Happy Saturday my dears! Hope you are all enjoying your weekends and that you’re enjoying this week’s Healthy Vegan Friday!
I am very late with this post. The lovely people at Navitas Naturals sent me some products to review and I have to admit I was stumped by one of the products. Thus the lateness and the procrastination with this review. However on Thursday I was struck with inspiration so here we are!
I’m sure most of you are fairly familiar with this company. I know I was and I was already in love with their maca powder. So when I was contacted to test some more out I was ecstatic! I think what I really love about the company the most is their philosophy. Here’s a little blurb from their website:
Our food philosophy is simple: Nutrient rich whole foods are best produced using organic agricultural methods with minimal processing. Focusing on both food safety and nutrition, we handle our premium superfoods with care. This includes third party testing for all our products. Our facility is Organic, Kosher and GMP/HACCP Certified. In addition, we utilize methods such as freeze-drying and low temperature processing to ensure maximum nutrition and safety.
They offer an extremely wide range of high quality superfoods and they just launched a new line of snacks and trail mixes. I love that this company makes superfoods accessible and you know you are getting quality products from them. Plus the people over there are simply lovely to talk to and will answer any questions about their products you might have. Not sure how to use an ingredient? They have you covered there too! Their website has many fabulous recipes to get you started.
Now onto the products and a couple recipes for you all!
The first product I tried was the Blueberry Hemp Super Food Power Snack
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These little bites made great snacks for on-the-go superfood munching. They are packed with fibre, healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin C thanks to superfood ingredients: date paste, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, dried blueberries, sesame seeds, hemp powder, maca powder, lucuma powder, maqui powder, natural blueberry flavor and camu camu powder. They are also gluten-free and refined sugar-free sweetened only with dates, dried blueberries and various superfood powders.
And how do they taste? They aren’t super sweet and they had a slightly bitter finish which I expect came from the hemp seeds and powder, but I still really enjoyed them, especially since I knew I wasn’t taking in loads of sugar while still enjoying something sweet!
If you are interested in learning more about these awesome ingredients definitely check out their website!
The next product I tried was the Maqui Powder.
Maqui berries are native to Patagonia and are extremely high in antioxidants, vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium.
The taste of the maqui powder isn’t quite as sweet as you’d expect but it blends really well into smoothies! I loved the flavour it added and love how just 2 teaspoons completely makes for an antioxidant packed drink! Here’s the recipe I concocted and trust me, it’s delicious!
Maqui Berry Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Raw)
Ingredients (1 smoothie)
- 1 banana, sliced and frozen
- 2/3 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup coconut water, or regular water
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tsp maqui powder
- 1/2 scoop raw protein powder (optional)
- 2 large handfuls of spinach (optional)
Instructions
Pop all ingredients into a blender and blend. Sip and enjoy!
Next up were the lovely Cacao Powder and Cacao Sweet Nibs. Both raw, these are fantastic for creating raw chocolate treats. The nibs are sweetened with organic can juice, making them much less bitter than their normal cacao nib counterparts. They taste a lot more like dark chocolate. While I have tried this company’s regular cacao nibs before, these sweet ones were a nice change and were lovely sprinkled on cereals, yogurt, smoothies or just eaten straight from the bag. The Cacao Powder itself was fantastic. I used it to make many recipes including my Raw Vegan Chocolate (see variation below!), Omega-3 and Fiber-Rich Chocolate Milkshake and most notably my Raw Chocolate-Coated Key Lime Pie! See the Sweet Cacao nibs sprinkled on top?
Finally, it was the stumper ingredient. The Golden Berries.
Golden Berries are extremely high in flavonoids and bioflavonoids, and unlike most fruits they contain a high amount of protein and phosphorus.
These were actually a big surprise to me. I had always wanted to try them despite knowing very little about them. So when I reached into the bag an popped a couple into my mouth I was surprised by the tartness! They aren’t super sweet and I didn’t immediately love them as I was expecting. As a result, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to incorporate them all into a recipe for you. I tried them in a smoothie, and while delicious, it masked the flavour of the berries themselves. In case you’re curious though, soak some of the dried berries so they are soft and blend up with banana, orange juice, and even some mango for a delicious drink.
Over time, their tartness actually grew on me! I started eating them straight from the bag and knew I could finally create a recipe that would showcase their flavour while still being delicious. I used raisins to help sweeten them up, without taking away from their unique flavour. These Superfood Chocolate Cups aren’t too sweet, but are rich, chocolatey and tart. Packed with vitamin C and antioxidants you can feel really good about eating them!
I also used the Cacao Powder in these and, of course, it worked wonderfully!
Please excuse the terribly chipped nail polish!
Superfood Chocolate Cups (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Raw)
Ingredients (8 cups)
Chocolate
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2/3 cup cacao powder
- 1 tbsp mesquite powder
- 6 drops chocolate stevia, or to taste
- OR use any variation of Raw Vegan Chocolate you'd like!
Filling
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp golden berries
- 3 tbsp raisins
- water to soak
- 16 raw cashew halves
Instructions
Soak the golden berries and raisins in water for about 1 hour, until softened.
Make the chocolate by melting the coconut oil over low heat, then stirring in the cacao powder, mesquite powder and stevia. Using a whisk works well! Spoon 1/3-1/2 of this melted chocolate into the bottom of 8 muffin liners. You want to make sure the entire bottom of the cups are coated as well as moving some of the chocolate up the sides. See this post for more details. Move to the fridge to harden and set aside the rest of the chocolate for later.
Drain the golden berries and raisins, reserving the soaking water. Pulse the soaked golden berries, raisins and 2 tbsp of the soaking water in a food processor until a paste forms. Spoon about 1 tsp of this mixture into each of the cups. Then press 2 cashew halves into each cup on top of the golden berry paste. You want to try and flatten the centers as much as possible so it's easier to coat the tops in chocolate.
Take the chocolate you set aside before and spoon it on top of the golden berry mixture and cashews. You want to make sure each top is completely covered, making sure you get right to the edges. Otherwise when it hardens there will be gaps in the chocolate.
Put them back in the fridge for about 30 minutes to harden. Wen done, remove from the wrappers and munch!
These get melty, so be sure to store in the fridge until right before you eat them.
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Overall I obviously loved the products and would definitely recommend them.
Hope you all have lovely weekends! I start my new job today and have lots of other adventures planned including a trip to a raw restaurant with a fellow Torontonian blogger and meeting up with an old friend. Can’t wait!
I love all your recipes! I will be checking back here often :)
Wow thank you! I love your blog as well!
I LOVE Navitas Naturals – they are such a great company :)
The Sweetened Cacao Nibs are addicting – in a good way of course!
Yes aren’t they? Such great, high-quality products!
I know, I love when an addiction is actually good for you ;)
Oh my goodness gracious…. so many yummy things in this post!
Man I would love to try some of these products – I HAVE actually seen the cacao powder on this side of the world, but none of the others.
Golden Berries kinda grow on you over time I reckon – I wasn’t a fan initially either but I kinda dig them now,
I’ll have to keep an eye out for Maqui powder – sounds interesting… is it similar to acai?
Haha thanks Lou! In the last few years I’ve seen a few more of their products pop up over here whereas a couple years ago I could only find the cacao as well, so maybe it’s just a matter of time for you!
It is quite similar to acai actually! I would pair it with the same flavours!
I’m a pretty big fan of Nativas Naturals, but I’ve never heard of Maqui Powder. I’ll have to be on the lookout!
I had the same reaction to golden berries that you did- at first I was put off by their tartness, but they grew on me, and now I love to sprinkle them in salads! Your Superfood Chocolate Cups sound like a great way to use them as well! :-)
Thanks so much Kristy! Definitely try the maqui powder if you see it, it’s a great way to add a boost to your smoothie!
It just goes to show, you should never right a food off after only trying it once :)
Oooh, I wouldn’t mind a big shipment of sweet cacao nibs! :P
You should have seen me when I got it- happy dancing galore!
Oooh what great products that you got to review! I’ve wanted to start to use cacao and cacao nibs but just haven’t picked it up yet. The smoothie sounds really great! I love that you have a ton of antioxidants and greens in it. That’s one nutritious drink! ;)
I have to admit the Superfood Chocolate Cups are calling my name right now! They sound amazing and look beautiful! I’m in a serious cooking slump right now I need to get back in the game and your post is definitely inspiring me to get back into that kitchen! I’ll have to check out these products for sure!
Hope you are having a great weekend!
Thanks Sarah! Well if you ever get the chance to get those products, definitely do! They are so versatile and are great for helping with chocolate cravings while still being healthy :)
Hope your cooking slump is over soon- I hate when I get in a funk like that, throws my whole game off I find. When I’m bored with food I get bored with everything else. Haha that just made me sound a little obsessed…
Have a great weekend too lady :)
I am currently working on a review for Navitas Naturals also. They contacted me and sent me an array of products to sample (I’ve been using their stuff for years and love them) and will be posting soon. Great review! I LOVE goldenberries! They are tart and sweet and dance in my mouth! I use maqui powder often in my superfood smoothies and sometimes add to my raw granola recipe for some pizzaaazz! Have a great weekend!
Awesome Kibby I can’t wait to see your review!
It was so fun getting to play around with new superfoods, especially since whenever I had to taste test, I knew what I was eating was super nutritious :)
Have a lovely weekend!
Thees look fantastic. I want them now. Yum. That is very cool you did a review for that company I am always looking for new products. Thank you.
No problem! Glad I could help! Its a great company and thier products are of an awesome quality!
I adore the chipped nail polish :) It is a look few can pull off! Have a great weekend Gabby! xx
Haha thanks Shira! I don’t get to paint my nails often because of work, so when I had a week off I just had to! Have a lovely weekend yourself!
Congrats on the review opportunity my friend :D
You did brilliantly!
Loving the recipes too!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru, you’re a gem :) If you ever happen upon these products, definitely try them!
Thanks for reading my mind this morning when I thought, “What am I going to do with all this raw cacao powder?” Sold! Oh and I have been wanting to try mulberries but I told myself I have to go through my goji berries first :)
Haha so glad I could help!
I’m so bad for that- I’ll buy a new ingredient before I finish one that’s similar to it. Must be why my pantry is overflowing ;)
Wow these look gorgeous. I can’t believe I’ve never made chocolate yet. I did make your chocolate and cherry granola again yesterday and I can’t get over how gorgeous it is.
I hope you enjoy your new job and it’s great to hear you’re meeting up with friends and keeping busy.
Thank you Katherine! Making chocolate is so fun because you can decide just how sweet it is! Plus making it raw ensures all those antioxidants are still present!