Fit Fare

Just a few years ago, I knew little of hemp beyond knapsack-style clothing, but this little seed has been making huge strides recently. With an excellent balance of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, a “complete protein” profile, and an impressive spec sheet of trace minerals, these tiny seeds are gaining some serious attention in the world of health and nutrition. Yet, as they are potent in smell, gritty in texture (when ground), microscopic in size, and somewhat bitter in taste, hemp seeds are rarely boasted as a stand-alone snack.

Luckily, there are some tasty mediums for these little hemp nuts, as they are lovingly known. In fact, my favorite muffins in the whole world, the Power Muffins from Capers (Wild Oats) in British Columbia, are loaded with hemp seeds. They are nothing shy of indulgent. But, baked goods, loaded with sugars, are a fairly safe medium for just about any health food. Can these little guys stand-up in a purely nutritious meal?

The people at Nutiva think so. They have come out with three HempShake flavors, Chocolate, Amazon Acai, and Berry Pomegranate. These packets of powdered superfoods are intended for blending into nutritious smoothies. Since I had just recently reviewed the Vega Smoothie Infusion, and the Nutiva Hemp Powder, I leaped at the chance to do some comparison with the Amazon Acai and Berry Pomegranate HempShake flavors (not a huge “chocolate-flavored” fan).

Out of sheer curiosity, I trialed the Amazon Acai first. As a very strange coincidence, I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand for the Amazon Blast Recipe on the package:

• 1 cup vanilla rice milk (I used plain rice milk + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 banana
• 1 packet Amazon Acai HempShake

After a quick spin in the blender, I found the mixture to be too thin and a very unattractive greenish color. While it had somewhat of a gelatinous texture, I like my smoothies well chilled, somewhat icy, and an eye-appealing color never hurts. Before making some modifications, I took a quick sip. It wasn’t bad; the banana and rice milk added just enough sweetness to bring the smoothie to life and enhance the natural berry flavors.

I tossed in 1/2 cup wild blueberries and 1 cup of ice, returning the mixture to my blender for one last whirl. I immediately felt better when the smoothie began taking on a pleasant purplish hue. With my additions, I now had a serving far bigger than anything I could finish myself, so to my husband’s delight, I had prepared his breakfast as well!

He drank his down with a casual “it’s good.” I don’t think he was lying, as his full-glass serving was gone in just a minute or two. I had to agree, it wasn’t bad. The light berry flavor, and the sweetness of the banana and rice milk worked. The ice helped to alleviate some of the grittiness from the hemp seeds, but the hemp seeds themselves brought a nice thickness to the party. While my most basic fruit smoothies are still the tastiest, this added nutritional boost came at a relatively small flavor and texture price.

Since I found my first smoothie to be a bit thin, I mixed up the recipe a bit when I made the Berry Blast Smoothie from the Berry Pomegranate HempShake the next morning:

• 1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
• About 6 or 7 medium organic strawberries.

I think this HempShake would have faired as well as the other, but my recipe alterations did not do it justice. I would always add a banana in the future, as the additional sweetness and texture is really required. I prefer to use unsweetened “milk,” although the added sugars of rice milk certainly would have boosted the appeal. If I stuck with this recipe, a teaspoon or two of maple syrup would surely perk it up a bit.

Honestly, while the Berry Pomegranate had a wonderful smell out of the package and a much subtler taste, the Acai flavor jumped out at me a bit more. Oddly enough, the Acai had less than 1/3 the sugar of the Berry Pomegranate. Go figure.

Where to Purchase: Visit the Nutiva Online Store to purchase any of their products, including each of the HempShake varieties. Before you buy, check the prices of HempShake on Amazon. Depending on whether Nutiva is having a sale, they may be cheaper via Amazon Grocery. Not in the mood for online shopping? Keep an eye out at your natural food store, as Nutiva distributes their products throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada.