Q&A with Creator of Inca Bar Quinoa: Convenient Nutrition in Quinoa Form

 

Inca Bars (Made in Fort Collins)

A few of Colorado’s own are working to develop wholesome nutrition bars for those on-the-go. Convenient for traveling or grabbing a snack on the run, locally-made nutrition bars pack a loaded punch of whole foods and hearty nutrition. Read more about Inca Bars  roots in ancient Peruvian traditions in our Q/A Session with founder Betto Diaz:

Carri: How did the idea of Inca Bars come to be?

Betto: On one of my trips home to Peru in 2011, I saw how my people were trying to rediscover the ancient foods from the time of the Incas, and even before the Incas. It felt like a revolution. People in Peru were trying to recreate many of our ancient recipes using the old ingredients.

Quinoa was becoming very popular in the cities where it had been largely ignored for many years. As the primary grain used by the Incas, it was central to their diet and the main ingredient in many of the old recipes. Quinoa was also becoming very popular in the US and Europe because of its ideal form of protein and high fiber. Maca and Sacha Inchi, which were also used by the Incas and virtually unknown in the west, are wonderful sources of antioxidants and Omega 3’s. This is when I decided to try and create a food bar using these three ancient ingredients.

Carri: More and more consumers are scouring labels. This must be an immense advantage to you.
Betto: Yes, as I have created a simple nutritious product with a relatively short list of ingredients that contains no chemical additives or highly processed ingredients. I believe that simple and straight forward is what more and more people are looking for, and our modest nutrition facts numbers are in line with the whole-food concept.

Many “nutrition” and “energy” bars are loaded up with synthesized vitamins and various protein and fiber isolates that do a great job of pumping up their numbers, but most of these ingredients are not needed in a healthy diet. I believe simple unprocessed foods like the Incas ate are what our bodies crave.

Carri: What is the biggest improvement you have seen when it comes to healthier trends?

Betto: The length of the ingredients list for many products has been getting shorter and shorter. This is due to a combination of steadily decreased use of chemical preservatives, flavors, and colors, and increasing use of whole-food ingredients. Essentially, this means less and less total processing leaving the product closer and closer to its original state. The more processing involved, the further away you get from a whole-food. The more food producers can stick with using whole-food ingredients and keep processing down to a minimum, the better.

Most highly processed foods have only been around since the 1950’s. As humans, we have over a million years of evolution without them. They do not belong in our diet, and people are finally beginning to figure that out.

Carri: What do you love most about Colorado?

Betto: I came to the US as a traveler in my twenty’s and was immediately drawn to the mountains of Colorado. My experience of growing up in the mountains in Peru makes Colorado feel like home in so many ways. I love the mountain landscape and all of the outdoor sports that go with it. Many of the people here share my love of nature and have the same hearty attitudes about the outdoors I grew up with in Peru. I can’t think of another place in the US I would rather live.

Carri:  What is something readers would be surprised to know about you?

Betto: I am from a small mountain town in the altiplano of Peru where Quinoa originates, and where I sourcethe quinoa for my products. My family owned a large ranch in the mountains nearby the town where I grew up. We raised cows, sheep, alpacas and horses, and planted some quinoa as well.

I had a very happy childhood spending weekends and summers with my large extended family at our ancestral ranch in the beautiful mountains of Peru. I had the wonderful opportunity to grow up close to the land with all its ancient traditions, and I feel very strongly about taking care of my people by sourcing only fairly traded organic quinoa that is sustainably grown.

Click here to learn about other bars made in Colorado.