At Buddha Brands, the mini but mighty coconut is king. Using their favorite wonder food, they make Thirsty Buddha coconut water, Healthy Buddha coconut nectar and vinegar, plus Hungry Buddha coconut chips and jerky. If you’re looking for coconut-based products that are vegan, non-GMO, naturally gluten-free, free from trans fats, and paleo-friendly, you’ve found your sweet spot. 1% of annual sales are donated to environmental and sustainable charities being a member of ‘1% for the Planet’, which supports charity organizations such as Charity Water, Oceana, the David Suzuki Foundation, and much more. Hungry Buddha’s “Coconut Initiative” is about using many parts of the coconut to reduce waste and promote sustainability. This Hungry Buddha brand is distributed by Temple Lifestyle Inc., and they are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The first review on Hungry Buddha will focus on a 1.4 ounce/40 gram bag of their Jalapeno Lime flavored coconut jerky. This flavor is described as Tex-Mex’s favorite pepper being paired with zesty lime for a subtly seasoned spicy and sweet snack. The bag was purchased at a Winners store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Meat, Organic Date Paste, Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Lime Juice Concentrate, Sea Salt, Organic Sweet Red Pepper, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic White Pepper, Organic Jalapeno Powder.
Through careful sourcing of the finest certified organic coconuts from Southeast Asia, Buddha Brands believes that health and balance extend to the planet itself while providing their customers with healthy and delicious food. Coconuts offer many health benefits, including being a great source of fiber, potassium, and calcium. As a result, the ingredient ratings starts at an Excellent (10/10) rating.
The only liquid marinade used is super healthy organic lime juice concentrate.
There are some healthy ingredients added such as organic date paste, organic sweet red pepper, organic garlic powder, organic white pepper, and organic jalapeno powder.
The sugar level is on the high side at around 11 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 4 grams of sugar or less per 28 grams of jerky for a spicy based flavor as we have here. The salt level is respectable at around 280mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky qualifies to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservative. Instead, healthy minimally processed sea salt is the main preservative used. With more kudos to Hungry Buddha, this jerky has no MSG added.
Very Good (9/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
The Hungry Buddha Jalapeño Lime Coconut Jerky has a pleasant and fragrant aroma. This jerky displays a rich and awesome coconut flavor. The Jalapeño and Lime are accompanied by a slight sweetness and saltiness while the spiciness barely peaks its head up after a couple of pieces.
On the other hand, the texture is quite pleasant, interesting and mostly carries the product at this time, as there is no real “WOW” factor in the taste department.
The jerky strips are mainly small in size and medium to thin in thickness. The texture is somewhat dry and chewy while still reasonably easy to chew.
We were in touch with the fine folks at Hungry Buddha, they are currently reformulating their recipe and they had the following to say: Our mission is to do well for our planet while providing our customers with healthy and delicious food.
Although, the Hungry Buddha Jalapeño Lime Coconut Jerky is not really where it could be at this time, there is certainly great potential to hit the ball right out of the park. There are no doubts a good balance of flavors, a bolder Jalapeño taste paired with a nice splash of Lime juice would make the flavor profile “POP” and propel this coconut jerky to heights unknown to “Mankind” or “Peoplekind” (No Comments).
I was probably much more favorable towards this coconut jerky and I’ll look forward to their new and upgraded version. We’ve awarded this coconut jerky a Good (8/10) Taste Rating.
This 1.4 ounce/40 gram bag was purchased for $2.99. That works out to $2.14 an ounce, which rates as an cheap price.
Bag Review
This white resealable plastic bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. On the front there is a high resolution picture of coconuts. The Hungry Buddha logo is a monk sitting down and praying.
A slogan printed on this bag is “Live Healthy. Be Happy. Snack Wisely.” Some facts printed on this bag are “Raw”, “Gluten Free”, and “Refined Sugar Free”. Another interesting fact printed on this bag is “Did you know? The oil and husks from a coconut can be burned into alternative biofuel sources that are clean and non-toxic!”.
There are a number of different stamps printed such as “Canada Organic”, “USDA Organic”, “Non-GMO Project”, “Certified Vegan”, and “1% For The Planet”.
All bag categories are covered with this bag. A good blurb is printed on the back explaining The Coconut Initiative. As per Canadian law, French translations are provided. You are encouraged to follow the @buddhabrandsco social media handle on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. To the credit of Hungry Buddha, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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