Review of 'Van's' Totally Natural Waffles

Van's Totally Natural Waffles (vegan)
Overall Rating: 3/5
Summary: not bad, pretty average waffle...leans more on the salty side than sweet. It is nice and light, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It's more of an 'add-on' waffle rather than one that can stand on its own. The nutritional facts are not too impressive so altogether, I wouldn't buy this again.

Where to buy: Fortinos, Wanigan

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Ingredients: water, Van's Gluten Free Mix (brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour, soy flour), canola oil, Van's natural fruit, juice blend (pineapple, peach and pear juice concentrates), baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, rice flour, monocalcium phosphate), sea salt, soy lecithin, guar gum, xanthan gum.

Contains: soy

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 2 waffles
Calories: 230
Total fat: 7g
     Saturated fat: 1g
     Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 400mg
Total Carbohydrate: 400mg
     Dietary fiber: 1g
     Sugars: 4g
Protein: 2g
Vitamin A: 2%
Vitamin C: 4%
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 4%

The ingredients are all fine but I'm not too impressed with the nutritional profile. I would have liked the modest flavour to be balanced with nutrition but the protein and fiber content is quite low. As is the vitamin and mineral content! So...after having these waffles (with honey!), I kinda felt like I just had empty calories. If they were uber delicious waffles, I wouldn't care but....they're pretty average.

I prefer a sweeter flavour (but I do appreciate that the sugars are kept low) than salty but these are gluten-free (GF) and so it may be worth it for those who are on a GF diet. After all, there are so many things you could add onto waffles to make them yummy (e.g. honey, syrups, jams/jellies, butters, nut spreads, etc.)! For these less sweet waffles, you could add meats and cheeses and I think they'd be complementary.

Other GF flavours:

• Apple Cinnamon (vegan)
• Blueberry (vegan)
• Buckwheat (vegan)
• Flax (vegan)

Brand:

• Blueberry, Flax, Flax waffles, and All Natural flavoured waffles are non-GMO products
• Non-GMO canola oil
• In 2014, transitioning packaging to label non-GMO products (list of non-GMO products here)
• No synthetic preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors
• Gluten-free, vegan options list here
• Best Frozen Waffle in Annual Gluten-Free Awards (2014)
• Two SELF Magazine Healthy Food Awards (2014)
• A Healthy Food Award From Fitness Magazine (2014)