Preppy Runner – Theodora Blanchfield

So, for the first 27 years of my life, I thought I was allergic to nuts. I *am* allergic to peanuts (still), but I don’t know if I was never allergic to other nuts and just assumed I was because of the peanuts (yes, I know a peanut is a legume now, thanks) or if I grew out of it, but at the age of 27, I learned I was not, in fact, allergic to nuts.

Regardless, when I started eating healthy I saw Larabars all. over. the. Internet. They looked like a great delicious and nutritious snack…that I couldn’t have.

Until I could.

Let me tell you, trying something you thought was off-limits your entire life is…a weird feeling, at best. I felt like I was eating some sort of forbidden fruit, but no, no, I was just eating a banana bread bar made with minimal ingredients. (Spoiler alert: it did not kill me.)

For the past 6 years, I’ve been eating those bars without abandon as a fairly regular afternoon snack or pre-run fuel. They’re also absolutely one of my “emergency” foods that I throw into my bag if I think there’s a chance I might go a long time between meals, and my favorite ones are, shamelessly, anything with chocolate, like the Chocolate Chip Brownie. They were also a clutch snack to have when I was doing Whole 30.

But I know that buying a $2 bar is certainly a luxury and a privilege — and so does Lara Merriken, the founder. She launched Larabar with the intent of making real food accessible to all, and the company recently teamed up with Feeding America, a nonprofit food bank with more than 200 locations that feeds 46 million Americans. They donated $150,000, and they’re asking their customers to help build awareness about the charity by using the hashtag #EatRealFood and sharing your experience donating to a food bank, volunteering at one, or learning more about hunger in your community.

One in seven Americans is facing hunger, but every dollar provides 11 meals through Feeing America’s networks. I’ll also be donating on my own.

And good news! If you haven’t yet experienced the awesomeness of Larabar, I’m giving away a prize pack valued at $30. This giveaway will be open for the next week, so until March 16. There is no purchase necessary to win, but you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 and older. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below, and I’ll pick winners next week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Larabar.