Thursday, November 1, 2018

REVIEW: Ritual Energy Snack Bars

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I don't like coffee... You may think it's weird, but there was never any coffee in our house growing up (in fact, my dad used to take two cans of Pepsi with him to work in the mornings) so it was never something that was really on my radar. I guess you could say I followed in my dad's footsteps because I would say I survived my early morning work shifts and college courses thanks to 20 ounce after 20 ounce of Diet Mountain Dew.

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Well, in January of 2012 I kicked the pop habit and haven't looked back since. Don't get me wrong, every once in a while I get the craving for the bubbly nectar, but for the most part I don't miss it (nor does my wallet). 95% of the time I'm drinking your standard water and when I'm not, I usually "splurge" for a Sparkling Ice {FYI - Coconut Pineapple is my JAM!}.

Yep, I'm one of "those" people who carries around a HUGE (40 ounce) reusable water bottle everywhere I go.

Once I gave up pop (or 'soda' for all you non-Midwesterners), I would say my diet is pretty void of caffeine. Thankfully I am a morning person so don't have any issue really waking up in the morning (it seems that's when the majority of folks intake the largest quantity of caffeine) or else I'm sure I would need to get onto that coffee {or at least tea} train.

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Even still, there are definitely times where I'd like a little extra pep in my step (can you say "mid-afternoon slump?!"), so I was stoked when Ritual Energy reached out to me about their snack bar. Their unique combination of natural caffeine with wholesome nutrition provides you the clean, sustained energy you need to handle the dynamic demands of modern life.


Ritual Energy snack bars contain natural foods you know and can read (like peanuts, dates, dark chocolate, honey and sea salt) and at only 70 calories a bar, with 6 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein, their snack bars are easy to fit into any lifestyle. Each snack bar contains the same caffeine as one 8-12 ounce cup of coffee (100mg). Their caffeine is extracted with water from organic green coffee beans to provide you with the cleanest caffeine possible.

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The snack bars are small and portable - which means they are perfect to throw in your hydration pack, gym bag, purse, glove box, etc. And the taste is yummy too! I was slightly nervous that because the caffeine is from organic green coffee beans that it would taste coffee-esque, but I'd say the overall flavor is more of a healthy peanut butter and chocolate treat. (They sort of remind me of the other bars currently on the market with limited ingredients that are sweetened with dates.)

Perfect to throw in your handheld for an easy snack (and zap of caffeine) on your morning runs!

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Something that separates Ritual Energy from the crowd is they manufacture everything themselves in their own private facility. They do this to ensure the highest quality product possible without the mass-manufacturing shortcuts that other "co-packers" use to make bars cheaper or easier to handle. They pride themselves on doing things differently.


They also try to do as much as they can to minimize environmental impact. They source biodegradable and sustainable materials where possible, re-purpose shipping materials wherever they can and deliver their snacks in packaging you can use again and again. I LOVE that the bars come in a reusable linen bag - although I've gotta figure out the best way to repurpose it... Maybe I'll use it for toiletries when I travel or a lavender bag for my sock drawer or to wrap a small gift.

In the meantime I use it to throw a few items into when heading to the beach (Knockaround sunnies,
a couple sticks of gum, chapstick and a couple of the Ritual Energy snack bars).

Since Ritual Energy is still a somewhat small San Diego company, their bars aren't yet available in all stores across the country (although you can use the Store Locator to see if there are any locations near you that carry them), but you don't have to be local to give them a try because you can order them online. And because I love you, I scored a discount code if you wanna place an order. You can use "CARLEE30" to save 30% on online* (must place through RitualEnergy.com).


Is caffeine a MUST for you?!

3 comments:

Michelle said...

Carlee, can you post a picture of the nutritional info? I couldn't find it on their website.

Carlee McDot said...

Michelle - I added the nutritional info (I found it on their Amazon sale - https://www.amazon.com/Ritual-Energy-Snack-Natural-Caffeine/dp/B01LW5MRK5?th=1).

dd said...

Carlee, my dad was a huge pop drinker too (Midwesterner!) Back in the 60s and 70s pop bottles were popular so at least he was drinking from glass, but the cases of pop bottles he got on sale would be stacked up in the garage lol. He's still pretty thin in his mid-80s so guess all that high fructose corn syrup didn't hurt much! Mom only kept instant Maxwell House or Folgers coffee in the cupboard but somehow I got turned on to the love of coffee. I use unsweetened cocoa powder these days a lot though, oh, and green tea. These energy bars do look good though. ~Deb