Soyummi Foods Pudding

After blogging about the benefits of probiotics, Soyummi Foods contacted me to see if I'd be interested in trying their puddings, which have a natural prebiotic. Not knowing what a prebiotic was, I figured this was an opportunity to learn more and taste their pudding too!

What really makes these puddings unique is that they are vegan, organic, gluten-free, Kosher, and made of natural ingredients with no preservatives.  And as if that weren't good enough, they are low calorie, low sodium, and contain a natural prebiotic.

The key ingredients are:

• Beet Syrup: a naturally occurring slow-burning sugar found in beet roots with a low glycemic index 
• Inulin from chicory root: a source of soluble fiber and a prebiotic
• Yucca extract: a digestive ‘cleanser,’ washing toxins from the intestine, including those which contribute to colitis

What is a prebiotic? 
This is where I had to do some research. Prebiotics stimulate bacterial flora in the gut rather than supplementing them as in a probiotic. As quoted from Jackson GI, "A prebiotic is a special type of soluble fiber that is used mostly by the beneficial good bacteria as a fuel. These good bacteria, in turn, produce certain substances that acidify the colon (a very good thing) and serve as a nutrition source for the colon’s own cells. Isn’t this remarkable? The colon provides a warm, oxygen-free environment for these beneficial bacteria to grow. These bacteria, in turn, manufacture the nutrition source for the colon itself. This is a true symbiotic relationship where both the bacteria and colon depend on each other and promote each others’ health."  Pretty cool, huh?!

Now, on to the pudding. The puddings come in 5 flavors: lime, tapioca, rice, dark chocolate, and cherry. I was only able to find 2 flavors at my local Whole Foods -- lime and tapioca. I will preface this by saying that I am not a big pudding eater so I don't have many points of comparison on this one. That said, I found the flavors to be quite good. The lime one, well, tasted like lime and the tapioca one had a bit of a vanilla taste along with the tapioca pearls.  They weren't super creamy -- they were denser than I had expected, but the taste was great.

You can see the tapioca pearls here

The only complaint I have is that they are so hard to open!  I couldn't peel that cellophane off the top to save my life! I finally stabbed it with a knife each time. LOL!

I do like that each pudding comes in a small size, which is perfect for snacking. The tapioca pudding has 110 calories per serving and 2.5 grams of fat, although they do vary by flavor. The puddings are sold in packages of 4 for about $3.69. Not too bad considering that vegan, organic, gluten-free pudding is not that easy to find.

As far as where to find these puddings, Soyummi Foods told me that they aren't available in any nationwide grocery chains just yet. The company is just starting to sell them in the western US. If you are interested in trying the pudding, you can use their Retail Locator to find a store near you. I, for one, love when I can find a great tasting product that is good for you too!