Review

Huppybar Review and Giveaway

Recently I was lucky enough to stumble upon a new whole foods bar — made right here in the gorgeous state of Arizona — which meets my stringent food guidelines. You may remember me talking about them in my Gaspin’ in the Aspen race recap back in August. I was delirious from lack of oxygen, just having finished my 15k trail run, but the free sample’s Lyndsay Hupp was dispersing still caught my eye! I stumbled over to her booth with wobbly knees and talked to her briefly about her bars. They seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Here is a list of the ingredients found in the pecan orange spice flavor: (*ORGANIC): Nuts & Seeds (almonds, sunflower seeds*, sesame seeds*, flax seeds*, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews), oats*, tapioca syrup*, raisins*, locally sourced honey, apples*, pear and pineapple juice concentrate, nutritional yeast, sea salt, cinnamon*, spirulina, vanilla extract*

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I could actually see the ingredients in the bar, and while giving a quick scan of the label I recognized everything… and approved! For me it was a bonus that she made them herself and wasn’t part of a giant company — she was local to AZ and was selling them in select stores and online. Perfect! Since that day, I’ve purchased 2 boxes of the orange pecan spice bars — my favorite!

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I love to eat them as a healthy snack during the day when I don’t have time to make myself food (because let’s be honest, even healthy eaters want some access to convenience foods!). I’ve used them for a variety of tummy grumbling needs: before a long run, before a hike, during a hike, after a hike or run to refuel, or simply sitting at my desk working.

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Huppybar’s are also good when you are spectating at a volleyball tournament with no healthy food in sight! This was my first taste of the coconut date ginger flavor, and while I liked it, pecan orange spice is still my fav! <3

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After snapping this pic during a 7.7 mile hike in Sedona, I took a seat on a rock and enjoyed my Huppybar.

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Ahhhhh… it was just the right amount of fuel I needed to keep going!

These bars do not taste fake or processed and because of that, I love them! I never feel bad for eating one; well that’s a lie. With each bar I eat, I know I’m slowly dwindling down my supply and that makes me sad! Maybe for box #3 I will order an assortment… 🙂 Huppybars come in five flavors after all: coconut date ginger, chocolate java, chocolate berry love, apple cinnamon raisin and of course orange pecan spice! This sort of brings me to the giveaway part, this box pictured below with 12 Huppybars COULD BE YOURS. All you need to do, is keep reading. 😉

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I want to be sure I have your full attention when I talk a little bit more about Huppybars. Not only are they a healthy convenient snack, but I personally feel relieved that there are other people like me out there. Lyndsay had me as a customer for life when I read this on her site:

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Photo couresty of Huppybar.com

LYNDSAY IS A BELIEVER IN TAKING A CONSCIOUS ROLE IN ONE’S OWN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING THROUGH GOOD DIET AND ADEQUATE EXERCISE. IT WAS THIS BELIEF THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF HUPPYBARS IN THE FIRST PLACE.  A WIDE-ANGLE VIEW OF THE VISION IS FOR OUR SOCIETY AS A WHOLE TO TAKE MORE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR HEALTH.  OBESITY IS RUNNING RAMPANT IN THE UNITED STATES. PEOPLE SUFFER FROM MALNUTRITION IN THE FACE OF ABUNDANCE. IMAGINE IF ALL THE RESOURCES AND HEALTHCARE MONIES ALLOCATED TO THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC WERE INSTEAD DIRECTED TO BETTER EDUCATING OUR KIDS, FIGHTING REAL HUNGER ISSUES, AND CREATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR US ALL.

Wow.

Couldn’t agree more! Here is the whole “Tale of the Huppy” story if you are interested.

Huppybars are also soy, dairy, cane sugar and corn sugar FREE. Music to my ears. Lyndsay also told me she is in the process of getting certified gluten-free oats so that her bars will also be gluten-free as well. Keep your eyes out for an updated package design from Huppybars too — change is on the horizon!

So, how can you get your hands on some Huppybars of your own? Well, you could purchase them directly from their site OR you can enter the #RunEatTweetAZ giveaway! (Do you know how hard it is to have this box sitting 10 feet from me?! All five flavors and I can’t eat any of them. They are for YOU. The lucky winner!!)

TO ENTER:

1) LIKE the Huppybar post on the #RunEatTweetAZ Facebook page.

2) COMMENT on that same post with how YOU would enjoy your box of Huppybars!

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS 7 A.M. PST FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST. Winner will be announced at 8 a.m. on the #RunEatTweetAZ Facebook page.

*Bonus entry if you SHARE the post!

Show Huppybar some social media love and give them a follow!

• Like Huppybar on Facebook
• Follow Huppybar on Twitter

Best of luck to you!

NuttZo Review and Giveaway + Blueberry Jam

Thanks to the assistance of my latest running connection with Run, Eat, Tweet AZ, you’ll be seeing more product reviews on this blog! What does that mean for YOU? That means you will be (potentially) introduced to new products, and almost always have an opportunity to win said product in a giveaway! So stick around through this review to hear how you can enter to win some organic NuttZo nut butter for yourself and family; seriously, these folks are generous! Look at the product samples I received in the mail to taste test!? I was having a particularly crummy day, and when this arrived I was all smiles. I LOVE nut butters and all things organic, so I couldn’t wait to give a To-Go packet a try!

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As I was kneading away at the packet, I noticed it was also vegan and kosher. Bonus points. (Not that I care too terribly much about Kosher, but some people might. :))

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Since I’m also a lover of chocolate and peanuts, I decided to go with the 70% Peruvian Dark Chocolate packet for my first taste test. I believe reviews should be about honesty, not just talking up the product because you got some free samples. So my honest opinion was I didn’t really like this flavor – which was unfortunate since I was so excited to try it! Despite kneading the packet for a LOOOOONG time, I was unable to get the oil and nut butter to mesh… so when I opened it, it was very separated still. 🙁 It was also messy and got all over my hands! Dashed were my hopes of using this during a long run as fuel.

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The next time I tried a sample, I was smart and got a spoon and took my sampling to the kitchen. Power Fuel was MUCH better tasting than the chocolate, in my personal opinion, and I also paired it with a banana. (One of my favorite snacks is Mr. Zucchini Runner’s homemade peanut butter on a banana!)

Win!

I did try these samples more times than pictured, and eating them by themselves (like I sometimes do with peanut butter, cause I’m crazy like that) wasn’t really an option for me. Because of their seven nut and seed blend, one of those nuts/seeds would always get stuck to the roof of my mouth and it drove me NUTS. (Pun intended!) NuttZo = Good with other stuff.

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I will say, I did experience one exception to my own NuttZo rule. When I was craving something salty on a 7.5 mile trail hike in the middle of nowhere, NuttZo sans banana was amazing! I brought 3 sample packs on our hike, one of each flavor, just in case the urge to try a nut butter struck when on the trails. I’m SO glad I did! We had stopped at the halfway point and ate lunch – but I couldn’t shake the need to eat something salty. BOOM! NuttZo to the rescue.

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I again opted for the Power Fuel flavor, and kneaded it sufficiently before opening. Since they were warm, they were also softer, which made it easier to squeeze from the package. A word of caution; you can’t scrape your teeth on the outside of this packaging like runner’s like to do with gels on the go — because the paper/ink/packaging isn’t equipped to handle that very well! I felt like I was scraping off flecks of paper and ink the first time I sampled the chocolate, so this time I changed it up (see below)!

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I was very happy I got my salty fix on the trails! And since it was so melty, it didn’t really stick to the roof of my mouth! WIN AGAIN! 🙂


Then I decided to make some homemade blueberry jam to accompany my full jar of NuttZo Smooth Power Fuel. Note, that’s not an accidental upside down label, they store all their jars upside down, until they are opened and stored in the fridge. This prevents the nut oils from separating from the nuts! Genius.

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Fresh off the stove to my NuttZo sandwich. Yes, sometimes we eat PB&J in our house.

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Partnered with jelly and bread, it was amazing! The only true downside for me with NuttZo, is the strong flavor of Brazil Nuts in the mix.  So when I put it on bread, with jelly, that strong flavor was far less noticeable. All in all, I would definitely give NuttZo a shot if you haven’t already! If you can’t have peanuts or have a mild peanut allergy in your family, the Power Fuel flavor in both smooth and crunchy are peanut free! (But please note, they are still processed in a plant that contains peanuts.)

Intrigued? Want to try some of your own delicious samples?

You could be the lucky winner of a jar of Crunchy PowerFuel PLUS 24 to-go packets!   

Just head on over to the Run Eat Tweet AZ Facebook Page.  A quick “like” on the giveaway post, and a comment enters you in to win! Deadline to enter is Oct. 6th!

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook*

Best of luck to you! Be sure to also follow NuttZo on social media for the latest updates and product info!
Twitter: @eatnuttzo
Instagram: @eatnuttzo
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/GoNuttZo

BLUEBERRY JAM RECIPE BELOW>>>>>>

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Now, for those of you interested in how I made my blueberry jam, here is the simple recipe:

7 cups washed, organic blueberries
1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup
3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place blueberries in a large stock pot and smash with a potato masher. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir. Set heat to low and simmer, stirring every 10 minutes. Cook for a total of 45 minutes, stirring frequently with no lid.

Now, you can either place the jam in individual jars and freeze them (to avoid canning) OR if you enjoy canning and preserving, you can can them! I chose to can them for the pantry.

If you go the canning route, you will need a second large stock pot filled with water. The first step is to sanitize your jars. Place your canning jars (I used 4-8 oz. jars), with lids and rings in the pot. Bring to a boil on high heat, cover and reduce heat to medium once it reaches the boil. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes. Once they have been sanitized, it’s important to keep them in the water until ready to fill and seal. Do not to touch the jars on the inside or the rims; same goes for the lids and rings; unless it’s with a sanitized tool. (They have canning tongs you can purchase, but I didn’t have those the first few times I canned. I just used regular old tongs and an oven mit – which was dicey – so be CAREFUL!) Anyway, once the 10-15 minutes is up, turn off the heat. Carefully extract one jar from the water, dumping out any water back into the pot. Pour the jam directly into the jar. (I didn’t use a funnel or anything, I was able to go straight into the jar. But if you need a funnel, make sure you sanitize it too.) Then pull out the lid from the hot water using tongs, and place directly onto the jam-filled jar. Next once again using your tongs pull out the ring directly from the hot water, and place it on the jam-filled jar. It takes some patience, but it’s so worth it to save the valuable jam from spoiling! Secure the ring using oven mits or towels and set aside. Complete these steps for the remaining jam. I had a little left – probably 4 oz. that I put into a clean jar in the fridge, for immediate use. 😀

Once all the jars are filled and the lids are screwed on tight, place them BACK in the stockpot full of water and boil again for 15 minutes with a lid on the pot. It will be messy. I used towels to stop some of the excessive sputtering and steaming. 🙂 Once the 15 minutes is up, turn off the heat and allow the water to stop bubbling. Remove the lid and carefully remove the filled jars from the pot. As they cool on the counter, you will hear a tiny little metal “ding” when the lid seals and protects your jam from spoiling. They are now safe to store in the pantry! NOTE: If you go to use your jam in a week, or a couple months time and that little dimple is back UP, don’t eat the jam! That means the seal was broken and bacteria is growing – even if you can’t see it. Happy jam making! 😀

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