Meet Our Founder, Nikki
I have battled food for the better part of 27 years.
Ever since I was 12 years old, health, nutrition and fitness was a passion of mine. I loved learning about nutrition and applying the knowledge to my own lifestyle. I enjoyed clean eating, intense exercise, and of course the aesthetic results that came along with it.
When I was 15 years old, something in my mindset shifted. I started to become extremely rigid with food, developed food fears and was constantly critiquing my appearance. This manifested into a full-blown eating disorder that would rule my life for the next 7 years.
With lots of help, I finally got myself into recovery and was ready to move on with my life. Shortly after this milestone, my entire life (again) took a complete and rapid 180:
I gained 40 pounds.
I couldn't digest anything.
My stomach was painfully bloated.
My body was inflamed.
I slept during the day.
I dripped sweat at night.
I was constantly blacking out
My entire health - out of nowhere - was spiraling out of control. 2 years and countless doctors later, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and multiple gut infections. As a result, my doctor put me on a five-food diet. It wasn't fun, and after one whole year of it, I was disgusted and miserable with food. Yet surely, I did begin to heal.
Safe to say that the combination of both the eating disorder and chronic illness had me on restrictive diets for most of my life. When I finally put my body into a state of remission, I wanted to repair my relationship with food and actually enjoy eating again! I was on a mission to find food that both had optimal nutrition for my body, but amazing flavor as well. Protein bars were always a stable in my diet, but after reassessing the shelves in the supermarkets, I could not find anything to satisfy my needs. I found delicious bars that were (sadly) filled with sugar, crash-and-burn carbs and minimal protein. I also found simple ingredient bars that had better nutrition but tasted absolutely BORING. Knowing that there was better to be had, I took the matter into my own hands. Thus, Ignite Bars was born and I was about to embark on the coolest and most challenging journey of my life.