Reason #27: "Im in Love with YOU..."

No, no this post isn't about Kanye West, his love lockdown or my love for you, it is about a company that caters to their client's needs -YOUBARS. YouBars is a company that lets you design your own snack/energy bar or shake! The company lets you customize a bar for your taste and diet needs, whether you are vegan, vegetarian, lactose-intolerant, gluten-free, or just have your own preferences. While I like to eat as few packaged foods as possible, Im a huge bar and shake fan. However, Im constantly checking labels to see the ingredients on bars - High Fructose Corn Syrup, pass, Hydrogenated Oils, pass.
Therefore, I was really excited to try out YouBars and YouShakes which are fresh, handmade bars and shakes that YOU (the client) customizes. Thank you Joel from YouBars for sending these over to sample!

I was given three bars and three shakes to try. I have only tried the bars out so far, so I will write a review on the shakes at a later date.

BAR 1: Great Date with Chocolate (I love the name!)
Ingredients: Organic Dates, Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Honey, Cocoa.

Nutritional Facts: 140 calories, 0.5g of saturated far, 4g of fiber, 24g of sugar, 8g of protein

I was so utterly impressed with this bar, and I wish I had boxes of them. They were chewy, delicious, and almost fudgelike. The bar definitely could have passed for a dessert, yet had stellar nutrition facts and all-natural ingredients. 5 out of 5!

BAR 2: Honey Cashew
Ingredients: Cashew Butter, Honey, Whey Protein, Nutty Rice Cereal, Organic Honey.

Nutritional Facts: 220 calories, 2.5g of saturated fat, 1g of fiber, 7g of sugar, 10g of protein

The Honey Cashew Bar received such great reviews from other bloggers so I was very excited to try them out. With the first bite, the bar had a thick, powdery nut taste. It was tasty but definitely not as moist as the Chocolate bar. I intended to eat half the bar, and eat the other half later, but clearly I ate the whole thing (I love cashews!). Usually I will eat a bar and be hungry a few hours later, but this bar kept me full for 3+ hours. A great fuel bar! 4 out of 5.

BAR 3: Breakfast Bars
Ingredients: Deglet noor dates, Egg white powder, Honey, Cocoa Powder, Instant Coffee Crystals (caffeinated), Cinnamon.

Nutritional facts: 150 calories, 0.5g of saturated fat, 4g fiber, 24g sugar, 8g of protein

Now that the Jamba Juice $1 oatmeal special is over, I am in search of a new breakfast. So I tried out the Breakfast Bar this morning. The bar combines coffee, cocoa, fruit, and cinnamon. I opened it and it was extremely sticky, like “i need to go wash my hands right now” sticky – so I ate it with a fork and knife. The flavor was delicious – reminded me of the Great Date with Chocolate bar. The taste was very good, and the bar was relatively low in calories so I ate it with an apple for a complete and great breakfast. Rating 4/5

To design your own personal YouBar, go to the site and choose the "Build-A-Bar" option . Choose your own base, protein content, nuts/seeds, dried fruits/berries, sweeteners, seasonings, grains/cereals and infusions. Examples include almond butter, organic dates, soy protein, whey protein, almonds, organic flaxseeds, sweetened blueberries, organic dried apple, organic clover honey, organic agave nectar, cinammon, chocolate chips, organic oat bran, etc (most ingredients are organic).

While you're building your bar, on the right side of your screen, you will see the nutritional value of your bar as you add various items to it. So you can watch your calories and nutrient content!

Once you have completed building your YouBar, you can click on the "taste tester" and it will give you suggestions on things you might want to consider adding in order to make your bar even better tasting and/or give it a better texture. Finally, you can give your bar a name!

The people at YouBar have generously offered a 5% discount off their YouBars and YouShakes when you place your order! Just type in "Good Reason" as your coupon code in the shopping cart.

Reviews for YouShakes to come....Im in love with YOU!