Kate’s Real Food: a skier walks into a bar …

In theory, the old adage that “good things come in small packages” should apply to energy bars, as the best made ones pack flavour, nutrition and a burst of energy into a compact but satisfying package reminiscent of your favourite comfort food. However, we know by now that not all bars are created equal, and some have a few ingredients that are not particularly healthy and do not lend themselves to nutrition that sustains one through a busy afternoon.
       Like other athletes with busy lifestyles, Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based Kate Schade was looking for long-lasting, sustainable energy rather than a quick fix. She knew through experience that the bars that perform are made with carefully selected organic ingredients. To bring her vision to life starting in 2010, she applied some of the same food values she was taught during her time on a local farm and incorporated them into her recipes.
       Soon, Kate had a local fan-base who insisted she sell her Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate bar, originally known as the Tram Bar. Those fans, in turn, fuelled Kate to expand this into Kate’s Real Food, whose pocket-sized bars and bites are crafted with nutritious nut butters, fruits, and complex carbs. In fact, it travels so well that the Dark Chocolate Cherry & Almond flavoured bar is now available in all cabins on Delta Air Lines flights.
       With a range of flavours that includes Dark Chocolate Cherry & Almond, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter Hemp & Flax, Oatmeal Cranberry & Almond, Dark Chocolate Mint, Lemon Coconut and Mango Coconut, it’s no surprise the fan base has grown and the bars (as well as “bites” bags) are available at numerous retailers (including REI, Amazon, select Whole Foods stores, Earth Fare, Giant Food Stores, HEB, and Sportsman’s Warehouse). It is also a most inclusive line as it is USDA-certified organic, certified gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher, soy-free, free of artificial sweeteners and dairy-free except for the Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate flavour.