‘Daily Delish’ – Yummy YouBars
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So I may have alluded to this in previous post, but I LOVE getting snail mail. LOVE IT. I personally think one of the sweetest things you can do for someone is to send them a handwritten letter. This is SUCH an effective form of communication. With all the quick and abrupt emails that get sent out on a daily basis, as well as texts and AIMs, receiving a handwritten note is a rare treat. I still have several notes saved that the Mister would write me when he was off at college and I was still a Senior in high school. Do you have something to say to someone? Want to thank your mom for having you over for dinner last week? Write it out. You’ll be surprised just how much it’s appreciated.
I went off on a bit of a tangent there (shocking!), but my point is that I love getting mail! Had I known that gracious companies would offer up delicious treats and send me adorable packages IN THE MAIL, I would have started this site a heck of a lot sooner! I am so appreciative of the fun products that are in store for me to review and share with all of you.
One of the companies I was most excited to hear from was YouBar. Joel was kind enough to send along some samples of the bars and shakes that have been getting such rave reviews!
YouBar allows foodies to select from a vast list of ingredients in order to invent their own, personalized creation. Starting with the base, you can then add protein powder, nuts/seeds, dried fruits/berries, sweeteners, seasonings or chocolate, grains/cereals and infusions. The nutrition facts automatically update on the side of the screen with each ingredient you add to the bar. Here’s what I would order: base- PB and dates, protein- whey, walnuts, dried apple and cinnamon. How DELISH does that sound? Grand total -201 calories! (can’t make it a solid 200, YouBar? 
) – w/ 10 grams of protein!
YouBar included 3 of their popular bars for me to sample:
- Breakfast Bar
- Great Date with Chocolate
- Honey Cashew
I was most excited to try the breakfast bar. The Web site explains that “The Breakfast Bar combines coffee, cocoa and cinnamon for a mouth watering way to wake up. The Breakfast Bar gives you a convenient, delicious order of cholesterol-free egg whites, fruit and coffee.” Check out the ingredients — Ingredients: Deglet noor dates, Egg white powder, Honey, Cocoa Powder, Instant Coffee Crystals (caffeinated), Cinnamon. — SUPERB!
I was so excited to try this bar — couldn’t wait to see what those coffee crystals would taste like! When I woke up yesterday morning I ran downstairs, eager to try the bar with (of course!) a glass of milk.
“Hmmmm, that’s strange,” I thought. “I could have swore that I put them in my ‘bar drawer!’ hmmm.” Well we were light on groceries so I thought the Mister took it to work for a snack. I couldn’t ask him because he had already left (we normally drive to work together but on this particular morning he had to be at work extra early). “Oh well,” I sighed, “I guess I’ll try the Great Date With Chocolate bar instead!” YouBar explains that the “Great Date With Chocolate is a natural low fat and protein rich chocolate delight with a chewy fudge brownie texture” (Ingredients: Organic Dates, Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Honey, Cocoa).
THAT LITTLE RASCAL TOOK TWO BARS!!! Who does that?! So without further ado, I give you the Mister’s reviews (you may notice there are no photos of these two bars – the Mister apologizes, he acknowledges his terrible blog etiquette and promises it won’t happen again ):
Hello to everyone – “The Mister” reporting here. Sorry about my lack of photo taking – I have not been broken to make my eating experiences a Bon Appetit photo shoot, so you can use your imagination (or the YouBars site).
As the name of the bar indicated, I started off my day with The Breakfast Bar. I was quite impressed with the taste, it was very chocolate-y; definitely didn’t feel or taste like I was eating something that was good for me in any way. You could tell that they were made fresh and not really processed – like someone fook a glob of the batter and slapped it down in the shiny wrapper and sealed it up. Although I found it more filling than a Nutri-Grain or LARABAR, it still wasn’t quite as filling as a bowl of cereal and milk for around the same amount of calories – so I don’t know that I could go as far as calling it a meal replacement. I don’t drink coffee so maybe that’s why I didn’t really pick up on the taste of the instant coffee crystals in the bar – it was just a great-tasting chocolate bar to me.
For my afternoon snack, I had the Great Date with Chocolate – again, tasted great. However, if I had my eyes closed when I was opening the wrappers, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two bars at all, in taste, texture or appearance. I do believe that they were different, but I am guessing that the cocoa that YouBars uses in the bars is either super strong, or just greater in quantity than the other ingredients to the point where it wipes out the other flavors, unless you are really looking for them. Again, more of comment than a concern – I can say unequivocally that these were the best “bars” I’ve ever eaten, of any kind. The fact that I know that they’re made from scratch and the ingredient list is something that I can a) read and understand and b) doesn’t take my entire lunch break to do so, is an added bonus. At $32.37 for a box of 13 bars ($2.49 a bar before any taxes or shipping) these certainly aren’t cheap, but I think they are well worth it – and I spend my fair share of time scrutinizing the grocery bill on Sunday nights.
With that, I’ll turn it back over to Shannon – don’t expect to see a “Daily Balance for Men” anytime soon!
He was kind enough to spare me one of the bars. Lucky for me (or shall I say, for him!), it was the one that with the nut-butter base. YouBar explains Honey Cashew as “a mouth-watering treat that combines the sophisticated flavor of creamy cashew butter with crunch.” Of course i was very pleased with the ingredients — Cashew Butter, Honey, Whey Protein, Nutty Rice Cereal, Organic Honey.
Honey Cashew YouBar
Honey Cashew YouBar - unwrapped
The verdict?
I LOVED this bar. I had never tried cashew butter before and now I know what I’ve been missing! This bar was so creamy that it melted in my mouth. I loved the sweetness of the honey flavoring (there I go, liking honey again!) against the creaminess of the cashew butter. My only complaint? It didn’t last long enough!
I can’t wait to try the YouShakes that Joel sent me, as well. I’ll be sure to share more information on those and let you know if they measure up to their ‘bar’ counterparts!
ALSO – YouBars is offering a special contest to all of YOU. Yes, all readers of The Daily Balance will receive a 5% discount on your order when you use the following code: thedailybalance
Enjoy!
The winner of the Oikos giveaway will be announced tonight! Have you entered yet? You still have a bit of time (yes, west-coasters, I’m keeping all of you in mind! )
What would your YouBar creation look like?
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