Confession #1: I’ve never really been a lunch person. I mean, yeah, I enjoy a good Ike’s sandwich or a chicken/salad combo, but if I get too excited about lunch, I start to feel like I’m cheating on my real love — breakfast. (Seriously. I may or may not start an oatmeal fan club. With t-shirts that say “Totes Mcg-OATS” with a picture of oatmeal.)
Confession #2: I’m definitely not one of those people who can last all day on a couple of carrot sticks and a tin of Altoids. I need something to hold me for four hours of class and an afternoon run! That said, I’m a college student/distance runner/workout freak who typically only has 20 minutes to eat lunch, so it’s imperative that the snacks I do eat are quick, easy to eat, and most of all, portable (it’s really hard to eat a salad while biking…trust me. I’ve tried.)
Luckily, I’ve made an exciting discovery—Element Bars. They’re energy bars that you can customize yourself on their website, www.elementbars.com. The site is easy to navigate and has tons of tools to help you get everything you want out of your personalized bar: not only can you choose from their huge selection of ingredients, you can take a quiz to find out what ingredients you should include based on your energy needs and taste preferences, browse through their pre-made recipes and recipes created by others, and even help you name your bar with a hilarious Mad Lib. You can get boxes of pre-made bars for $1.99 each and $2.99 each for your own bars. The price is a little bit of a downside, but if you’re really serious about your snacks, you can create an order of $50 or more and get free shipping.
So go ahead, HerCampus health nuts — try it out!
The combo we created? The “HC Stanford Snackbar” with “oaty chew” base, raisins, bananas, almonds, flax seeds, whey protein, and cinnamon. Yum!