Pure Natural Miracles’ 100% Organic Raw Cacao Nibs

I’m a fan of cacao, and have been for some time. I’ve cooked and baked with it and never had a bad thing to say about it. But until recently I never got to try raw cacao nibs, straight up. And now that I have, I’m a fan, in a big way. Pure Natural Miracles sent me a bag to try and review, and I’m delighted they did and opened my world to something new and delightful. Their marketing tactics and high-pressure approach to reviewers I’m not as big a fan of, but I won’t let that stop me from enjoying the product.

Cacao nibs are like a mild espresso bean, full of tangy, almost bitter notes. Like a baking chocolate, it’s bereft of sugar in any form, but crunchy like a grain, or granola. You get a full, rich chocolate flavor, but no sugar, or processing, or roasting, basically anything that strips away the flavors and health benefits, like antioxidants and trace minerals that are essential to any healthy diet, plus their high in dietary fiber. These Pure Natural Miracle nibs are made from 100% pure Organic Peruvian Criollo cacao and are raw (not fermented or roasted), organic, vegan, and naturally gluten free, so they can be easily worked into any diet or diet plan. They went great with my morning “scatter”, usually some cereal and nuts, along with chia seeds, flax meal, goji berries and Greek yogurt. And while I noticed nothing out of the ordinary as far as energy, or alertness, I also saw no ill effects from consuming them daily for weeks. It was like a morning cup of coffee with my breakfast, but no caffeine dump later. They also went great sprinkled over some vanilla bean ice cream, or just a small handful on their own.

What I’m less a fan of is, as a reviewer, I make certain promises to the companies I choose to work with. And I expect them to understand that I have many, many companies I work with every day, some regularly for years. Things get reviewed as they come in, in the order received, unless we’ve made special arrangements beforehand for an accelerated or delayed time frame. And I never, ever, let a company put words in my mouth. For good or for ill, my opinions are my own and I will not use a companies “suggested” dialog for my reviews. Whether it was Larviks Investment Group as a proxy or Pure Natural Miracles, I got the hard sell almost from jump. I didn’t appreciate the way they went about this promotion with me, and while I like the product immensely, I can only hope that they’re not the same way with regular customers.

So in the end it’s a great product that I recommend highly and hope that give them a try. If you like coffee, or chocolate, or chocolate coffee (*drools*), then these are right up your alley.

Connect with Pure Natural Miracles:

• Online
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On Youtube
• On Amazon

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Pure Natural Miracles.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Swaggable: Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro 70 Chocolate Protein Powder Review #FuelledByHemp

I have been a fan of the Manitoba Harvest brand and on a few occasions tasted their hemp based products, just to always find a new food to enjoy and this one is no different. They then added chocolate to the mix, so they definitely were making sure we would love it just even more.

The previous Hemp products were in their whole form, where the Hemp Pro 70 line is finely ground, so you can have more options when incorporating it with other super-foods or just enjoying it as it comes. The Hemp Pro 70 powder is plant based protein, which breaks down like this:

• A 4 tablespoon serving is only 130 calories
• 3.5 grams of total fat and only 0.5 is from Saturated and zero Trans fat.
• Sodium is a modest 25 milligrams
• The Carbohydrates breakdown to 11 grams per serving, two come from dietary fiber and 7 grams of sugar.
• Iron breaks down to 21% of your daily value, which is usually based on a 2,000 caloric intake. If you are dieting and consuming less calories, then this would satisfy more of what you should have on a daily basis.
• You get a nice boost of 14 grams of total protein in each serving, so imagine if you pair it with Greek or Swedish yogurt, which a good brand gives you more of the good stuff and less of the sweet stuff (i.e. sugars).

You also can’t overlook the omega factors and that is not something you get in plain yogurt, so this is why I feel it pairs up so well with it.

• Omega-3 you get 667 milligrams
• Omega-6 you have a generous 2119 milligrams
• Omega-9 gives you 412 milligrams

The product’s ingredients are simple as it gets and the shortest list I have seen on any protein powder list: Hemp Protein concentrate, Organic Coconut sugar, Organic Fair Trade Cocoa powder and natural plant extracts.

Taste Factor:
All because something has chocolate it does not mean it will be pleasant in taste but thankfully Manitoba Harvest hit it perfectly. No fake malt flavors or granule texture left behind when I made my “jungle mix” this morning. My jungle mix bowl was one banana, a mix of nuts like walnuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts, and almonds. I then have dried cranberries, Goji berries, a few tablespoons of ground Flax seed and a dash of sunflower seeds. I add a dollop of vanilla flavored Swedish yogurt and a drizzle of almond butter. Two tablespoons of the Hemp Pro 70 protein powder and I lightly toss it to incorporate it. It’s the type of breakfast that if it’s even Monday, I’m ready! You can adjust your serving by your needs so even if 4 tablespoons gives me the aforementioned nutrition, I added other ingredients, so that means I can stretch out my protein powder but also have other sources that make up for it. I get to start my morning with a good chocolate taste that is not just good in flavor for being in a protein mix, but it’s so good in taste that I don’t crave a latte or a candy/sweet thing later. Not even Mondays can beat you when you start your day like this!

Connect with Manitoba Harvest and get your Hemp fix at:

• On-line
• Product’s Link
• FaceBook
• Twitter
• #FuelledByHemp

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Swaggable and Manitoba Harvest.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils, Natural Hemp Hearts

I received a trial size package of Hemp Hearts from Swaggable and I was very curious to try the product, since I have never had it before. Before receiving my sample, I did make sure to look up the seed so I would get an idea about was coming. I did learn that the product is exactly what is called, the heart (middle) portion of the seed and is considered the most nutritious part. The product comes shelled and in it’s raw state. Another notable thing to share, Hemp hearts have more protein than Flax or even Chia seeds. The difference is quite notable at 10.0 grams per three tablespoons, compared to Flax having 5.6 grams and Chia Seeds 6.3 grams. Flax does not contain Omega-6 but Hemp does. Omega-3 is found in Hemp Hearts and you also will find it’s the lowest in Carbs compared to Flax and Chia. A powerful little seed indeed.

The above is all great but the product has to be palatable for it to even be in the running. I know from my experience, Chia Seeds when they plump in liquid (even your own saliva), they tend to get sort of slimy/sticky so that can be a turn off in texture. I have consumed energy bars that contain the Chia Seeds and hours later, I have seedlings stuck in my teeth so now I make sure to rinse after. The Hemp Hearts advertise a nutty flavor and they do deliver it but it’s not intense. Think of how almond slivers taste in their raw state. The company also listed “tender crunch” in their description of the product. I did find a slight hardness but not a crunch at all and this was eating the product as-is, without adding it to any food. I imagine the “crunch” may depreciate once introduced to a wet food like yogurt. The company advertises to sprinkle on salads , cereals and yogurt, however I found it was nice on toast with some preserves (apricot). In this application, I found you get the nutty notes nicely and it goes well with the preserves. The whole tender crunch to slightly hard issue is non-existent because the toast makes up for it. I did like the recipe they included and it was for a Southwest Salad that contained Quinoa and I could easily imagine the flavors blending perfectly. Lastly, I would purchase this product because of it’s health benefits but I would not consume it out of the bag as-is. It’s too “white rice” like for me when it comes to being plain. I need something added to appreciate it.

Other things of note: The product is part of the NON-GMO project so that’s a plus. Vegan and made in Canada. The ingredient’s list does not get more simple: Raw Shelled Hemp seeds (no sugar or salt). I may try baking oatmeal cookies I make with dark chocolate and “amping” up it’s benefits with these seeds. I am curious as to how they bake and if the nutty flavor intensifies. The company, Manitoba Harvest also makes Hemp Oil and other products so I am again curios because I have never tried Hemp Oil 🙂 Visit them at http://www.manitobaharvest.com

I received this product for zero charge from Swaggable.  I am not obligated to provide a negative and/or positive review, my honest opinions are my own based on my experience.  Your opinion may differ from mine