This drawing is officially closed to entries.

I am not sure if y’all remember this or not, but earlier this summer I fell in love. So much love that I wanted to write little love notes and put pink, puffy hearts all over my words. So much love that I actually cheated on my previous love. I know, I know, right? One day you are happily downing handfuls of cereal for breakfast and the next day you are shouting from the mountaintops about ZonePerfect bars. Clearly, this has been a summer of change for me.

Here is the thing. Breakfast and I are not a match made in heaven. Coffee and I are a match made in heaven for sure, but breakfast, eh, not so much. In fact, it is possible totally typical to find me hunched over my computer at 11:00 a.m. wondering why I have the beginnings of a headache and am suddenly feeling like I might faint. And then I practically crawl to the kitchen where I shove the first thing I can find into my mouth. That would be great if the first thing I found was a turkey sandwich, but sadly it is more likely to be a handful of frozen Buncha Crunch. Obviously, I am taking this most important meal of the day very seriously.

But blood sugar be low no more my friends. Because I am now 100% totally formally committed, holy-unioned, married to ZonePerfect bars for life. Since I am inherently lazy, they work perfectly for me when I am bleary-eyed and hungry after a busy morning of getting everyone out the door. I can grab one and immediately sit down and start surfing through Facebook working.

So, after professing my love all over the interwebs and then emailing the company themselves to make sure they saw my love confessions (some might call it stalking, I prefer clever marketing for myself) they offered to send me some different bars to try. Why, yes, I would LOVE to treat myself to all of your healthy choices and review them for my readers. Thank you ZonePerfect for reading my innermost thoughts on that one!

It turns out that not only does ZonePerfect make my favorite Cashew Pretzel flavor bars (ten grams of protein and 200 calories), but they also have a line called Perfectly Simple, which have ten grams of protein, but use fewer, more wholesome ingredients and average less than 200 calories each. Obviously, I will happily take all the help in the nutrition department I can get.

ZonePerfect sent along all three of their flavors of the Perfectly Simple line (Coconut, Cranberry Almond, & Peanut Crunch), as well as a box of my beloved Cashew Pretzel flavor. I decided to just pick and choose each day which kind I was going to eat.

I am starting with the Perfectly Simple line as they were totally new to me.

My Pros:

• I really enjoyed having three flavors to choose from, since I feel like there was a wide enough variety to please anyone.
• I was genuinely full after having one and easily made it to lunch without feeling hungry.
• I also liked the fact that the bars had a “lighter” taste to them, so even though I was totally full, I was not feeling overly so.
• They are gluten-free, which I realize is very important to a lot of people these days.
• I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed the Cranberry Almond, as I was not expecting to like it. It was really good.

My Cons:

• The only one of the bars I did not love was the Peanut Crunch, and I honestly think it was because it didn’t taste enough like peanuts to me. I might have a slight peanut butter addiction, so I am harder to please than most when it comes to peanut flavor.
• The bars are manufactured in a facility that processes nuts, so that can be an issue for people who are around other people with nut allergies.

Now we move on to my very favorite ZonePerfect flavor, which is the Cashew Pretzel.

My Pros:

• How many ways can I say how much I love this protein bar? It is everything I want in a bar.
• I love the salty, rich combination that you get from it.
• I love the fact that it completely fills me up for hours.
• I love the fact that I can throw it in my purse and eat it whenever I want to. I don’t feel like it gets too melted or soft, which is good.

My Cons:

• Ummm, let’s see, well, I wish it was twice the size it is because I could honestly eat two in one sitting…you know because of the love and all.

WOULD I PAY MONEY FOR THESE? Considering that I regularly buy them, the answer is definitely yes. When my grocery store is out of the Cashew Pretzel I sob hysterically calmly choose another variety, and I always have these on hand. I will definitely be buying some of the Perfectly Simple Cranberry Almond and Toasted Coconuts flavors for the days that I want to feel like I am being healthier.

Now, here is where it gets exciting for you all! I have been authorized to do a GIVEAWAY just for my readers! The winning reader will receive a box of each of the three Perfectly Simple flavors, plus a box of the Cashew Pretzel flavor, so you can fall in love with it, too. So, in total, you will receive four boxes of ZonePerfect bars for all the busy days ahead with back-to-school, sports, activities, etc.

Here are the easy steps to enter…

• Like the ZonePerfect Facebook page.
• Leave me a comment in the comment section telling me that you liked the page and also tell me why you can’t wait to try the Perfectly Simple bars! (Make sure you use a valid email address when you comment. It is visible only to me, but it is how I will contact you if you win!)
• Doing these two easy steps will earn you ONE entry in the drawing.
• If you leave a comment on the ZonePerfect Facebook page saying “The Dose of Reality sent me here” then I will give you FIVE additional entries in the drawing.

So, if you do all of these things you will have SIX entries in the drawing! What could be better than that?

This contest is closed for new entries at 10:00 a.m. EST on Friday, August 31st, 2012. The winner will be drawn using random.org and will be notified by email no later than Monday, September 3rd, 2012. The winner will have until Friday, September 7th, 2012 to claim the prize. You must live in the United States or Canada to win.

Abbott Laboratories on behalf of ZonePerfect provided me with products to try for this review, but all of the opinions, rules for the giveaway, and references to my eating habits are my own.

This drawing is officially closed to entries.