Another vegan product review I wrote a couple of years ago for another website and am now moving over here...

Yves Meatless Pepperoni: Nutrition Information

The serving size on the package is six slices, which contains 80 calories, 14 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat. I am always looking for high protein, low fat foods to recommend to my clients, particularly foods that also offer lots of other vitamins and minerals. Yves Meatless Pepperoni does just that, and has no trans fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol - and is loaded with heart-healthy soy protein.

Those of us who are vegan and vegetarian know all to well what a challenge it can be to get enough of certain vitamins and minerals in our diets each day – particularly the B vitamins and iron. If this is a challenge for you, you will be happy to hear that Yves® Meatless Pepperoni offers 20% of the daily recommended value of iron, thiamin, vitamin B12 and zinc per serving – plus 4% each of calcium, magnesium and vitamin A.

As for nutrition, Yves Meatless Pepperoni is not quite as healthful as some of their other meatless deli slices, but is far healthier than its animal-derived counterpart – not to mention that is has none of the preservatives you will find in animal-derived pepperoni. Therefore, Yves Meatless Deli Salami or Meatless Deli Turkey are healthier choices overall, but if you are looking for a pepperoni substitute, Yves Meatless Pepperoni is a healthy addition to your diet and the most nutritious alternative I have found.

Yves Meatless Pepperoni: Taste and Texture

Yves Meatless Pepperoni has the perfect amount of spice and a great flavor. It is one of my favorite products from the Yves line and definitely my favorite meatless pepperoni product across brands. The texture is a great substitute for animal-derived pepperoni and it cooks perfectly for vegan or vegetarian pizzas and calzones.  

Yves Meatless Pepperoni: Overall and Other Yves® Products

Yves Meatless Pepperoni is the best vegan pepperoni I have found and is a healthy alternative to animal-derived pepperoni. The taste and texture are superior to any other pepperoni substitute I have tried and I highly recommend this product.

There are fifteen slices in each package, with a package costing around $2.79, depending on the grocer. The slices are pretty similar to what you would expect pepperoni to look like and I would plan on using the whole package (at least) if you are making pizza. 

Yves’ other meatless deli slices include turkey, ham, salami, bologna, roast beef and smoked chicken. My two favorites are the salami and the pepperoni. The pepperoni is perfect for sandwiches or vegan/vegetarian pizzas and calzones, and I can often be found sneaking a slice of salami in the middle of the night.

When compared to their meaty counterparts, most of Yves products actually have more protein while having less fat and no cholesterol. This makes Yves products great sources of protein that aren’t weighed down with all the stuff that’s bad for us. So, whether you are vegan or vegetarian, or just want to eat a little healthier, I highly recommend trying Yves Meatless Pepperoni and their other great meatless products.

Yves Meatless Pepperoni: Serving Suggestions

1. Use as a topping for a great vegan or vegetarian pepperoni pizza.  
2. Combine with onions and vegan mozzarella cheese inside a calzone.
3. Wrap slices around vegan cheese and secure with a toothpick for a fun appetizer.
4. Serve in a sandwich with vegan mayonnaise and vegan mozzarella cheese.  
5. Serve in a wrap using a tortilla or flatbread with pizza sauce and shredded vegan mozzarella cheese.

Here is another vegan product review I wrote for that now-defunct website, so I'm moving

Yves Meatless Deli Salami: Nutrition Information

The serving size on the package is four slices, which contains 80 calories, 15 grams of protein and 0 grams of fat. I am always looking for high protein, low fat foods to recommend to my clients, particularly foods that also offer lots of other vitamins and minerals. Yves® Meatless Deli Salami does just that, and has no trans fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol - and is loaded with heart-healthy soy protein.

Those of us who are vegan and vegetarian know all to well what a challenge it can be to get enough of certain vitamins and minerals in our diets each day – particularly the B vitamins and iron. If this is a challenge for you, you will be happy to hear that Yves® Meatless Deli Salami offers 20% of the daily recommended value of iron, 20% of thiamin, 8% of riboflavin, 25% of niacin, 20% of vitamin B6, 20% of vitamin B12 and 20% of zinc per serving – plus 4% each of calcium, magnesium and vitamin A.

Yves Meatless Deli Salami: Taste

In my quest to find healthy, flavorful products for my family and clients, I have tried most of the meatless products on the market. Some of them have tasted great, but didn’t pack the nutritious punch that I was looking for, while others were great on nutrition, but barely palatable. Yves Meatless Deli Salami scores great on both taste and nutrition and is one of my hands down favorites.

The thick slices and perfect amount of spice make this an excellent salami substitute for meat eaters, or a tasty addition to a vegan or vegetarian diet. The flavor isn’t just something you will like; it’s something you will crave.

Yves Meatless Deli Salami: Overall and Other Yves® Products

There are ten slices in each package, which costs around $2.79, depending on the grocer. The serving size is four slices, but there is enough flavor that you could use three per sandwich or salad to make the package last longer. Just remember that is you do three slices instead of four, you aren’t getting the complete amount of protein and other goodness that a full serving delivers.

Yves’ other meatless deli slices include turkey, ham, bologna, pepperoni, roast beef and smoked chicken. One of my favorites is their pepperoni, which is perfect for sandwiches or vegan/vegetarian pizzas.

When compared to their meaty counterparts, most of Yves products actually have more protein while having less fat and no cholesterol. This makes Yves products great sources of protein that aren’t weighed down with all the stuff that’s bad for us. So, whether you are vegan or vegetarian, or just want to eat a little healthier, I highly recommend trying Yves Meatless Deli Salami and their other great meatless products.

Yves Meatless Deli Salami: Serving Suggestions

1. Cut slices into bite-sized chunks and place in a salad for added protein.
2. Wrap slices around vegan cheese and secure with a toothpick for a fun appetizer.
3. Serve in a sandwich with vegan mayonnaise, mustard, tomato and spinach.
4. Serve in a wrap using a tortilla or flatbread.

This is one of many articles I wrote for a now defunct website. I will be working on adding any of the relevant articles (vegan, vegetarian, organic, green living, etc.) to the blog, so this is the first one to make its way over here.

Here you go...


Yves produces a number of meatless products that are high in soy protein and nutrition, and low in fat. So, the question is, do they taste as good as they look?

In pursuit of the best meat-free additions to a natural, healthy diet, I have tried pretty much all of the meat substitutes on the market – with very mixed results. When I came across Yves Meatless Deli Slices in a variety of flavors, I didn’t know if I had found another lackluster product or had finally found something that my family and clients would love - so, of course, I had to give them a try.
                           
Yves Meatless Deli Turkey: Nutrition Information

The serving size on the package is four slices, which contains 100 calories, 16 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fat. Also important to note,  there is no trans fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol.

Those of us who are vegan and vegetarian know all to well what a challenge it can be to get enough of certain vitamins and minerals in our diets each day – particularly the B vitamins and iron. If this is a challenge for you, you will be happy to hear that Yves® Meatless Deli Turkey offers 20% of the daily recommended value of iron, 20% of thiamin, 10% of riboflavin, 30% of niacin, 15% of vitamin B6, 20% of vitamin B12 and 20% of zinc per serving – plus 2% of calcium, 15% of vitamin C, and 4% of magnesium.

It has more vitamin C and niacin per serving than their Meatless Deli Salami or Meatless Deli Bologna, and has less fat than the bologna (the salami has 0 grams of fat). The turkey does have more calories than either the salami or bologna, but it also offers one more gram of protein than the salami and two more grams than the bologna.

Yves Meatless Deli Turkey: Taste and Texture

While Yves Meatless Deli Salami is still the most flavorful of their products that I have tried so far; their Meatless Deli Turkey also has a good flavor and works well as a substitute for animal-derived turkey. And, considering that salami has more spices and is meant to have a stronger flavor, one would not expect the same amount of spice from meatless turkey.  The flavor and texture are great and are appropriate for a turkey substitute, but if you like a bit more kick, go for the Meatless Deli Salami instead.

Yves Meatless Deli Turkey: Overall and Other Yves Products

There are ten slices in each package, and the slices are thick and hearty for use on sandwiches or in salads. My favorite way to enjoy Yves Meatless Deli Turkey is in a wrap with Dijon mustard, cranberry sauce and spinach.

Yves’ other meatless deli slices include salami, ham, bologna, pepperoni, roast beef and smoked chicken. My favorites are the salami and the pepperoni. The pepperoni is perfect for sandwiches or vegan/vegetarian pizzas and I can often be found sneaking a slice of salami in the middle of the night and devouring it.

Some meatless turkey lovers may prefer Tofurkey slices, particularly because they come in a variety of flavors (peppered, smoked, etc.) and are sliced very thin like higher-end deli meat, but Yves Meatless Deli Turkey slices are also a solid, tasty protein source for a plant-based diet.

When compared to their meaty counterparts, most of Yves products actually have more protein while having less fat and no cholesterol. This makes Yves products great sources of protein that aren’t weighed down with all the stuff that’s bad for us. So, whether you are vegan or vegetarian, or just want to eat a little healthier, you might want to try their Meatless Deli Turkey and their other meatless products.

Yves Meatless Deli Turkey Serving Suggestions

1. Cut slices into bite-sized chunks and place in a salad for added protein.
2. Wrap slices around vegan cheese and secure with a toothpick for a fun appetizer.
3. Serve in a sandwich with vegan mayonnaise, mustard, tomato and spinach.
4. Serve in a wrap using a tortilla or flatbread.
5. Serve in a wrap with Dijon mustard, cranberry sauce and spinach.

In case you have never heard of Canaan Foods (I hadn't), they are a company headquartered in Florida providing organic, vegan and vegetarian foods made in Spain to stores and consumers in North America. They specialize in peanut-based products that are gluten free, dairy free, egg free and kosher.

Their products include Veggie Rolls, Vegan Pates and Veggie Cutlets. They sent me several products to test out and provide feedback on, so we're going to get started with their Veggie Rolls for this product review.

Since we are in the middle of remodeling our house, and my kitchen currently looks like this...

...I'm going to hold off on the product reviews for the pates and cutlets until I can actually cook real meals and try them in some of the recommended recipes.

So let's talk Veggie Rolls...

Let's start with some of the things that make these veggie rolls a little bit of vegan goodness:

• USDA-Certified Organic
• Kosher-PARVE
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Soy Free
• No Trans Fat
• No Artificial Flavors
• No Preservatives
• Vegan
• No Added Sugar (except the Organic Mediterranean Veggie Roll, which has glucose syrup)
• 15-Month Shelf Life
• Ready to Eat
• Good Source of Niacin (10-15% of RDA)

Pretty awesome, right?

That's why I was so excited to give these a try when the company sent me one of each of their veggie rolls to test out and provide feedback.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, V and I tend to spend a lot of time on the road, and it can be difficult to find decent vegan food in a pinch when we are in unfamiliar territory. So I was particularly interested in the part about these veggie rolls having a 15-month shelf life and that they don't require refrigeration until they have been opened. Perfect vegan road trip food, right?

Plus, we are currently residing above my parent's garage in a game room that has a sink, microwave and fridge -- but no stove and such -- so foods that don't require cooking are a big bonus until I can get my kitchen back.

The veggie rolls come in four flavors: Fine Herbs, Tomato, Mushroom and Mediterranean.

When they first arrived, I held one of these tube-like packages in my hand and, having never encountered a vegan food product quite like this, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. Thankfully, they had included a few recipe cards in the package, so I quickly figured out that it was a ready-to-eat product that could be added to all sorts of dishes, including sandwiches, salads, pastas, soups and other veggie dishes.

I started out with the Mushroom Veggie Roll, which has a bit of a peanut-y taste. I have to say -- I didn't love this one because of the peanut-y flavor and was a bit concerned that peanut-based products might not be for me.

However, I'm always searching for good protein sources that are gluten free and soy free, so I was motivated to continue the veggie roll experiment. The mushroom roll was certainly edible, it just wasn't my fave, but throwing it on a cracker with some mustard made it an easy, convenient snack that I could quickly put together during breaks between writing articles.

Next up was the Fine Herbs Veggie Roll, which renewed my faith in the possibility of regularly including peanut-based protein sources in my diet. This one has a light flavor that would make it a good choice for recipes in which you want to add some protein without significantly changing the flavor of the overall dish. They have a recipe for Fine Herbs Veggie Roll Lentil Soup on their site, which I'm excited to try once I get my hands on some more of this.

Moving on to the Tomato Veggie Roll -- which I found particularly appealing due to its super-short ingredient list -- I was pretty excited about adding seven grams of protein and 390mg of potassium to my simple crackers-and-vegan-cheese lunch I had planned on one of my busier days.

I also tried this one on whole wheat bread with hummus and Daiya's havarti-style cheese, which was quite delish.

The final flavor, the Mediterranean Veggie Roll, is slightly less healthy than the others (in my opinion), since it has sunflower oil and glucose syrup, but it still comes in at just two grams of sugar and a comparable amount of fat to the other flavors. I can't decide which is my fave between the Mediterranean and the tomato, but I think most folks will find one of these flavors the most appealing. This one was particularly good with Follow Your Heart Cream Cheese or hummus on a bagel, but I can definitely see using this in a salad or pasta dish. I need my darn kitchen back! 

So, here's the bottom line...

I didn't love the mushroom roll, but I would definitely buy the Mediterranean, tomato or fine herbs rolls to have on hand in the pantry. These veggie rolls are perfect for whipping up quick meals with a bit of added protein, fiber and other nutrients, and I particularly like that they are gluten free and soy free.

At the time of this writing, these rolls were available for $6.50 at www.toeatwell.com, which I think is a good price for an organic food product with this type of versatility.

In my opinion, one of the strongest selling points for these veggie rolls is that they are an organic, healthier option that doesn't require refrigeration until they are opened and has an awesome shelf life. This makes them so convenient for road trips, college dorm rooms, backpacking, camping, stashing in a drawer at work or throwing together a quick picnic.

For folks who don't love to cook but try to keep healthier foods on hand, these veggie rolls are perfect for just chopping up to add to a salad or an easy pasta dish.

I definitely recommend going to the Canaan Foods website to check out their recipe page for ideas on how to use their veggie rolls in all sorts of dishes.

You can purchase these veggie rolls at the Canaan Foods website (www.toeatwell.com), Vegan Essentials, Pangea and Amazon.com.

Keep an eye out for product reviews of more Canaan Foods vegan foods once we get moved in and I can get back to some good, old-fashioned vegan cooking!

In the meantime, you can read more vegan product reviews here.

The folks at Tone It Up™ contacted me a few months ago to see if I might want to try out one of their relatively new products, Perfect Fit. As a vegan who is always watching my weight and looking for organic, soy-free protein options, I jumped at the chance to try out this organic rice protein powder.

After I received five packets of the protein mix in the mail, my partner, V, spotted them on the kitchen counter and asked if she could take one to work with her. So I divided them up between us, and you are now getting the opinions of two reviewers instead of just one. Yay!

This is particularly cool for this Perfect Fit product review, because we are complete opposites when it comes to diet, activity and fitness level. V is a meat-eating Marine who works out twice a day and stays very active, since – well, she is a Marine and all. I’m a vegan who spends most of my day in front of a computer screen and gives V dirty looks when she suggests that we go hike up a hill or something. One thing we do have in common is watching our weight, since she has to stay within USMC weight standards, and I have always been a big girl with the metabolism of a hibernating bear.

Plus, she usually isn’t all that interested in trying out the raw, organic or vegan goodies that show up in our kitchen, so I was excited that she actually wanted to try something. Of course, she loves her protein shakes, so I probably should have known that these packets might disappear into her backpack if I hadn’t willingly given up a couple of them.

Okay, let’s start with a list of some of the stuff that makes Perfect Fit a little bit of raw, organic, vegan awesomeness:

Now, if that isn’t enough to have you heading online to get your hands on these vegan protein packs, we will get right down to what V and I thought of it after trying it a couple of different ways.

Let’s begin with the not-so-good start I had with my first trial, and then we will move on to the awesomeness.

I do a potassium-packed smoothie every day as part of my efforts to naturally manage that pesky neuro disorder I have mentioned before. So I thought I would just throw half a packet of Perfect Fit in the blender with my daily smoothie. Now, this protein powder is vanilla flavored, and on this particular day I also threw some blueberries in that blender. Not a great idea. But this is not the fault of the protein mix; I should have known that blueberries and vanilla in a smoothie do not necessarily complement each other well. It was drinkable, and it wasn’t all that bad, but blueberries were a bad idea – at least for my palate. I would like to add that I think this just goes for smoothies – I bet it is great in blueberry pancakes or muffins!

If I had just kept it to my usual potassium-rich ingredients (like bananas and strawberries) it would have been great. I did just that the next day, and I ended up with a creamy, dreamy, shake-like bit of goodness.

After that, I tried it with unflavored coconut milk and with unsweetened vanilla almond milk – both of these experiments were tasty successes. I highly recommend trying it like this after you pick some up.

It’s super simple; just throw this stuff in the blender:

1 ½  cups coconut or almond milk

½ to 1 Perfect Fit packet (I used ½ a packet)

½ cup ice (optional – do this is you want more of a shake consistency)

You can also get creative by adding a bit of raw cacao powder, cinnamon or nutmeg – yum!

I divided mine into separate glasses to be able to try it with each of these additions, and I loved them all.

I also highly recommend mixing it with coconut water, which was delicious and is more nutritious than using water.

Once I get my hands on some more packets, I’m also going to try making a smoothie with vanilla-flavored So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be quite divine. We ran out before I could try it in any baked goods, so I will also have to report back on how that goes once I order some more and get back to the lab/kitchen.

Oh – I almost forgot to mention…I’m in the process of trying to switch from coffee to maca root powder. I’m thinking that a maca-Perfect Fit shake will be a nice afternoon treat that will hit the spot on these hot days we have around here. I will report back on this one as well.

Okay, now that we know the not-so-active vegan (me) thinks Perfect Fit is an awesome between-meal, protein-packed snack, let’s move on to V’s review.

In short: She loves it.

Aside from the fact that she is fit, very active and not vegan, there is one more thing you should know about V that is relevant to this product review: She has a sweet tooth.

This is important to note because she usually finds vanilla-flavored protein powders a bit boring and bland. And – believe me – this girl who always has her shaker bottle close at hand has tried quite a few protein shakes.

Since she is on the go and generally does not have a blender handy throughout the day, she drank her Perfect Fit packets mixed with 12 ounces of water shaken in a regular water bottle. She reported back that she found this rice protein powder to be a satisfying treat that “tasted like a milkshake.” She also noted that the single-serve packets were super handy to keep on hand, which makes sense, since she can just toss one in her pack or tuck one in the cargo pocket on her cammies.

So, there you have it: We dig Perfect Fit rice protein powder!

All right, this Perfect Fit product review is getting awfully long, so let me just throw in some additional information that might be of interest to you, and then I will let you rest your eyes after all this reading.

Where to Buy Perfect Fit

You can buy single-serving packets or a 50-serving bag (the cheaper option) at PerfectFitProtein.com, or you can get the single-serving packets at Amazon.

You can also find some yummy recipes on the Tone It Up™ recipe page.

If you are interested in getting fit, I also recommend signing up for the Tone It Up™ email newsletter. By doing so, you will receive a welcome pack with a full-body toning routine and recipes, as well as weekly printable workouts, workout tips and other health-promoting goodness.


For our friends at the FTC – I received five packets of this product so that I could try it out and write this review. I did not receive further compensation from Tone It Up™ for this post.  

Elsie at Canaan Foods recently contacted me to see if I would like to review a few of their products and let y'all know what I think.

I'm always excited to try new vegan and organic products, and to pass on my thoughts to the awesome, plant-strong folks who stop by CVC for product reviews and cooking tips!

So, of course, I said yes!

I just received the package, and I couldn't believe all the vegan goodies I found inside!

Veggie rolls in four flavors, vegan pate in five flavors and some rather tasty-looking vegan cutlets!

Since I have quite a few products to try, my plan is to try each thing in a couple of different ways before I review them.

So keep an eye out for multiple vegan product reviews coming your way very soon!

In the meantime, have any of you tried any of these before? If so, I'd love to know what you think of them or if you have any suggestions on how I should cook/try them before posting the reviews.

When CORE Foods sent me an email asking if I would like to review their vegan meal bars, I jumped at the chance to try them out. I always have some type of veg snack in my purse as a backup, since – as most veg folks have likely experienced – we often find ourselves in situations where vegan food isn’t readily available.

Between my work, V’s work, attending events, vacations and most of the 11 nieces and nephews we have between us living up in the Bay Area, we tend to go on a lot of road trips. While finding healthy, veg meals on the road isn’t impossible, it can sometimes be a challenge. And once we get to the birthday party, graduation or some all-day event, vegan options are often scarce or nonexistent, which is why I always keep a snack bar or two on hand in case of hunger emergencies.

Even at home, I often find it a bit of a challenge to find the time to prepare healthy meals when I’m up against article deadlines or have lots of errands to run, so I’m always interested in finding healthier options for the snack foods I keep on hand to grab in between client calls or while on the go.

So I was pretty excited to have the chance to try raw, organic, gluten-free, vegan bars and let y’all know what I think of them.

Now let’s talk CORE bars!

This company focuses on two primary products: Defender Meals and Warrior Meals. The Warrior Meal bars are not suitable for vegans, so I didn’t try those and won’t be reviewing them here.

CORE offers three flavors in their vegan Defender bars: raw almond raisin, raw walnut banana and raw cashew cacao. All of the ingredients in these raw bars are organic, and the bars are certified gluten free. One of the things I immediately dug about these bars is their short ingredients lists – two of the bars have six all-natural ingredients, and one of them has just five.

So let’s have a quick look at those ingredients…

Raw Cashew Cacao: (all organic) Whole oats, cashews, cacao, raisins, flax, ground spices

Raw Walnut Banana: (all organic) Whole oats, walnuts, banana, raisins, flax, ground spices

Raw Almond Raisin: (all organic) Whole oats, almonds, raisins, flax, ground spices

The packaging recommends that you eat one bar with plenty of water and that this is equivalent to a full bowl of oatmeal. Since the main ingredient in any of the flavors is whole oats, and these bars are a bit bigger than most raw or vegan bars I’ve tried, it makes sense that a bowl of oatmeal is a good comparison.

These bars are marketed as a “full meal to go,” and with a calorie count ranging from 350 to 400, 10 to 11 grams of protein, and between 19 and 24 grams of fat, it’s easy to see how these handy, easily transportable bars could be a great way to refuel when you don’t have the opportunity to sit down for a full meal.

I mean, you wouldn’t want to replace all of your meals with these, since a varied diet that meets your energy needs is important, but I seriously doubt CORE wants you to forgo all other food in favor of their bars. In fact, they have all sorts of info on their site about healthy eating, including recipes and a raw shopping list.

So now that we have that settled, let’s move on to what I think about these bars.

Let’s start with what I loved about them right away…

100% Raw
100% Organic
100% Vegan
Certified Gluten Free
Additive Free
Oil Free
No Added Sugar or Sweeteners
Not-for-Profit Company

Sounds pretty good so far – right?

You know what else I like about them? They go bad. I know that it might sound funny that I like the fact that they don’t have an extended shelf life, but real food goes bad – and I like real food.

These bars last six months when frozen, two months when kept in the fridge and one week when on the go. I love that.

This means I can stock up in my freezer, move them to the fridge as needed and not have to worry about refrigeration when I head out on a week-long road trip and want to bring some wholesome goodness with me.

Moving on to taste…

I decided to eat one meal bar per day for breakfast over a three-day period before writing this CORE Defender Meal Bar product review. As a chocolate fan, I was pretty sure I would like the raw cashew cacao best, so I saved that one for last.

My first Defender meal was the raw almond raisin. For lack of a better comparison, I’m going to say this one tasted a bit like fruitcake. Hold on, though! I don’t mean the rock-hard fruitcake that has little flavor and is pretty much a holiday joke. I mean the good, homemade fruitcake that our grandmothers made when we were little– just vegan and not as sweet.

My next raw meal bar was the raw walnut banana. Holy banana bread goodness! With a delish blend of sweetness and spices, this one was like eating dessert for breakfast, but way healthier. Upon my first bite, it immediately reminded me of homemade banana bread, and I am pretty sure I even swooned a little in my office chair. While I liked the raw almond raisin just fine, I loved this one.

Next up was the raw cashew cacao, which I was sure was a shoo-in as my fave. I did like it okay, but it had a little bit of an odd aftertaste, and it wasn’t what I expected. This one was actually my least favorite, which may partly be due to my high expectations. I would say try this one, because your taste buds might be different than mine, but I think I will likely only buy this one when the raw walnut banana bars are sold out.

I highly recommend trying the banana-walnut option – so good!

These bars do not have added sweeteners like many of the veg bars out there, so they are not as sweet as you might be expecting. If you are used to eating healthy, raw foods that are naturally sweetened, these bars should reach your desired level of sweetness just fine. If you are more accustomed to eating more processed snack bars with added sugar, you might wish they were a little sweeter. If this is the case, I would recommend going with the walnut banana or almond raisin, since these have a sweeter taste.

What about the company?

CORE Foods is a not-for-profit company dedicated to providing whole, real food while also making the planet a better place. You can see their carbon offset certificates, company reports and other transparent goodness on their site.

The company’s founder, Corey Rennell, lived with 12 tribes around the world to learn more about healthy, whole, simple nutrition and has trained with top athletes. He brought this experience, as well as a dedication to community values, to the table when establishing this brand. The CORE Foods team is filled with people who have dedicated their lives to helping the environment, making pure foods accessible, promoting sustainable eating and expanding the community’s knowledge about sound nutrition.

How to Get Your Own CORE Meal Replacement Goodness

You can purchase these raw, vegan meal replacement bars at Whole Foods Market or online at the CORE foods website. You can also check out their store locator to see if other retailers near you sell them.

Each bar (at the time of this post) is $3.99. Now I know that is more than you are used to paying for bars you grab to eat on the go; however, keep in mind that these are not your typical snack bars. These bars are meant to replace a meal, and finding a healthy, gluten-free, raw, organic, veg meal on the go for four bucks isn’t such a bad deal.

If you plan on purchasing them at Whole Foods, don't forget to print out this money-saving coupon for 10% off one CORE meal bar!

If purchasing them online, I would suggest that you head over to Facebook first. Like the CORE Foods page to get a coupon code for $5.00 off, plus you can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a free case (a $40 value)!

If you give these organic meal bars a try, let us know what you think of them in the comments below.

For our friends at the FTC: CORE Foods contacted me and provided me with three of their bars for the purpose of this vegan product review. I did not receive compensation for this post, and receiving these samples did not influence my CORE Defender Meal Bar review.

I recently decided that my lofty goal of drinking at least one organic green smoothie packed with fresh leafy greens and other wholesome goodness each day just isn't going to happen. I'm a busy girl with tight deadlines and a tighter budget, which means I needed to find a way to sneak in some greens on those days when I can't get away to my favorite roadside produce stand or when I feel the need to stretch my grocery budget.

When I started flirting with the idea of relying on a superfood powder to get at least some of my greens, I felt like I was cheating on my health and betraying my body. But I decided that getting in some greens any way I could was better than going a day without them, so I did a little research to convince myself that this was a healthful choice.

At the same time, I was looking to add a probiotic supplement and maca root powder to my daily routine, so I headed over to my fave discount supplement and health food site to see what they had. That is where I discovered Greens Today Vegan Formula Superfood Powder by Nature's Answer.

Some of the features that initially drew me to this particular powder supplement was that it includes both maca root and a probiotic blend, it is significantly more affordable than some of the other vegan options and it is packed with a bunch of other good-for-you awesomeness.

Here is what the powder looks like...

I mentioned this product in a previous post, but I wanted to use it a bit longer before I did a full review. Now that I've used it for about a month, and have tried it in several different concoctions, I can fill you in on whether or not I think it was a good purchase -- and worth the money.

So let's start with some of the goodness you will find in this superfood powder supplement...

As I mentioned above, it has a probiotic blend and maca root. It also have a 1,000mg fiber blend, a 250mg antioxidant blend, digestive enzymes and an immune-enhancing blend with CoQ10. The 4,000mg superfood blend includes organic spirulina, broccoli, organic alfalfa, organic barley grass, organic wheat grass, chlorella, organic spinach and kelp.

I posted a couple of pics below to show the supplement facts, but I will list some of them here in case it's hard to read:

Vitamin A - 100%
Vitamin C - 417%
Calcium - 50%
Iron - 25%
Vitamin D2 - 250%
Vitamin E - 780%
Vitamin B1 - 200%
Vitamin B2 - 118%
Niacin - 100%
Vitamin B6 - 250%
Folic Acid - 110%
Vitamin B12 - 500%
Biotin - 100%
Iodine - 100%
Manganese - 100%

There's even more goodness inside, but that gives you a pretty good idea of how this greens powder can be used as a dietary supplement that can be particularly beneficial to folks on a plant-based diet.

Here are pics of the back of the container with the supplement information...

Before doing a Greens Today Vegan Formula review, I wanted to make sure I tried it a few different ways so that I could also make some suggestions on how best to drink it.

The directions on the package say to mix one scoop (for adults) or 1/2 scoop (for kids) with eight to 12 ounces of water, juice or plant milk. You can go right ahead and do this, if you'd like, but be prepared for a very green-tasting drink that might take a few tries to get used to. I started out mixing it with water and just told myself that it wasn't supposed to taste good -- it was just supposed to be good for me -- but I pretty quickly decided that adding more greens to my diet in this way would be a lot easier if I actually enjoyed drinking them.

If you are going to mix it with juice, I recommend trying pineapple juice. While the powder smells like alfalfa (and kind of tastes like it), blending it with pineapple juice makes the taste far more pleasant.

However, if you really want to make this a lasting addition to your daily routine, I recommend going the smoothie route.

I first tried adding Greens Today in a smoothie with coconut water, banana and blueberries. It came out all right and was drinkable, but it still wasn't something I actually looked forward to drinking.

I experimented a bit with different frozen fruits -- resulting in various levels of drinkability -- and then came upon what I consider the perfect, nutrient-packed green smoothie recipe for thoroughly enjoying this easy way to add more greens to your diet.

Actually, I have two favorites.

Here is the first one:

Potassium-Rich Smoothie with Greens Powder

11 ounces of coconut water (I use single-serving packs from the dollar store.)

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen strawberries (from the dollar store)

3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks (from the dollar store)

1 scoop of Greens Today Vegan Formula Superfood Powder

I sometimes also add two teaspoons of chia seeds and about one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds.

This vegan smoothie recipe is super easy to throw together and tastes great! The blend of pineapple chunks and the greens powder creates a cool, refreshing, delish flavor that I look forward to -- particularly now that the weather is heating up around here.

Here's the other healthy smoothie recipe I use for my superfood powder supplement...

Banana-Pineapple-Greens Smoothie Recipe

11 ounces of coconut water

1 banana

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1 scoop of Greens Today Vegan Formula Superfood Powder

Again, this makes a really refreshing smoothie that I love to sip on while I work.

I pretty much always use coconut water as the liquid base for my smoothies, since my particular health situation calls for an emphasis on getting enough potassium, but you can also use water or juice.

Nature's Answer says this vegan greens supplement is "designed to provide a health promoting, energizing, cleansing, immune enhancing, alkaline promoting, complete daily nutritional supplement."

While I haven't been using it long enough to really comment on whether or not I think it has given a boost to my immune system, I definitely would report more energy and agree that it seems to have a cleansing effect. This, of course, makes sense, since it has a fiber blend, probiotic blend and all sorts of detox-supporting nutrients.

As for its immune-boosting abilities, what I can say is that I have mild rosacea that seems to have improved since I've been taking this supplement. I can't really say that it is because this is enhancing immune system function, but it might be. Or, since we don't really know what causes rosacea, it could also be that it promotes alkalinity. Either way, it seems to have had an effect.

I haven't stopped taking my other daily vegan supplements yet (including calcium, magnesium, turmeric, omega-3 DHA and a multi-vitamin), but it does feel like I could cut back on some of them now that I use this vegan greens powder daily. My reason for continuing the others is that I'm still in the process of learning how to best manage that pesky neuro disorder I have, but I think someone in good health following a plant-based diet could successfully use this as a fresher, healthier option for the vitamins and minerals included.

Speaking of fresher -- I really like the fact that Greens Today has to be refrigerated after opening and that the company says to discard it after 90 days. That helped to alleviate some of my initial reservations about using a powdered greens supplement on days I can't easily include more fresh greens in my meal prep.

You may be able to find this product locally using the  store locator on the Nature's Answer website, but I tried their store locator and couldn't find it my area.

You can purchase an 18-ounce container of Greens Today Vegan Formula Superfood Powder on the company website for $42.00 (at the time of this writing), but you can get it way cheaper at Vitacost.

That is where I buy mine for just $24.49 (a 42% savings), plus I get free shipping, since I order it along with other supplements, organic hair and beauty products, and vegan foods, and Vitacost offers free shipping on orders that total more than $49.00.

You can go to www.vitacost.com to sign up for a free membership, but you can also get a $10.00 credit from Vitacost to use on your first order if you sign up for that free membership using an invitation link from a current member.

So...here's your invitation link -- you are going to love all the organic, natural and vegan awesomeness they offer at discount prices!

I have more reviews coming (next up are raw, vegan bars and an organic brown rice protein powder), so check back soon!

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Here is a big list of links to 20 vegan product reviews I wrote for a site that now belongs to Yahoo!. I don't own the rights to these reviews of vegan products that I wrote for them back in 2008, which is why I am giving you links to them instead of just posting them here.

The list includes reviews for some tasty vegan junk food, Meatless Monday options and a couple of vegan pantry products that might be of interest to folks.

Big List of 20 Vegan Product Reviews:

Amy's Vegan Shepherd's Pie: Vegan Product Information and Review

Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks: Vegan, Gluten-Free Product Information and Review

Amy's Spinach Rice Crust Pizza: Vegan, Gluten-Free Product Information and Review

Amy's Non-Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie: Vegan Product Information and Review

Road's End Organics Cheddar Style Shells & Chreese: Product Information and Review

Tofurky Italian Sausage: Vegan Product Information, Review and Cooking Tips

Lightlife Smart Bacon: Vegan Product Information and Review

Product Review: Lightlife Smart Dogs Veggie Protein Links

Gardenburger Garden Vegan Veggie Patties Product Review

Gardenburger BBQ Riblets Product Review: Vegan Riblets that Are High in Protein, Fiber and Flavor!

Product Review: Nasoya Original Vegi-Based Sandwich Spread by Vitasoy

Vegan Product Review: Soyrizo

Vegan Product Review: Boca Ground Crumbles

Product Review: Sunshine Burgers - Vegan, Organic, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free Veggie Burgers

Product Review: Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread

Vegan Product Review: Yves® Meatless Deli Turkey

Vegan Product Review: Yves® Meatless Pepperoni

Vegan Product Review: Yves® Meatless Deli Bologna

Vegan Product Review: Yves® Meatless Deli Salami

Tofu Scrambler: Product Review and Cooking Tips