Living Intentions

Update Review, April 2021

As you know, I love snacks, I love popcorn, and I love trying different flavors, both sweet and savory, of popcorn.  I discovered Living Intensions several years ago when my catering team started using them for events, and I liked, but didn't love, most of what I tried.  That said, I do like the idea behind Living Intensions (superfood popcorn) and after a few years passed, it was time to try them again.

"We have taken popcorn to the next level!

It all started with us using popcorn at home as a vehicle to give superfoods to our children and quickly turned into an exciting product idea. Now available for our customers, our Activated Superfood Popcorn is bursting with amazing flavors, nutrient-dense superfoods and the power of live enzymes. Your favorite movie-time snack just entered a higher plane of consciousness!

What is Activated?

Activated is food at its highest potential. At Living Intentions, Activated is an outlook, a way of being, and a mantra for intentionally shifting life into higher gear. Whether it be sprouted with active enzymes, loaded with superfoods, or enhanced with prebiotics, our activated foods contain combinations of essential nutrients, giving your body what it needs!"

All the popcorn has some kind of superfood or some kind of activated element to them, and in addition, they aren't as smothered in sugar as some brands, making them actually a fairly healthy, lighter choice.  I still find most of them just "ok" at room temperature, but like most popcorn, I find I like it considerably more frozen. 

Salsa Verde, Tandoori Turmeric, Boomchickapop Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn.

For an event I hosted, I brought in the popcorn again.  The catering team provided two savory options that I'd had before: salsa verde and tandoori turmeric.  But are quite flavorful, and I find you need to be in the mood for them, if that makes sense.

Salsa Verde:

"Our Salsa Verde Superfood Popcorn combines our two favorite snacks. Every bite is bursting with fresh ground spices, aromatic herbs and zesty chilies. Plus, we have added the superfood goodness of spirulina, chlorella, kale and fermented black garlic to really take your snacking to a whole new level."

This one doesn't necessarily scream "salsa" but, its quote savory and kinda vegetable-y.  You can kinda taste the spinach, kale, garlic, onion, etc.  This isn't really a popcorn that I'd ever imagine sitting on the couch watching a movie and munching on, but, it would pair nicely with a burrito ...

It is an interesting popcorn, no question, but I won't really seek it out.

***.

Tandoori Turmeric:

"Our Tandoori Turmeric Superfood Popcorn may taste like your favorite dish out of New Delhi because every bite is bursting with freshly ground spices like coriander, cumin, and chilies. Plus, we have added the superfood goodness of turmeric and ashwagandha extracts, dulse and fermented black cumin to really take your snacking to a whole new level. "

The tandoori turmeric is similar to the salsa verde in that it doesn't seem like a casual, everyday popcorn.  Strong flavors, lots of veggies and herbs, spices.  

Again, not one I'd just randomly munch on, but I think it would go well with some indian food.  ***.

The sweet selection was from Angie's Boomchickapop, their totally delicious Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, which I've reviewed before.

Cheeze Please Activated MCT Popcorn.

"Our Cheeze Please MCT Popcorn is a dairy free cheezy blend of veggies, sprouted seeds, and savory spice. Smile, this is plant based!  MCT Oil is a unique extract of coconut oil, rich in MCTs and an excellent source of high energy fuel for your body and brain. MCTs absorb rapidly, so you don’t have to work so hard… whoo hoo!"

This is a vegan offering, so the "cheeze" flavor comes from nutritional yeast, the color mostly comes from carrot, bell pepper, and turmeric.

I hadn't ever had this one before, so I was excited to try a new (to me) flavor.  

I liked it considerably more than the previous flavors.  Sure, it was basically just a mainstream flavor, it did indeed taste cheesy.  Mild cheese flavor, no orange fingers, I liked it.   I would never guess it wasn't real cheese.

***+.

Original Review, July 2019

I'm addicted to snack foods, and popcorn in particular.  You know this, if you read this blog on Fridays.

I have no shame, and regularly go for the most decadent, least healthy versions of popcorn that there are.  But of course, I would prefer to find ways to enjoy my snack food of choice that are perhaps a bit better for me.

Which is where Living Intentions enters the picture.

"Our activated foods merge sprouted, plant based superfoods, with prebiotics and healing herbs to create foods with extra-ordinary nutritional benefits that give your body what it needs."  

Uh, yeah.  I wasn't so sure about this either.   But still, I learned more.

Living Intentions makes many product lines, all based on superfoods or sprouted foods: superfood popcorn, cereal, and nut blends.  Sprouted trail mix, nuts, seeds.

Popcorn

"It all started with us using popcorn at home as a vehicle to give superfoods to our children and quickly turned into an exciting product idea. Now available for our customers, our Activated Superfood Popcorn is bursting with amazing flavors, nutrient-dense superfoods and the power of live enzymes. Your favorite movie-time snack just entered a higher plane of consciousness!"

The product I wanted to try was the popcorn, as I'm a bit of a popcorn addict, and am always eager to try new brands.  And if they take a healthy slant on it, much, much better for me!

Savory

Living Intentions makes only two varieties of savory popcorn, both far more exciting than your standard plain, butter, or even cheesy popcorn.

Salsa Verde.

"Our Salsa Verde Superfood Popcorn may taste like it came from your abuela’s kitchen because every bite is bursting with fresh ground spices, aromatic herbs and zesty chilies. But it also contains the superfood goodness of spirulina, chlorella and kale."

I started with the stunning green salsa verde popcorn.  It sounded very healthy.

It was ... quite zesty.  Kinda Mexican-ish, as you'd imagine.  I tasted a cheesy quality, which I wasn't expecting, but I later saw nutritional yeast in the ingredients, which is surely where it came from.  It didn't actually taste too healthy, just, zesty and cheesy.

If the idea of a Mexican salsa style popcorn sounds good to you, try it.  It wasn't quite the thing I wanted though.

Tandoori Turmeric.

"Our Tandoori Turmeric Superfood Popcorn may taste like your favorite dish out of New Delhi because every bite is bursting with fresh spices like coriander, cumin and chilies. But it also contains the superfood goodness of turmeric and ashwagandha extract."

I moved on to the bright orange Tandori Turmeric, just to try it.  I knew it wasn't likely to be my spice blend of choice, and, well, it wasn't.  It was very flavored though, so if the thought of tandoori spices in your popcorn appeals, try it!

 Sweet

They also make two sweet offerings, and again, no basic kettle corn here.

Cinnamon Twist.

"Our Cinnamon Twist Superfood Popcorn may taste like a cheat-day pastry, but every bite is bursting with the superfood goodness of maca root, mesquite pod and maple."

Ok, now we were talking: a sweet offering!

The "twist" on the Cinnamon Twist might have referred to ... the maple sugar? The maca root?  I'm not sure.  I was weary of the nutmeg in it, but luckily it wasn't overpowering.

This was just a sweet cinnamon popcorn, with a bit of an aftertaste from Stevia.  I didn't taste the maple sugar though, sadly.

Overall, a bit of a letdown, and not something I'd get again.