I recently had the opportunity to try CORE Foods bars, the Defender lineup (high fiber/vegan). The bars are meant to be a meal replacement, basically each pack is a “bowl of oatmeal” on the go.
The bars are fresh, real food… that means they’re perishable. Once you receive them they should be consumed or put in the freezer! They are good frozen for 6 months, in the fridge for 1 month, and at room temp for 1 week.
The instructions on the package tell you to consume the bar with two glasses of water. That helps the oats in the bar to expand in your stomach so you stay full.
The bars have 350-400 calories each and about 5-6 grams of fiber. I wouldn’t call that HIGH fiber, but that’s the way they’re labeled. But then again, that’s a reasonable amount of fiber for the ingredients… no strange extra chemical fiber added! The ingredient list is pretty clean on all of them. The bars are organic and gluten-free. (Yes, they use gluten-free oats.)
I liked the two bars I tried, I would give the Banana Walnut one a slight edge. And yes… I said TWO bars. I didn’t get to try the Cashew Cacao one. Why? Well… when I got the bars I followed instruction and put them in the freezer. Then I woke up one morning and realized I didn’t have anything for breakfast, so it seemed like a good time to try the bars. I pulled the bar out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter while I took care of the baby’s morning needs. Then I picked up the bar and it felt pretty cold still, so I thought “Hey, I’ll put this in the microwave for 10 seconds.” Well… after two seconds there was a flash of lightning in the microwave and I quickly stopped the nuker.
FYI – the packaging is NOT microwave safe! It kind of disintegrated and the bar ended up with a weird charred smell. I couldn’t bring myself to eat it when it smelled like that. So let that be a lesson to you… DO NOT microwave it in the packaging! (They’re raw food anyway… they don’t need to nor are they intended to be cooked!)
If you’d like to order some, you can use the coupon code “EatHealthyAnywhere” and that will give you $5 off your first online purchase. Enter the coupon code after checkout.
You also have the chance to win a sample pack from CORE Foods, which includes 3 meals – one of every flavor. (retail value: $15) The winner can specify if they want the Warrior sample pack (high protein) or Defender sample pack (vegan and high fiber). I’ll pick a winner on Saturday, March 2, 2013.
To enter, we’re going old school… leave a comment and tell me which version you’d choose. Warrior or Defender.
Giveaway is now closed. Winner is commenter “manda” and has been contacted via email.
Jill Will Run 
I love your reviews, always honest and complete. I wish I could say i’ve never done that to my microwave, but alas, I have been there. Then again we used to microwave light bulbs and CDs on purpose in college sooo yeah.
anyways, I am thinking the defender would be a good starting place and I can see it being my lunch just about any day of the week.
Yay! Something more gluten free. I have celiac, so sometimes finding gluten free protein bars is hard, and it’s always nice to find something different. I would choose Warrior for the protein 🙂
I’d like to try the Warrior bars!
I’d go for the Warrior!!!
I would go with the Warrior series! Good to eat after a lifting session in the morning.
These look good and if you like them, I’d love to try them. The Warrior bars would be my choice. 🙂
I would try the defender sample pack!
This is an interesting product which I have never seen before, I will have to look into it. The warrior seems like it would be best for me, I am always looking for some good protein.
I would try the defender!
I would LOVE to try the warrior. I have been trying to add more protein to my diet.
I would really like to try the warrior.
I’d like to try the warrior, but really I’d like to try both.
I would choose Warrior,
Love it! I would choose Warrior. I love the idea of an easy, healthy meal – perfect for stashing in my desk.
Defender! Thanks for the giveaway.
thanks for the post and reflections! because of name and content, i’d go for the warrior. 🙂
I would go for the warrior bars!
It’s interesting that it says to drink water with the oats… does that really make you feel full? I would love to try the defender meal. I’ve never heard of these before. I’ll have to look for them!
I’d love the Defender!
Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I emailed you, just reply with your shipping info so your prize can get to you! 🙂
[…] The meals can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-5 days (they recommend three) or they can be put in the freezer. The packages all give instructions on heating the meals, but it seems to be from refrigeration. It would be nice if it mentioned something about from frozen. And like I mentioned above, it says to remove the lid but I would just loosen the lid so your food doesn’t explode all over the microwave! Maybe it’s just me that has microwave problems. […]