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!
i’m totally amazed at amount of energy/protein bars out there and how much some of them resemble candy bars! that’s why i appreciate well-made, whole food bars like these!
I agree about the amazing variety of granola bars! They almost all sound good, especially all of the Larabar flavors, but I try to make my own rather than buy packaged as much as possible…although some sound too good to pass up, like the seasonal CLIF bars (pumpkin pie please hurry up and get here!) I just saw Bella bars at Whole Foods today! Maybe I’ll win some and won’t have to buy them to try them..
It seems every time I grocery shop, there is a new brand of bar or at least a new flavor of a current brand. It would take me years to try every variety (but I am lucky to have so many to choose from). I have yet to try the Bella bars. They sound delish!
Crossing my fingers i win!
Those Bella Bars looks delicious!
I don’t know who is eating all those bars! I rarely eat bars … they just aren’t my thing.
Glad you had a nice weekend and spent some time with Skylar :)
The best part of my weekend was cooking birthday dinner for my mom and her boyfriend, and getting some things off my mind that were really weighing me down!
I am with you, it is AMAZING and mind blowing just how many bars there are out there, (and how strikingly similar they all are to one another, ahem) I think it is almost always better to make your own, if not for the fact that you can control the ingredients, just the fact that you can control the taste! I love making balls more than bars, like you. I made them weekly last summer! ALSO!! I got the Wasa Crisps I won from you in the mail! Thank you again, and I will be blogging about it tomo! <3
Glad you got them! Yay! :)
Those bars look yum, I love cinnamon.
Here in Belgium there’s not a huge offer on bars. But I went to London last week and there was plenty of choice, so much that I couldn’t decide which ones to try. I tried a clif bar and a trek bar.
My mom and my friends and my bloggie (ehem you guys) friends are bella to me. There are so many energy bars out there! Why not just make em’ yourself? These bars do look great though. Happy Sunday!
The huge aisle of protein/snack bars shows me that there are entirely too many on the market! Especially since a majority of them are just junk with very little of any recognizable ingredients. Although I have to admit that chocolate peanut butter Zing bars are my favorite, followed closely by Larabars. But I do feel better about homemade versions because then I know I’m saving money and eating closer to home.
Our “bella” this weekend was attending a Harvest Beer Fest featuring local craft beer. We were blessed with what we call “convertible weather” this weekend. I keep saying I am going to try some of those fantastic raw cookies you make. I am moving it to the top of my to-do list.
i give them props on the 4grams of fibre since many of the raw bars made here are are around 2-3, although i guess it depends on the nuts and seeds huh. Totally agree, there are so many on the market im surprised that more and more keep “sprouting” up lol. But I guess they can come in handy when you really need them, but you can bet i would want yours if given the choice! But the real “Bella” in this post is clearly your gorgeous daughter ;)
Oh btw, no i don’t use any oil. Sometimes i have used a little coconut oil and/or olive oil in the past but i hated how the bottoms would get soggy. I used water only so that in the oven the squash will absorb it/ any extra will just evaporate and hopefully create a steam effect that keeps the moisture of the food intact. I try to keep the temperature no more than 400F to make sure they don’t burn…usually 385F does the trick. I just like them this way because i agree, you dont want that oily taste. Parchment paper i think is what really helps prevent burning for sure.
xoxo <3
parchment, 385, little bit of water….no oii.
got it.
Yes, the soggy/absorption factor. I kwym and that’s why I was trying to pick your brain about your exact method.
Thanks for the compliments on Skylar :)
Nice bar score! They wouldn’t go to waste here! :-) Great weather for you too, but things are finally cooling off here – in the 70s today!
1. Spending time with my sisters doing a little shopping.
2. Yes and I rarely buy them except when traveling. The snack bar isle at Sprouts Martket is insane!
Thanks for reviewing those Averie! I hadn’t heard of them prior but they sound right up my alley.
Yes, totally overwhelmed by the amount of bars, but these days just as many seem to be disappearing from the market as appearing. Tough market.