One might venture to call me a picky eater. I eat a mostly vegan diet and I have a sensitive stomach. There are certain things that my body just won’t tolerate most days of the week (dairy and gluten, in particular). When I’m getting ready for a run I have to be especially careful to avoid those foods otherwise my stomach will go into over-active mode and that just isn’t fun to have to deal with. And when I’m done with a hard workout and need to eat something soon after to begin my recovery, I can be finicky and have very little appetite for a while. Figuring out what works for me has been a long and ongoing process.
A few months ago I started hearing about a new bar out there that was made with picky eaters (who are also athletes) in mind. People with food allergies and sensitivities. People who need to be careful and mindful about what they put in their bodies, whether they are getting ready for a workout, taking a rest day or recovering from a hard effort on the track. Picky people who are not only picky about what is (or isn’t) in their food, but who also like yummy things and want their food to taste good.
People like me.
I had to know what they were all about. So I placed an order to see for myself.
I am SO glad that I did.
Picky Bars (http://www.pickybars.com/) are the perfect snack for me. They taste great. They are packed with nutritional yummy goodness. They are all completely dairy and gluten free. I have tried all three flavors and my stomach has not been upset from them once.
I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite flavor because I love them all, though the “Nutless Wonder” may win out because it is free of both peanuts and tree nuts (foods my 5 year old son Will is very allergic to). Before letting Will have a taste of my new “Mommy Bar” as he calls it, I emailed the company to inquire about their manufacturing process and see what efforts were taken to avoid cross contamination. I was so grateful and amazed with the response I received. Lauren Fleshman (who is one of the creators of Picky Bars and who also happens to be an incredible professional runner who I really really admire) replied to my email with a very thorough, thoughtful and honest response. They are extremely careful to avoid cross contamination but of course cannot guarantee it won’t happen (they are human), which was honestly what I expected her to say. But Lauren took the time to go into a lot of detail for me so that I would feel very well informed about how the bars are made (right in their home kitchen) and I could make my decision about whether or not it would be safe to let Will have a taste of the Nutless Wonder. I’m pretty certain the chances of him having an allergic reaction are pretty slim based on everything Lauren told me about how cautious they are. I did let him try it and he does like it, but it is not something I will give to him regularly because I’m just really conservative about this kind of thing and feel it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to my son’s food allergies.
I enjoyed my first order of Picky Bars so much, that I placed a second order. When more than a week went by without receiving my package I looked into it and realized that PayPal had somehow messed up the shipping information in my account and sent my order to an address I lived at more than three years ago. I was so. very. bummed. I knew it wasn’t the fault of Picky Bars, but I emailed them to let them know what happened and to see if they had any suggestions or ideas about how I might be able to get my order to arrive at my house. I was so surprised to get another email from Lauren, this time giving me her cell phone number and asking me to give her a call ASAP so we could “get to the bottom of it.” She was apparently at the airport and that moment would be a really good time to chat.
Ummmmm …. really? Call Lauren Fleshman on the phone, like now? Right this minute? Ok. I can do that.
I tried not to be a dork, but that was pretty much impossible.
We talked about my order and got right to the bottom of it immediately (my old address is now completely deleted from that account, which it should have been anyway), and Lauren insisted they would send me my order again – this time making sure it would be delivered to my current address. Then we talked about the food allergy thing and then I may have gushed a little (or a lot) about how inspiring I think she is, for her running but also for her companies (her other company is called Believe I Am (http://believeiam.com/) — you must check it out if you haven’t already!). She was modest and sweet and cool and professional about it all. Of course.
And then after we got off the phone, I decided I wanted to be a member of the Picky Club (which basically means I want to order Picky Bars regularly and have them sent to me every month). The bars and the customer service have all just won me over.
I am stoked about what came in the mail today …
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| it’s official! |
And, of course my tee-shirt:
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| the back says “picky eater.” yepp, that’s me. |
As a member of the Picky Club I will get a delivery of 18 bars each month (should be enough), will get to try out new sample flavors, have this awesome tee shirt and who knows what else they will come up with.
Being a picky eater has never been so much fun.
Have you tried them? If not, you should!!
