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It's Valentine's Day and we can't ignore it. You might be sitting at home, alone, glaring bitterly at this post or you might happen to be smiling widely, because you love love and you love your lover and you cannot wait to celebrate. Yes, Valentine's Day might be a fabrication of consumer industries, where companies like Hallmark and flower-shops and the many chocolatiers of the world profit! Or, you may cite this "holiday" as a true celebration of St. Valentine. No matter how you see this day, we cannot escape that it is a celebration of love. 

There are many kinds of love! It's not exclusive to lovers! There's the love between two people who have chosen to share their lives together; the love between a man and his faithful dog; the love between close friends; the love among family members, and the love you may have for your Apple products. Love can be new, scary and exciting or old, familiar and repetitious. Irregardless, it is a strong bond that we share with other people (or sometimes towards other things, if you're reading this on your precious iPhone) that we should celebrate at least one day a year. Taking time out from your day today to appreciate another person, especially if you have taken that person for granted, is a special action that shouldn't be neglected. 

We all have different ideas of what love means or what love truly is… many cite Corinthians or famous poets like Khalil Gibran, Shakespeare or Pablo Neruda. Maybe you're a sucker for a good romantic comedy and see Chandler and Monica or Ross and Rachel (see Friends) as the embodiment of loving relationships. Maybe you've grown up with two parents who have known each other since they were in 2nd grade or grandparents who are renewing their vows on their 50th anniversary. I know that I personally get to see love everyday, by working with the two founders of our company: Katie Forrest and Taylor Collins. To me, no two individuals better exemplify selfless, strong love. 

Together, these two champions of love (yes, champions of love because they WIN at love), have built Thunderbird Energetica from the tiny kitchens of Daily Juice to our huge kitchen in north Austin. As our company rapidly expands, they're the strong force behind every decision. Once they created the original Cherry Walnut Crunch, Katie and Taylor brainstormed together to form more flavors to expand the Thunderbird line. Our Cashew Fig Carrot bar was inspired by their love and therefore contains ALL of nature's best aphrodisiacs: Organic cashews, Organic figs, Organic carrots, Organic dates, Organic nutmeg and Organic vanilla. What is a better product by two endurance athletes in love than an energy bar with aphrodisiacs?! (Energy + Aphrodisiacs = Enerogesiac!)

To celebrate the spirit of love, we've placed our enerogesiac bar © on sale for the entire month of February! It is 25% off when you order through our online store! No code necessary!

AND YET, IT DOESN'T END THERE! IN THE SPIRIT OF THUNDERBIRD LOVE, WE ARE HOSTING AN EPIC LOVERS GIVEAWAY!

Anyone who is reading this post will only have to do three amazing things in order to be entered to win!

FIRST: You MUST like us on Facebook! Then, you must then SHARE us with your friends! Put in the top writing line what you love about Thunderbird! (LIKE + SHARE ON FACEBOOK = 1 ENTRY); you may already be following us on Facebook and if so, you're a champion! All you have to do is SHARE!

Our Facebook page is HERE.

SECOND: You MUST like our amazing friends at the Daily Juice! This amazing Austin-based juice company is who we love this month! To show our love and appreciation of all that the Daily Juice has done for us, we would love if YOU like them on FACEBOOK and then SHARE them as well! (They're also running a promo this month so check it out!)

Their Facebook page is HERE.

THIRD: You MUST comment either here on the blog OR on Facebook what you love about Thunderbird! It could be one of our values, a particular bar flavor or a certain ingredient. It could be our logo! Whatever YOU want! As long as you complete all three of these steps, you're entered to win the giveaway!!

What is this fabulous giveaway?! It's the EPIC ULTIMATE PRIZE PACK OF LOVE! You will win a box of our Cashew Fig Carrot bar, two red thunderbird t-shirts (one for you and your lover!), stickers, and other romantic items such as aromatherapy candles and dark raw chocolate! There will even be a few epic surprises for you and that special someone.

Single?! DON'T FRET! This prize-pack will bring the lovers to your door! (You can still ENTER!!) 

For any questions, please feel free to comment here or on our Facebook Page! This Giveaway is for YOU, our most beloved customers – we appreciate you and hope that you appreciate us. To show our love, we will allow entries until one week from today – February 21st at 12:00 Midnight, Central Time!

Have a happy Valentines' Day lovers,

Leslie Thunder

As the face of the Thunderbird tribe, I spend most of my time in conversation with people. I say 'people' rather than 'customers,' because not everyone purchases our bars. I meet many who scoff at our lack of protein content and the supposed high carbohydrates (We will get back to this point later). At each in-store demonstration, I am met with many questions from puzzled faces and curious minds. I am always happy to answer anything and to speak with anyone as long as they'd like, as I am truly hyped on Thunderbird. How hyped? About 9 months ago, I demanded that Katie Thunder and Taylor Thunder interview me. They posted on Twitter that they were heading in the corporate jet to the Campus2Careers Intern fair here in Austin, Tx. I wouldn't have them wasting their time with such frivolties as no one was a bigger fangirl than myself, and I replied to their tweet saying, "Hey! You should just skip that and come hire me." Thus the legend of Blanca Panthera began after a long, grueling interview on the roof of the Whole Foods Headquarters. 

At that interview, I told Katie and Taylor that I wanted to educate people on our product. Having struggled with my diagnoses of Celiac Disease, I wanted to share with others what I'd recently discovered about nutrition and health. My constant research into how food affects the mind and body led me to adopt a food philosophy: Eat real food. By avoiding anything processed, my life completely changed. My hair grew faster, my nails became stronger, and my running was fueled by nutrient-dense sugars, rather than chemical-laden gels that destroyed my gut lining. My mental health improved, my daily stomach aches dissappeared, and life was far more enjoyable. When I met Katie and Taylor for the first time, I told them about my food philosophy. We discussed eating natural foods, the adverse affects of GMOs, and the truth about Organic foods. Simply stated, I'd met my food soulmates.

In promoting Thunderbird, I'm doing more than pushing the sales of a company. I'm talking to people about my own knowledge of nutrition and advocating the consumption of real food. There is a reason our ingredients are 100% natural, non-GMO and organic. We wouldn't feed ourselves chemicals or processed syrups or added sweeteners and therefore, we won't feed it to you. "Feed others as you wish to be fed," is serious business around here. The typical "nutrition bar" or "energy bar" has created a pseudo-health foods-world where consumers believe what they're eating is healthy and real. Many bar companies may state that they have no added sugars, but their first ingredient is brown rice syrup or agave, both of which are highly processed. Others want you to believe that they're wholesome and nutritious, but they're packed full of thickeners like tapicoa starch or corn starch. The majority of them use Soy Lecithin as a binder, placing it in small print at the bottom of their ingredient list. Not many people know that this is a double-processed version of soy, which has been extracted from the soy bean using hexane gas. Since soy is so cheap, these companies can use it as a binder for their bars. It is an emulsifier, keeping it together. Will it kill you? Who knows. Probably in the long run. Is is real food? Never. In a Thunderbird bar, you will never see anything but real food. 

Shockingly, I'm only rarely asked about soy. With the increase in awareness about GMOs, I am hoping this question becomes more frequent. In the mean time, there are many questions that I am asked about our product and I'm going to address the most frequently asked question here, so that everyone knows why we use the ingredients that we do and why we are so committed to being a raw food energy bar and not a protein bar. 

This is why I'm here, writing, right now. It's time to address the most frequently asked question at my in-store demonstrations: Why isn't there more protein? 

Protein powders or syrups that are used in bars are chemically based and highly processed. The majority of protein powders are created by using hexane gas. Recently, some powders have been released that use enzymes rather than hexane and are therefore a better alternative. However, protein powders are still processed. They aren't real food and we believe that protein should be sourced from real food. Whether you're a vegetarian, vegan or a strong-believer in the Paleo Diet, we are committed to providing you with a food bar that is made from 100% real ingredients. Placing a protein powder in a bar goes against what we believe as a company.

You might be wondering about the Pea Protein listed in two of our bars. Around six months ago, we removed the Pea Protein from our bars after we realized that it went against our food philosophy. Yes, both the Almond Cookie and the Sweet Lemon have 7g of protein, but it is now 100% from quinoa and not from a protein powder. Our new packaging should be in soon and will then clarify all of our true ingredients. Both of those bars no longer contain coconut sap as well. (Note: nothing has changed in any other bar and if you have any questions, please email us). 

A recent concern from one of our vendors prompted us to address this question. When they asked why we didn't place more protein in our bars, our founder, Katie Thunder, gave this stellar answer: 

Our bars are lower in protein than typical "protein bars" – yet, we dont claim to be a protein bar.  This is a problem that we run into all of the time with our products…in order to keep in line with the Thunderbird food philosophy, it is nearly impossible to create a product high in protein without compensating with additional fat.   The reason typical bars have so much protein in them is that they are adding additional laboratory created substances, protein powders and isolates – and I promise you, all of these things require the addition of a syrup (which has no nutritional value, only a cheap and often harmful filler).  So… to keep in line with a whole-food philosophy, we have to stick to our guns on this one.  Thunderbird will likely never have a protein bar in its Thunderbird Energetica brand. 

While this answer may make many consumers place our bars back on the shelf, we hope that one day they can be encouraged to purchase our bars rather than those which contain these harmful fillers. This takes education and awareness. We know that our bars are the purest form of conveniently packaged whole foods on the shelves. If you're reading this, you know it as well. It's easier to put a T-BIRD bar in your purse than a bag of cherries or a pineapple or a banana which will rot without sunlight.  For people trying to eat healthy on the go or to maintain a nutrient-dense or allergen-free diet, nothing on the market beats this. Protein, in my opinion, should be whole food based, not processed junk. We encourage people to make healthy choices when picking foods.  If it is a whole ingredient, it is a wise choice.  The conversation needs to shift away from the Nutrition Facts panel and instead to the ingredient label. 

With love,

Leslie Thunder 

If anyone has any questions, comments or concerns regarding this post, please email leslie@thunderbirdenergetica.com for more discussion, any research you would like provided, or addition questions. 

A few months ago, we unofficially launched a Thunderbird Brand Ambassador program! It began with an email, from one champion named Matthew Lovitt, who happened to fuel his muscles with our delicious raw bars! After Katie and I stalked him relentlessly on Facebook, Twitter and his blog, we felt that Matthew was a huge asset to Thunderbird and would represent the Tribe with only the greatest excitement, stamina and goodwill! Since that time, Matthew has promoted Thunderbird through the great deserted plains of El Paso, TX! His connections are vast and his love of raw, plant-based energy bars runs deep through his veins! Here's Matt's story:

A burgeoning messenger of nutritional wisdom, Matthew spends the majority of
his time on a quest to demystify the complex relationship between food and fitness.
Through the study of holistic nutrition and pushing the limits of human endurance,
he ultimately hopes to channel the nutritional life force provided by Mother Earth
to educate and fuel the legions of health and fitness warriors that strive for super
human status.

Unfortunately, Matthew’s journey towards nutritional and physical enlightenment
has been tumultuous, as the engineered energy foods that have become a fixture
in the pockets of endurance athletes everywhere often place a heavy burden upon
his body and spirit. After a barrage of bonks and hours lost to stomach distress,
the energy dilemma was lifted and he was guided to Thunderbird to unlock the
potential of real food in mindfully fueling his body.

Like a phoenix born from ash, Matthew and Thunderbird Energetica have now
come together to champion the movement towards the organic, whole, and real
ingredients that properly fuel the body and nurture the spirit. Matthew’s mission
and Thunderbird’s commitment to only the highest quality fitness foods form the an
unstoppable alliance in building a community that utilizes the power of the Earth’s
bounty to help athletes of every caliber achieve their goals.

When Matthew is not consumed by the relentless pursuit of higher education or
tenaciously spreading the word on nutrition and performance, he can often be
found shredding the West Texas highways, whipping up a mean batch of his power
pancakes, or simply admiring the stars of the endless Texas skies.

There you have it, Thunderbird lovers! Matthew Lovitt, extraordinare. Not only is he an epic triathlete, but a gifted writer. Check out his blog, Veggie Feed, here.  

For more information about our Brand Ambassador program, please email Leslie@thunderbirdenergetica.com. 

In honor of Movember and to raise awareness of prostate cancer, the handsome males from the Thunderbird Tribe have all decided to grow their mustaches to unfathomable lengths.

For those unaware of what Movember stands for, it’s a charity event held during November each year. At the start of November, guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants known as "Mo Bros" then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache and along the way raise as much money and awareness about male health issues as possible. 

Thunderbird Energetica wishes to encourage our loyal customers to join us in this year’s Movember by growing and grooming their manly mustaches.

To motivate you to start growing your stache and participate in this amazing quest with us, Thunderbird Energetica has teamed up with Birds Barbershop to create a most epic contest. Send us a picture of your face with that handsome upper lip hair. Either post it to the Thunderbird facebook page or email it to taylor@thunderbirdenergetica.com to win! You can also win sharing a photo, commenting, or liking our page!

The rules are as follow:

1.    For the entire month of November each mo bro must grow and groom a moustache.

2.    There is to be no joining of the stache to one's sideburns. (That’s considered a beard and thats gross.)

3.    There is to be no joining of the handlebars to one's chin. (That’s considered a goatee.)

4.    Each mo bro must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.

            The ladies are encouraged to participate in this charity event. Fear not gentlemen, we are not asking your woman to grow a mustache or to stop shaving but to support the cause by taking their male partners to get an annual checkup to make sure you are in tip-top shape and cancer free.

Let the games begin!

Post written by Adrian HovelMAN, Thunderbird Kitchen God and Blogger