Kit's Organic Review

I was given the opportunity by the very nice people at Clif Bar to try their new Kit's Organic bars.

Named after the co-founder, Kit Crawford, Kit's is a simple organic bar.

They are gluten free, soy free, and dairy free as well as certified organic (they also take care to make sure everything is free from GMO's).

I was sent a sampling of their 4 flavors:

Cashew

Berry Almond

Chocolate Almond Coconut

Peanut Butter

My favorite was the chocolate almond coconut, which was no surprise to me...I love chocolate.

A close second was berry almond.

Both of those were bursting with flavor.

The cashew and peanut butter were good, and filling, but the flavors were more mild.   The chocolate and berry were like having a party in my mouth.

The bars are chewy, not dry in the least, and full of flavor.  They are filling and perfect for when you are out and about or when you need a snack mid-morning/day.

Each bar has a simple list of ingredients (all of which I could pronounce) and to know that the ingredients were selected with as much care as I would put into my own creations made me feel good about eating it.

I am always excited to try bars.  I love the individual packaging and single serving so that I can't have the opportunity to over indulge.

But since they can be expensive I would only recommend ones I would want to spend my money on...Kit's is definitely one I would consider purchasing.

You can keep up with the gang at Clif by checking them out on Facebook and Twitter.

What are your favorite flavors for a snack bar?

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Abuzz

The internet is abuzz with news about California's proposition 37.

If you don't know what that it is it is the proposition to label genetically modified foods.

I think the most disheartening reveal from the slurry of information out there is that some of the organic companies that I love are paying to say "No" to GMO labeling.

To me that seems completely counter intuitive, but when Pepsi/Kellogs/General Mills, etc own you they own your thoughts as well.

Such a shame!

I don't want to be preachy but I just have to say if you have nothing to hide then should not be concerned about labeling.

If you are proud of the product your produce you should not be concerned about labeling.

I found this chart on the website of the Cornucopia Institute (a 501c who promotes family scale farming).

Larabar put out a message today addressing their position on the "No" side.

Dear LÄRABAR Community,

We hear your passion and concerns regarding California Proposition 37, and we acknowledge the strongly held views on this topic.  We would like to restate – LÄRABAR products do not use any GMO ingredients, and never will. As a further sign of our commitment, we are in the process of enrolling our brand in the Non-GMO Project.

Like most food companies that sell products beyond California, General Mills (the parent company of LÄRABAR) is not in favor of state-based labeling laws.  General Mills believes labeling regulations should be set at the national level, not on a state-by-state basis, as Proposition 37 would mandate in California.  To learn more about General Mills’ position on Proposition 37, we encourage you to read more here.

We welcome your constructive, respectful feedback and will make sure that your comments are shared with General Mills.  For further questions or to share your comments, please contact us.

Simply yours,
The LÄRABAR Team

My issue with this missive is if you oppose state labeling why not spearhead national labeling?  Would it be so hard to spend some of that money to lobby for nationwide labeling?  Show the consumer community that you don't have anything to hide.

That is my rant for today, it has been sitting in the pit of my stomach all week.

To get a bigger breakdown of who owns the organic industry see this chart.

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Just a Quickie

I don't have too many clever things to say

I don't have a recipe to share

I do have plenty of germs, but I won't share those either

The past couple of days I have been down with a nasty cold or allergies (not sure which) and it has completely worn me out.

What I do have is a winner for my Larabar giveaway (I know I am a bit late announcing this).

The winner is Deirdre from Ladies Holiday.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and please stop by Peas and Crayons...that is where I would be posting today if I had the mindset to have photographed a day of food for you all.

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The Wrap Up

Happy Friday to you all!

The weather here in North Carolina is beautiful and just makes me happy to here.

The flowers are blooming and the stinky Cleveland pears are blooming, I think they have the most awful odor and there are tons of them in front of my office building.

Anywho I want to give you sort of a wrap up for the week as I have several small things I have been wanting to share.

For starters the post man has been busy at my house...which is always a good thing.

He brought me these two wonderful books to add to my ever growing collection

I was very excited to get Dreena's next book and so glad to see that there were some color photos in it (sometimes I just like to see what the finished product looks like according to the author). 

I have to confess I haven't made anything yet, mainly because I just can't decide where to start.  I am drawn to the sweets, because I am better at preparing those...BUT I crave more savory stuff.  When I finally do make something (probably this weekend) I will share the outcome.

The second book I received

As soon as I opened Chloe's book her cinnamon rolls spoke to me.  I know they will be on my breakfast table very soon.

I have to confess I love cookbooks.  Reading through them is just the most wonderful thing and I could sit down with a cup of tea and just enjoy the books...kind of strange to regular folks, but my foodie friends know exactly what I am talking about.

The next piece of mail I got is one I have been waiting not so patiently for:

See it had to come from across the pond (England)

I received these delicious raw chocolate treats from Sharon of Bit of the Good Stuff (I won't comment as to how many are left):

She sent her Raw Chocolate Coconut Cups and they are fantastic topped with nuts and goji berries.

These are not too sweet and just the perfect size when you need a little dessert. 

And look how beautiful they are once you take the wrapping off:

Ooops I took a little bite out of this one.  I wish I could share these with you all but have no fear Sharon has provided her recipe here do yourself a favor and give these a go.

Lastly I have a winner to announce AND another giveaway to start (I know when will all the giving stop...hopefully never because I love to share awesome products with you all).

First the winner of my Conscious Box giveaway is:  Laura from Sprint 2 The Table.  I have a serious love of Laura's blog and her fitness ability.  Seriously check out this post here.  She has some great workout suggestions and some very tasty recipes.  Also, shameless plug here, if you get a chance vote for her over at Fitness Magazine for Best Healthy Eating Blog.

My next giveaway is for Larabars, and seriously we all know how AWESOME Larabars are.

If you have happen to watch The Biggest Loser to watch Bob Harper be inspired you may know that trainer Dolvett Quince noted that Larabars were a great snack (here is the video).

To keep the inspiration going Larabar is giving one of my lucky readers 4 bars:

2 Peanut Butter Cookie
2 Cherry Pie

So if you would like to throw your name in the hat for this giveaway just leave me a comment (if you want to profess your love for Bob that is ok by me).

For additional entries:

1. Tweet the giveaway and mention @rachelkyle0402 and @larabar in the tweet (and then leave a comment)
2. Follow my blog (and then leave a comment letting me know that you do)

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday I have to say I am SUPER charged with energy and just feeling really good today.  So hopefully you can have some of that joy as well.

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The Best Laid Plans...

The best laid plans of mice and men...they oft do go awry.

I had a post planned today in which I was going to show you some good eats for the football game that will be on tv.

You may have heard about it...the Super Bowl!

I am not a Patriots or a Giants fan (I was pulling for the Packers, who decided to forget how to play football against the Giants).

So instead of this:

We get this:

No hard feelings though I still intend to watch the game and see if Peyton's little brother can pull off 2 Superbowl victories.

However I cannot put this post up because I can't find the cord thingy (yes the proper technical term) that hooks my camera up to my computer...NUTS!

Sooooooo instead I will just have to relieve the suspense and announce the winner of my Larabar giveaway.

The winner of a 16 bar mixed pack is....*drum roll please*

Sarah, who writes the blog My Inner Unicorn.

Congratulations Sarah!  I hope you enjoy these bars and if you get a chance drop me a line and let me know which 16 delicious flavors you received.

Alright and one last thing, and a shameless plug at that.  Please vote for me for Circle of Moms Top 25 vegetarian/vegan mom bloggers.  I would greatly appreciate :)  You can vote for me here.

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It's GIVEAWAY time again :)

A little bit of business first before I start into today's post.

The winner of my Progresso Soup giveaway is:  Candace.  I will be sending you an e-mail to get your shipping information.  If I don't hear back I will have to make another selection (which would just be sad...I don't want anyone to miss out).

I want to talk today about Larabar.

I am guessing for many of you this isn't a new snack, but for me it is one of my favorites.

These delicious whole food bars never leave you guessing as to what the ingredient list means.  For example on the Carrot Cake bar the ingredients are:

Dates
Almonds
Walnuts
Raisins
Pineapple
Unsweetened coconut
Carrots
Cinnamon
Coconut oil

In addition to the ingredients being easy to read the bars are: gluten free, kosher, raw, and suitable for those who follow a vegan/vegetarian diet.

SCORE!

I was lucky enough to have Larabar allow me to sample some flavors which I haven't had before.

Ginger Snap

Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte

Jocalat-Chocolate

Tropical Fruit Tart

Carrot Cake

Cappuccino

Sometimes you see these bars on the shelf and wonder to yourself (hopefully in your head and not outloud as people tend to stare) if the flavors are true to their name.  I am here to tell you that at least with these 6 flavors they are spot on.

Cappuccino is a brand new flavor and tastes exactly like the coffee drink.  So that is either a warning (for non-coffee lovers) or an endorsement (for coffee-aholics).  I found the flavor to be a bit strong for me and was the only one I didn't totally fall in love with. 

I surprised myself and completely, and a little too quickly, devoured the Tropical Fruit Tart.  The delicious dried pineapple really made this one a winner.  And on a chilly day it brought thoughts of summer to my mind :)

Ginger snap, Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte, Jocolat, and Carrot Cake were all good enough to have as desserts. 

Do you have a favorite Larabar flavor?

If not do you have a flavor you have been dying to try?

Well you can have your chance.

Larabar is offering one of my lucky readers a mix box of 16 bars.

What do you need to do to win?

Well I am glad you asked.

It is super simple, just comment below answering my question from above (this is mandatory).

For extra entries you can do the following (and just leave me a comment saying you did it).

* Like My Naturally Frugal Family on Facebook

*Follow me on Twitter

*Follow my blog (I am so close to 100...I promise another giveaway once I reach 100).

This giveaway is open to US readers only (I apologize to my international audience) and will be open until Wednesday February 1st at 11:59 pm.  I will announce the winner in my post on Thursday February 2nd.

Best of luck to you all!



Another shameless plug, if you have a chance (and inclination) please vote for me as one of the Top 25 Vegetarian/Vegan Mom Blogs at Circle of Moms.  You can vote once a day!  Please feel free to share with your friends.

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