Raw chocolate bars

[subbacultcha]

So far I have only tried a mint bar by 'Real' and a few bars by the Raw Chocolate company, vanoffee, midnight and deep dark. My favourite in terms of taste was probably the vanoffee or the mint bar but the deep dark made me feel the most ecstatic :)

I want to try Shazzie's next time I make an order with her, has anyone tried them? I also want to try Kate Wood's, what's everyone's favourites?

Love Hannah xxx

[brydee]

Helloo, i havnt tryed the ones you mention first but can you get them in the uk??

Iv tried two of shazzies, christmas love, and goddess, i prefered the goddess one, it reminded me more of normal chocolate and i got a buzz from it:D , im thinking of gettting the one with gold in tomorrow. If you havnt already got it id highly recommend her raw chocolate book, its got some wonderful recipes in it for fudge,raw chocolate bars,cakes and puddings and also some savory.

[earth_sista]

my favorite is my homemade chocolate bars :)

i also love the sunfood's chocolate hearts and the mint ones are the best-mmmm mmm

[healinglisa]

conscious chocolate

this is absolutely amazing, comes in at least 8 different flavours and is UK based. its a small company, please check out their website! (google conscious chocolate)

lisa :)

[sport]

I have tried all of Shazzies and like some.
I love the Nakd "coco loco". It is not a chocolate bar but is a chocolate flavored bar and is very reasonably priced.

[Vegan Princess]

Empowered Foods chocolate peanut bar is out of this world!!

Cindy

[subbacultcha]

I have tried all of Shazzies and like some.
I love the Nakd "coco loco". It is not a chocolate bar but is a chocolate flavored bar and is very reasonably priced.

I like them too but don't eat them much because they're not raw, and I don't get the same feeling from cooked cocoa as I do from raw cacao! They taste great though.

[subbacultcha]

Helloo, i havnt tryed the ones you mention first but can you get them in the uk??

Iv tried two of shazzies, christmas love, and goddess, i prefered the goddess one, it reminded me more of normal chocolate and i got a buzz from it:D , im thinking of gettting the one with gold in tomorrow. If you havnt already got it id highly recommend her raw chocolate book, its got some wonderful recipes in it for fudge,raw chocolate bars,cakes and puddings and also some savory.

Yep you can get 'Real' from www.totalrawfood.co.uk and the raw chocolate company's from www.therawchocolatecompany.com. I have seen both of them on other websites as well but the only place I've seen them in shops is Whole Foods in Kensington. I had another one from the raw chocolate co. today and realised why I love them so much - they taste like chocolate digestives! I think its the carob in them. Mmm.

I'm going to wait until I use up all my other detox your world stuff before I make another order from Shazzie but I think I will order the Goddess one, I had my eye on it! Do you have Shazzie's other books? I think there is some kind of deal on her site where you can get all three but I don't know if I'd like them.

[Eilene]

I didn't like Shazzie's chocolate bars. I love all of Empowered Foods chocolate cups and bars. YUM!! I also LOVE Go Raw real live chocolate. I get them at Roots 5 min from my house (lucky me). I chop them up & use these in my chocolate chip cookie dough. They are amazing. In fact...my friends who have tried them (no...they do not eat raw) LOVE them!!

[sport]

I like them too but don't eat them much because they're not raw, and I don't get the same feeling from cooked cocoa as I do from raw cacao! They taste great though.

WHAT
nākd bars are a 100% natural wholefood bar a delicious blend of unsweetened fruit, rolled oats, nuts and spices. Unlike most bars, nākd bars contain no artificial ingredients of any kind, no-added sugar and are made raw, never cooked. In fact, if they were any more natural, you’d have to peel ‘em

This is from the website.

http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/PRODUCTS_NAKD.html

[subbacultcha]

WHAT
nākd bars are a 100% natural wholefood bar a delicious blend of unsweetened fruit, rolled oats, nuts and spices. Unlike most bars, nākd bars contain no artificial ingredients of any kind, no-added sugar and are made raw, never cooked. In fact, if they were any more natural, you’d have to peel ‘em

This is from the website.

http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/PRODUCTS_NAKD.html
Their oats aren't raw and neither is their cocoa powder or other ingredients like apple juice. I emailed them a while back. They call them raw because they don't cook the final product.

[raw_danceruk]

Agreed on the above point about the "Naked" ones.. I had a long chat with the assistant about those!! and .. they knew full well, lucky enough where I am they also stock some awesome raw bits

The "Real" ones are nice..I got a selection for xmas.. wasnt fond of the goji one..love the silver one though!!(and the mint!) lush

[brydee]

Hope your right lisa, iv ordered a mint and orange one off their website:D

[sport]

Agreed on the above point about the "Naked" ones.. I had a long chat with the assistant about those!! and .. they knew full well, lucky enough where I am they also stock some awesome raw bits

The "Real" ones are nice..I got a selection for xmas.. wasnt fond of the goji one..love the silver one though!!(and the mint!) lush

I guess that this is another thing off of my list. I have been eating them.
It is so unfair for them to label them as raw if they are not. I intend to send them a stinker of an email.

[kaybee]

man, that STINKS. those naked bars were SO good. i got some this summer and then was looking for them here. i THOUGHT they were too good to be true. the berry ones were SO good too.... seems like the berry ones would be easy for them to make raw. GGGGRRRRRR. deceptive advertising. AGAIN.

[subbacultcha]

Had some today and it was soooo good! Had the chili and the mint. I preferred the mint and DBF prefered the chili. It was softer than other ones I've tried, almost fudgy! Anyway, they had a really smooth texture.

[sport]

Below is an email that I just sent. I will keep you informed

I have been eating these bars as part of my Raw Food Diet. The front
of the label clearly says RAW. You could not have made it clearer even
if you had meant to defraud the public.
I am disgusted to find that they are not raw. I am striving to have a
100% raw food diet and you have set me back enormously in my efforts.
I feel as if I am starting over and the past year's efforts have been
for nothing.
I do not intend to let this matter rest. I intend to make a complaint
about your actions to any statutory body (including the advertising
authority) that I think will help my cause.
You are being grossly unfair to anybody (and there are lots) who are
making the effort to remain within the raw food programme. I demand
that you remove the word RAW from your label and desist in your
efforts to defraud and mislead us.
Expect to hear from me further regarding this matter

[fuggles]

So far I have only tried a mint bar by 'Real' and a few bars by the Raw Chocolate company, vanoffee, midnight and deep dark. My favourite in terms of taste was probably the vanoffee or the mint bar but the deep dark made me feel the most ecstatic :)

I want to try Shazzie's next time I make an order with her, has anyone tried them? I also want to try Kate Wood's, what's everyone's favourites?

Love Hannah xxx


Yes I have tried Shazzies bars.

And theres also a video on them on youtube.

They are quite small, quite grainy, but taste good.

Its 4 blocks of chocolate., and they are quite big individual pieces.

Just for those who never saw it.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=63uHurzQmC8

[subbacultcha]

I just ordered a pack of 12 mixed choc bars from funkyraw.com :)
They let you choose any 12 you want from a list of conscious chocolate and raw chocolate company, my 2 favourites so far :)
I have also recently tried one called Bullet Ride made by Kate Wood (rawliving.co.uk) which has rum in it...yum yum yum!

[kaybee]

hehehe sport--u go get 'em!

it seems like it would only take minor adjustments to make those naked bars raw. especially the berry ones. yeah, it might cost a bit more to get raw rolled oats,--but they could buy organic sprouting oats in bulk and just grind-em or roll em themselves; and the cacao, but so what, charge 2.25 instead of 1.80 or something.... except...that makes me doubt that they were using really raw dried fruit either; i doubt their dried fruit was low temperature dried...so i guess if they tried to change that too they WOULD be encountering much higher expenses. still...its mostly oats and oats cant be THAT expensive. I DOUBT theyre going to do anything about it though because most people who are buying those, even if theyre raw food people, are going to assume they are raw because they say it and theyre not going to have any reason to think otherwise unless they visit boards like this one...so they'll keep buying and so naked will keep cutting corners and deceptively advertising...

too bad. those were the BEST so-called "raw" bars I ever had. far better than liar bars....

kb

[Bananna]

well where would you order chocolate bars on this side of the pond? Or better yet, Canada?

[beppa66]

gnosis make an interesting variety of flavors!
( ;

[RawMistress]

Can Shazzies get shipped in the US?
I want to order some but figured they would be stopped at customs?:confused:
Last resort I can make my own.:rolleyes:

[sport]

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the e-mail.

If you genuinely felt misled, you should contact the Buckingham Trading
Standards Office and speak with
David Graby. He is our local Trading Standards officer and approved the
packaging. If your concern is of legal nature,
he's the gentleman with whom to speak with.

On a persoanl note, I'd suggest your anger may be better directed at any one
of the numerous food companies who
routinely sell and market heavily processed junk food to people of all ages.
We are a small, ethically minded young
company trying to provide genuinely healthy, all natural, no sugar added,
100% vegan snacks while promoting charity.

I suspect there are grander villains out there for someone of your obvious
intelligence and passion. A great many good
causes and organizations could benefit from the services of a woman with
your intensity.

Please find the attached link below from our website where we clearly state
that to make our bars, we use a 100% raw
process, the fruit and nuts being 100% raw.

http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/FAQ.html

We're a big fan of the nutritional value of oats. We feel the health
benefits of the inclusion of oats are far more important.
I understand some raw foodists avoid steamed oats on principle, however I've
never seen anything indicating they are anything
but beneficial to good health, so we include them.

The oats are very minimally steamed to the baseline point of making them
safely edible, prevent rancidity, and make them
digestible. We believe the oats add important health benefits, despite the
fact that they require minimal steam to make them
functional, practical and safe.

Our goal and commitment is to make the healthiest bars we can first, while
remaining raw, (and affordable and available)
as possible. Our aim certainly is not to mislead.

Thank you for taking the time to write, we really do value the feedback.

If there's anything else that I can do to be helpful, please just let me
know.

Warmest Regards,

Product Development Manager
Global Glee & Happiness Elf
Natural Balance Foods
www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk

PS: Save a tree...please don't print this e-mail, unless you really need to

[sport]

Mr -----,
I have contacted Natural Balance Foods regarding their misleading
labelling on their nakd bars and they suggested that I contact you as
you were responsible for approving the packaging.
I am having difficulty in understanding how you could approve the
labelling of a bar as raw if it is in fact 50% raw. Does this mean
that they would be allowed to label a bar as Vegan if it was 50% vegan
and Vegetarian if it was 50 % vegetarian.
I do not know if you understand what raw means but to us (Raw
Foodists) it is very clear. Food can only be considered as Raw if it
has not been heated above 118F or 46C. Food heated above this point
leads to Digestive Leucocytosis
http://www.rawfoodsbible.com/index.php?page=ch2/digestive which is an
increase in the number of white cells in the blood stream and also
leads to a depletion of enzymes in the digestive system. It is to
avoid these and other problems that we eat our food raw.
Natural Balance have defended their actions by telling me that the
information is available on their website but I have been buying their
bars at a store and not from the website and no such information is
available in the store. All I see is a label with the word RAW
strategically placed on the front. In the US the major manufacturer of
raw food bars is Lara Bars and if there is any non raw ingredients in
a particular bar then the bar is labelled as 95% Raw or 90% Raw
whichever applies. Why do you not compel Natural Balance to adopt this
system?
Many people adopt the raw food lifestyle because of serious illness
and it is grossly unfair that they are being misled in this way and
setback on their road to health.
I suspect that I am probably not the only victim here and that you
have also been mislead. I am hoping that I receive a reply fro you
stating that you have reconsidered the situation and asked them to
change their packaging.


Mary Minihane

[Bananna]

The reply somewhat surprised me....just the compliments and trying to appeal to you and suggesting you become an anti-junk food activist. Can we say damage control?
I almost want to send one too to see if I get the same one or not. ;)

[sport]

The reply somewhat surprised me....just the compliments and trying to appeal to you and suggesting you become an anti-junk food activist. Can we say damage control?
I almost want to send one too to see if I get the same one or not. ;)

I thought that it was a bit condesending. I was insulted. They treated me like a child that was just being a nuicence.
I have not had a reply from the trading standards person yet. I am going all the way with this if he does not satisfy me.

[sport]

Received this morning

Thank you for your email to the service dated 8th February with reference to your previous query of 29th January and the lack of response to it.

We are trialling a new way of working within Trading Standards in Buckinghamshire which we hope in the longer term will give our customers an improved service but is causing a backlog of work whilst the new approach settles in. Therefore I am sorry that there will be some delay in coming back to you with a full response. However I can confirm that the labelling of food is within our remit so we will be able to give you a response.

Thank you for your continued patience.

[sport]

Thank you for your response.
Is there any way that you can even give me an indication of a time
line as I feel very strongly about this matter and the fact that
people's health is being compromised while this is allowed to
continue.
I am happy to pursue this matter through a different organisation if
you suggest that a quicker path is available.
Regards

[sport]

I would estimate that it could be another week until your complaint is dealt
with although I can't be accurate as it depends how complex or
straightforward the cases that came in before it and that are waiting to be
dealt with are. I do assure you that once it is picked up by an officer it
will be given their complete attention until it is resolved.
Kind regards

[sport]

Thank you for contacting us recently about the label on the Nakd Raw
Superfoods Bar, and the use of the term Raw. We have spoken to Natural
Balance Foods Ltd about the labelling of the food and note your concerns.

The information provided on their website is as follows:
"What do you mean by raw?"
We mean natural, not cooked or exposed to high temperatures. Exposing some
foods to excessive heat can reduce their health value. That's why your mom
always wanted you to eat fresh fruit and veg.
In making our bars, we use a 100% raw process, which is a fancy way of saying
they are just natural stuff mooshed together, never cooked like most bars.
That means they are bursting with goodness, just like nature intended.
Additionally, we start with raw ingredients wherever we can (i.e. ones that
haven't been cooked somewhere along the line before we get them). All the
fruit and nuts in our bars come to us raw. Some ingredients like oats and
soya bits, have been exposed to heat before we get them to make them safe to
eat...which we think is a good thing.
Basically, we tried to make the most all-around nutritious, natural and tasty
bar we could. That means using only natural wholefoods and not messing with
nature.

There is no legal definition of the term raw in the UK , and we cannot compel
the Company to change the wording on the product. Natural Balance do not cook
the Nakd bar and the fruit and nuts used in the product are uncooked. Natural
Balance want to demonstrate to consumers that their bar is not cooked and
contains raw fruit and nuts. The oats are steamed and rolled for taste and
microbiological reasons. The apple juice is pasteurised for microbiological
reasons.

We have discussed the labelling of the Nakd Raw Superfoods bar with Natural
Foods and the wording of the product will be re-examined. Any changes deemed
necessary will be amended in the new label run commencing August 2008.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Yours sincerely,

[sport]

Samantha,
This is what is says on the website.

"nākd bars are a 100% natural wholefood bar a delicious blend of
unsweetened fruit, rolled oats, nuts and spices. Unlike most bars,
nākd bars contain no artificial ingredients of any kind, no-added
sugar and are made raw, never cooked. In fact, if they were any more
natural, you'd have to peel 'em"

I am clearly reading that the bars are raw, never cooked. Surely they
can not be allowed to say that if it is not true. They say it on the
bar and they say it on the website and yet at least 50% of the bar is
cooked.
I can purchase and eat raw oats and raw chocolate so why can they not
do the same. In the US the premier and best known brand of Raw Bars is
Lara Bar and if any of their flavours contain non raw items they
clearly state on the wrapper that it is 90% raw or 95% raw and yet you
allow a company to sell a bar that is only 50% raw and call it raw.
You say that there is no legal definition of the word raw in the UK
but there is a clear definition of the word among the people that
these bars are aimed at, namely the Raw Foodists. If these bars were
not aimed at this market then why would it be so important to them
that they have the word raw on the label. Non Raw Foodists are not
going to care if the bar is raw or not but Raw Foodists care a great
deal.
I feel that as a non raw foodist you do not understand the
implications of this matter. If you are not in a position (or not
willing) to carry this any further then can you please let me have the
name and email address of the person that you report to so that I may
pursue it myself.
Thanks

[Riiiya]

are all these bars you guys talk about really expensive? i saw some Sunfood bars and the price was insane! (ok it was a TINY bar and it was $10)...... so for now i indulge in Larabar Choco Coco (or whatever it's called) it's the closest i come to chocolate :/

[Betsy]

the bars you are referring to are the chocolate bars, and yes, they are tiny, and yes, they are very expensive ($10.00 plus shipping= 17.00) for such a very tiny bar. But, they are delicious I can tell you and very potent. Just a tiny piece in the morning and not later as it will keep you awake at night.

If you have some cash to burn, they are so worth it. Even just once in your life you've gotta try em. Chocolate never tasted so good.

[subbacultcha]

are all these bars you guys talk about really expensive? i saw some Sunfood bars and the price was insane! (ok it was a TINY bar and it was $10)...... so for now i indulge in Larabar Choco Coco (or whatever it's called) it's the closest i come to chocolate :/

Raw chocolate bars are in the region of £2.50 - £4.50, but you can get them in multipacks which cuts down on cost. Nakd bars are about £1.20 (the not really raw ones) and larabars are about the same over here.

[Riiiya]

thanks for ur replies guys.... i guess you do get what you pay for with these things... i bet they're totally amazing- next time i get a paycheck i'm getting those tiny chocolate things for $10 hehe :D

[fuggles]

http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/choc_change.jpg