September 18, 2013

Raw snacks — review and giveaway


When Melisser from Vegan Cuts contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing Raw Snacks snack bars, and hosting a giveaway, of course I said yes. Raw Snacks are a new item at Vegan Cuts, and will be included in the upcoming Snack Box.

Nutrition facts for the goji-cacao bar.
Raw Snacks boasts on their Web site, "We don't even roast our nuts! Raw Snacks is proud to provide certified organic and gluten-free bars packed with high quality ingredients that you can pronounce! Our bars are made without fillers and preservatives, gluten and soy, and are sweetened by a handful of unadulterated ingredients. Raw Snacks’ provides the consumer a smart, safe, and guilt-free indulgence or pick-me-up, before or after a workout." Totally raw and vegan, organic, gluten-free and soy-free — Raw Snacks is a bar that meets the preferences of a great many people with special dietary needs.


I received four flavors — goji cacao, apricot cinnamon, cranberry cashew, and blueberry vanilla. They all sounded wonderful, but the goji cacao intrigued me the most, so I tasted it first. It reminded me initially of a Larabar, but softer, and with much richer flavors. It tasted very fresh, as if I had just made it myself. I liked it a lot, and would choose it over other fruit and nut bars, because it tastes much better. The goji cacao bar contains 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 23 grams of sugar. It also warns on the label that it might contain pit or shell fragments, and yes, it did! I bit down on a couple of hard bits that were unpleasant, but fortunately didn't do any harm. Now I know to be more careful.


I haven't tried the other flavors yet, but they all sound delicious, and I plan to take one with me on an upcoming hike.

If you're a fan of fruit and nut bars, and would like to try the Raw Snacks bars for yourself, Raw Snacks is offering to send a four-bar assortment to one lucky reader of this blog. All you have to do is leave a comment, and on Sept. 30, the last day of vegan mofo 2013, I will randomly select a winner. You don't even have to like me on facebook or twitter, or run around the block twice. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered in the giveaway. Be sure there's  a linkback to your email or blog, so I can reach you. If I can't contact you, you won't be eligible to win. If you just can't wait to see if you're a winner, sign up for the September snack box to try these great bars for yourself!


What you're seeing here is an outtake photo that I couldn't resist sharing. It's a picture of my dog with her mouth open and just about to grab a bite of my goji cacao bar as I was trying to get a photo. I noticed her through the lens just in the nick of time — from my point of view, anyway. She's usually so well-behaved, but I guess the temptation of such a delicious treat was just too much. She must have thought I was holding the bar for her, not the camera. The photo is especially for you, Abby.

36 comments:

  1. I would love to try them based on your description and comparison to the Lara bar! Cute doggy!

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  2. I'd love to try these bars! Great post :)

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  3. I look forward to trying these bars.

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  4. and good for dogs too :) I am a lara bar fan so yep I'll be trying these. Do they make any bars just with shell fragments?

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  5. Thanks for hosting the giveaway! those look fabulous. I'm a huge fan of larabars. These sound fantastic...especially the goji carob. yum!

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  6. I love the outtake photo! lol Good thing you noticed her before she grabbed it!

    I'm not a big bar person but these sound like something I'd love. Where does all the fat come from, though? Just nuts & seeds or do they add coconut oil as well?

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    1. Almonds, cashews, cacao nibs, coconut and coconut oil all contribute fat.

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  7. Awesome ingredients list! and such a cute pic of your dog! She's probably thinking "I was soooo close to getting a bite". :-)

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  8. Callie is finally learning! 89 recently learned "take it" and "leave it" commands, so if I drop something on the floor she waits a few beats to see if I'll notice. I pretend I don't, she grabs it, and tiptoes out of the room- waiting to chew until she's out of sight. She could teach Callie a lot about snacking ;-)

    The bars sound really yummy; I would have tried the same one first (although the blueberry vanilla sounds extremely appealing as well.)

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  9. I love the dog shot. I also love to try new bars :)

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  10. Sophie Bolton9/18/13, 7:53 PM

    i would love to try these bars :) i am a new vegan and am trying to try lots of new things

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  11. These bars look great! I think they would be perfect to bring when I'm traveling.

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  12. those look really tasty!

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  13. Dawn Thomason9/19/13, 12:49 AM

    I love the dog picture :-) Haven't tried the bars yet but would love to.

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  14. Would love to try these!

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  15. Those look delicious. I don't know if my dog would be up for them, though--she refuses to eat any fruits or veggies!

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  16. Thanks would love to try these!

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  17. Thanks for the review, Andrea! These raw snacks look really good, especially the blueberry vanilla one!

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  18. I don't suppose the dog is the giveaway - oh well, then the Raw Snacks bars will have to do :) They all sound yummy, but anything with cinnamon makes my heart go pitty-pat.

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  19. Those bars look great! And I love that your dog wanted to taste them too :)

    Courtney

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  20. These bars look great. They remind me of Lara bars but they seem to have a little more oomph to them. The pic with your pup is so cute too! Sometimes I wave food around in my hand when I am talking and don't realize that my dog is nearby and then I look over and her head is just a wavin' around in sync with the food and she has crazy eyes..lol!

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  21. I'm guessing it's not one for UK types, but couldn't resist leaving a comment nonetheless saying that picture is so cute!

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  22. Sound yummy - I will have to check them out!

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  23. I've never seen these before, but would love to try them. The cranberry cashew and blueberry vanilla sound especially appealing.

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  24. Thanks for the honest review...the flavors sound superyumful! They have enough pure raw energy goodness I might have to jog around the block a couple of times anyway! ;)

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  25. Love raw food bars

    BeccaMFerguson@aim.com

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  26. Poor Abby! Did she get a little nibble at least? Our cats know that we can't refuse their pathetic meows for long.

    The bars sound terrific. I'm glad that you managed to not break a tooth on one of the fragments. If I win, I'll be sure to chew carefully! :)

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  27. I love it when a company makes food the way you'd make it at home. I make a similar snack for long bike rides but I use figs instead of dates (a little less sweet.) I add a dusting of machi (green tea powder) for the caffeine. But, like I said, these are only for looong bike rides. I don't want to still be feeling the caffeine at bedtime.

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  28. These look so good - love that they use unroasted nuts!

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  29. Thank you I would love to try these!

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  30. Oooh! I'd love to try these!

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  31. Fruit bars are the best to take with me on long runs. I would love to try these.

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  32. They do look similar to larabars! And that's actually a great thing, looks so good and convenient to tote around when I travel for work!

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  33. These look and sound delicious and I'd love to try them.

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  34. Raw bars are incredibly delicious, I know it's possible to make them at home, but I've already killed too blenders by blending nuts, so winning the giveaway would be amazing c:

    (I live in Latvia, don't know if I am allowed to enter?)

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