Sledge, along with his wife, Shauna, founded the Fort Collins-based the Paleo Diet Foods , which just launched its initial product, the Paleo Diet Bar. The raw food meal-replacement bar is the first product endorsed by Dr. Loren Cordain, creator of the Paleo Diet.
See also: Dining out paleo: Ten dishes to satisfy your inner caveman
Cordain, a Colorado State University professor, has been approached numerous times to endorse paleo products; he says he chose to put his name behind the Paleo Diet Bar because it has "a recipe that carries nutritional weight and is scientifically sound."
The Paleo Diet, often referred to as the caveman or Stone Age diet, mimics the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors, eliminating dairy, grain, legumes, potatoes, refined salt and sugar, and processed oils. Paleo eaters instead consume grass-fed meats, poultry, eggs, tree nuts, fruit and vegetables.
While the Paleo Diet Bar may be the flagship product of the Paleo Diet Foods, the Sledges are no strangers to the nutritional bar world; they own Braaap Nutrition, which also makes meal-replacement bars, and were inspired to make a dairy-free bar after their customers continuously requested one. But rather than just make a dairyless version of the Braaap Bar, which is aimed at athletes, the Sledges, both paleo eaters, opted to target their community, too.
The Paleo Diet bar is made with fruits, nuts, berries and seeds. The Sledges swapped out date paste, which many bar-makers use for binding, and instead use dehydrated egg white to hold the bar together while also doubling as a source of protein. Most paleo bars on the market are carbohydrate heavy, with only four to five grams of protein; the Paleo Diet Bar boasts has seventeen grams of protein, allowing for nearly equal parts fat, carbohydrates and protein, a key principle of the Paleo Diet. The bar, which contains all nine essential amino acids, is gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free, and retails for $2.89; it also comes in cranberry almond.
"The Paleo Diet Bar is a game changer in the food nutrition bar market," Shauna Sledge bars.
Although the bar is so new it has yet to hit the shelves of area grocery stores, you can order it on the Paleo Diet Foods website.
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