Drink Wholesome PB Chocolate Vegan Protein Powder

I have tried quite a few vegan protein powders. Most of them have not gotten a second look from me because I do not like the aftertaste of stevia. I find that I only like stevia in leaf form and not in powder form. I would rather items contain sugar. When I recently was contact by Drink Wholesome to provide an honest* review their vegan protein powder, I was a bit reluctant. Once I saw that stevia was not an ingredient I agreed to give the powder a try.

One of the things that caught my eye was that it was only 6 ingredients: chickpeas, peanuts, coconut, cocoa, sea salt, and monk fruit. Protein powders are generally filled with many ingredients that are often not things we would generally put into our bodies. I eat all of these ingredients with the exception of monk fruit. It is a fruit though, so I can support that! I was also drawn to the flavor. Chocolate and peanut butter? Yes, please!

My samples arrived and I tested them unsweetened soymilk. I did not follow the directions and tried to mix the powder with a spoon instead of using a shaker bottle or blender. Note to other users: follow the directions! This powder needs the force of a shaker bottle or blender to dissolve the clumps. Once I corrected the issue, I was able to enjoy the after workout drink.

I really enjoyed the taste! It was nice not to have the overpowering aftertaste of stevia. The drink was slightly sweet and tasted like chocolaty goodness! The powder does not have a lot of other vitamins and nutrients beyond protein and fiber, but that is okay with me. Soy milk has much of the added vitamins and minerals that I am looking for in a drink.

Overall, I really like this product and would buy it as an after workout protein shake. The current price is about $25 (it is currently on sale) for 14 servings which makes it a tad more expensive than the other vegan supplements that I am able to find in stores. I compared it to a couple of other brands in pricing and it is about 30-40 cents more per serving with the sale price. Once the product returns to its original price of $28. However, I think that the whole and recognizable ingredients make this powder excel above the rest. The cost is worth it to me!

* Do you have a product that you would like us to review? We are happy to accept samples of your vegan product for an honest review. Please visit here to read more

Love Bar

Recently, we were contacted by the owner of Love Bar to ask us to provide an honest review of their bars.* I was excited about this review as I have enjoyed their bars for years. I eagerly said yes! They sent me one of each of the flavors to try. I am a creature of habit and have usually purchased the same two flavors, so this was a real treat to get to try the third flavor. They quickly arrived and I got to work sampling. The kiddo tried them as well and was also a huge fan. I will remember this for when we are out and need a quick and healthy snack.

Product: Love Bar- Ginger Spice, Cashew Brownie, and Goji Cocao

Overall Grade: A

Pros:

• The bars are absolutely delicious! I cannot even pick a favorite between the three. They managed to use the tastiest combination of ingredients in each bar. I am a sucker for brownies, ginger, and goji berries!
• Each bar only has a handful of ingredients that work well together and are common ingredients. You won’t find anything processed or fake in these bars. They are real food. They do not contain any processed fillers or additives.
• Their nutritional content is important to me. It offers protein, fiber, healthy fat, and iron.
• They are certified vegan and gluten free!
• They are organic!
• They are made in North Carolina. I live in NC, so I can feel confident in supporting a local, vegan business.
• I can easily find these bars locally. Do not worry if you are not located in North Carolina, you can check out their store locator and online shop.
• They have free shipping, if you buy online. That is a great deal!

Cons:

• They are about $3.49 a bar, online. That is a bit on the pricey side, but they are worth it because of the pure, unprocessed ingredients.

*Please note that we are happy to try vegan products for an honest review. If you are interested, please contact us.

 

 

 

 

 

JustPea Protein Powder

The kind folks at JustPea contacted us recently and asked if we would review their product.* I personally am not a fan of most protein powders because I don’t like the taste of stevia. When I realized this product did not contain stevia, I was immediately interested in trying it. It is made from a single ingredient (peas) and contains no GMO’s. Overall this product has proven to be a winner in my book.

Product: JustPea Pea Protein Powder 

Overall Grade: A

Pros:

• I didn’t even notice it was in my smoothie. Really. The first time I used it, I only used half a scoop because I was worried it might make my smoothie taste bad. It didn’t. The next time I used it, I used the full scoop and we still didn’t even notice it was in there. It really let the flavors that I put in my smoothies shine.
• There are 20 grams of protein in one scoop. That’s a lot of protein!
• The bag is a large one. There are 30 scoops in a bag. I personally don’t feel the need for 20 grams of protein in my smoothie, so I will continue to use half a scoop to get 10 grams of protein and make it last longer.
• NO STEVIA in this product!!!
• Vegan, gluten-free, and fully sourced in the US.
• It’s priced on par with comparable protein powders.

Cons:

• The only suggestion I have to possibly improve the product in the future is to make it fully organic. It IS already non-GMO, so that is a great start. If you’re looking for a protein boost for your smoothies that won’t affect the taste, go ahead and give this a try.

*Please note that we are happy to try vegan products for an honest review. If you are interested, please contact us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GreenBeat Veggie Burger Press

We were recently contacted by Greenbeat and asked to review a three-in-one veggie burger press and the corresponding eBook.* We can only review and endorse the veggie burger press as the recipe eBook is not vegan.** The product comes with two different size presses, large and small, and wax paper sheets. There is also an attachment that pops off to for an option to make a large stuffed veggie burger.

 

The veggie burger press arrived quickly and I decided a plan of attack by finding, and changing, a veggie burger recipe that I wanted to make. I also bought Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger because I was excited to have stuffed veggie burgers with vegan cheese. The Beyond Meat burgers are too greasy to use in the press for small or stuffed burgers. Even with the wax paper, they did not work very well and ended up falling apart. The homemade veggie burger worked well with or without the wax paper. I tried the homemade burger as a large and small patty.

  

Product: Greenbeat Veggie Burger Press

Overall Grade: A-

Pros:

• This system allows for easy veggie burger forming, while keeping your hands mostly clean.
• The system is compact. The pieces all fit inside each other, allowing for the system to take up only a small space in a drawer or cabinet.
• Using the press allows for uniform sized, professional looking veggie burgers.
• The product is easy to purchase through Amazon.
• The cost is a little under $16 and should make homemade veggie burgers cheaper than buying packaged ones in the store on a regular basis.
• Helps reduce the consumption of processed veggie burgers. Especially if you use fresh and non-processed ingredients.
• It is a great way to be accountable to yourself by knowing what is in the food you consume.

Cons:

• Even though we are not reviewing the eBook, we found it to be a con since most of the recipes contain dairy and egg. They can be substituted with vegan items, but the dairy and egg industries are full of torture, pain, and death and we cannot promote that. We hope that the company will consider making more, if not all of its eBook cruelty-free.
• The attachment to make the stuffed veggie burger was very difficult to remove. I had to wash and dry off the press, and make sure my hands were dry, and I still struggled to open it. I only made two stuffed burgers, but making large amounts would have been frustrating.

  

* We will gladly accept vegan products for an honest review.

** If you purchase the veggie burger press, please note that the recipe eBook that you will get a link for is not vegan. Many of the recipes include dairy and egg and therefore, we do not endorse the eBook. We recommend using your own recipes.

 

 

Banza! It’s Pasta!

I have been hearing about this new pasta craze on social media and I was curious to give it a try. Since the pasta is sold at Costco, I only had the option of a large box. I held my breath and gently tossed the box in my cart, hoping that I didn’t commit to pasta we would not like. To my delight, we really enjoyed the flavor! I was also pleased with the high fiber and protein in the nutritional values. The best part for me was that it was a gluten free pasta that did not fall apart when cooked or reheated. Many rice based pastas do not last well as leftovers. They often get crunchy and/or fall apart.

Overall Grade: A

Product: Banza Pasta, Rotini Shapped

Pros:

• This product is becoming widely available in stores across the US.
• The pasta has a delicious taste. The flavor and texture seem very close to wheat pasta.
• It is certified gluten free and GMO-free.
• It contains only four ingredients and they are all things that I was familiar with – no funky ingredients.
• A serving has a whopping 14g of protein and 8g of fiber! Wowsa!

Cons:

• It is over $4 a box (if you look at the smaller individual boxes). Wheat pasta can be purchased for under a dollar. It doesn’t have the same nutrition, but if we want people to switch to healthier products, we need to make them more affordable.
• There are two serving sizes on the box, 2oz and 3.4oz. The 3.4oz serving is 340 calories!! I know this is equivalent to wheat pasta, but I wish it were lower calories. If you are not calorie-obsessed like I am right now, then please ignore this con.

The Beyond Burger Goes Beyond Expectations

I have to be honest, I have been excited about this burger since I heard about it a year ago. I have been waiting patiently, or not so patiently, for it to be available in my area. The marketing has wooed me and I have been dreaming of a vegan burger that can draw in omnivores. When I saw this was available at my local whole foods, I became diligent in trying to get my hands on a box or two. It was hard since they were selling like vegan hotcakes. When I got my hands on a package, I decided to make a cheeseburger on a gluten free bun, with onions, vegan mayo, and BBQ sauce. If I would have had pickles in the house, they would have been on top as well.

I had read reviews that my house would smell of meat when I cooked the burger and that I should be prepared to be disgusted by the look of the burger. Neither of those things happened. My home smelled delicious, but not of meat- it was more like a grilled veggie smell. The pinkness of the burger did not upset me because it still didn’t look like meat to me. I was a bit taken back by all of the oil in the burger and the calorie count. I knew this would only be an occasional treat for me. Fast forward to dinner and my first bite and I loved it! The texture was a bit “meaty”, but not anymore than other veggie burgers that are intended to imitate meat.  It has been decades since I’ve had meat and this reminded me of a good veggie burger. It had an aftertaste of what I remember Boca burgers tasting like, only better. I am very excited for the omnivores in my life to give this a try at their next BBQ. This seems like a great burger for vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores.

Overall Grade: A

Product: Beyond Meat, The Beyond Burger

Pros:

• This burger becoming more available in stores across the country. Right now it is in Whole Foods and Safeways.
• It is packaged like meat to entice omnivores.
• It is vegan, gluten free, soy free, and delicious!
• It has no cholesterol
• It has 20g of protein!
• This needs its own bullet point, it is DELICIOUS!
• It does well on a pan and on the grill.
• It looks like a burger to entice omnivores.

Cons:

• It is pricey! Whole foods sells it for almost $6 and there are two patties equaling a quarter of a pound. If we want to entice omnivores, this product needs to be cheaper or comparable to two meat burgers.
• It is too fattening for me. The amount of grease that came out, was a bit much for me. I don’t mind this food on occasion, but I can’t do this on a regular basis. The calorie count was also a bit high for my tastes.
• The plastic packaging is a bit much and seems wasteful. The container could be smaller.
• Most veggie burgers are offered in packages of 4 or 6. Two patties is just odd. We have a family of three, so we have to buy two packages for almost $12!!

Crab and a Clean Conscience- Gardein Crabless Cakes

Ahoy maidens and mateys!  Veganswashbuckler is back, or you may call me Squashbuckler for short, as me fellow Vegan reviewer Amanda will do.  The crew quite likes it, and I admit it be less of a mouthful than how I was christened.  Just don’t call me late for dinner, especially if Gardein Crabless Cakes be on the menu.  Arr!

These fine morsels deserve the grade of A.

Now, before I became a Vegan pirate, when I was a wee little corpse munching scalawag, methinks I tended to avoid the crab cakes.  I never cared for mayo, and even today I fear the Vegan version.  Nevertheless, if ye like the stuff, by all means check this out, from another of our Vegan reviewers, Dawn.  Nevertheless, blindfold any miserable corpse muncher and give them a taste test, and I dare them to tell me these cakes are crabless, ye scoundrels and crab steaming poltroons!  And, since they already be blindfolded, make them walk the plank unless they reform their ways!

These tender chunks of delight are a treat lightly fried, and they come out crispy on the outside and juicy in the center.  They have the essence of the briny deep, they do, and a fine texture that will leave ye in amazement.  Add these yummy fries as a side, courtesy of another of our Vegan reviewers, Julie, and ye will have yerself a mighty fine repast with little effort.  Tell the chef to have the night off, but to take it easy on the grog and bring yer ship back in one piece.

The only real criticism I have of these nuggets is that they’re a bit tinier than ye think, and they only come ten to a package.  Ye may be left a little unsatisfied, but the flavor is a big winner.

Not So Tempting Yogurt, Vegan MoFo Day 29

I have tried most of the vegan yogurts on the market, if not all of them, and have found a clear worst in the bunch. The title of this post was almost “This Yogurt Makes Me Gag!”. If you haven’t already tried Tempt Hemp yogurt, I suggest you save your money. They are pricey and taste like chalky yogurt. Gross about sums up the way these yogurts taste. I’ve tried all of the flavors that I can get my hands on and they all seem to be the same. The product today does not earn the seal of approval here at Veggie Product Reviews.

Product: Tempt Hemp Yogurt

Overall Grade: D

Pros:

• The only pro that I can think of is the nutritional value of this product. A container has 10g of protein and 15% iron. It is hard to find a yogurt that has that much protein.
• If you can’t do soy or nuts, this is a good alternative for you…… if you can stand the taste. Go me! I found two pros!

Cons:

• The taste is chalky and gross. It made me gag.
• My toddler liked it at first, but now won’t touch it. I think the chalky taste has kicked in for him as his taste buds have formed.
• It is expensive. I’ve seen them for about $2 a container.
• There is no calcium. I think calcium is a reason some people consume yogurt, no?
• If you did want this product, it is hard to locate. I’ve only seen it at specialty stores like Whole Foods.
• It is hard to cook with because the chalky flavor seeps through.
• The product is quite watery and not thick and rich like other dairy alternative yogurts.
• The product is also grainy and not smooth. GAG!

 

 

 

 

Planet Protein Bars, Vegan MoFo Day 28

Today we bring to you a review of a product that won’t even be fully launched until sometime next year.  But, Planet Protein was kind enough to offer us a bar each of their two flavors in exchange for an honest review.  You can purchase them in pre-launch from the Planet Protein Facebook Page.

The texture reminded me a lot of the old school Power Bars: chewy, a little gritty/chalky.  I don’t mean that in a bad way.  I really liked the texture of Power Bars and have missed them.  So, if you’ve been missing them too, here’s your vegan replacement!

Product: Planet Protein Plant Power Bar (Cherry Almond Fudge / Cocoa PB Crunch)
Overall Grade: A-  (cherry) / A (peanut butter)

 

 

Pros:

• 20g of plant based protein
• Chewy, lightly gritty – a la the old Power Bars
• Non GMO
• Gluten and soy free
• No sugar alcohols, added flavors, no preservatives
• No stevia so no funky aftertaste like some vegan bars
• Cherry & Peanut Butter varieties?  Yes, please.  They’re both lightly sweet.  You wouldn’t confuse them with candy, but that’s not what Planet Protein sets out to be.

Cons:

• They’re a little spendy.  From what I can tell MSRP is $3.50 per bar when purchased individually.  But, that’s the tradeoff for supporting small business and healthful products so I didn’t ding it in the grade for this.
• The cherry got an A- instead of an A because I’d like just a little more cherry flavor. The texture was also just a tiny bit harder than the PB which I thought was perfect.
• I can’t go pick one up on my lunch break tomorrow 😉

 

Hemp Hearts, Vegan MoFo Day 27

I remember hearing about hemp ropes and how it is a strong material as a teenager. I wondered if it had any other uses, besides the illegal kind (well, at least illegal in some states). Then I started hearing about hemp ice cream, milk, yogurt and more. The one thing that I’ve noticed about all of those products is that they seem to be a good source of protein. When I stumbled upon Hemp Hearts, I was intrigued. The little seeds seemed easy enough to sprinkle on food, put in smoothies, baked goods, and more. After trying a sample, I was on sold! They had a nice mild flavor and the nutritional information seemed too good to pass up. They contain mostly unsaturated fat, 3 grams of fiber, 10g of protein, iron, thiamin, phosphorus, magnesium, folate, manganese, riboflavin, zinc, and vitamin B6. These little seeds seem to be a powerhouse of nutrition. Since then, we sprinkle them on anything we can think of!

Product: Hemp Hearts, Raw Shelled Hemp Seeds by Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods

Overall Grade: A

Pros:

• They have a mild and delicious flavor.
• They are fun to sprinkle on food!
• The powerhouse of nutrients and vitamins make these a must have for all- not just herbivores!
• They are non-gmo verified and have an organic version
• You can buy this product in a large package (28 oz or 5lbs), which is sure to last you quite some time.
• This product is widely available. I’ve seen it many places, but I usually buy it at Costco for a decent price.
• They are fun little snack on their own.
• Gluten free, soy free, and free of everything except hemp.

Vegan GF English Muffin spread with homemade vegan cheese and Hemp Hearts.

Cons:

• I really don’t have any cons. I do wish they didn’t have 13g of fat, but at least it isn’t saturated fat.