Review & Giveaway : Yogavive Chips (Organic Popped Fuji Apple Chips)

Summer is the perfect time for all sorts of activities- sun bathing, swimming, camping, hiking and, of course, the always classic vegging out. Some of my favorite new snacks to munch on while participating in these activities are Yogavive's Organic Popped Fuji Apple Chips! The deliciously sweet and tart apple chips are available in 5 flavors (original, cinnamon, peach and strawberry) and 2 bags sizes (individual single serving 1 apple bags, and 5 apple bags). Each flavor is USDA certified organic, vegan and gluten free- they also have no added sugars and no preservatives *high five*!

One thing I love about Yogavive (other than the great taste of their snacks) is that they are a company that discloses a good deal of information about their company and their business practices. Yogavive sources its organic apples from China and Chile which ensures that the fruit they use is always in season. They also offer an extensive FAQ section on their website that actually addresses a lot of really great questions. For example: "As a company that sources globally, how do you justify your carbon footprint incurred via product shipping?"

Yogavive's response: "Produce is sourced around the globe to ensure continuous annual supply. By removing moisture from the fruit during our processing activities, we effectively reduce the weight of product being shipped compared to fresh fruit shipments. Our products therefore leave a smaller carbon footprint than fresh fruit counterparts."

I mean, how many companies actually address those kinds of concerns instead of acting like these questions don't exist? If this review piques your interest, definitely check out their website for some great information about their products and company! So without further delay, here's the deets on each flavor I sampled:

Original: Since Yogavive uses Fuji apples for their chips, the apple chips have a great combination of tart and sweet flavor. Fun (or not so fun) fact about me: Fuji apples are actually my favorite type of apple! The more you know. Anyway, while red delicious apple chips seem to be all sweet and no tart, Fuji apple chips have both bases covered nicely. The texture of the chips is also really appealing- they are not too dense, are thick and airy (hence the "popped" label) and have a great, strong crunch!

Cinnamon: The cinnamon flavor on these chips was gentle, light and dare I say it... elegant and dainty. The amount of cinnamon was just perfect- not overpowering but still very apparent. The cinnamon balances nicely with the sweetness of the apples and also provides a slight spiciness to them. Along with the original, this was probably my favorite flavor. Nomnomnom!

Caramel: Like the cinnamon, the caramel flavor on these chips was quite delicate, maybe even faint. In fact, the first chip I tried didn't seem caramel-icious at all, though the flavor became more and more apparent as I ate more chips. The caramel flavor is light and mellow and doesn't seem to contribute too much to the sweetness, but rather to a very pleasant, almost toasty, warm flavor. It's definitely caramel, but it's much more vague and intriguing than just that.

Peach: Of the flavored chips, the intensity of flavor of the peach was stronger than any of the other flavor options. The peach flavor is reminiscent more of dried peach rather than fresh peach. The flavor is very clean and doesn't taste at all synthetic or artificial. It is probably the most "mature and unique of Yogavive's flavor offerings.

Strawberry: The strawberries contributed a nice sweet aroma to these chips. This was a favorite among several people that I shared the chips with. What can I say, strawberries and summer go hand in hand! The strawberry flavor is delicate, sweet and almost refreshing (as refreshing as I can imagine a chip to be). These seemed to have the sweetest flavor among the flavor offerings although each flavor actually contains the same amount of sugar!

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Yogavive has generously provided me with enough chips to offer you, my beloved readers, 2 1-apple bags of each flavor (10 bags total per winner) to 2 winners!

*To enter all you need to do is tell me which flavor of Yogavive Chips you'd like to try!

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Please leave a separate comment for each entry! Also make sure to leave your email address in one of your comments or have your email address visible in your profile.

This giveaway will end on August 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. Open to US readers only. Good luck!

Giveaway winners: Janice, TiffsPixieDust

**I was provided with free samples of the product mentioned in this review from Yogavive as well as provided with the giveaway prize mentioned above to pass on to the winners. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post & was not obligated to give a positive review of the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. Other's experiences with these products may differ from mine. **