As you know, I’ve found many new awesome snacks and superfoods, and superfood snacks, via Undiscovered Kitchen. I am currently a wee bit obsessed with raw, vegan, all natural, GF (AND delicious) snacks from TastyMakes. This San Francisco company was started by a woman after a serious accident. Her misfortune led to a new career and an opportunity for all of us! Tasty Makes sells raw granola, raw crackers and raw energy bites with different varieties and sizes delivered monthly or purchased individually.
Here is Melissa’s story:
“After a serious bicycle accident, resulting in broken bones, a fractured skull, severed olfactory nerves – causing me to lose my sense of smell, bleeding in my brain, and a diagnosis of ‘severe brain damage’ with stuttered speech, forgetfulness, paranoia, depression, and a complete loss of self, I had to find total healing, and fast. Despite what some of the best neurologists said, we fought against their drugs and diagnosis by adopting a plant based diet and morning meditation. Through this I was able to make a complete healing and turned my life around in the most amazing ways. But this journey did not come easily and it took constant dedication and research from both myself and my husband, and there were plenty of times when we wish we had a mentor to help us figure things out along the way.
With this, I have dedicated the past five years of my life to the practice and research in the field of health and nutrition in order to be able to lead myself, my family and my friends down a road of holistic health and wellness. Throughout the years, my focus has ranged from holistic healing, raw foods, fermented foods, digestive health to family planning, prenatal health and pediatric health.
TastyMakes is here to help you become a tastier, healthier and happier you. It is here to support you in making healthier eating choices from the products we make to the recipes we share in our blog. It also serves as a chronicle of our ever-evolving journey together from plant based eating to parenthood and beyond.”
I was introduced to TastyMakes by Undiscovered Kitchen (see their blog post). I wrote to them to see if they would be interested in a review. They said “yes” and sent me a sample snack kit of crackers, bar bites and granola. All of the items are raw, sprouted, vegan, organic and gluten free. Raw snacks provide energy and no sugar crashes. TastyMakes are made with high quality, pure food ingredients and are dehydrated at a low temperature to keep essential vitamins and enzymes intact.
The flavors I received were Garden Herb Crackers, Lemon Bar Bites and Apple Pie Granola.
How did they taste?
- The Garden Herb Crackers are amazing! They are so crisp and perfect for snacking alone or with added toppings. The ingredients are simple and they are dehydrated to have an awesome crunch. I like that they are nice and thick, too, and they don’t crumble when you eat them.
- The Lemon Bar Bites are mini-energy bar style treats. They have a great lemon taste and the added crunch comes from sprouted millet. The texture is otherwise like a Lara Bar (think nuts and dates). These are very tasty and perfect for a pre-workout fuel up or afternoon snack.
- The Apple Pie Granola is “guilt free” with no added sugar or oils. It tastes like pie, but “you don’t have to feel guilty eating it for breakfast.” There are dried apples and cinnamon mixed with the crunchy sprouted millet, buckwheat and nuts. It is crunchy and delicious. [I have since tried the Choco-Coco Granola and it is AMAZING! A new fave for sure. This fresh, raw granola blows away other raw granolas I have tried.]
They sell each item in a variety of sizes and they also offer monthly “TastyKits.” TastyKits come in three sizes: Simple (1 of each type per month for $19 includes shipping), Smart (3 crackers/bar bites and 2 granolas per month for $49 includes shipping) or Super (6 crackers/granolas and 5 bar bites per month for $99 includes shipping – great for the office!).
Melissa recently started a health coaching service, too! She offers free consultations to see if her services are right for you. You can schedule one HERE. They are also committed to giving back to their community. 5% of profits go to Feeding America and Action Against Hunger. Good food, good people!
I liked TastyMakes so much, I signed up for the Simple TastyKit and joined their affiliate program. The program lets me offer you a discount code on any products plus I get a small commission on sales through my code. A win-win! Ooh, and they liked me so much they interviewed me on their blog.
I am going to send one lucky winner my next Simple Box to try. It includes (1) 4 oz granola, (1) 4 oz bar bites and (1) 4 oz crackers. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Winner must be in the US, 18 and over and the giveaway is void where prohibited. The giveaway runs through August 27th. A winner will be selected and notified on August 28th.
In the meantime, if you want to try TastyMakes, you can get 15% off by clicking this link and using promotion code tm32. You can also follow TastyMakes on Facebook and Twitter.
Please note: I was provided with sample products in exchange for an honest review. I have also included an affiliate link so if you use it for the discount, I will receive a small commission. I do receive and pay for this product monthly. All opinions are my own.