CityView Magazine

32 | January/February 2015 food Local Company: Fit Grub BY KATIE CRENSHAW Healthy Eats A hh, the New Year… at lovely time of year where most of us unitedly make loy goals of kicking our bad habits, getting into shape, los- ing weight and eating healthier food. While re- search shows that most people will fail at keep- ing their resolutions… my Fayetteville friends, this year can be different! Why can this year be different? Because we have Erica Chard to help us achieve these goals! Originally from Michigan, her military husband, Mike, brought her to the Fayetteville area. She has a long history of passion for competitive sports and recently retired from a women's domestic pro cycling team in 2013. Desiring a competitive outlet to continue her fitness goals, her husband introduced her to CrossFit. Although at first intimidated by the chal- lenging fitness struc- ture, she admired the strength and phy- sique of the CrossFit women and became inspired. She fell in love with the program, became a coach herself, and opened her own gym called CrossFit Raeford. is is where I met Erica for the first time. As I entered Cross Fit Raeford, I was greeted by a group of ladies that had just finished a grueling workout. ey appeared sweaty, proud and accomplished. One greeted me at the entrance and said, "Are you here to interview Erica? She is so inspiring. She has whipped my booty into shape and now I am working on a six pack." I was introduced to the very petite, incredibly in- shape fitness and food guru, the founder of Fit Grub Food. Because of her personal struggles of health challenges, al- lergies and digestive issues, she used her education to develop solutions to her problems by creating amazingly delicious snack food products that are wholesome and free of dairy, grains, gluten, soy and GMOs. Experimenting in the kitchen, she fell in love with her own concoctions and had to share. She began bringing her tasty creations to her CrossFit friends who then began encouraging her to sell them. From there, her experiments in the kitchen evolved to food production and progressed into her Fit Grub Food company. At her online Fit Grub Food Store, you will find items such as Coconut Cashew Cookie Butter, Fudgey Almond Spread, Organic Coconut Butter, Buttery Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Roasted Cashew Butter, Garlic Chipotle Almond Cashew Blend and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Almond Butter. Occasionally you can find her Fit Grub Food at e Butcher and the Baker at the Fay- etteville Farm- er's Market. Recently, Erica offered a special seasonal selection of baked goodies at e Butcher and the Baker that included: Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies, Chunky Monkey Protein Cookie, e Best Paleo Choco- late Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Pecan "Cheese Cake," Choco- late Coconut Egg Candy and Dark Chocolate Chip Cashew Spread. Don't these sound yummy? When asked what she loved best about her own Fit Grub

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