new ota.bar in town

Quick blog before bed...
I have an exciting breakthrough to share!

ota.bars are now gluten-free friendly!!

The regular bars are not gluten-free but I have come up with a recipe for a gluten-free version. I took out the oats and wheat germ and replaced them with more nuts, more pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and a few other things. I tried out the cinna-fuse variety and they turned out better than expected. I still have some perfecting to do with the recipe but it was a great first trial.

Every weekend at the market I have people ask me if any of the bars are gluten-free. I really wanted to make a point in addressing this issue. My hope is to deliver a bar that is just as delicious and healthy. Even if you are not on a gluten-free diet, these bars are delish!

The other good news is that the bars are doing great at Common Market. The owner ordered more and said that people are responding really well to them and that the bright colors catch peoples' attention. This is really exciting because he has allll the nutrition bars in his store...Clif Bar, Larabar, Kind bar, etc. etc. So, to get people to stray away from their typical purchase and try my bars is kind of exciting!

Well, that is all...I don't have any ota.bar related photos so I'll leave you with this one that I took from our weekend anniversary trip. They are coconut pancakes that were pretty delicious. You realllly have to like coconut =) If you do here is the recipe link - (also my absolute favorite food website at the moment) The recipes are amazing..and the food photography is inspirational!

Come on out to the market! Lots to choose from this weekend =)

ota ota everywhere

Now onto the ota.news! I sold another 124 bars this past weekend, which was super exciting! I am definitely starting to get weekly customers coming back for their favorites and people coming right up to my stand saying "I haven't eaten breakfast yet, I need a bar!!!"

This is pretty crazy/weird/exciting for me. It is a bit surreal as well. ota.bars are now proudly displayed and on sale at Common Market (South End location). I got some good feedback from people that saw them in the store before heading over to the market (they are right next to each other). The other Common Market location (Plaza Midwood) has shown interest in bringing the bars to their store as well. Yay!

I am taking a break from granola this weekend to celebrate my 1yr. wedding anniversary. Catch me next weekend back at the market!

Have a great weekend!!!
Ashley


common market


bars on display!


display jars for the store

save that water!

Double whammy blog post!

This first post is non-ota related but something I am excited about. So, probably my favorite thing at the market is not food related. Well, it can be food related, but it is not edible. I am really passionate about water conservation and reuse and there is an awesome small business at the market selling residential rainwater catchment barrels. YAY! If only I owned a house where I could use one. Gr! This is a local company, making a solid product, that will definitely pay for itself in the long run. I took some pictures and you can check out their website for more information. http://www.mybarrelmonkey.com/

I also love their company name - Barrel Monkey (who doesn't remember that game as a kid!)

custom barrel covers

ota.stuff

Just wanted to make an end of the week post as I'm getting ready for another day at the Tailgate Market, this Saturday. I had a big week getting out 2 shipments of 72 and 48 bars! Very exciting! I don't have online ordering up yet, but you can always email me with your order/questions/etc. Since I am only 1 person, order turn-around-time can vary depending on how many orders I have, etc.

Email: info@otabars.com

I will be taking next weekend off from the market, so make sure you come out this week! It's my 1yr wedding annv. and I think I deserve a week off =)

The market went really well last week. My mom was in town, from Cleveland, so she helped a ton with the preparations. It was fun to have her at the market and show her what I've been up to with all this crazy granola stuff. I sold 122 bars, took a few orders, and talked to Common Market (local deli/wine/beer/market) about selling my bars there. They will debut at CM this Saturday!! I also started heat sealing the bags this past week, which really improved the look of the packages.

This week, at the market, I'll be featuring - cinna-fuse (#1 seller), pnutty crunch, triple berry almond, and the NEW cherry pecan - mmmmmm... I know I have quite a few "cherry" bars but they are all really different from each other so I am excited about this one...kind of along the lines of cherry/pecan pie.. Yumm.

I'm not sure if I'll get to it this week but sometime in the near future I am going to start trying to create a gluten-free bar. A few people at the market, with a gluten intolerance, asked if my bars are gluten-free. I don't use flour, but I do use wheat germ and organic rolled oats, which are not gluten-free friendly. We'll see what I can come up with! I'm thinking...drop the oats & germ...add more pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds and add ground flax seeds.

I think that is all of the news I have. Hope to see some of you at the market this weekend!

I'll leave you with a few pics from last week =)

-Ashley





new packaging




that's a lot of ota!

ota.news

Hello there ota.fans! Just a quick post as I'm preparing for the market this Saturday. If you didn't get out last week, this week should be even better! I will have a bigger stock of bars and a larger variety to choose from. There will also be music for kids at 10am and a chef demo at 11am (Mark Hibbs, owner and head chef at Ratcliffe on the Green).

I will be selling single bars for $1.50 or you can mix and match 6 bars for $8. I will be featuring the following varieties:

cinna-fuse
pnutty crunch
cherry pistachio
cran-mango-cash
cran-raisin-walnut

As always, these bars are soy-free & dairy-free. They are made with some of the highest quality ingredients you can find and are packed with nutrients.

New order prices are as follows:
(1 variety per batch)
8 batch for $12
12 batch for $16
24 batch for $30

E-mail me at info@otabars.com for information regarding large (100+ bars) orders, or for any other ota.bar related questions.

The bars are customizable for $5/batch. This means you can basically make your own variety!

If you want to be surprised and are the adventurous type, you can choose "chef's choice." I will prepare an all time favorite or maybe try something new.

In choosing my packaging, I tried to stay as simple and eco-friendly as possible. I want to create the least amount of waste I can. The bags I'm using are biodegradable, compostable, and made carbon zero. They start to biodegrade within 9 months and are made from wood cellulose fibers. They look just like plastic cellophane bags but don't be fooled!!

Stay tuned for more updates and a recap of how the market goes on Saturday!

Ashley

the ever changing menu....

market day

The first day at the Tailgate Market was awesome! I felt a little like I was back in architecture school preparing for a deadline. Chris (my husband) and I were up til 3:30am packaging and preparing everything. It was all worth it though. The weather was perfect and it was pretty busy all morning. I go there on a weekly basis to buy this and that, so it was fun to be on the other side of things and watch people come and go. There were a lot of happy people just looking for delicious local food. Chris was there with me and a bunch of our friends came to check it out. It was so great to have all of their support!!

I bought THEE most amazing strawberries there. They literally melted in your mouth. A gallon basket was $9 and worth every penny. I made a strawberry pie and strawberry muffins...mmmm

Anyway, back to ota.bars! I came prepared with 60 bars of a few different flavors which all got cleared out. The big hit was the apple/apricot/almond/walnut/cinnamon variety which has been named "cinna-fuse." This name stemmed from my great friends Laura & Travis. Their photography business is called "fuse photographic," which is where the "fuse" comes from. It is also Laura's favorite bar and she always talks about the distinct cinnamon flavor. So, cinna-fuse seemed to work well!

The other big hit was the new "cran-mango cash." This is a combo of craberries/mango/cashews. Kids really liked the "pnat banana" and the "pnutty crunch."

I got some great feedback and encouraging comments! Next week I will definitely come with more bars! My mom will be in town from Ohio helping me out this weekend. Super excited!

I took a few pictures..they're not the greatest but will do for now! =)

Stay tuned as always!

Ashley


Ginette hung out for awhile



my little stand


samples...mmmm