Bella

I recently received these new-to-me bars called Bella Bars

Bella Bars come in two flavors

Cinnamon Nut

and Chocolate Nut

They’re all-natural, raw, vegan, and contain only 12 ingredients

Well, okay, 13 ingredients for the chocolate nut flavor because of the cocoa powder

The taste and texture of them is very Larabar-esque

Dense, chewy, and sweet-ish, but not overly sweet because there’s no added sugar.  It’s amazing what dates can do <–aka, Nature’s Candy

If you like Larabars, you’ll enjoy the Bella Bars, too

And if you have neither Bella or Lara standing by and feel like making your own bars, balls, or bites, try…

No Bake Vegan Sugar Cookie Dough Balls, i.e. add extra cinnamon to resemble the Cinnamon Nut

or

Raw Vegan Dark Chocolate Fudge Balls, i.e.Chocolate Nut

Another thing that’s been bella (beautiful) around here has been spending time outside on a sunny, crisp-but-not-cold, fall day

Still in the high 60s or 70F during the day, I can’t complain

I spent some time editing photos, pre-blogging, answering emails, and doing desk & computer work

I went for a nice run.

And best of all, I spent some quality time with my little bella

I love weekends and family time.  The.Best.

And a few of these from the freezer stash have been bella, too

No Bake Peanut Butter Biscoff Cookie Dough Bites

Use graham crackers (or even animal crackers) rather than Biscoff cookies if you don’t have Biscoffs laying around

Questions:

1. What’s been bella in your world this weekend? 

Anything particularly beautiful?  Or special, nice or fun?  What’s been going on in your world?

Time with my little girl is always beautiful!  Sounds cliche, but really, just being with her makes me the happiest.

2. Are you amazed at the sheer number of snack/energy/protein/”granola” bars that exist on the market?

I am!

Every time I think I’ve seen or heard of them all, I hear about a new brand or version.

Walking through the aisles of Whole Foods, TJ’s, or just the regular grocery store or even Target amazes me with just how many varieties there are!

Case in point, my Case of Odwalla Bars Giveaway with new a new flavor they just launched.

Between the new brands and the new flavors each brand seems to put out every few months = mind-boggling array of choices

Everything from raw vegan to super high protein and not at all raw or vegan; to low carb to low sugar to high calorie replenishing bars to bars spiked with green tea, caffeine, added fiber, added superfoods, added antioxidants, you name it, there’s a bar for everything. Or for everyone.

I like to make my own balls and bites (which you can make in bar form) and homemade bars, too.

But of course, it’s fun sampling new varieties of the store-bought bars to see what’s out now; what’s new, and what I may just fall in love with next.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!