Today the Reluctant Eater talks with Chuck Roosevelt, founder of CRENU gluten free snack cakes (formerly goodEbar). He has been a cook all his life at home and professionally. He has worked as as a chef from Boulder, Co. to Nantucket, Ma. He also worked as a professional brewer starting with Tabernash Brewing Co. when they were in Denver and then took over the brewing operations of the Columbine Mill Brewery in Littleton, where he was twice decorated with gold medals in 1998 and 2000 at the Great American Beer Festival (in the hotly contested IPA category). Born out of a love for his niece and her need for a healthy, convenient, and nutritious food alternative, he and his wife Tori created CRENU.
TRE: What is your current relationship with food?
CR: My relationship with food is one of Joy. I love food. Food is such a good way to connect, to care for those you love and to share. In our household we make a lot of stuff from scratch. It tastes better and is better for you. With today’s go-go culture people are missing out on a lot by not preparing their own food. They are missing out on health, taste and time together. You don’t even need to be that prepared to make your own food. It is easy to prepare a meal for a family of four in ½ an hour to 45 minutes.
I have a garden every year, my wife and I are urban foragers, and we have fruit trees. Real food is important. Good food is important too.
TRE: Have you always cared about food?
CR: Yes, I was taught the basics of cooking early by my mother. She is a great cook. We had to fend for ourselves a lot and I would rather eat good food or not at all. My climbing partner is just the opposite. He would eat nothing but bars and gel rather than take the time to cook something. It makes no sense to me.
TRE: Do you ever have “real food” discussions with him?
CR: Of course. He is more than happy to have it. He just wouldn’t go out of his way to get it.
TRE: A lot of the people I interview tend to have a pretty strong family food culture from the time they were young. How hard is it to get kids on board with healthy eating when most of what they see in the world is the opposite?
CR: It is pretty easy if you are a good example for them. My oldest daughter is a meat snob. She will only eat Elk meat. We are lucky enough to be able to harvest an Elk once a year and this is the only meat we eat. One animal will feed a family of four for a whole year. It is free range, hormone and antibiotic free, and really tasty. Both of my kids have really good diets, their mother is a good example. If you don’t make a big deal about it, they think it’s normal. My oldest would be bummed if you took her to a fast food joint.
TRE: Tell us a little bit about it goodEbar, and how you got started.
CR: I created the goodEbar for my niece, Allie, who was diagnosed as a diabetic and celiac a couple of years ago. I spent some time with my sister and saw; first hand, how hard it was to provide Allie with good, convenient and tasty food. I thought I could help. So I created the CRENÜ.
When you and I first met it was called a goodEbar. One of the things I took away from the Naturally Boulder Days was that I needed to change the name. So the CRENÜ was born. It has always been called a CRENÜ in our household. Now it is out in the world. Basically a CRENÜ is a gluten free snack cake that is high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and is full of complex carbohydrates. It is made from whole, natural, organic ingredients. It is real food.
A goodEbar is not a typical energy bar offering. It is a moist little cake. However it is not like a traditional cake in that it is not too sweet. Hence the name change to CRENÜ. A CRENÜ is great toasted, warmed up or right out of the package. CRENÜ’s are gluten free, wheat free, soy free, dairy free, yeast free and non-GMO. They are Vegan, too. What CRENÜ’s created for my sister was peace of mind. My sister knew that whenever she grabbed a CRENÜ for Allie that she was getting something that was gluten free and nutritious and something Allie liked. The CRENÜ’s provide healthy food for Allie and convenience for her mother. They give me an energy bar that doesn’t turn to glue in my mouth when hiking or biking and they give my climbing partner some much needed real food. CRENÜ’s create a lot of benefits. Our motto is “good food for good people”
We’re in the midst of rebranding, so in some stores, one will still see goodEbar, while in other locations, the change over to CRENÜ has occurred. The new packaging is bright and reflects the abundant goodness of our product line. Check us out at www.CRENU.com or at www.goodEbar.com.
TRE: Gluten free seems to be a hot topic these days. In fact, allergies to all kinds of common foods seem to be way more prevalent than ever before. Why is that?
CR: I do not know the answer to this but I have a theory. It is simply a lack of breast feeding. There is so much magic in mothers milk that science can not duplicate in formula and it seems to me that the rise of these types of allergies started around the advent of formula fed babies.
However I am just a foodie not a scientist. There is no substitute for real food at any level.
You know, other contributors could be industrial farming, pesticides and a lack of diversity in our diet. Our kids today are our canaries in the coal mine, with these diseases showing up in them from our recent practices in the past with regards to food preparation farming, and diet.
TRE: Have things changed now that you have your own food product? Are you more aware of various dietary needs? Do you end up getting involved in more conversations about food?
CR: No I have always been aware of food and food products. There is a difference between food like substances and food. There is also an idea that food is more than the sum of its parts. An apple eaten has a different effect on the body nutritionally than breaking down the apple into its chemical parts and ingesting those different parts. Eating food is good for you. Eating food like substances is not however food like substances can be cleverly disguised to look like food.
I don’t tend to get in more conversations about food now that I am producing the CRENU. But I do think the CRENU fills a niche that is necessary.
TRE: Why has our food changed so dramatically in the last few decades? Why aren’t more people aware of the dangers of this path we’ve gone down?
CR: Industrial farming and people are becoming more aware of it every day.
People have also gotten use to the idea that they can have any food at any time of the year. This is not good. It makes more sense to eat locally and to eat seasonally.
The CRENU is really a marriage of ideas. It offers people a chance to eat something healthy and convenient. It is made from whole, organic, natural foods. Not a handful of chemicals that were put together to resemble food. It is full of complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that all come from real food. But it fits into the lifestyle of today where people want something that is convenient and tasty and they don’t have to spend any time preparing it. This is ideal for the Celiac community that has limited choices.
You have eaten my product. How do you like it? Have you ever had it toasted or warmed up?
TRE: So, I have tried your product, but since it’s actually the only gluten free treat I’ve ever had, I don’t have much basis for comparison! However, back in November I interviewed Jen Marshall of the Fresh Ideas Group (who is a celiac), and (unprompted) she mentioned how much she loves them!
Thanks for talking with us Chuck, have any last bit of advice or words of wisdom?
CR: Well you were lucky to try the best first. Many gluten free items are bland, gritty and cardboardy. That is one of the reasons we are so excited to be able to offer the celiac community and all others something that is healthy, made from whole, organic, natural food and is tasty. CRENU’s offer convenience, taste and comfort.
CRENU’s are available at Vitamin Cottage stores, Marczyk Fine foods, Gormet One in Vail and many other front range locations (as well as from their website). They are growing and like their motto states, they are providing “good food for good people”.
{ 0 comments… add one now }