when you need a pick me up to tide you over until your next meal. Another bonus....they are gluten-free AND vegan and are certified Kosher. Some are raw as well. Awesome, right?!

As I read through the website, I quickly realized that there is no way I can tell you every single amazing quality of this company and their products, so please head on over and check it out for yourself. I guarantee you're going to be impressed with what you see.

I am extremely excited to be able to host a giveaway of 6 Pure Bars to one very lucky winner. In your package, you will receive one of each of these flavours: Peanut Raisin Crunch, Apple Cinnamon, Cranberry Orange, Cherry Cashew, Wild Blueberry and Chocolate Brownie (you`re lucky that I love you and am willing to part with one of my true loves LOL)

You can earn three entries for this very awesome giveaway:

1. Visit the website  and then leave a comment telling me which Pure Bar flavour(s) you would LOVE to try.

2. Leave a comment on Pure Bar`s Facebook page telling them that Andrea @ Vegvacious sent you.

Make sure you also enter their sweepstakes - All you need to do is tell them how you will live a greener, healthier, more pure life in 2012 and you'll be entered  to win a 5 day, 4 night trip for two to an eco-friendly resort  PLUS a one-year supply of Pure bars.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!!!

3. Tweet about this giveaway to your followers. Make sure you incorporate the handles @vegvacious and @ThePureBar.

IMPORTANT - Please leave a separate comment for each entry!!!

Contest closes on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.

and winner will be announced on Monday, February 27, 2012.

Contest is open to US residents only.

GOOD LUCK!

Andrea

PS - please note that the bars were provided to me by Pure Bar, but the opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.

Day #1 of Cleanse & Tasty Veggie Wrap

Hello all! Welcome to the first day of my cleanse. I must say so far, so good. I was up bright & early this morning (thanks to my hubby who is away and thought he'd call and say "good morning") and ready to get my 'cleanse' on. So, I got busy making my green juice.

What an amazing, healthy breakfast to feed to your body. 

In the juice, I put baby spinach, kale, celery, pear, green apple, broccoli stems and ginger. Once everything was juiced I added a shot of wheatgrass juice. It was good....but not great. I liked the juice immediately after I finished the juicing, but I had another glass with my lunch and I literally had to choke it down. It did not taste good at all. My juicer is not the best one out there, so I found that it took alot of time, had a lot of waste (I strained out a few extra ounces of juice from the pulp) and my kitchen still looks like a green veggie bomb exploded!

I have a problem when I'm in the kitchen...I am messy and this project was really messy!!

At the end of the day, I did drink about 30 oz of juice, but tomorrow I think I am going to go back to my tried and trusted green smoothies ~ for those of you who are foreign to the green smoothie movement, stay tuned; I will be posting some of my favourite recipes in the days to come. 

Even though I got an early start today, I didn't get out the door to get groceries and run some errands until 11 a.m. By the time I got home and got everything put away, I was starving. I wanted something easy and satisfying...and I wanted it fast!!  

So I pulled out something new I just bought that I was super-excited to try. Food for Life brown rice tortillas.

With wraps, there are no recipes or rules - personally, I use the following steps:

1.  Get "saucy" ;-)

Choose your favourite dressing, condiment or sauce. My all-time favourite is hummus. But, today I thought I'd step outside the box and try something different. I used 1/3 of a large avocado and mashed it in a small bowl. I added a squirt of lemon juice and some Extra Spicy Mrs. Dash.

 2. Pick your favourite filling.
I packed mine full of veggies. Any veggies will do - I used red pepper, carrots, cucumber, crimini mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts and sweet pea sprouts.

Olives also taste amazing in veggie wraps when you are using hummus!

3. Build your wrap.
I first heated my tortilla in the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. Then you slather on your sauce.

Next, add your veggies.



I am a lover of salt, so I added a sprinkling of spicy Herbamare (sea salt) at this point. I think with the avocado it would have been bland without, but you can spice your wrap up with whatever you love.

4. Wrap and enjoy.

Mmmmm.....so good.

Now if you are a blogger and you are planning to do a post about your lunch, this is where you would insert a picture of  the final product - a gorgeous wrap with ends tucked in and veggies all snuggly inside. Well, that would have been a nice idea and I would have loved to share that with you, but I was so darn hungry that I dug in before I ever thought of getting a final shot. Oops ~ better luck next time ~ I promise next time I will practice a little self control ;-)

Well, it's now the middle of the afternoon and I've got to find some elbow grease and tackle the green beast that is my kitchen. By then it will be time for dinner and I am not sure what exciting recipe I am going to try, but I promise if it is something good, I will get a good shot of it to share with you :-) 

What are favourite sandwich/wrap fillings?

What are your favourite green smoothie combos?

I hope you're having a fun-filled Saturday!

Andrea

Friday Night Snacktime!

Happy Friday!!!

Well we have made it through another week - woo hoo!!  I think that calls for an amazing and delicious snack. I've had an eggplant sitting in my fridge for over a week and all day I have been pondering about what I should do with it ~ so I thought I would try making some Baba Ganoush. I love this dip, but I've never made it....I'm a Baba Ganoush virgin ;-)

Best Baba Ganoush
Adapted from recipe by Winky on http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 medium eggplant
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c tahini
3 tbsp raw sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Spicy Herbamare (sea salt)
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Wash eggplant and stab with a fork. Place on baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes or until softened.

When done roasting, dunk the eggplant in a large bowl filled with cold water. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel and cut into chunks. Put chunks into blender.

Add lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, garlic and sea salt to blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into bowl and add olive oil. Mix.

Refrigerate dip for 2 to 3 hours. (for me the waiting time is excruciating....I want to eat it NOW!!)

Serve with your favourite crackers or vegetables. It would also be very tasty in a wrap! I just discovered Mary's Organic Crackers, so that's what I'm having - can you believe that they are wheat free and gluten free....& most importantly full of seedy deliciousness?!?!

Why would you fill up on fatty chips & dip when you can snack on such a divine, healthy snack?

Have I told you how much I love Friday nights :-)

You might remember that tomorrow is a big day for me....it's Day #1 of my 21 day cleanse. I have started stocking up for the coming week....check out some of my purchases so far. I've also purchased some organic fruits and veggies for my first green juice tomorrow morning. I can't tell you how excited I am ~ I am so looking forward to inspiring you & sharing my cleansing journey with you.

Make sure you check back to see how things are going - I'm going to be posting lots of awesome recipes and photos and I am hoping that after doing a bit of research, I can give you some helpful information on some of the things I am trying out over the next few weeks.

Until then....I bid you goodnight!!

Do you reward yourself with a little treat at the end of the work week??
What kind of dips are your fave???

Andrea