As it has been said for centuries, “necessity is the mother of invention.” When triathlete Katie Hunter was suffering from unexplained knee pain, she looked for a way to eat whole foods with the most anti-inflammatory properties she could find. She and her partner (now husband) developed the bar that became the Thunderbird Energetica Cherry Walnut Crunch energy bar.
Thunderbird Energetica makes delicious vegan, gluten free, whole food energy bars. Containing “uniquely pure and highly powerful ingredients,” Thunderbird bars provide convenient, nutrient dense, plant-based goodness.
These whole food, energy bars are 100% soy free, dairy free, gluten free and have no added sugar. They also take gluten free very seriously. This means no cross-contamination, no gluten-ingredients and no chances of getting sick for people with celiac disease. Also, the wrappers are 100% biodegradable and compostable leaving nothing behind. And, they are “shaman blessed.” That can’t hurt – right?
Each bar has whole food ingredients you can identify, a list of health benefits and a “legend.” You can click the link to see the ingredients and read more on each. Flavors include: Cherry Walnut Crunch (The Anti-Inflammatory Bar), Cacao Hemp Walnut (The Ancient Champion), Cashew Fig Carrot (The Romance Bar), Almond Cookie Pow Wow (The Spirit Animal Bar), Sweet Lemon Rain Dance (The Electric Bar), Hyper Hawaiian Crunch (The Beach Bod Bar) and Super Seed Champion (The Gatherer Bar).
I brought some of the bars for my friends and I to taste while we were waiting to get in to Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me a few weeks ago. The favorites were definitely the Cherry Walnut Crunch and the Cashew Fig Carrot. The bars are dense and pack a good bang for the buck calorie wise. The Hyper Hawaiian Crunch was great for Deb (who doesn’t like nuts in her bars). We thought this one was sort of like a healthy, hawaiian fruit roll-up. These bars kept us full for the show which ran LONG due to a strange call in guest (but that’s a story for another day!) I also love the Sweet Lemon Rain Dance. It is light and fresh and not too sweet. I loved the lemony flavor. It reminded me of a lemon square but MUCH healthier. I am totally keeping some of these on hand for a good whole food snack or to add to my breakfast.
The nice folks at Thunderbird Energetica have offered to send one lucky reader a sampler pack with one of each flavor ($19.95 value including shipping) so you can pick a favorite. Enter with the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post.
I actually received the Thunderbird Energetica bars when I wrote in to try EPIC bars – a new savory, protein bar from the same company after EF Contributor, Don, sent me an article about them. I then started wondering, “how did these plant based folks start making a bar that has meat in it?” On their site, they say:
“The roots of EPIC were planted during a summer road trip in which Katie and I spent two weeks running and riding bicycles through the mountains of West Texas. Katie was training for the Ironman World Championship Race and we had a “boot camp vacation” scheduled to ramp up our fitness level. As usual, we packed our bags with the standard energy bars and gels to fuel our bodies. Not even halfway through the trip, we were overcome with fatigue and hunger. Neither of us could eat another sugar filled, highly processed, indigestible energy bar or gel. We craved something savory, nutrient-dense, and high in protein.
That night as we sat at our campsite, hungry and weak, Katie asked, “ What if there was a whole foods snack, low in sugar, high in nutrients, and loaded with protein and healthy fat?” I thought for a moment, and simply answered, “That would be epic!”
As we continued talking about food over the next few days we revisited our conversation. We kept asking ourselves what this “EPIC snack” would look like, and why didn’t we bring it on our trip? We concluded that the perfect, conveniently packaged snack did not yet exist. “
So the EPIC bar was born. These bars combine lightly smoked animal protein with nuts and dehydrated fruits. EPIC foods are unique. The team says, “they are more savory, tender, and flavor-forward than jerky without the high carbohydrate and sugar load of other bars.” The bars come in four flavors: Turkey Almond + Cranberry, Bison Bacon+ Cranberry, Beef Habanero + Cranberry and Lamb Currant + Mint.
I thought Turkey or Bison would be my favorites, but I liked the Beef the best. I did not try the Lamb, but I think I would like that one, too. I prefer currants to dried cranberries. I love having a savory, high protein option. Sometimes when I eat sweet energy bars, I crave sweets. The one thing that took some getting used to was the texture of these. The husband who LOVES jerky (like KRAVE – review and giveaway coming SOON!) thought he would love these and preferred to go with jerky. I think that these bars are easy to eat on the go and less “work” than some jerky. Also, they are less salty which I like, too.
The nice folks at Epic Foods have offered a sampler pack to one lucky reader. And, if you want to try EPIC bars and you don’t want to wait, use the promo code EPICFEB2014 for 20% off of your online order through February 28th.
I am using two Rafflecopters because some folks are not meat eaters! Please don’t forget to click the green button on each entry you choose. If you already like my page on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter, click that button on the Rafflecopter and get credit! The giveaways are open through the end of the day on February 20th. I will select and notify winners on February 21st. One prize per winner – winner selects prize from available options in order of draw. Only valid for participants in the US at this time, must be 18 or over and void where prohibited.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please Note: The products for review and giveaways were provided to me by the vendors above. All opinions and comments are my own or those of my friends. I was not compensated for this post.