Green Product Review: Yogachips by Yogavive

Today a snack you can pop into reusable lunch sacks or take on the go to the park or playgroup that offers crunch without the salt and calories of chips.

PRODUCT: Yogachips by Yogavive – Organic 100% apple chips in 5 different varieties including Original, Apple Cinnamon, Caramel, Peach and Strawberry. Yogachips are made using a two part drying process where the apples are oven baked and then popped to a light airy chip-like snack.

INGREDIENTS:

• Apple: Organic Fuji apples.
• Apple Cinnamon: Organic Fuji apples, organic cinnamon.
• Caramel: Organic Fuji apples, caramel flavor.
• Peach: Organic Fuji apples, peach flavor.
• Strawberry: Organic Fuji apples, natural strawberry flavor.

COST: $1.29 for a .35oz bag 

ECO-PERKS:

• Certified Vegan, Kosher, Halal and Gluten-Free
• Certified organic by both USDA and EcoCert

PROS:

• The eco-aspects above are pros.
• All my taste testers, both adults and kids loved the taste and crunch of these apple chips. Even my extremely picky son Cedar, who was apprehensive and a HUGE real apple fan, ate them up. Everyone liked all the flavors, with basic apple and caramel apple as the two winning favorites.
• Much healthier than chips when you want a crunch.
• More portable than real apples to a point.
• Had more crunch than other dried fruits we’ve tried in the past.
• Tasted very fresh and the flavored ones were not TOO flavored.

CONS:

• I have no idea what they mean by “flavor” the company says there are no added preservatives or chemicals but when the package says something like “peach flavor”, that’s very vague. Not to mention that the strawberry package says, “natural strawberry flavor” while the caramel and peach simply say, “peach flavor” and “caramel flavor”. So, is the strawberry natural but not the others? UPDATE: (SEE WHAT YOGAVIVE TOLD ME ABOUT THE FLAVORING ISSUE)
• The bags are tiny. All my adult testers said it was barely a snack and that they’d have to eat a few of the smaller bags to feel like they got an entire snack – and all my adult testers were healthy active folks. My kid testers seemed more satisfied, but not by much, with the exception of Cedar (the I don’t eat much kid). The company supposedly offer larger sizes but I haven’t seen any online or in stores.
• Not a large availability – currently available in maybe 21 states in very few select stores. I only found two online retailers – Dr Soda Company and The Vegan Store. Neither of the online stores carry the larger sized bag. NOTE: Yogavive is rumored to have an online shop going up soon.
• Real apples are a good source of fiber and contain vitamin A, C, and iron. The Yogachips have fiber but lack vitamins. Although real apples also have a calorie count of about 80, you’d pack in a more nutritious and filling snack if you just ate an organic apple.

The biggest eco-bad issue by far for me is the packaging. I would buy these once in a while if I could get them in bulk – which I’m sure would make them lose some of their crispy quality, but all those little bags makes for a lot of trash. We tossed our bags into the recycling, but I’m not even sure if you can recycle the bags. The packaging has zero info about recycling and there’s nothing at the website either. I would also consider getting these in a MUCH larger bag.

OVERALL:

Four out of five happy little trees. UPDATE: This product originally scored a three, but I bumped them up a tree due to the company addressing some of my first concerns. Very few companies respond so fast to consumer questions, so this is excellent.

Below is my original scoring comments, but updated to represent their new score.

I almost gave these less than four trees because of the packaging and the fact that it’s silly to not simply eat an organic apple vs. these dried chips. However I’m giving them a four because my boyfriend’s daughter ate them. My own son was raised vegetarian and eats piles of fruits and veggies every day by choice – this is not the snack for him.

However, my boyfriend’s kids were not raised on as many veggies and fruits, and I can’t even remember seeing these kids ever eat a whole serving of fruit or vegetables. THIS is who this snack is for. These kids love chips and candy and Yogachips would be a much healthier alternative. PLUS his daughter actually ate and liked these. If you’ve got a kid who doesn’t like fruits or veggies, you should of course try to get them on board with healthier eating, but in the meantime, serving snacks like this is a good start.

So overall – I’m frowning on the packaging but they do taste great and are much healthier than many other snack choices, so I’ll suggest these for families trying to make a healthier change in their eating habits.

Visit Yogavive to learn more.