Review: Rise Bars.

The lowdown on the Rise Bars: all natural and organic bars -- use all natural sweetners with no artificial additives -- gluten free, soy free and vegetarian -- based out of San Diego, CA. They have three different lines: (5) Breakfast Bars, (5) Energy+ Bars and (2) Protein+ Bars. I didn't have the pleasure of getting any of the latter, but I'm tempted to order some after trying the other sample bars I got. 

Energy Bar: Blueberry Coconut (Vegan) -- First bar I put my hands on and was surprisingly sweet, but almost 'earthy' at the same time. Great combination! Tasted almost gritty like it had coconut flakes in it, but moist with a soft chew. Had an almost 'melt in your mouth' kind of overall texture. By far I would eat this bar weekly if I had them stocked. (Almonds, Coconut, Dates, Tapioca Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Blueberries, Raisins, Amaranth, Sea Salt)

Breakfast Bars: Crunchy Cashew Almond -- the more I try these bars, the more and more I fall in love with them. When I opened this tiny little morsel of goodness, I instantly knew this was going to be another good one. The chunks of nuts were overwhelming and wonderful! It's the perfect crunch to chew ratio. Not entirely hard like a nut bar, but not really chewy like a granola bar. Not a lot of sweetness to this one like the last one I tried. (Almonds, Honey, Cashews, Dates, Amaranth, Crisp Rice, Salt) & Crunchy Macadamia Pineapple -- kind of took me off guard when I opened it up, it has sesame seeds and they're definitely not hidden :) You had so many different flavors working together in this one. The nuts were crunchy (obviously) but the pineapple chunks and raisins were soft -- and it had a really pleasant sweetness to it. Fun fact, I could actually 'hear' the bar tearing apart with each bite. Like a crackle kind of sound. Was definitely a favorite. (Macadamias, Honey, Pineapples, Raisins, Sesame Seeds, Amaranth, Crisp Rice, Salt)

I forgot that I'd left the Raspberry Pomegranate with my mom over the weekend. From what it sounds like, I missed out on a good one, even though I'm not a fan of either ingredient. Her feedback: "was appetizing, moist and gooey while most bars you get are hard, she loved that you could 'taste' all the ingredients." The funniest remark though was on how hungry she was before the bar -- "I remembered that you'd given it to me and I'd thrown it in my purse. I thought to myself, I'm hungry enough, I'll give it a shot and it'll at least tide me over till lunch. After the first bite though, I was starting to think the bar was too small and I wanted more!" That's my mom for you. (Dates, Almonds, Coconut, Apples, Brown Rice Syrup, Tapioca Syrup, Amaranth, Raspberries, Pomegranate, Sea Salt)

All in all -- I'm definitely going to start looking around for these at the store. The store locator said that the Turnip Truck and Whole Foods of Franklin had them stocked. So I'll have to keep my eyes peeled and update you guys if/when I find them. They also have a form that you can print and give to your favorite store to request the product line. And trust me, after you taste these, you'll WANT them. There's a printable coupon on their website as well as a few ways to win some bars. They have a Facebook/Twitter following also. I was sent an online coupon code: 5OFFRISE to receive $5.00 off at their website. The bars range from $1.39 to $2.29 if you buy them online -- they come in boxes of 12 and you can buy single flavors or sample boxes. Free shipping on $60+ orders and $75+ orders get a box of 20 mini bars for free. Win/win for everyone!

I still have a few more of these to try, but I'd hate to have to scarf them all so quickly and have decided to save the last couple for a rainy day when I need a bite of joy! Would love to hear you guys sound off on these if you've had the pleasure of trying them or know where to get your hands on some locally :)

**Disclaimer: These items were kindly sent to me to review by Rise Bar. All products that are mentioned and reviewed on my blog are my own personal and honest opinions, or those of someone I've shared my goodies with. I am not being compensated additionally for my thoughts or posted reviews -- whether good, bad or indifferent.