Once again, I picked up this bar during my travels and was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps one of the portable snacks that I miss most since my diagnosis is the chewy granola bar. NuGo Free’s Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bar is both gluten-free and vegan. Think chewy dark chocolate coated granola bar on this one.

It was an interesting mix of rice protein crisps, brown rice, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and walnuts. As if that was not enough throw in a coating of rich dark chocolate and you have granola bar kismet. The bar is just sweet enough to satiate your sweet tooth without being too sugary and the seeds and nuts are the perfect contrast to the chocolate coating.

Another rest area find was the gluten-free Carrot Cake Bar from NuGo Free. All I needed to see was the words carrot and cake and this Celiac was sold. Now, I have to say that I was a bit apprehensive at what I was getting myself into with this one and didn’t hold out much hope for it even remotely reminding me or carrot cake. Well, I was most pleasantly surprised with this one and while not a actual piece of carrot cake, it was a very good portable replacement and was also vegan, soy- and dairy-free.

The bar had a spicy cinnamon flavor that paired perfectly with the earthy carrot flavor and slight sweetness that made for the perfect trifecta flavor combination. Is this going to replace your hunger for a real piece of carrot cake — probably not but it is a great portable option to toss in your travel bag when you are looking for a gluten-free bar that is a different option and standout in the sea of gluten-free bars out there.

Learn more about NuGo Free and their complete product portfolio on their Web site.