Vegan protein powder

More smoothie recipes to share!

Thanks to Vega, I enjoyed two new, and quite delicious, smoothies this week! Vega, developed by Ironman Brendan Brazier, is a line of plant-based nutritional supplements. From the website:

“With Vega, you’re not just nourishing your body— you’re making a stand for vitality, never having to compromise between whole food goodness and fast food convenience when choosing your fuel for life.”

Some of Vega’s products include a Whole Food Optimizer, Shake and Go Smoothies, Antioxidant Oil Blend, Sport Performance Protein, and Whole Food Energy Bars. The company sent me samples of their Sport Performance Protein in Chocolate and Vanilla flavors.

Once looking at the stats, I was pretty pumped to give this a try. I’m always looking for vegan protein powders that taste good and measure up nutritionally. Vega definitely packs a lot into a scoop with 20g of plant protein (brown rice, green pea, hemp, alfalfa and spirulina proteins), 5,000mg of BCAAs, digestive enzymes, and glutamine. Hello, post workout fuel!

Although I generally put my protein powders into a smoothie concoction versus mixing them with plain water, I figured I needed to see what they truly tasted like. I mixed a tiny bit of the packet with water to taste so I would be able to truly tell you what the flavor was like. You know what? Honestly, not bad at all! Not spectacular, but not too shabby. The color is a little off-putting, as the chocolate and vanilla are not brown and white in color when mixed, but instead a murky green color. Vega protein may not be attractive to look at, but it definitely stood up in the taste department. The chocolate and vanilla flavors definitely stood out, giving the mix a slight sweetness without added sugar. I could definitely see drinking this on its own if needed. However, I’m a smoothie girl, so the rest of the packet got dumped into a blender along with some other usuals.

Chocolate Vega Protein Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 Chocolate Vega Protein Packet
1 frozen banana
1/2-3/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp cocoa powder (for extra chocolaty flavor!)
4 ice cubes

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a blender, except ice, and blend until smooth and creamy. Add ice and blend until smooth.


A wonderful smoothie bowl was created and slurped up with a spoon 🙂

After such success with the chocolate flavor, I had high hopes for the vanilla. However, I admit, I was a little apprehensive at first. Vanilla proteins are hit or miss. Sometimes, they can taste pretty bland or chalky. Vega delivered again! On it’s own, mixed with water, wasn’t too bad. A little earthy flavor, combined with a vanilla sweetness. Since the color was already going to turn my smoothie a little green, I figured I might as well go all out and throw some spinach in to amp up the green (and the nutrition!).

Green Vanilla Vega Protein Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 packet of Vanilla Vega Protein
1 frozen banana
1 large handful of fresh spinach
1/2-3/4 cup almond milk
ice

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and blend until nice and creamy.


I could see peanut butter being great in either of these as well! I left it out because I wanted to pick up more of the true flavor of the protein in order to review it.

If you are looking for a quality vegan protein that is 100% plant-based, I would definitely recommend checking into Vega. These smoothies were great for recovery, and very satisfying after a sweaty workout, but would also be a delicious, cold snack during these summer months. A great alternative to a milkshake!

Do you use protein powders? If you’re vegan/vegetarian, what’s your favorite?

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