My Favorite Things: July edition

Happy August, everyone! I’m taking a break today from blogging about my trip to Toronto to instead share with you a handful of products that I enjoyed this past month.

First up is Spread Health Foods‘ Nutmeric Spreads. This stuff combines two of my favorite flavors in the world: curry and nut butter!

Turmeric root powder is a key ingredient in any curry, and it’s what gives curry powder its distinctive yellow hue. Curcumin is the main compound within turmeric, and it’s been found to have anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy, neuro-protective, and even anti-cancer properties. Score!

The classic Nutmeric (above, center) combines almond butter and turmeric; Mixed Nutmeric (above, right) is made with a variety of nuts + turmeric, and Nutmeric Ultra (above, left) contains almonds and curcumin extract, a form in which its benefits are even more powerful. As an added bonus, all three varieties include black pepper, which has been found to increase the bioavailability of turmeric/curcumin by up to 2000%. (One caveat: Nutmeric does contain honey, so it’s not strictly vegan.)

And on top of all that, Nutmeric is DELICIOUS! I mean, come on—curry plus nut butter? You can’t go wrong there.

I received a trio of single-serving Shake ‘n Go Smoothie packets from Vega, the vegan sports supplement company founded by none other than Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier.

As promised, these smoothie mixes provide a quick and nutritious snack on the go. I like that they dissolve easily when mixed with water—you can even shake them up in a water bottle. The flavor of each one was a tad grassy, probably due to the inclusion of hemp protein, but for being such a wholesome, all-natural “convenience food,” they were great. Thanks, Vega!

I totally hit the jackpot with Emmy’s Organics! Emmy’s makes organic, raw, gluten-free, vegan goodies, and even uses biodegradable packaging. They sent me a plethora of macaroons to try, as well as a sample of their granola.

It’s hard to pick a “best” flavor among all these amazing choices! I’m not a mint lover, so I was surprised to find the Mint Chip variety to be one of my favorites. Ultimately, I’d lean towards the Coconut Vanilla as my #1 choice, but Matt liked the Dark Cacao ones best. All the varieties were tender, chewy, and just sweet enough.

The raw buckwheat-based granola was great too, especially with fresh berries and homemade almond milk. Thanks again, Emmy’s!

Lastly, Mark from Sprout Living introduced me to their raw, vegan, organic protein powders. There are four different types, including Sproutein, a superfood-sprouts powder with a modicum of protein, and Epic Protein, a sprouted, bio-fermented, whole grain organic brown rice protein powder.

Sprout Living makes two flavored varieties of the Epic Protein as well. The Chocolate Maca is Matt’s favorite, while I’m all about the Vanilla Lucuma!

These plant-based protein powders are incredible high-quality. Not only are they raw, vegan, gluten-free, and certified organic, they also contain a complete spectrum of amino acids (including BCAAs, the all-important branched-chain amino acids), and are easily-digestible and completely chemical-free. Consider me a fan, Sprout Living!

Question: What’s the best new-to-you product you tried in July?