Good morning blog buds!
Ahhhh, it’s the weekend. We just completed a 40-minute morning workout, ate breakfast and are now headed to the off-leash dog park to let our crazy beasts get their exercise on too! It’s a balmy 36 degrees out (where’s the HEAT??) and it’s supposed to rain later so we’re hoping to beat the sprinkles!
You may recall a while back that in response to a post I’d done on my favorite dairy-free probiotics, Pop Culture sent me some of their probiotic products to try.
The box contained:
- Strawberries and Crème Oatmeal
- Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- Yogurt Fruit & Nut Bars
- Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
(For those of you who avoid dairy, you will want to note that the only one of the products listed above that does NOT contain some milk (or milk derivative) was the Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal.)
MSP tried the Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, which he said he liked. He thought it wasn’t very sweet (he’s also used to full-on Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar instant packets which have more than twice the sugar and more than twice the sodium.)
I tried the Strawberries and Crème oatmeal (made with water). And I thought it was nicely sweetened. After a few bites, I chose to add some almond milk to it to thin it out a bit and the almond milk further enhanced the flavor.
The oatmeal flavors are each 140 calories and 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. Strawberry has only 3g of sugar, while Maple has 6.
The serving size was just right for me and filled me up nicely for about 3 hours.
As for the bars, Pop Culture was kind enough to send a box so we each had a couple of opportunities to sample both flavors. MSP’s favorite was Chocolate Chip (he doesn’t really like anything with dried fruit bits in it. ) I thought both flavors were great. Yogurt Fruit flavor is 90 calories, 4 grams protein, 4 grams fiber, 7 grams sugar. Chocolate chip has 110 calories, 6 grams protein, less than 1 g fiber and 4 grams sugar.
Pop Culture’s products contain a specific probiotic called GanadenBC³º®, which contains an outer shell to keep the probiotic intact in the dry product. I’ll leave the scientific info at their website, so feel free to click HERE to find out more.
My personal opinion is that all of the products tasted great. And I appreciate that they don’t use artificial sweeteners.
However, the only one that would fit into MY chosen style of nutrition (yes, I bent my eating rules to try these products out) is the Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal because it doesn’t contain the cow’s dairy or soy protein isolates. And a big part of why I look for alternative probiotic sources (that aren’t yogurt) is because I prefer to not consume cow’s dairy.
My husband doesn’t avoid diary or soy isolates (and wouldn’t seek out regular yogurt unless it was hidden in something) so these products would be great options for him to boost his probiotic intake. I also think the oatmeal products would be good items for kids to replace the high sugar, high sodium (not to mention high chemical) breakfast options that they often gravitate toward.
Thank you to the generous folks over at Pop Culture for allowing me the opportunity to sample their products!
– Shari B. =)
I have a post in my head that I may write called “You Know You’re PMS-ing When…” I just have to find the time to sit down and compose it – maybe this weekend. I have a lot of interesting things that happen to me during that time that I’d be curious to know if any of you ladies also experience something similar (outside of the typical “moods & cravings”. My apologies to any of my “fellas” out there reading! But it’s a valid topic that definitely affects weight & fitness!) While we’re on the topic of female things, I had my mammogram today. Oh joy. Thank goodness that is done for another year! Your comedy for the day is to imagine a radiology tech trying to figure out how to give a mammogram to a 12 year old boy — because that’s pretty much what it’s like for me when I go! 
