Real Food for Thought

With the way celebrities obsess over their looks, weight and health, it is no surprise that purveyors of all things healthy have jumped on the pre-award show bandwagon. You Bar, which sampled its wares of custom protein bars and shakes at GBK's 2008 MTV Movie Awards event at Kreiss, however, takes custom health products to a new level of taste. The taste here are the flavors celebrities can develop for themselves when they visit www.youbars.com and head to the "Build-a-bar" section of the page.

Granted, some of the pre-made flavors taste great on their own, particularly the Honey Cashew and the aptly named Great Date With Chocolate. But there is something deliciously decadent?even when the subject is nutritious protein bars?when you create something exactly to your liking and customize it with your own name idea.

Even though this delicious idea is pure fun, especially when bringing your very own hit of protein and nutrients to life, a mother and son developed the idea from a more practical set of objectives. After years of being dedicated nutrition bar devotees with busy schedules, Ava Flynn and her USC business student son Anthony tired of uninspired mass-produced bars with bland or overly sweet flavors. Ava wanted bars that weren't too sweet with loads of protein to fuel her days teaching snowboarding and bellydancing. Anthony, a marathon-running athlete, needed high carbs and no milk products (he's allergic).

In order to raise the bar on quick and convenient nutrition, the duo began making their own line of unique nutrition bars at home, made the way nature intended, free from preservatives and corn syrup and packed with fresh, flavorful elements. However, the icing on this proverbial cake was to bring that creativity and freedom to others looking for something more (or less, in some cases) in their nutrition bars.

The bars, which retail for $30 + shipping for a box of 12, can be brought to life at www.youbars.com fuel up for summer with tasty treats customized to their liking.

This week one lucky winner will get a box of youbars. Enjoy!

Winners will be randomly selected and notified June 16, 2008. US only. Rules