Suzy Q Homemaker

One of the hardest things for me to do during pregnancy and breastfeeding is to eat right.  In a perfect world, I would cook every meal.  I would use fresh, homegrown produce and organic ingredients.  I would eat a balanced diet throughout the day, totally eliminate artificial ingredients, HFCS, and still have time to shave my legs, mop the kitchen, and fold five loads of laundry every day.

Oh man.  I just made myself laugh out loud.

So it’s not a perfect world.  We eat out way too much, and we definitely don’t eat healthy food all the time.  In fact, when I had gestational diabetes, my diet was better than it was when I was a vegetarian over 10 years ago.  You see, pregnancy changes things.  You start craving things like Slim Jims and red Powerade.  You can eat half a frozen lasagne and still be hungry for cookie dough ice cream.

And it doesn’t stop with pregnancy!  Breastfeeding makes you even more voracious.  I am starving ALL THE TIME.  But the thing is, having four kids does not make it easy to actually feed myself as often or as well as I need.  Yesterday, I skipped breakfast and ended up eating a “lunch” of two corndogs at 3:00 in the afternoon.  I guess the three Rolos and Diet Coke I had might be considered brunch.

Belly Bar sent me a sample pack last week, so for at least a few days, I was able to get some nutrition. Hallelujah!  In all seriousness, I love Belly Bars and I was totally stoked to get to try some new flavors.  I usually reach for chocolate anything, so all the other flavors in my sample pack were brand new to me!  Here’s what all I got:

• 1 bar of each flavor: Baby Needs Chocolate, Berry Nutty Cravings, Mellow Oat and Burstin’ Chocolate
• Chocolate Cuddles and Citrus on Board chews
• Due for Chocolate Bellybar Shake

Here’s a little more info about these products:

• Bellybars – Made with ingredients like real chocolate, almonds, granola, rice crisps, toasted oats, and brown rice syrup, Bellybars are a satisfying snack that are perfect anytime. Bellybars are rich in omega-3 DHA, are an excellent source of iron, vitamin B6, and folate, and offer a delicious way to integrate vitamins A, C, E, calcium, magnesium and zinc into the diet. Bellybars come in four yummy flavors including, Baby Needs Chocolate, Berry Nutty Cravings, Mellow Oat and Burstin’ Chocolate.

• Bellybar Shakes – Creamy and satisfying, Bellybar Shakes are a decadent yet guilt-free way to stay hydrated throughout the day. Available in two mouthwatering flavors, Due for Chocolate and Vanilla Dreams, Bellybar Shakes are rich in omega-3 DHA and also contain a boost of calcium, fiber, protein, iron, folate, and vitamins A, C, D and B6 to keep busy moms moving.

• Bellybar Chews – Irresistible morsels of chewy goodness, Bellybar Chews are a sweet complement to prenatal health. Rich in vegetarian omega-3 DHA, Bellybar Chews are also a good source of calcium and folic acid and are offered two satisfying flavors including Chocolate Cuddles and Citrus on Board.

One word:

YUM.

Surprisingly, my favorite Bellybar flavor wasn’t either of the chocolate ones!  I loved the Mellow Oat the best.  It had a yummy yogurt icing on the bottom that I’m growing to love in granola and nutritional bars.  This isn’t to say that the chocolate Bellybars weren’t delicious.  I’m just saying that when I’m not craving chocolate, the Mellow Oat would be the one I reach for.

And the Chocolate Shake was pretty darn good, too.  I’m a fan of nutritional shakes, but only chocolate flavors.  I don’t even drink regular milk!  No, I prefer a nice cold glass of Hershey’s chocolate milk or Ovaltine.  What makes the Bellybar shake even better is all the good stuff they add to it like the DHA & fiber.

The chews were different.  I’ve never tried a vitamin chew of any brand or flavor, so I had no basis to work with.  The Citrus on Board chew reminded me of a sour Starburst Candy or a chewy version of those Nature Made Chewable C’s.  So, those were pretty good!  The Chocolate Cuddles, on the other hand, I just didn’t like.  I know they were supposed to be chocolate, but I can’t even describe the flavor that these actually had.  That was my only major disappointment in the whole package of samples.

Where to Buy: Bellybar products are available nationwide at retail, grocery and natural food stores including Walgreens, Whole Foods Market, Target, Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity, Babies ‘R’ Us, Publix, HEB, giggle and more.

So now that you’ve read all about my poor nutrition and the saving grace that was my week of Bellybars, it’s your turn to win some for yourself!

Three lucky readers will win a Bellybar Sample Pack that includes:

• 2 bars of each flavor (Baby Needs Chocolate, Berry Nutty Cravings, Mellow Oat and Burstin’ Chocolate)
• 1 pouch of each chews flavor (Chocolate Cuddles and Citrus on Board)
• 2 shakes of Due for Chocolate Bellybar Shakes

To enter, please leave me a comment telling me when you are due, or how old your little nursling is!  For additional entries, leave me a comment for each of the following:

• Blog about this giveaway and link back to me
• Subscribe to Suzy Q Homemaker
• Add my button to your sidebar
• Follow Suzy Q Homemaker on Facebook
• Tweet about this giveaway & remember to @terpsichore (that’s me!)
• Follow @Bellybar on twitter
• Become a fan of Bellybar on Facebook
• Email a couple friends about this giveaway
• Use the Share button at the bottom of this post and let me know how you shared this giveaway

Good luck!

This giveaway is for residents of the U.S. I will close comments and choose a winner on August 1, 2009. I’ve extended this through the next few days to gather a few more entrants. Thanks to all who have entered so far!

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Tags: giveaway, giveaways, Health, postpartum, pregnancy, review, snacks

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