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.

Read More...

Hostess Desserts

Hostess.  As in, Hostess Cupcakes, probably *the* most well known packaged snack baked goods out there, and yet to me, a relatively unknown entity.  Twinkies, Zingers, Hohos, Snowballs, etc ... I know the names, sure, but none of them were really known to me.

Yes, really.  While other kids at school had lunch boxes complete with these things of wonder (or so I imagined), I always had homemade cookies, unless I was really lucky, and had managed to convince mom to get some Little Debbie Nutty Bars (which, as you may recall from my review a few years ago, still really are good!).  My dad was #teamDrakes (see old review), so when his treats were in stock, it was Devil Dogs.  And thus, Hostess products just never really found their way into my house, even though the cakes are obviously quite iconic.  

Snack Cakes

In adulthood, I finally tried the cupcakes, available in the signature chocolate version with white icing inside, or a similar "golden" version with gold-ish cake.  They also now come in a slew of more interesting varieties like birthday cake, lemon, and even "patriotic" (seasonal).

I finally tried one.

Orange.

"Known for curing appetites, rather than scurvy, these Orange flavored CupCakes will take your taste buds someplace sunny and 75."

Orange is not exactly the variety I would gravitate towards normally, since I'm not generally one for citrus desserts, but for some reason, on a day when I was craving buttercream and frosting and sweetness, these orange cakes jumped out.

The construction of the orange cakes is the same as the more common varieties: cake, white cream filling, hard (orange) frosting top, signature squiggle.

I took my first bite, and was blown away by the strong orange flavor.  There is no doubt whatsoever that these are orange flavored, as artificial as it may be.  Orange, orange, orange.  So strong.  If you like orange, well, these could be for you.

The icing on top was really quite hard.  I'm not sure what I expected, as it clearly isn't fluffy buttercream, but I still was surprised by how firm it was.  It was crazy sweet, the flavor a bit hard to explain, just, um, sweet?  I do not think there was orange flavor in it, despite the obvious orange color.  My craving for frosting was really not met by this topping, but it isn't trying to be frosting.

The cake itself was fairly moist, and quite dense, and wasn't awful, but certainly didn't taste fresh.  It however is where the orange flavor was, and I really did not care for that.  

Inside was a tiny amount of white frosting, quite sweet, and with no actual real flavor to it.  There wasn't enough to make up for the lack of fluffy frosting on top.

So overall, um, orange flavor dislikes aside, not really a cupcake in my mind, as it failed in the primary responsibility: frosting delivery vehicle!  Not something I'd pick up again.

**+.

Pies

There are many brands that make hand held "pies", but somehow in my mind, Hostess is *the* gold standard for these items.  Again though, not items I ever had growing up, but always had some jealousy towards.  They've been around ~forever, introduced in the 1970s.

If you are unfamiliar, these are fairly large "hand" pies, rectangular shaped, with crust all around.  The crust isn't like a traditional pie crust though, and is always glazed.  Inside is a fruit and, uh, goo filling.  Fillings range from fruity classics like apple and cherry, to harder to find varieties like blueberry or lemon.

Cherry Pie.

"Don’t leave these on the windowsill, because the neighbor kids will definitely get their hands on them. Individually wrapped and ready to eat, these pies are a family favorite."

The pies come in a cardboard box, really more of a sleeve than anything, with no inner wrapper.  They somehow have an impressive shelf life even without more protection.

And inside, just one, large pie.  My memory is that they used to have 2 smaller square pies inside?  Am I making that up?  Was that another brand?  Was that Drakes?

Cherry Pie: Inside.

Anyway, these "pies" are good for what they are.  The pie crust is hard to describe if you've never had it before - it is not real pie crust, it is not flaky, it is not buttery, but it is also nothing like a danish, nor a cookie, it just is its own thing.  And it is sweet, entirely covered in glaze.  Sorta like what you'd get if you had an item made up of just the outside of a glazed donut, no fluffy donut insides to it.  If that makes any sense.

The cherry pie filling leaves something to be desired if you expect to find actual cherries.  No, this is not even the quality level of canned cherry pie filling.  It is just goo.  Sweet, cherry flavored goo.  

So if you go into this expecting, um, a pie, or even a hand pie with real crust, and anything remotely resembling fruit, you'll be quite sad.  But if you know what you are getting into, it can be kinda satisfying, although clearly not remotely wholesome, and so full of preservatives.  When I went to write this up, I found someone else describe them as "basically hard glazed donut crusts filled with artificial fruit flavored gel", which I think is shockingly accurate.

Interestingly, the box says you can warm them up in the microwave, something I certainly never remember seeing anyone do.  I tried it, but didn't find it added anything to it, and actually, just left it a bit soggy, and unevenly heated.  Boo, microwaves.

I do think it could be better warmed more appropriately (e.g. toaster oven) and served a la mode?  But if you were eating a whole pie, the ice cream addition would be a bit much, as these things clock in 430 calories in the pie alone.

***, and strangely satisfying, but not something I'd seek out unless I was really craving another.

Read More...

Hawaiian Chips

Hawaii.  A destination somehow *still* on my bucket list.  Yup, I now live in California, and have never been to Hawaii, even though I've had friends even move there in the past few years.  Someday.  Like I said, bucket list.

But there are parts of Hawaii that I appreciate from afar - poke, spam masubi, furikake chex mix, macadamia nuts, etc, so even if I don't know Hawaii intimately myself, I'm always up for trying something from afar.  Particularly anything in the snack foods realm, as I'm an avid snacker.  Which brings us to ... Hawaiian chips.

"Explore the always tropical and sometimes exotic tastes of Hawaiian snacks. Our Kettle Style Potato Chips and Snack Rings are crispy with a satisfying crunch—and loaded with sweet and savory island flavors!"

I was drawn in by the bright packaging and Hawaiian motifs on these chips, on display at a poke shop.  On impulse, I grabbed a bag.

Later I did my research and discovered that Hawaiian chips are owned by Utz, the mega snack foods company that makes, among many things, some rather addicting pub mix, which of course I've reviewed before.  They make a number of different kettle chips, such as their play on BBQ, dubbed "Luau BBQ", a spicy "Hulapeño", and more.  They also make puffy onion rings snacks in several flavors.  All do try to include Hawaiian ingredients it seems.

Authentic Hawaiian chips?  Well, no, not really, but enjoyable?  Yes.

Hawaiian® Sweet Maui Onion
Kettle Style Potato Chips

"Discover a new world of flavor when you crunch into Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips. These crispy, golden chips are cooked to perfection, then seasoned with just the right amount of Sweet Maui onion flavor. We have combined only the finest ingredients to create a unique chip that captures the freshness and authenticity of the islands.

Open a bag of Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips and you'll imagine yourself sailing on the blue waters of the Pacific, headed toward an island of tropical paradise."

I had these early into the pandemic first summer, when I was getting really, really bored with lunch made at home.  Just when I thought I was over (potato) chips as a snack food, I discovered these.  Well, huh.  It reinvigorated my love of chips.

The chips were incredibly crispy and crunchy as advertised.  Sure, all chips are crispy, but these were ... just more crispy.  Probably the best kettle style chips I've ever had.  Clearly high fat chips too, they tasted, and looked, very fried.  But I think that is what made them great.

And then, the flavor.  "Sweet Maui Onion".  The chips were very well coated and flavorful.  The flavor was ... fascinating.  Sweet and savory, yes you could taste sweet onion, but there was more than just that going on.   It turned out to be a coating made from sugar (dextrose and regular sugar), a pile of powders (onion powder, garlic powder, whey powder), and ... romano cheese.  Cheese?  Totally not what I expected on these, and I didn't taste cheese as a standalone ingredient, but, clearly, it contributed to the overall flavor.  Really quite fascinating.

I enjoyed these, and would gladly try more flavors.

****.

Read More...