Breakdown of PickyBars for the athlete, T1D...and foodie 😎

One of the reasons it's important for me to get back to this writing and re-connecting is how important the opportunity to be an amBADASSador for PickyBars is to me. While I was born in Tallahassee, Florida, I grew up in Bend, Oregon, home of PickyBars. I've followed the careers of their incredible founders Stephanie Bruce, Lauren Fleischman and Jesse Thomas for years. I've been a supporter of PickyBars for because of them, and also because as a Type 1 Diabetic, and an athlete, good nutrition and good food is paramount to my health. Also - their bars are just GOOD!

When my wife and I started dating in 2016, she was part of a crossfit community, as well as an active runner and yogi. She was diagnosed with Celiac the year before after having a gluten intolerance for years (yes, you can be intolerant and then be diagnosed with Celiac). She's always been active, and despite being able to keep up with my eating habits, also rather pretty skinny. Some of the gluten free snacks or foods she was eating to supplement her active lifestyle caused GI distress or weren't filling enough, so I introduced her to PickyBars. She was hooked and we never looked back, joining their PickyClub which ships to us every 2 months!

So this isn't just a promotional "buy this because I said so" post, but it's an intentional breakdown of why I've been consuming PickyBar products (because yes, there is more than just bars to go!) for nearly as long as Stephanie, Lauren and Jesse founded PickyBars 10 years ago, and how as an athlete and T1D their products help make my life easier.

Nora and I received our most recent PickyClub Box a few weeks back and I shared a breakdown of our haul on my Instagram stories - I'm going to break those down even further for you here!

A main staple for the summertime with swim lessons first thing in the morning is PickyBars Performance Oats. Nora has perfected their OverNight Oat recipe (on the back of the packaging) to give me enough of a meal to get me going in the morning, but not spike my blood sugar and keep me going through our morning sessions that end at 11 a.m. with our my blood sugar crashing. I also utilize the OverNight Oats as a pre-workout snack depending on my blood sugar and upcoming activity, or I'll use them as a recovery snack after my workout. Nothing like a nice cool, yummy treat after enduring the Florida heat and humidity! Again, the oats help keep my blood sugars steady throughout my activity with out a crash. Post-workout they're great because the have enough sweetness to keep my blood sugar in a good range without it spiking and keeping me full until my next meal!

Our favorite flavors are the Trail Mix Fix and the Can't Beet Chocolate. They're also really great as regular oatmeal! Nora has the Performance Oatmeal in her regular rotation of breakfasts when she craves it. She usually sticks to a regular breakfast routine to keep her GI distress risk at a minimum, but thanks to good practices and health with her celiac and Endometriosis, she now has three regular breakfast options! (I may have her do a guest post about eating for Celiac - what do y'all think? Should I let her?! 😜)

*Quick disclosure: There is no longer the Game, Set, Matcha! flavor, but plenty of great flavors to choose from!

One of PickyBars newest products - and a new fan fav in the Clark household - are their Performance Pancakes. Yes, my friends - healthy AND delicious pancakes! We used these in our Mother's Day Brunch for my Mother-In-Law just last month and they were a crowd pleaser, but I honestly utilize them as a quick, easy snack and go-to when my blood sugar dips at night. The only ingredient needed is water, so it's a fast, filling snack that helps keep my blood sugar stable and prevents it from spiking or crashing again. Because it's such a quick fix, it's also great for an afternoon snack before a workout or before heading back to the pool - depending on blood sugar reading of course! If you want to make them extra delictable, add some PickyBars Drizzle - a naturally sweetened cinnamon and maca almond butter (a must-have for a fruit desert charcuterie - worth it's own blog post 😉).

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than gearing up with PerformancePancakes?!

One of Nora's favorite, as gluten-free granola was one of the few breakfasts' that didn't cause her GI distress years ago when she was experiencing it often, is the Performance Granola. She utilized eating a giant bowl of granola (several servings!) every morning when she was Olympic Lifting to keep her calories up while working intently on gaining muscle. Our favorite flavors are the original PB&J All Day and Sassy Molassy, but we utilize the granola now as more of a trail fix, pre/post-workout fix, and of course snack between meals; and as always, a low snack for my blood sugar when needed.

Finally - the staple PickyBar. They're more satiating than the bars you'll find in the grocery store and don't have all the extra crap, but they don't make you feel overly full either. They're perfect for shorts pockets on a trail hike or run, jersey pockets (or a Wattie Ink Burrito Bag!) for bike rides, purse or backpack for general emergency low blood sugar needs - or general snack emergencies 😅 - and just on-the-go snack needs ahead of and/or after a workout. There are so many flavors to choose from and we even got an awesome bar pantry organizer that overflows with each PickyClub restock! Some of my go-to flavors are AH! Fudge Nuts, Smooth Caffeinator, and Chai and Catch Me. Nora loves Mint Condition, Lauren's Mega Nuts, and Need For Seed.

As you can tell, each of these products has many uses in our diets for general health, pre/post and even during workouts, as well in regard to our own specific health concerns. You can check out more about the nutrition philosophy of PickyBars here and I'll go more in depth regarding nutrition more with each of the different products in some future social posts and blog posts. Until then, feel free to reach out to me by contacting me here!