Sari Foods Superfoods!

I'm all about superfood powders and supplements for my morning smoothies! I drink 2 or 3 smoothies for breakfast every week, and when I do, I love to up the nutrition factor by adding things like spirulina, maca, acai powder, superfood-enhanced protein powders, and more.

Of course, there are all manner of brands of these powdered supplements, but I've just discovered Sari Foods after the company offered to ship me a few of their products to review. What sets Sari Foods apart is their commitment to avoiding additives. They don't fortify their products with extra nutrients that aren't naturally in that food. In other words, they let their individual superfood supplements do what nature intended.

They sent me three items to try, two of which are perfect for smoothie add-ins. There was the Organic Spirulina Powder. If nature were to create a multivitamin, spirulina would be it! (Okay, I actually stole that line from the Sari Foods website, but it's good!). It naturally contains protein, iron, magnesium, beta-carotine, B12, chlorophyll, phytonutrients, antioxidants and essential amino acids. It offers an energy boost, promotes skin health, supports the heart and nervous system, and boosts brain power!

They also sent over their Natural Vitamin C Powder from Organic Acerola Cherries. We all know vitamin C is really great at warding off sickness and supporting the immune system, but since this vitamin C comes from cherries, it also helps with inflammation and promotes anti-aging. So many Vitamin C supplements are made with a synthetic version of C, and why would you want that when you can get your vitamins from whole food sources, like cherries?

I used both of these in a quick 'n' easy green smoothie — 1 cup almond milk, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tsp. spirulina, and 1 tsp. vitamin c powder.

The other superfood Sari Foods sent wasn't something you'd put in a smoothie, but it was something every vegan LOVES — Nutritional Yeast! As you may know, many brands of nooch are fortified with Vitamin B12 (and other things), which is the only vitamin vegans can't get naturally through diet. But since Sari Foods doesn't fortify, this nooch is B12-free. However, it does contain some B vitamins that are naturally occurring in nooch, and those B vitamins help with sleep, balance hormones, increase energy, and improve brain function and mental clarity.

Now real talk — I don't really know how I feel about B12-free nooch. I do take a B12 supplement daily, so it's not like I need to get my B12 from nutritional yeast. But I always think of fortified nutritional yeast as a sort of insurance in case I forget my supplement for a few days. I eat these nutty, yeasty flakes on EVERYTHING, and I like that, often, I'm getting extra B12 just in case. But according to Sari Foods, most nutritional yeast is so over-fortified with synthetics that it forces the kidneys to work overtime.

But no matter where you stand on non-fortified nutritional yeast, we can all agree that Sari Foods' nooch is damn tasty. I sprinkled some over some mashed potatoes a couple weeks back and remembered to snap a pic. It's fantastic over popcorn, pasta, salads, you name it. Sometimes, I even pour a little in my hand and eat it straight-up. No shame.