It’s been a crazy few weeks and a lot of cryptic clues (sorry about that- now you know why my Lent Challenge has suffered so badly!) …but now it is all finally taking shape and so I can reveal more about what I’ve been up to!

“Wholeplus is a new venture for me, one that takes my passion  for 
whole foods and fitness and my love of creating recipes, textures and flavour 

combinations  to a new level- one that I can share with the world”.

I’m starting small, who know whether this will work out and where it could lead, and I am still very much intent on keeping my blog exactly as it is- the main outlet for my creativity and the door to my website and other ventures that may pop up along the way, such as this.

I have always been active and so fitness is a hugely important part of my life, however it has only been in the last couple of years as I have grown into the whole foods plant based lifestyle that I realised just how important the relationship between diet and exercise really is, and most importantly the way in which dietary choices can optimise your overall health and fitness both physical and mentally.

The idea for this range of fitness bars, stemmed from my growing dissatisfaction in the refined, sugar laden, chemically enhanced commercial fitness bars that were all too prevalent in the fitness industry. I knew I already had the tools and knowledge to create my own, and after a number of ‘joking’ conversations in which I’d said things along the lines of ‘just look at those ingredients, I could do so much better than this’ I was challenged to do so.

My ideas and principles are not so dissimilar to other products already out there. This is nothing new. There are already a number of fruit and nut ‘raw’ bars, ‘flapjacks’, ‘protein bars’ the list goes on….

So, how is Wholeplus different?

I wanted to make my mark and combine what I felt to be the best of what these various bars currently offered. There were a number of criteria which were critical to my philosophy. The bars should all be:

• organic

• sugar free (dates being the only form of sweetener)

• plant based (vegan)

• gluten free

• soy free

• uncooked (preserving as many nutrients as possible)

• substantial in size (too many similar bars just don’t satisfy my needs)

• incorporate foods know to assist and complement fitness and recovery

• cover a range of different fitness requirements

So the Wholeplus range was born. The specific flavour combinations are still under development…my kitchen, my fridge and my freezer, have been full with bite sized samples of all the various tests for weeks and weeks now, but the core principles within each have remained.

Whole+ Protein: 

A fitness bar with added protein power in the form of Hemp and brown rice.

Whole+ Energy: 

A bar consisting of fruit and nuts/seeds for quick release energy when you need it most.

Whole+ Sustain: 

An endurance bar infused with oats and buckwheat to provide longer term sustenance.

These bars will be sold through gyms and potentially health food shops and local outdoor establishments in the Hertfordshire area (south East England) It’s all early days and I will keep you posted on further developments over time.