Sometimes it takes regular people to stumble upon a really good thing.
That’s how cheribundi™ was created: snacking on tart cherries eased a
regular person’s back pain. This anecdotal cure was researched by food
scientists at Cornell University who not only uncovered the benefits of
tart cherries, but also developed a proprietary juicing process so all
the cherry-goodness and nutrients could be delivered in a great tasting
juice.
Cherries actually have a number of health benefits that I was unaware of, and happy to learn from Cheribundi's website. Cherries are full of phytonutrients, which are natural components of fruits and vegetables. They help the fruits and vegetables grow and regenerate cells. The phytonutrients in cherries include such things as: anthocyanins, melatonin, phenolic acids, and flavanoids. These phytonutrients are thought to have positive side-effects in humans as well, whether it be for better heart heart, reducing oxidative stress and fighting free radicals, or anti-inflammatory-like properties. Cherries have one of the highest amounts of phytonutrients amongst all their fruit and vegetable relatives. Cheribundi also utilizes TART cherries, which actually have more phytonutrients than a pomegranate, acai berry, grapes or blueberries! All of these ingredients are great for better overall health, as well as a better night's sleep and a more rewarding exercise session.
Cheribundi's regular line of drinks (not the Refresh or Tea varieties) have an average of 40-50 cherries packed into a 8 oz. bottle! All of their cherry juice is fresh; whole cherries are pressed and the cherry juice is generated right away. Some other brands of cherry juice are made from concentrate once a year and are stored for months before they are turned back into juice...ick! In the various flavors of Cheribundi, you'll find all sorts of nutritious Vitamins and minerals, such as: Vitamin A, Potassium, Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin B. These vitamins are important for building up your immune system and your health as a whole. Cheribundi has one of the highest ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) ratings amongst different juice brands, which means that their juices are better at absorbing and neutralizing free radicals.
Cheribundi has such great products, that even the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and NCAA are using them!
Cheribundi offers the following selection of products that were not featured in this review:
Tart Cherry Juice - Our original juice in a bold new package! Packed with 50 cherries and
lightly sweetened with apple juice for a blast of healthy cherry
goodness.
Tart Cherry Juice Light - Our skinny, calorie reduced tart cherry juice in a bold new package!
Gently sweetened with natural extracts of the Stevia plant for a blast
of healthy cherry goodness with 1/3 less calories.
Tart Cherry Rebuild - Loaded with tart cherry benefits and topped off with added whey protein providing natural rebuilding power for active bodies
Tart Cherry Restore - All the tart cherry benefits for your body plus electrolytes and B-vitamin complex to put back what your work-out used up.
Tart Cherry Relax - The naturally occurring Melatonin in tart cherries plus L-theanine,
extracted from tea leaves, combine to promote peaceful recuperative
sleep and sharpen you for your next day's challenges.
You can buy Cheribundi products online at the Cheribundi website, or in some major retailers such as Hannaford or Whole Foods.
Cheribundi was generous enough to send me a whole case of their products, containing the following types of drinks:
Tart Cherry Raspberry Refresh – This 16.9 fl. oz. Drink has 90 calories per
8 fl. oz. Serving, 0g of fat, 0mg of sodium, 35mg of potassium, 22g
of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. It has 2% daily value of Vitamin
A, and 2% daily value of Iron. Tart Cherry Raspberry Cheribundi
contains the following ingredients: Water, Tart Cherry Juice,
Raspberry Juice, Sugar, Apple Juice from Concentrate (Water, Apple
Juice Concentrate), Citric Acid.
Tart Cherry Cranberry Refresh – This 16.9 fl. oz. Drink has 90 calories per
8 fl. oz. Serving, 9g of fat, 5mg of sodium, 35mg of potassium, 22g
of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. It has 6% daily value of Vitamin
A and 2% daily value of Iron. Tart Cherry Cranberry Cheribundi
contains the following ingredients: Water, Tart Cherry Juice,
Cranberry Juie from Concentrate (Water, Cranberry Juice Concentrate),
Sugar, Orange Juice from Concentrate (Water, Orange Juice
Concentrate), Citric Acid, Natural Flavor.
Tart Cherry Lemonade Refresh - This 16.9 fl. oz. drink has 80 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 0mg of sodium, 45mg of potassium, 19g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. It has 2% daily value of Vitamin A and 2% daily value of Iron. Tart Cherry Lemonade Cheribundi contains the following ingredients: Water, Tart Cherry Juice, Sugar, Apple Juice from Concentrate (Water, Apple Juice Concentrate), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor.
Tart Cherry Pomegranate Refresh - This 16.9 fl. oz. drink has 100 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 5mg of sodium, 85mg of potassium, 24g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. It has 2% daily value of Vitamin A and 2% daily value of Iron. Tart Cherry Pomegranate Cheribundi contains the following ingredients: Water, Tart Cherry Juice, Pomegranate Juice from Concentrate (Water, Pomegranate Juice Concentrate), Sugar, Apple Juice from Concentrate (Water, Apple Juice Concentrate), Citric Acid.
Tart Cherry Blueberry Refresh - This 16.9 fl. oz drink has 100 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 0mg of sodium, 35mg of potassium, 24g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. It has 2% daily value of Vitamin A and 2% daily value of Iron. Tart Cherry Blueberry Refresh contains the following ingredients: Water, Tart Cherry Juice, Blueberry Juice from Concentrate (Water, Blueberry Juice Concentrate), Sugar, Citric Acid.
Tart Cherry Rooibos Tea - This 16.9 fl. oz drink has 80 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 10mg of sodium, 15mg of potassium, 15g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. Tart Cherry Rooibos Tea contains the following ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tart Cherry Juice, Rooibos Tea, Citric Acid.
Tart Cherry Black Tea - This 16.9 fl. oz. drink has 80 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 10mg of sodium, 15mg of potassium, 19g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. Tart Cherry Black Tea contains the following ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tart Cherry Juice, Tea, Citric Acid
Tart Cherry Green Tea - This 16.9 fl. oz. drink has 80 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 10mg of sodium, 15mg of potassium, 19g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. Tart Cherry Green Tea contains the following ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tart Cherry Juice, Green Tea, Citric Acid.
Tart Cherry Jasmine Tea - This 16.9 fl. oz. drink has 80 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving, 0g of fat, 10mg of sodium, 15mg of potassium, 19g of carbohydrates, and 0g of protein. Tart Cherry Jasmine Tea contains the following ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tart Cherry Juice, Jasmine Tea (Green Tea, Jasmine Flowers), Citric Acid.
I was really curious to see if I would like the tart taste of Cheribundi, because I am always actively looking for alternatives to my Diet Pepsi addiction. I want to experience new types of juices and unique flavors that will satisfy me on a day-to-day basis. It is also important to me to try and get off of the Diet Pepsi because of the harsh chemicals and unnatural sweeteners it contains. I want to drink something where I recognize all of the ingredients and I know that they are beneficial to my health. However, I do not like loading up on calories and fat from some of the sugary "juice" blends I find in the grocery store...that is NOT the type of alternative I am looking for.
While we have not tried every single flavor yet, my boyfriend and I put the Cheribundi drinks in the fridge right away, and we have been drinking them with our lunch and dinner. We even brought some to the beach the other day! This package actually came at a very helpful time, because we are just starting out with a new apartment and we don't have a huge budget to buy things to stock our fridge and cupboards. My boyfriend was so excited when these arrived on our doorstep. He is already a huge juice fan, but neither of us had ever had the opportunity to try Cheribundi before. We both loved that Cheribundi sent such a large selection, so that we could really find which was our favorite flavor for future reference.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the tart cherry taste; it is more sour than sweet and has a sharp flavor, but it is tasty! I can honestly say that I have never had a cherry juice drink, or seen another brand on the shelves at my local store. I feel good about drinking it, because each of the Cheribundi varieties is loaded with solid, nutritional content and not many calories; you can really taste the all-natural difference. These drinks are very refreshing on a hot day, and went nicely with our picnic lunch at the beach. My personal favorite was the Tart Cherry Pomegranate Refresh. I am already a huge pomegranate fan, but the mixture of tart cherry juice and pomegranate juice was a whole new thing! The two juices compliment each other and blend well to make a sweet and flavorful drink that is better than cherry or pomegranate juice alone. It is such a unique flavor that it is hard to describe! My boyfriend's favorite was the Tart Cherry Lemonade Refresh. He said that it was tangy, flavorful, and a new spin on classic, old-time lemonade. He said that he never thought of putting the two flavors together, but that they really make a great pair...this is a product he will definitely be purchasing again in the future.
My second favorite Cheribundi drink was the Tart Cherry Raspberry Refresh. My boyfriend doesn't like raspberries so he was not a fan, but I love them. The only Refresh drink that I did not like was the Cranberry -- but that is just a personal preference, since cranberries are not on the top of my list of favorite fruits. It tasted too much like something I would force myself to drink if I was trying to be healthy. On the other hand, my boyfriend liked it. Really, I recommend all of the Cheribundi drinks -- just don't grab up the ones that contain fruits you don't like to begin with. :) The Cheribundi Tea line also surprised me. Sometimes the tea blend drinks that I find in the store or in a vending machine are overly sweet and artificial tasting...enough to make me feel sick. I wasn't sure if I would like the Cheribundi tea or not, but I did! That's saying a lot, because I would never intentionally buy tea..I would only drink it if it was offered to me at someone's house. My favorite was the Tart Cherry Rooibos Tea; I have never tried Rooibos Tea, but I am guessing that I would like it. It has a very unique flavor that mixed well with the tart cherry juice. My boyfriend HATES tea of any kind, but I asked him to try the Cheribundi tea just to appease me. Actually, he liked it too! So I guess that is a testament to the quality taste of their drinks. His favorite was the Tart Cherry Green Tea, which reminded him of some of the Bubble Tea that we had ordered at a restaurant once.
If you are not a big fan of the tart cherry taste, these juices are great to use in smoothies! I always make my smoothies with greek yogurt, a fruit based juice, some ice cubes, and a variety of fresh fruit. I think I may have found a new favorite fruit based juice for my concoctions. I think the Cheribundi Refresh drinks have the right blend of tart cherry juice and other fruits to make these smoothies phenomenal. We don't have a blender yet, but when we get one, I will be sure to report back on how this tasted! Also, I don't know how many of you have heard of it, but my boyfriend and I are big "Bubble Tea" fans. We recently bought our own tapioca "pearls" and tea so that we could try our hand at making a batch. With bubble tea, you have the option of adding milk and fruit juices to make different flavors and consistencies. I love the milky varieties in all fruit flavors. We both a tropical fruit blend juice to use in our bubble tea, but I think that I am going to try the Tart Cherry Lemonade in one batch as well, out of curiosity. I am also wondering if you might be able to substitute one of the Cheribundi tea blends for actual tea - I don't know if that would change the consistency, but since they are so flavorful compared to regular tea, I would love to try it!
Interested in learning more about Cheribundi and their products? Check out the links below:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
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