New Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar Features Whey Protein and A Blend of SuperFoods, October 8, 2009.

Amazing Grass, the premiere producer of organic Green SuperFoods, is pleased to announce the launch of their new Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar. By combining the antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables of their alkalizing Green SuperFood Powder with organic peanuts and whey protein, the new chocolate covered bar satisfies hunger and delivers nutrients to the body in a healthy and delicious way.

With today's busier lifestyles and poor dietary habits, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar provides consumers with a more potent, convenient and affordable way to get their 5+ daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This new enzyme rich, high protein bar contains every nutrient the body needs (except for vitamin D which is processed naturally from sunlight). Therefore, it is perfect for people on the go, including athletes, students, backpackers, travelers and commuters.

"Grass has never tasted so good," says co-founder Todd Habermehl. "The response so far from consumers has been phenomenal - they love the taste and texture of the bar and the convenience it offers them in meeting their daily nutritional needs," adds Habermehl. "The wheat and barley grass that we grow is harvested at the proper time before gluten forms. So it may be a surprise to some people that all of our products including the new Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar are gluten-free," adds Habermehl.

The nutritional profile of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar is impressive. It features 12 grams of protein and has 270 calories, 14 grams of healthy omega fats, 19 grams of sugar and 28 grams of carbohydrates. The ingredients include: Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Dates, Whey Protein Concentrate, Organic Peanuts, Organic Rice Crisps, Amazing Grass Green SuperFood (Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach, Organic Chlorella, Organic Broccoli, Organic Acai, Organic Maca, Organic Carrot, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Organic Rose Hips, Pineapple, Green Tea, Organic Flax Lignans, L. Adidophilus, Alpha and Beta Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Lactase, Cellulase and Organic Peppermint), Natural Flavor, Peanut Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract and Sea Salt.

The Amazing Grass Green SuperFood blend provides more organic whole leaf greens per gram than any leading green superfood mix, and unlike many others, it contains no soy lecithin fillers. The Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar also features an innovative Fair Trade Organic Dark Chocolate Coating made from Cane Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin and Natural Vanilla Flavor.

The suggested retail price of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar is $2.99. It is available nationwide at retailers such as Whole Foods Markets and can also be purchased online at www.AmazingGrass.com.

Amazing Grass Green SuperFood Powder has a high concentration of naturally-occurring enzymes, carotenoids, phytonutrients and antioxidants that work synergistically to fight free radicals, remove toxins and repair damaged cells. Ultimately, Amazing Grass contains every amino acid, vitamin, and mineral necessary to sustain human life. Since the human body is designed to get nutrition from whole foods, the body is able to efficiently and rapidly absorb the nutrients in Green SuperFood and quickly convert them to fuel.

For the majority of people, stress and consumption of unhealthy processed foods can create an acidic imbalance in the blood that, among other problems, can cause the body to store water and build up fat in the arteries (cholesterol) as protection from acidic blood. The rich chlorophyll content and high alkalinity of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood helps to combat acidity and restore blood to the optimal pH level. It also promotes improved circulation, digestion and regular elimination.

The Amazing Grass Green SuperFood blend is a unique and potent combination of nature’s most nourishing, cleansing and rebuilding green superfoods including more than 70% certified organic ingredients and an enhanced digestive enzyme and active probiotic blend to improve nutrient absorption. Amazing Grass Green SuperFood combines nutrient dense green food concentrates with other uniquely powerful ingredients like açaí and maca. SambazonÒ Acai, is a purple berry loaded with antioxidants, healthy omega fats, fiber and protein that grows in the Amazon Rainforest; and maca is a nutritious root grown at high altitudes in Peru that is known to be an adaptogen that boosts the immune system and provides sustained energy, vitality and mental clarity.

Amazing Grass’ mission is to educate the world about the benefits of green superfoods and the improved quality of life from healthy eating habits. Amazing Grass also offers Green SuperFood Energy Bars, Amazing Meal, Kidz SuperFood Powders, Organic Wheat Grass Powder and Organic What Grass Tablets.

Amazing Grass is a friends and family owned company with roots that date back over 60 years of growing and dehydrating green foods. The company produces certified organic wheat grass, barley grass, oat grass, rye grass and alfalfa at a family farm in Kansas, and markets the most nutritious, convenient and affordable green superfoods to help families thrive. Amazing Grass stands out because the grasses are field-grown throughout the winter allowing the roots to soak up nutrients from mineral-rich soil for over 6 months. “The young leaves are harvested just one time each year at their nutritional peak,” says co-founder Brandon Bert. "The greens are carefully flash dehydrated at low temperatures, frozen as whole leaf powders and then packed in nitrogen to maintain freshness. The extra steps ensure customers get the most nutrient-dense raw green food powders in the world," adds Bert.

Check it out for yourself, NPI Center.

A First Timer's Experience at Natural Products Expo East, November 17, 2008

A few weeks ago, thousands of natural product industry people migrated to Boston, MA to attend Natural Products Expo East 2008. For some, such as myself, this was a foray into what is sure to become a routine part of working in this industry.

Upon entering the Boston Convention Center, I was pretty taken aback at the sheer size of the floor. The immediate wealth of information available, smells of thousands of sample products, and volume of people flowing through the aisles like blood through veins was enough to make my head spin.

I spent a good deal of time walking around and introducing myself to a great number of people, as well as picking up information to help me grow more knowledgeable wherever possible. It was really pleasing to see that there were as many young companies as veterans (or so it seemed) that I could get in on the ground floor in regards to knowing of them as they grow too.

In terms of speaking with some of the larger companies there, I found them to be great to talk with, as they would take the time to answer my questions and even flush out more information where relevant.

I also was pleased to find out that the convention center and hosts had worked very hard to make the event as environmentally-friendly as possible, with water coolers instead of individual bottles, biodegradable cups and other compostable materials. Lessening the carbon footprint of such a huge event definitely speaks well for the hosts and venue.

There were many things that caught my eye that I thought were great. I found a lot of the drinks I sampled were new to me, such as dairy alternatives, which I found to be pretty good. I can see these types of drinks growing in popularity and becoming much easier to find in stores than they seem to be now.

I also sampled a great deal of vegetarian and vegan foods. What sticks out most prominently in my mind was a vegetarian sausage, which wasn’t bad, but had a lingering taste of imitation that seemed to whisper “almost… but not quite.” I can see them getting the taste indistinguishable from meat in the future, but for the meantime I’ll stick with the real deal.

I did also enjoy trying out a lot of products such as the Green Super Food bar by Amazing Grass. This is a product I would imagine will be huge in the future, I’d never eaten protein bars like that before, and found them to be pretty satisfying. They’re also much better than current “on the go” bars, and I can see them being the preferred choice by consumers once they get to be known more.

The only problem on the show floor was eating so many samples. As the day wore on and I was constantly getting fuller, and found myself wanting to try fewer product samples, which could be great products, after filling up on the first quick lap through the hall. I guess it’s like a marathon, and all about pacing oneself instead of sprinting at the start and crawling at the end.

While with food and drinks it was relatively easy to decide whether I liked them or not, but I found it very difficult to do this with supplements. Obviously, the supplements aisles are not really with the same sampling principles in mind. For example, I tried a few different varieties of fish oil, but aside from their taste ranging from mild to milder, I couldn’t differentiate much more than that. Chalk it up to being new, but when everyone is telling you their product is the best, well, it gets confusing quickly. I wonder if it’s something of the same with consumers?

The booths were very well done in most cases, I enjoyed the set up many people had done. Most were very colorful and were appealing to look at. Having special attractions including people in costumes at booths was also something I really liked seeing, that shows a great attitude in getting products out to the crowd through interaction with them. These booths tended to have higher interest and activity than others. Companies that took the time to differ from a me-too approach with little excitement and enthusiasm, unless they already knew they’d see who they need to, likely struggled to reach their show objectives – if they even had any.

As for Boston itself, I found the only drawback was how busy everything was. Granted it was a full weekend, with over 26,000 people at the Expo, along with the Red Sox in town at least one night, and various other events, so it was to be expected. Catching a cab and the wait times at restaurants was probably the one truly frustrating thing to deal with, but that’s when patience and free food samples came in extremely handy for the long waits.

I had been warned that these events get larger from here on out, so I can only imagine how events in the west will overwhelm me, and perhaps grow to be second nature, as I gain experience.

Overall, the entire experience was definitely enjoyable. The fast pace, number of friendly handshakes and wealth of knowledge made it something I look forward to being a part of again.