I've been trying out something new, and after lots of training trials and game-day performance, I'm ready to let you all know what I think.
<h4><b>Health Warrior Chia Bars</b>.</h4>
If you've seen <a href="https://twitter.com/SnuffyDX" target="_blank">tweets from me</a> that say #PoweredByChia...this is what I was talking about. There's been quite the "superfood" craze lately, and chia seeds are part of that. I've been trying these out to fuel myself for runs, workouts, and life in general, and I've got lots to tell you. In order to tell you about Health Warrior's Chia Bars, however, first the question must be asked...<!--more-->
<h3><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What the heck is Chia?</b></span></h3>
<b>Healthy. That's what.</b> Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let me REALLY answer my own question:

<img class="size-medium wp-image-620 aligncenter" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chia-seeds-300x190.jpg" alt="Chia Seeds" width="300" height="190" />

<b>You may have seen it</b> in a little tube on a point-of-sale display at your local "health food"/ nutrition store, you may have seen the word "chia" thrown around in "health food" packaging, or you may have heard people talking about the newest greatest thing - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_hispanica" target="_blank">CHIA</a>!

<b>Chia is a little tiny seed, and it's been around forever. </b>The reason it's such a big deal now is that it's a superfood, and people are just now catching on to it - it's becoming mainstream.

<b>So what's a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfood" target="_blank">"superfood"</a>? </b>The word itself is just a marketing term companies throw around to say something has a wide berth of health benefits - as far as I can tell it's not actually a word nutritionists, doctors or dieticians have put out there. I'm ok with it though - it's just a descriptor and it DOES apply here so frankly I don't care where it came from.
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
<h4><img class="size-full wp-image-623 alignleft" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chiaseedshw.jpg" alt="Health Warrior black chia seeds" width="206" height="279" /><b>Chia seeds ARE pretty packed with nutrition...</b></h4>
...for how small of a seed it is, anyway. <a href="http://healthwarrior.com/what-is-chia/" target="_blank">As Health Warrior describes on their site</a> - one 16 ounce bag (1 pound) of their chia seeds is equivalent to:
<ul>
 	<li>10 lbs of salmon (Omega -3 Fatty Acids)</li>
 	<li>3 lbs of tofu (protein)</li>
 	<li>4 lbs of milk (calcium, I'm assuming? They talk about strong bones with that one)</li>
 	<li>4 lbs of oatmeal (fiber)</li>
 	<li>15 lbs of broccoli (magnesium)</li>
</ul>
<b>That's an awful lot of work for one pound of little tiny seeds to be doing.</b>

Health Warrior uses those amazing, hard-working, nutrient-dense little seeds to make their Chia Bars.

<b>So now that we've covered those bases, we can look at...</b>
<h3><b><span style="font-size: large;">What's in these Chia Bars?</span></b></h3>
<b>These things are pretty amazing. Let's take a look at the label.</b>

<img class="size-medium wp-image-619 aligncenter" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chia-nutrition-300x111.jpg" alt="Health Warrior Chia Bar nutrition facts label" width="300" height="111" />

<b>See that?!</b> These bars are 100 calories each (similar to other fitness "nutrition") and pack an awful lot into that little space. 1000mg of Omega-3 fatty acids, 4g of fiber (16% daily recommended intake), 4g of plant-based whole-food protein, and they make it taste good with just 5g of sugar.

<b>But wait - </b>

<img class="size-medium wp-image-621 aligncenter" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chiabaringredients-300x140.jpg" alt="Health Warrior chia bar ingredients" width="300" height="140" />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> It's all-natural and...well...healthy!</b> That 5g of sugar comes, primarily, from the organic agave syrup! <b>NOT </b>high-fructose corn syrup. <b>NOT </b>"sugar". <b>NOT aspartame, sucralose, fructose, or any 'ose'</b>. Look at all the other ingredients - brown rice syrup, organic cashew butter, organic this, organic that...it's all organic and natural! These things are <i>really </i>healthy! The label also makes a point to say that it is soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and 100% vegan. They get it done and take care of a lot of peoples' dietary needs/restrictions. It SEEMS to me to be the case that this would also qualify as paleo-friendly, but I'm no pro on paleo, so I'll have to look into that a little more.</div>
<b>So </b>we know what they're made of, and we know the health benefits...but there's another important question to ask:
<h3><img class="size-medium wp-image-624 alignright" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chiaunbox-235x300.jpg" alt="Health Warrior chia bar unboxing" width="235" height="300" /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Do They Taste Good?</span></b></h3>
<b>YES! </b>At least, I think so. These chia bars are offered in a variety of flavors - <a href="http://shop.healthwarrior.com/" target="_blank">they are usually sold one flavor to a box</a>, but my friend Brad at Health Warrior was kind enough to hand-pack and send me a variety box so I could try them all! They have: Coffee, Acai Berry, Banana Nut, Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Coconut. I have to say, my favorites are Apple Cinnamon, Banana Nut, and Coconut. They're ALL really tasty, don't get me wrong, but those ones are all tied for first place.
<h4><b>I swear, the flavors are crazy good!</b></h4>
If they were colors, they'd be the most vibrant, saturated hues of the color possible - that's the best way I can describe how the flavor really nails the description - the Banana Nut REALLY tastes like banana nut bread, the apple cinnamon smell and taste evokes memories of my favorite apple cinnamon oatmeal and baked goods growing up, the coconut tastes like every yummy coconut dessert I've ever had...<b>I don't know how they do it while keeping it so healthy and natural</b>, but these things are basically a pre-race dessert for me!
<h3><b><span style="font-size: large;">Texture</span></b></h3>
<b><img class="size-medium wp-image-627 alignright" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_20140128_083305030-300x201.jpg" alt="Health Warrior chia bar unwrapped" width="300" height="201" />I feel like texture is important to touch on with this product. </b>These bars are, primarily, made with little tiny seeds, after all, and you CAN tell when you're eating it. The texture is <b>not </b>offensive, let me be clear on that. Think of it, in a small way, like when eating popcorn - sometimes a little piece gets left behind in your mouth and you find it later. Sometimes I find a chia seed floating around my mouth once I start my run. I do not mind this at all - it's still wrapped up in some of the flavor-y goodness of the bar, so it's like a little flavor nugget left behind in my mouth. <b>I kinda like that</b>.

Please note that this does <b>NOT </b>happen every time, only sometimes. I'm sure if you have your bar with some water that would likely eliminate that occurrence completely. I have a feeling this is kind of my fault as I tend to fly through it and not necessarily chew thoroughly. <b>Again - this is NOT a negative</b>, just something to be aware of. I happen to like it, and for the health benefits / fuel quality I'm getting, I'm more than happy to "deal". That aside, overall, the texture kind of reminds me of a soft, chewy granola bar. <b>No points are deducted in the "texture" and "mouth-feel" department.</b>
<h3><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Performance</b></span></h3>
<b>I. Felt. GREAT. </b>I'm not going to take you through each individual run like I did with <a href="http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/09/review-fitaid.html" target="_blank">the FitAid review</a>, but after trying these bars a dozen times I can say with absolute certainty that I felt great when powered by these bars for a run, workout, or my day in general. I usually have a bar about 15 to 20 minutes before I begin my run/workout/whatever, and it gets me through my workout like a champ - when I might otherwise feel the need to stop, walk, or take it easy, instead I keep on truckin' like a boss. For longer workouts, like a big distance run, I do tend to re-fuel after about an hour, but you should do that anyway - 100 calories isn't going to get you through a half-marathon, no matter HOW nutrient-dense it is.

I went on a variety of run distances with this from 2 miles through half-marathon distance. Some were races, some were just my own regular workouts. I also used these for a pick-me-up on a regular day and felt great and really energized. These little bars are a great way to give your body what it craves to fuel it through a workout or through a normal day as a regular part of your daily health and nutrition.
<h3><img class="size-medium wp-image-625 aligncenter" src="http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fuel-300x300.jpg" alt="Fuel meme with chia bar" width="300" height="300" /></h3>
<h3>Health Warrior Chia Bars - the verdict?</h3>
There's no two ways about it - Chia is a great way to fuel yourself for whatever is coming your way, and Health Warrior's Chia Bars are an <b>EXCELLENT </b>vehicle to get it. I HIGHLY recommend that you find them, get them, and give them a try. You can order from <a href="http://healthwarrior.com/" target="_blank">the Health Warrior website</a> or find the bars at <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/" target="_blank">your local Whole Foods Market</a>. They're working on expanding, and I hope <a href="http://www.marathonsports.com/" target="_blank">Marathon Sports</a> (one of my <b>favorite</b> running stores) starts carrying it soon. If you have any questions, PLEASE reach out and ask! You can get me at Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com or use the contact form at the bottom of the page. Also, if you haven't already, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness" target="_blank">please "like" the "So THIS Is Fitness..." Facebook page</a> to keep up with everything going on - I post there a LOT more frequently than I do on this site.
<h4><b>Now go get some Chia Bars! :)</b></h4>