I hope that you all have been having a great week so far! Today's Delightful Bites series brings to you a company called The Naked Edge (TNE). At the start of last year, January 2011 to be more specific, The Naked Edge was founded by John and Lisa McHugh. This loving couple, after spending time abroad eating some of the freshest and healthiest foods available overseas in Europe, came back home and realized that the American diet was not only unhealthy and contained an abundance of over-processed "foods" and ingredients, but that they were even products you would never use in the comforts of your own home. That experience abroad was the main driving force and inspiration to create their company today. So, instead of returning back to his job of being a mechanical engineer, John decided to follow his passion for food. In the same, Lisa, a personal trainer with her own practice (Body Intelligent Fitness), decided to join John and help create this company-where they could create a snack using some of the freshest and organic ingredients and products they could get their hands on. Even if you don't enjoy fruits and veggies, you'll sure be a HUGE fan of their delicious Veggie-Go's chewy and veggie snacks.
What are Veggie-Go's you ask?
From their website: Veggie-Go’sTM chewy fruit AND veggie snacks provide a CONVENIENT and, most importantly, DELICIOUS means of incorporating essential vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, and fiber into your day. They are anything but a boring fruit strip! Just check out these deliciously unique flavors! In addition, ALL Veggie-Go's are soy free, dairy free, vegan, and gluten free for all you out there with food allergies & special dietary requirements. Could you have asked for anything more wholesome than that?
Let's get started:
The 5 flavors they offer (from left to right)
❀Sweet Potato Pie
❀Mountain Berry Spinach
❀Carrot Ginger
❀Mulled Wine
❀Cinnamon Spiced Beet
❀Sweet Potato Pie (ALL organic products): sweet potatoes, apples, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
❀Mountain Berry Spinach (ALL organic products): apples, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and sweet potatoes
❀Carrot Ginger (ALL organic products): carrots, apples, ginger
❀Mulled Wine (ALL organic products): apples, sweet potatoes, wine, cinnamon and cloves
❀Cinnamon Spiced Beet (ALL organic products): beets, apples, sweet potatoes, flax seeds, cinnamon
❀Close-up of the Sweet Potato Pie flavor. You can actually see the pecan pieces, in addition to all the spices used
❀Close-up of the Mountain Berry Spinach
❀PACKAGING: Environmentally friendly and compostable packaging, playful and colorful. The wholesome goodness is sealed in plastic, followed by an outer paper wrapping. Right there on the front of the bar, it lists the ingredients in each of the Veggie-Go's and the flavors, so that you know exactly what is going into your body. In addition, you can visibly see the richness and texture of each piece 'leather.' For example, in the close-up photo of the Sweet Potato Pie, you can see the pecans, spices used, and the bright orange color from the sweet potatoes. Also, the packaging is playful and colorful-which not only grabbed children's attention, like my niece and nephew (ages 3 and 5), but also grabbed the attention of my older sister (nearing her 30s). Unlike your typical fruit leather, these Veggie-Go's are literally paper thin snacks full of earthy fruits and vegetables packed into each one. I could definitely see these being my go-to snacks, especially considering how convenient they are (like slipping into my clutch or handbag) and the variety of flavors to choose from. They'd be great for taking to school, to work, to give to kids and adults alike or just to enjoy snacking on your own, instead of those processed junk foods, and even "health" foods. Companies that promise wholesome, all-natural ingredients but still include products that are actually not that good for us are a shame, but lucky for us, The Naked Edge prides themselves on only having ingredients in their Veggie-Go's which you can pronounce.
❀TASTE: Different, but in a good way! These weren't what I had expected, they were actually a TON better! I went into it thinking that it would taste like a fruit roll-up, or one of those overly sweet and processed fruit leathers you can usually get at your local grocery stores for like 2/$1. Surprisingly, these didn't taste like that at all. Each bite was sort of a crispy, clean bite. What do I mean by that? Well, instead of the stick-to-your-teeth, soft fruit leathers you normally get, these ripped quite nicely, and didn't stick to your teeth. I tested this out with all five bars and it was consistent among all of those. My absolute favorite among the five flavors I received were Sweet Potato Pie and Mountain Berry Spinach. The sweet potato pie was amazing! The flavors in it really did remind me of Thanksgiving at my grandparent's house. Minced pieces of pecans, sweet potatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon and more, theirs was definitely a healthier version and twist of one of my favorite holiday foods. Sadly, I only got to taste a quarter of it, since by the time I came back from work, the wrapper was sadly in the trash can. The mountain berry spinach was second best to the sweet potato pie in my opinion-definitely a little more sweeter, just that perfect amount. What's nice is that even though I'm not the biggest fan of spinach, it was a much more subtle flavor, as to where the berry flavor was the shining star in this bar. I really enjoyed the other flavors as well. If you're a fan of ginger, then the carrot ginger is definitely for you! It's a little stronger on the ginger than the carrot, but it's a really delicate balance between the two. Also, the mulled wine is created using wine, but is still safe for children to eat as the wine is 'drained out' due to cooking, so no worries there. In addition, my niece really enjoyed the cinnamon spiced beets because not only do you get the aroma of cinnamon in each bite, but you also get a little crunch of the flax seeds, giving you a chewy/crunchy combination. Definitely get your hands on some! I admit, it was hard choosing which of the five flavors were my favorite.
❀RANDOM: With all the foods out there on the market these days, you just don't know what to buy or if it's even healthy. While I don't have my own children, I do have nieces and nephews, and understand why a growing child's body should always get the best nutrients it can from any meal, especially their snacks. This idea shouldn't apply to just children, but to adults too. About 98% of the time, if there are ingredients you can't pronounce or you just simply don't know what they are, chances are that they aren't good for you or that you shouldn't be eating it. As I looked through each of the ingredients listed on the back of the wrapper with the nutritional facts, I knew and could pronounce every single thing listed. In my opinion, you don't get that a lot these days (to be able to know every thing that's in what you're eating). And before I forget, SUPPORT local businesses :)!
Overall, I would highly recommend these scrumptious Veggie-Go's snacks created by The Naked Edge. Delicious, high-quality ingredient snacks that'll cost you less than the price of a soda these days. If you don't think that's enough, I triple dare you to buy that can of soda and tell me how many ingredients on there you actually recognize. I don't know about you all-but I'm going NAKED (as in no preservatives, real all-natural and wholesome ingredients).....so take your mind out of the gutter ;).
Want some for yourself?
Check them out here: The Naked Edge
Show them some social media lovin':
Have a great night,
Sandy
FTC: This product was generously sent to me for the purpose of conducting a review, but all reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
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