Ride a bike.

Eat an organic meal.

Go on a hike.

Photo by Susan Yokshas

With Earth Day on the horizon, we thought it might be helpful to shout out a reminder about how important and essential Earth is because we all want to keep it around a while longer.

Earth Day: two simple words, which demonstrate support for environmental protection. Credited to Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from the cheese (or Badger) state, Earth Day was first recognized in 1970. It has since been recognized by the United Nations in 2009 and national governments in 192 countries. Even without a deep knowledge of the background of the day, one can easily infer that it has something to do with appreciating the earth.

According to a 5-year estimate by the American Community Survey:

0.5% of Americans bike to and from work

10.5% of U.S. residents carpool to work

5% of U.S. residents take public transportation to work

About 36,000 households in the United States rely on solar energy to heat their homes

http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/04/22/earth-day-stats-us-department-commerce

Using organic ingredients is one obvious way PROBAR reduces its own ecological footprint. The general assumption is that organic foods are healthier. While studies have supported this, some other crucial benefits are sometimes forgotten. Organic farming can potentially yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming on the same space of land and organically grown foods utilize less fossil energy than conventional crops, while non-organic practices release toxins into the soil that can remain for generations.

What does all this mean? We are all very capable of supporting safer, more efficient use of land and preserving the earth we so desperately need.

You have the stats and stories, but what can you do to celebrate Earth Day? Commit to making one small change today to reduce your ecological footprint, whether that might be carpooling to work, riding your bike on sunny days instead of driving (you’ll pay less to fill up your bike with gas than your car), planting a tree in your backyard, or recycling that stash of empty water bottles.

Check out www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator to see what your ecological footprint is and what you can do about it.

Like us on Facebook and stay tuned for tomorrow’s Earth Day contest for your shot at a sleeve of PROBARs!

https://www.facebook.com/theprobar

We’ve been busy in the kitchen here at PROBAR and even busier at the design shop. Check it out, we’ve got some shiny new kicks and we’re ready to share them with you.

Does orange make you hungry? We think it might. Check out the bold orange on our original PROBAR Meal. Don’t worry, we didn’t mess with any of your favorite recipes.  We’ve kept the same high quality ingredients, its still certified organic by QAI, and blended not baked. We mean it when we call it a meal.  This PROBAR weighs in at a solid three ounces of fruits, nuts, and seeds with enough nutrition to make a fresh, tasty, satisfying meal replacement.  It’s rich in raw ingredients and the right nutrient dense calories for lasting energy and nourishment.  We’ve also added 4 new tasty flavors: Superberry & Greens, Chocolate Coconut, Oatmeal Raisin and Mint Chocolate.

We’re very excited to bring to you arguably the best tasting protein bar on the market, PROBAR CORE. This is the PROBAR for lean muscle & strong recovery.  Are you looking for a protein bar that resembles nature rather than a science experiment?  Good.  Because we packed 20 grams of plant protein and plenty of real, recognizable ingredients into this bar.  And it does more than build your strength - it boasts chia and flax seeds for hydration and recovery too.

Fuel is a gluten-free and easy to digest bar; balanced with chia seeds to regulate hydration.  It’s soft, chewy, and it’s a full serving of fruit - a scrumptious snack for action packed days.

Sure, treats taste good - but most aren’t so good for you.  So we made this sweet treat without hydrogenated junk.  Instead we packed in heavenly, good-for-you, vegan stuff made from the finest ingredients around.  Now you can satisfy your craving, no guilt needed.

The Pakistan Double Header-

The idea seemed preposterous even as we boarded the airplane departing Salt Lake City. Our goal was to climb first ascents on two separate seven-thousand meter peaks that were both located deep in the Pakistani Karakoram mountains. The political situation in the country was concerning enough but the thought of spending the next three months at high altitude in the remote mountains of northern Pakistan, had my stomach churning as our airplane took to the sky. Hayden was already asleep in the seat next to me and his calmness was comforting.

Hayden Kennedy and I met our Slovenian friend Urban Novak in Islamabad on July 2nd. We had all climbed together the previous summer and as we exchanged hugs we also talked about what we had come for; unfinished business on the east face of K7. We had come close on our new route in 2011 but were stopped short nearly 300 meters from the summit. The bells of redemption rang loud as we trekked into the Charakusa glacier and had our first glimpse of K7. After three weeks of acclimating on nearby mountains and rock towers that surround base camp we were ready for a go on the east face. We packed our climbing packs with one night of dehydrated dinner (yuck) and ten Probars (yummy) that we were confident would be enough food for what we guessed would be 48hrs of climbing. It felt great to be back on familiar terrain and as we surpassed our high point from the previous year we all felt hopeful that the summit was within reach. The climbing was cold and uncomfortable and often difficult but after 30hrs on the go, we had reached the summit!

After nearly a month of rest, lots of ice cream, a Probar everyday, and six days of hiking to our next location on the Choktoi glacier. Hayden and I stood in awe at the south-east face of the Ogre 1. In 1977 Brits Doug Scott and Chris Bonnington made the first ascent of the Orge, their story is a famous one of survival after Doug broke both his legs near to the summit of the mountain and made a miraculous eight day crawl back to base camp. In the 35 years since their infamous epic only one other party had managed to reach the summit of the rugged mountain.

After three days of insane exposure, some of the most chossy rock we had ever climbed on (and some of the best), and perfect weather. Hayden and I stood on the tiny and simultaneously immense summit of the Orge 1. We had completed our goal of climbing two 7000 meter peaks in one summer and after we made a safe day and a half long descent, it was time to leave Pakistan. After all, the nearly 200 Probars that we had brought on the expedition were nearly finished.

Thanks for fueling an amazing summer!

Kyle Dempster

Higher Ground Coffee

Local trying PROBAR for first time.

Kyle at his coffee shop Higher Ground in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rolls

Green bean casserole

Yams

Stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Turkey

Cranberry sauce

Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin cheesecakes

“Adventure Racing offers an easy crossover for cyclist, runners and water sport enthusiasts just to mention a few. Adventure races can vary anywhere from 2-5 person teams, with some events now offering solo categories. The disciplines can also vary from race to race. Adventure racing can include shredding through tight single track on a mountain bike or orienteering and hiking through a dense forest. Adventure racers may find themselves ripping down rapids in a canoe and then rappelling off a 100 foot rock face. The races can last a few hours or several days and can cover 10 - 100 miles or more!” - www.USARA.com

PROBAR is a proud sponsor of the USARA Adventure Race National Championship.  The race was held October 11-13 in the Catskill Mountains - Kerhonkson, New York.  Team Gear Junkie took home first place, to see their story, click here. For more info about the championship race, click here.

Mass start in canoes; photo: Tecnu Adventure Racing

Racer Kyle Peter of Team Tecnu preparing for mountain bike leg (map mounted on handlebars). Photo: Tecnu Adventure Racing

Team GearJunkie/WEDALI is USARA National Champs! Justin Bakken, Molly Moilanen, Scott Erlandson; photo © 2012 USARA Vladimir Bukalo

• A well balanced vegetarian diet is known to bestow a wide range of health benefits. Research has shown vegetarians to suffer less heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, various cancers, diverticular disease, bowel disorders, gall stones, kidney stones, and osteoporosis.
• Vegetarians are far more likely than the general population to eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
• Livestock farming produces huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. One study estimated that the farming of animals caused more emissions (18%) than the world’s entire transport system (13.5%).
• (Source Vegetarian Society: https://www.vegsoc.org/)

With that said, I’m going to make a pledge.  It will be challenging, grueling and push me to my limit.  Would you like to join?  Good.  Here is goes:

“I, Kara (insert your name here), pledge to not eat meat in the month of October.  No if, ands, or buts about it.”

See, that wasn’t so bad!  Here’s to a meatless October, Cheers!

Kara

• A GMO is the direct human manipulation of an organism’s DNA in a laboratory environment.
• Genetic modification may include the ADDITION OF DNA from species that would NOT BREED in nature.
• Mice fed GM pesticide producing corn over four generations showed ABNORMAL structural and chemical changes to various organs and significantly reduced fertility.
• 30,000 different GMOs exist on grocery store shelves (largely because of how many processed foods contain soy.)
• The USA is the largest producer of GMO crops and does not mandate labels for GMO food.  In 30 other countries there are bans or restrictions on the production of GMOs, because they are not considered proven safe.

Source

So how can you help stop GMOs?  Get educated.  Find out what foods have them and which don’t.  Show your support to companies who care about real, whole food by buying their products.  Click here to get a list of brands who want to make a change in what we eat.

For more information about GMO’s and how you can help, please visit the Non-GMO Project’s website.

Bouldering is his primary interest but sport climbing and trad climbing aren’t far behind.  When in SLC, Justin can be found in the canyons looking for new boulder problem potential or at the gym devising new training protocols.  As a 12 year vegan, Justin is always conscious of nutrition and fuels his endeavors with whole foods like PROBAR!

Sesame Seeds:

They’re in our bars; you know they’re good in hummus, but what are they, and what do they do?

Sesame seeds are one of the oldest cultivated seeds, and historically its oil was used as a medicine.  Nowadays, it is as good as a superfood as you can find.  The seed’s health benefits range from lowering blood pressure to helping your skin.  Add to that fact that ours is organic and raw, and you are guaranteed to get all the benefits of this great ingredient from our bars.

Pumpkin Seeds:

Pumpkins aren’t just for magic carriage rides or Halloween carving parties. Pumpkins and their seeds are some of nature’s most nutritious foods, so naturally we put the seeds in our PROBARS!

Pumpkin seeds are excellent sources of plant protein; in fact, it is hard to find a more concentrated source. They are also a good source of vitamins, including vitamin E, an essential antioxidant. The pumpkin seeds in PROBARs are raw so they keep all their goodness intact. Enjoy!

On a couple of different occasions our company President, Jules, has whipped up a batch of his famous smoothies for everyone here in the PROBAR office.  We have learned that when we hear the sound of the blender we’re in for a special treat!

Since our readers don’t get to benefit from these delicious smoothies, we thought we should at least share the recipe with everyone so you can enjoy it too!

Jules prefers to use a Blendtec blender, which allows him to put all of the ingredients into the blender at once!   There is no specific order in which the ingredients are added, but for best results with the blender it’s best to add the liquids in first and the frozen foods on top before you blend!

Jules’s Super Smoothies!

24 oz. almond milk

8 oz. coconut water

Heaping teaspoon chia seeds (milled)

Heaping teaspoon amazing grass greens blend

Heaping teaspoon almond butter

2 teaspoons acai powder

½ teaspoon Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

2 heaping teaspoons protein powder (we used plant based)

½ avocado

1 banana

1 handful spinach (about 1 ½ to 2 cups)

1 cup ice

1 cup strawberries (we used frozen strawberries)

1 cup blueberries (we used frozen blueberries)

1/8 t. vanilla

Pinch of salt (optional)

Tablespoon agave or zylatol (optional)

*This recipe will make about 60 ounces of smoothie.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe that you love to make?  Let us know what you add to your own smoothies!  Cheers!