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.