Sunday, November 19, 2017

Product Review: Health Warrior Chia Bars

Disclaimer: I received Health Warrior Chia Bars to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

For those of you that know me, I am a health freak! Last year I tried something new and ate a plant-based diet for my marathon training and it was the strongest I had ever felt. Since then I have adopted a plant-based lifestyle. This does come with challenges especially when it comes to runner fuel. There are tons of different products out there for runners to eat but most of them are some form of sugar or corn that doesn't benefit you at all. Now I'm not a nutritionist by profession so take what I say as you will, Health Warrior has created a tasty and healthy bar that I swear by now.

Health Warrior is stealing the market lately for their different snack bars and I had the luxury of testing the chia bars. Chia has always been a part of my diet so when I saw that they have been added to a snack bar (my definition of a snack bar is a bar that is less than 40 grams in weight) I knew I needed to try them.


Nutrition Perspective

I call this section a perspective because this is how I feel about it which may differ from what you have heard from others.

Chia has always been an essential part of my plant-based diet for a multitude of reasons:

  • it is a good source of healthy fats (Omega -3)
  • low in calories
  • super absorbent, meaning that it can absorb lots of water
The reason why its absorbency is important for a runner is that when I ate a chia bar during a workout I felt better hydrated than if I didn't. This is because the chia seeds will absorb water and allow your body to process it slower and not pass it quickly through. It's similar to drinking alcohol on an empty stomach verses a full stomach. If your stomach is empty then the alcohol hits you faster than if your stomach is full. This makes it super beneficial when exercising so that your body is doing the most with the water that you consume.

Run Test

I was given the chocolate and apple cinnamon flavors to try and really enjoyed both of them. The chocolate chia bar has chocolate liquor it in which gives it a softer chocolate flavor not an overload. The apple cinnamon was perfect to be tested in the fall and tasted true not artificial.

Having tried both of them before actually running with them, so I could see if my belly would like them, I was anxious to see how they would work on my longer runs. With only 100 calories in each bar it was the perfect size snack to eat while running so that I could get additional energy without filling my belly. I liked how easy they were to chew and not tacky like some other products I have tried, but some of the seeds did get stuck in my teeth (which isn't uncommon for chia).

One run in particular really stood out to me. I was running in Orlando on a short vacation and decided to run 7 miles, which was the longest I had run in the past few months. I was equipped with a chia bar and some nuun to drink and finished with a great time while not feeling physically terrible. Especially when running in the heat I frequently can eat too much sugary snack where my belly hurts and I lose my appetite. I was thankful that these did not affect me like that at all.

Bonus Content

Something else that is pretty unique is that Health Warrior made a special running focused coloring book! Super exciting! They are giving the coloring books away for free when you use the link above to make a purchase on their website. The pages are super funny and jokes that all runner will understand. It's a great way to spend your recovery hours too!

Conclusion

Since I was enjoying the bars so much I purchased a few more flavors to keep myself stocked for the coming weeks. Each of these flavors I am enjoying as well, especially the coconut. So whether you are looking for a new fuel source for running or a healthier snack I think that Health Warrior chia bars should be your next go to snack. They are good for you and great tasting too!


Product Review: Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler Duffle


Disclaimer: I received an Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler Duffel to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

It has been almost a year since I have reviewed a product with so I'm really excited to tell you my thoughts about what I've tested recently. Something that I probably got from my mother, shamelessly, is that you can never have too many bags. So I jumped on the opportunity to test out the duffel from Eagle Creek.


Specs

There are many sizes that Eagle Creek offers. We had the pleasure of testing the 60L size, which its the perfect size in my opinion and for what I use it for. The bag is super lightweight, so it's not adding to more stress on your shoulders, weighing just under two pounds. The material is also made to protect your belongings inside. The center compartment is more water repellent than the two outer compartments. So anything that need more protection from the elements should be placed in the main compartment. There were two features that really made me love this bag:

  1. It has shoulder straps so you can wear it as a backpack. The straps are also removable it that is your preference. I always used the shoulder straps because that felt the most comfortable for me.
  2. The bag can fold into one of the outer compartments when you need to store it. It ends up being smaller than a pillow once it is all folded up which makes storing it much easier and take up less space (that means room for more bags right?! 😉).
Field Test

Besides trying to use this bag as much as possible for my review, I found myself always finding an excuse to use this bag. While testing this I went of three different road trips, one of them all the way down to Florida. I was able to pack so much into the bag for my 9 day trip. I had enough clothes for nine days, running clothes for four days, and two sets of shoes. I also still had room for things that I bought along the way too.

My most recent trip just this weekend was to Syracuse. Now that winter is upon us and there is snow again I knew that this bag would have yet another use. I knew that all my belonging would be safe from the rain and snow. I had a new confidence that I hadn't had before. I also wear several layers of clothing, since my body is not adjusted to the cold weather in any sense, and since the bag has the should straps it was always easy to get on even with my parka coat on.

Another instance that this bag proved to be essential was when I was on one of my trips and got my running shoes all muddy and wet. Since the bag has our compartments, it was a separate place to store my shoes without getting my clothes all muddy. Cleaning it up was also pretty easy and wiped up with ease.

Conclusion

I think that this bag was a blessing to have on my adventures because of the following reasons:
  • It was light and easy to carry
  • Has separate compartments for optimal storage
  • Can fold inside itself for easy storage
  • Lets face it, it's also a cute bag too

Join the Bibrave Pros on Tuesday November 21st for an Eagle Creek sponsored Bibchat at 9pm Eastern time. 




In the mean time you can see other great uses and ideas from Nugo on their social pages:

IG: eaglecreek
T: eaglecreekgear