The 20th season of CBS’ show The Amazing Race kicked off on February 19.  In the opening sequence, the show’s host Phil Keoghan was riding on a bike, in a full cycling kit, with a large crowd of riders behind him.  He said something to the effect of, “Behind me in the peloton are the competitors for the 20th season of a race around the world.”  (I’m paraphrasing, not a direct quote.)

Apparently Phil is a big fan of cycling, having completed a ride across America where he rode 100 miles a day for 40 days.  He was searching for the perfect nutrition bar to fuel him for that endeavor, as well as the jet-set lifestyle he leads as the host of a show that takes people all around the globe.

His search lead him to Manuka Honey from his homeland of New Zealand.  Using this honey that has a natural preservative quality and has been used for medicinal properties, he worked with a company to come up with the NOW energy bar… No Opportunity Wasted.  The bars are all natural, high protein and gluten-free.  They come in two flavors:

Honeycomb with Chia and Raisins

Peanut and Caramel

I was fortunate enough to receive both flavors to sample.

Both flavors are very filling, clocking in at 280 calories each.  They could be used to make a meal if you combine them with something else, like fruit and/or a glass of milk.  You could eat one for a large snack or you could split one in two for smaller snacks.  The nutritionals between the two flavors are surprisingly similar, 8 grams of fat, 42 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber, 11 grams of protein.  One surprising difference was the Peanut and Caramel flavor actually has two fewer grams of sugar than the Honeycomb with Chia and Raisins; 14 vs 16 grams.

Both my husband and I liked the bars, but we are in agreement that we prefer the Peanut and Caramel one.  I don’t really care for raisins all that much, so I’m not surprised that I preferred the flavor without raisins.  And at first I was excited to see the chia seed flavor because I like chia, but there are chia seeds in both flavors! SCORE!

My husband informed me the other day that it is time to order more of the bars. He’s been eating them when he needs a quick breakfast he can eat while in the car on his way to work.  We’ll most likely stick with the Peanut and Caramel flavor as that suits our taste buds more.  But this is definitely a product we will continue to purchase on our own.

Legalese: These bars were sent to me free for review purposes, the thoughts expressed here are my own.