Tanka Bars & A Giveaway

**Update! Want to win a variety pack of these wonderful Tanka Bars? Just leave me a comment and let me know why you'd like to try them! Also for additional entries, tweet or put a post on FB with a link to this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me that you did -- for each tweet and FB post! Giveaway open until midnight January 12th.**

Several weeks ago, Linda C. from the Tanka Bar company contacted me to send samples of these all natural buffalo "bites." I was hesitant. I've never been a huge beef jerky fan, but I figured why not?

Linda sent me 2 sample packages to share with my local gluten free support group. She also sent a packaged bag of these "Buffalo Cranberry Bites" which are little bites of the buffalo jerky. I tried these when I got home yesterday and I was incredibly surprised! They were delicious! They were not overly salty or dry. They were actually just slightly sweet, chewy, but not hard, actually had a softness to them. And they also need to be refrigerated after opening which I thought was great! It meant the bars were fresh and natural.

I LOVE that they are all natural and contain absolutely NO nitrates, NO msg, no gluten, no lactose. They do contain a lactic acid starter culture which probably derives from milk, but I did not have any type of reaction to this product even though it may contain a dairy product.

Here is the list of ingredients:
Buffalo, Dried Cranberries (cranberries, sugar), Sea Salt, Red Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Lactic Acid Starter Culture

I really love the public mission of this small company and I think it's important to buy locally made products (even within the US -- while it's not local to my region, it's still local to my country).

I'm still working on a rating system for this side of Gingerlemongirl... but for now... here are my ratings (using a 1-5 scale, 5 being the best!):

• Taste & Texture - 5 stars - I really liked the soft, chewy texture of these bars. They were not super dry and they were also well seasoned. Most "jerky" I've had in the past has been way too dry and salty. 
• Product Packaging & Cost - 3 1/2 stars - I think the Tonka Bites should have more servings per package. I think it had 3-4 servings per packet, I think the bag itself could have held several more servings and be a bit cheaper to sell that way. But I also know this is a small company and the product is made locally and is therefore has a high quality standard, so therefore the cost is going to be more than you'd pay for other products similar in nature. 
• Customer Service - 5 stars - Customer service is extremely important to me as a customer. I willingly pay more for a product that I like if I receive excellent customer service. This company lists every employee that works for them, complete with short bios. Linda was excellent to work with. I will be ordering from this company in the future! 
• Nutritional Information - 5 stars - I am thrilled that these bars are gluten free, soy free, and free of nitrates and MSG. They are low fat, low in calories, and provide a really healthy serving of lean protein. 

To find out more about this product, please visit TankaBar.com. 

Thanks so much for sending samples to me Linda C! I can't wait to share these with my gluten free support group this month! 

**Update! Want to win a variety pack of these wonderful Tanka Bars? Just leave me a comment and let me know why you'd like to try them! Also for additional entries, tweet or put a post on FB with a link to this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me that you did -- for each tweet and FB post! Giveaway open until midnight January 12th.**