My New Favorite Thing (Scat! Bar Giveaway)

Do you remember where you were when you first learned that scat meant animal droppings?

Yeah. Me neither.

(Who would remember that? I mean…unless you stepped in it while just happening to be in the middle of a naturalist-led hike with your Girl Scout troop when you were seven or something.)

I do, however, remember where I was when I first learned about Scat! Bars. Thanks to Instagram,-you know you love it–I can refer to the above photo as the exact moment I stumbled upon this ‘never before heard of’ bar while in the Adirondacks for Mama Smart’s wedding this past summer.

Because I’m cheap rather frugal, I decided not to purchase any of the bars, and yet, I couldn’t get them off my mind. So, I did what any overly eager food blogger would do and e-mailed the owner of the company.I was, understandably, blown away (Carrie Underwood-style) by Susie’s generosity. She mailed me three cases of Scat! Bars–one of each flavor–

*Do we love the Kashi-esque use of exclamation points in her branding? Yes. Yes we do.-plusa bag of Morning Rhythm ganola, ‘Wake-Up Call’ Scatterings!*, AND a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-released Bobcat Bar: walnut, hemp, strawberry, coconut, and ginger.

this cannot get to the shelves fast enough y'all...

Upon receiving my surprisingly large shipment of the kind of scat you’d want to eat, I had an impromptu tasting in my bedroom.*

*which is where I have to keep all of my excess food since there isn’t enough room in our pantry #foodbloggerproblemsI couldn’t get over the giant chunks of nuts and fruit–like the dried cherries shown above–or just, quite simply, how ‘I can see every ingredient and know exactly what I am eating’  natural the bars were.

Can a bar be beautiful?

And then I tasted the granola.

Every bite of  evey bar had been causing a serious dance party in the rompus room of my tastebuds, but one taste of this took things to a whole new place. More savory than sweet–which is how I like it–this Morning Rhythm Granola is something else…the ingredient list is substantial and enticing, and I think it might be the addition of nutritional yeast (something I’ve never seen in a packaged granola…or any granola at all) plus a smidge of butter* that really nuances the flavor.

*vegan with benefits

hemp seed, chia seed, maple syrup...OH MY!

I pretty much want to eat this stuff by the handful, and am now down to only the crumblies at the bottom. (Not that that doesn’t excite me.)

paired with peanut butter on apple-pie oatmeal

Similar to granola in texture–but entirely unique in flavor–are the Scatterings, full of almonds, dried cherries, and chocolate covered coffee beans.While I have not consumed enough at once for it to be entirely electrifying, this ‘wake up call’ blend does provide a jolt of sweetness when sprinkled on an oatshake……or mixed into applesauce or yogurt.

the yogurt didn't go down so well...but the scatterings sure did

I’ve been working my way through them (too) slowly, usually no consuming them in the ‘meal replacement’ fashion which they could be used, but instead taking half of one for a snack to school…or crumbling some up on top of my breakfast.It is hard to say which one I like the best. I love the Bear for its blueberry maple combination–one I admire in peanut butter as well–

But did you know Moose scat has dark chocolate in it? And cherries? And while chocolate covered strawberries may get all the tabloid coverage, cherries paired with chocolate are the seductive off-Broadway talent soon to be featured in an indie film hit near you.*

*I don’t know where that metaphor was going. Or where it went.

But the one that initially caught my eye was the Squirrel–for its combination of sesame seeds, peanuts, and cranberries, which reminded me of my long lost favorite flavored peanut butter–the now discontinued Vanilla Cranberry peanut butter from Archer Farms. I am in love with them all. If you follow me on Instagram–and if you don’t, why aren’t you?–then you’ve seen the Scat! Bar goodness showing up pretty darn consistently in my superfluous amount of oatmeal and yogurt bowl photographs.

It’s a small company, growing and growing in the Northeast, and part of the joy I have as a blogger is being able to help spread the word–and the goods–to other people as interested in whole food yumminess as I am.*

*Usually. When I’m not craving Lucky Charms or Diet Coke or something.

I clearly need help consuming all of these bars.

So, I’m going to give some away!

I will choose not one, not two, but THREE winners to help taste and (tw)eat the three varieties of Scat! Bars on the market.

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me which of the three animal droppings you are most excited to try, and also come up with your own scat-tastic animal creation (including which animal inspired you).

 Additional entries (leave a comment for each):

• Follow Scat! Bar on twitter.
• Like Scat! Bar on facebook.
• Follow ME on twitter AND tweet about the giveaway! [Something like: @thesmartkitchen is giving away the kind of animal droppings you WANT to find @scat_bar whole food bars http://tinyurl.com/8oxctws]

—————————

Note: Because I am paying for shipping myself, this is only open to U.S. residents.

Note #2: I don’t believe the bars are certified gluten-free, but you can check out in-depth analyses of all the ingredients used on the website.