I Tried 4 of Whole Foods’ Newest (and Healthiest!) Groceries — Here’s What I Thought

While I usually have the same groceries on my list whenever I go to Trader Joe’s or the mini-market under my apartment, when I shop at Whole Foods, it’s like a treasure hunt. I never know what will end up in my cart especially because the store introduces new and exciting items to their shelves every single month. This month, I have to admit, I was a little unenthused that most of the new products for January were drink-able as opposed to things I could heat and eat. Nevertheless, I stocked up on four of the new drinks that Whole Foods has to offer. (They all had a wellness theme to them!)

Here’s what was in the liquid-y lineup and what I thought.

This gingery, lemony, tumeric-y, fizzy tonic is exactly the kind of good-for-you drink you crave when you’re sick (but you won’t have to plug your nose to suck it down). It contains cayenne, which leaves a little lingering spice on your tongue and will definitely clear your sinuses. A departure from kombucha, which typically contains a lot of hidden sugar, an entire bottle of this tonic contains only 6 grams (and 60 calories). It’s made with plant prebiotics, which are purported to aid digestion.

I was never a big kombucha person until I tried this flavor from Suja and fell in love. It tastes like your favorite home-brewed unsweetened iced black tea married a perfectly citrusy cocktail. Actually, that gives me an idea — MAKE COCKTAILS WITH THIS. With blood orange bitters and hints of tart cherry, this booch goes down easy.

The best way to describe this”gut shot” is to call it drinkable yogurt without all the sugar. Technically kefir, this liquid gold tastes like tart frozen yogurt. Interestingly enough, it’s sweetened with sweet potato juice. I thought I was just going to take a sip and stop there, but I ended up downing the whole thing like a champ (and wanting more). I tried the vanilla collagen flavor, but you can also get it in chocolate, matcha, and pineapple turmeric. The only drawback is that this probiotic is a little pricey for its size.

Follow the instructions written on the side of this bottle and “Shake a lot.” I had absolutely zero expectations when I set out to try this mushroom chocolate drink but I found that after shaking it for a solid 45 seconds, it tasted like a delicious, frothy milkshake. But here’s the catch — there’s no milk. This plant-based “elixir” is made with coconut milk, maca, reishi, maitake, turkey tail, lion’s mane, and ashwagandha and contains 250 calories per bottle. I’m saving the rest of mine for dessert.

Have you tried any of these at Whole Foods yet? Have you picked up anything else that’s new for the year?