High cholesterol leads to healthy baking career
Louis Bowles of High Point, N.C., got some bad news in late 2002. A trip to the doctor turned up diabetes, high cholesterol and high triglycerides.
His doctor was all set to put him on medication, but Bowles had other ideas. "I think medication is a fine thing, but I think it needs to be not the first option," he said.
So he asked his doctor if he could try to control his health problems with diet and exercise.
Once the doctor agreed, though, Bowles had another problem. "I know what I like to eat, and unfortunately, it's not all the good things," he said.
"I went to the grocery store looking for something that would taste good but that would be nutritious. I felt like that if it didn't taste good, I'd probably fall off the wagon."
He was mainly looking for healthy baked goods to satisfy his sweet tooth. When he didn't find any that he liked, he went into the kitchen - his wife's kitchen, really, since he didn't cook - and came up with a snack bar. It took him about a year.
When friends and others said they liked it, he started Louis' Healthy Breads. The company's first sales in 2004 were to coffeehouses, retirement homes and High Point Regional Hospital.
Bowles, a former furniture designer, now devotes his time to his new business. His son Grant joined the company as its chef and recipe developer, and Bill McKenzie, a former executive vice president of Golding Farms in Clemmons, became the third shareholder in 2005 to handle the business end. The company got its first major distribution in August 2006 when Fresh Market began carrying the snack bars in its stores.
The company makes five flavors. Fresh Market carries two - Carrot Spice and Banana Walnut, sold in packs of four for $5.99. The other three flavors, Apple Raisin, Fruit Medley and the new Pumpkin, are available online at www.louishealthybreads.com for $35.99 for a case of 24.
The bars have few ingredients, contain no preservatives and are sold frozen to maintain freshness. They keep frozen for six months, refrigerated for six to eight weeks, and at room temperature two to three days.
They are more like cakes than other snack bars, but no one will mistake them for cake in the usual sense of the word. Still, they also are quite moist, and the oats and oat bran make them filling - much more than the 140 to 170 calories would suggest. The fat content ranges from 2 to 7 grams in a bar, but all are low in saturated fat and contain no trans fat.
McKenzie said that the whole-grain bars are high in soluble fiber, from the oats and oat bran. "Soluble fiber is the fiber that actually cleans the blood vessels out. You can think of it as a scouring pad," he said. "Soluble fiber also helps stabilize blood sugar, preventing glycemic spikes."
McKenzie, who competes in triathlons, said that the bars also offer good "recovery nutrition" for endurance athletes and others who need a certain balance of carbohydrates and protein to refuel after extensive activity.
The bars contain no processed sugar. The sweetness comes from the fruit, and from a small amount of sucralose, the only unnatural ingredient in the bars. And, Bowles said, his son is working to develop an all-natural version.
McKenzie said that the company is planning new flavors, such as blueberry, cranberry-orange and strawberry-banana.
"We're also looking at a 2-ounce muffin, particularly with schools in mind," McKenzie said. "There's a lot of interest in this from school nutritionists."
Perhaps even more important - at least for the company's bottom line - is McKenzie's talks with a fast-food chain, which he declined to name, about carrying the snack bars.
Bowles, though, sees Louis' Healthy Breads as filling a niche. "Pillsbury and Sara Lee aren't frightened to death because we're out there, and they never will be. I'm doing this because I feel this is an opportunity not just to make a living, but to help people."
