Necessity is the mother of invention. So when Jocelyn Trumbo needed some grab-and-go energy bars with all-natural ingredients, she made them herself.
Trumbo had been buying prepackaged energy bars and protein bars as a quick pick-me-up after her yoga practice, but realized that she wasn’t thrilled with their taste — or their ingredients.
One day she was contemplating the assortment of seeds and nuts she’d collected in her pantry — tiny morsels packed with protein, fiber, good fats and nutrients — and wondered if she could make her own energy bars.
“I went to work with my food processor and really liked what I created,” she said. Her first creations were cashew–sunflower bars. “My family loved them, and pretty soon I was sharing them with other people, who also really loved them,” she said.
Realizing that others might enjoy her all-natural bars as well, Trumbo launched Sol Foods, LLC and went into business making Sol Food Bars. In addition to Cashew Sunflower, she has since added several new flavors to her growing line of products. There’s Ginger Turmeric; Ashwagandha Goji bars; a Mexican Chocolate bar that includes dates, Brazil nuts, gluten-free oats, raw cacao and cayenne pepper; and a Supergreen Neem bar that contains spirulina and tulsi, which are aquatic and basil-like plants, respectively, and the herb neem. All Sol Food Bars are vegan, gluten-free and include only whole-food ingredients.
“The ingredients I use have to be found in nature,” Trumbo said.
Trumbo has always been interested in healthy eating. “I was raised that way,” she said. “My mother made sure that we ate a plethora of whole foods, fruits and vegetables, and very few processed foods.”
Born and raised in Lexington, Trumbo lived in Cleveland, Ohio, for 10 years while she studied at the School of Cleveland Ballet and danced with the Cleveland Ballet. She moved back to Lexington and enrolled at the University of Kentucky, where she earned dual degrees in English and classics. She decided to stay home with her children full-time nine years ago, and launched her Sol Food brand about a year ago.
“I would say it is my part-time job, and my family is my full-time job,” she said. “There is a lot of juggling and learning how to manage more tasks than ever.”
Her yoga instructor, Matthew Higdon, and his sister, Lauren Higdon, were among Trumbo’s first Sol Food Bars customers. Lauren Higdon is the owner of Centered, a holistic health and wellness center on North Ashland Ave., which carries Sol Food Bars in addition to smoothies, kombucha, broths and other healthful offerings in its café.
“Luckily, Lauren also has a commercial kitchen where I produce my bars,” Trumbo said.
The Weekly Juicery also stocks Sol Food Bars at its four locations in Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati.
“Both of these businesses are great partnerships because of their commitments to carrying wholesome, healthy products. Their customers are equally concerned with health and wellness,” Trumbo said, adding that Higdon and Kimmye Bohannon of The Weekly Juicery have both been invaluable in offering advice and support.
This level of expansion suits Trumbo just fine, at least for now, as it lets her meet her commitments while maintaining the quality of her product.
“The most important thing to me is that everyone receives a fresh, high-quality bar,” she said. “That’s one of the things that makes it so special.”