Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Shaking up the Summer with Nutiva Hemp Shakes


As the weather heats up, there is nothing that I want more in the afternoon than a nice cold smoothie. I recently began considering my options when it comes to filling this need. First, I want my smoothie to be nutritionally sound. A number of places make smoothies, but they usually involve artificially sweetened or high fructose sweetened juices. They also lack the protein and fiber to make this a filling snack. Finally, many of them are chock full of useless calories! Let’s face it; America likes to drink its calories. But if we are going to drink them, we should make sure that beverage is filling and full of nutrients.

After trying a number of premixed smoothies and smoothie mixes, and avoiding many because of their ingredients and nutritional content, I finally found a product that I feel is worth sharing with you. Nutiva Organic Hemp Shakes! The two flavors I have tried and loved are the Berry Pomegranate and the Chocolate.

Let’s break each of these smoothie powders down by nutritional content and then let’s talk flavor (what most of us really care about!). First, both of the shake mixes are gluten and lactose-free which I know is important to some of my readers. Second, they contain Hemp proteins, which not only provide protein and fiber, but are also a good source of Omega-3 and Omega-6. Finally, the Nutiva Hemp Shakes use Fair Trade Certified products, which “guarantees consumers that strict economic, social and environmental criteria were met in the production and trade of an agricultural product.”

Berry Pomegranate contains organic hemp protein, superberry blend (organic mesquite pods, organic strawberries. organic blueberries, organic raspberries, organic cherries, organic pomegranates, organic Sambazon acai, organic goji berries, organic guar gum, inulin from chicory root), organic Fair Trade Certified evaporated cane juice, organic berry flavor. It does contain tree nuts for those with allergies! It is also 57% raw and contains Omega-3 fatty acids. 4 level tablespoons is only 90 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.

You can blend Hemp Shakes with any milk (they recommend organic rice milk), so I chose to blend the Berry Pomegranate with Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk. For those who don’t like the unsweetened Almond Breeze because of the taste, you should try it with the Hemp Shake. The smoothie powder is just sweet enough to satisfy my cravings without being over the top sweet (only 11 grams of sugar) and blending it with milk (and a little ice to up the cool factor) makes it rich and creamy. My smoothie ended up being 130 calories, with lots of protein and fiber and no artificial sweeteners or other chemical fillers. It had a natural fruit flavor while being cool, refreshing and filling!

Chocolate Hemp Shake contains organic hemp protein, superfood chocolate blend (organic Fair Trade Certified chocolate, organic ramon nuts, organic guar gum, inulin from chicory root, organic mesquite pods), organic Fair Trade Certified evaporated cane juice, and organic chocolate flavor. It also contains tree nuts for those with allergies! Four level tablespoons contains only 80 calories, 2 grams of fat, 12 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.

I chose to blend the Chocolate Hemp Shake with unsweetened chocolate almond milk. Unfortunately, it was really not sweet at all. However, adding half a cup of frozen cherries and I was back on the Chocolate Hemp Shake train! I am sure using rice milk would add the necessary sweetness without the fruit needed, however who can turn down a Chocolate Cherry Shake? And for only 180 calories!

Overall, I appreciate the principles of community and quality that Nutiva abides by when it comes to their business and products. High quality products that are tasty and beneficial to my body and my planet are worth the cost. You can buy a canister of Hemp Shake online for $17. That is only $1.13 per smoothie if you use the full 4 tablespoons of mix! You can also buy individual samples of the three smoothies (there is also an Amazon Acai flavor) if you want to decide which one you like. With the cost of a smoothie at shop being at least twice the cost without the same community and nutrition standards, you can’t go wrong with Nutiva Hemp Shakes.

7 comments:

Melody said...

Hmmmm...sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Emily said...

Those sound mighty good! Where do you purchase them at??

Emily said...

haha..nevermind!! I saw the link. I didn't see the link. It came across black on my end - I thought it was just type! lol I'm going to try the packets to see which one is the best!!

Anne said...

Thanks for the review! They sound really good, especially with almond breeze--yum.

Carolyn Jung said...

I have to admit that at first thought, the idea of a hemp shake doesn't provoke much excitement for me. But chocolate? Well, anything with chocolate can't be all that bad. ;)

Emily said...

Those sound like good shake mixes. I've never tried hemp protein before. I usually just make shakes with frozen bananas and some almond milk. :-)

R3 Method Show said...

Hemp rocks!

Disclaimer:

I get asked by readers if I am being paid to push products. The simple answer is no. In fact, most of the products I write about are ones I have found and purchased during my trips to the grocery store or on the road. Occasionally, a company will send a sample my way and if I believe the product will serve a need for my readers and I would buy the product myself, then I will share it with you. Sometimes I will write to a company after reading about it, if I believe it will help us lead healthier lifestyles. But even then, if the product doesn't pass my scrutiny, it won't make the screen of Uncovering Food. You can trust that every product or recipe posted here has passed through my lips, and that I wouldn't blog about it if it wasn't worthy of you... my favorite readers.