Smoothie King: Vegan Smoothies powered by Sunwarrior

Months ago, Smoothie King generously offered to send me a gift card so I could try their then-new vegan smoothies "powered by Sunwarrior." Unfortunately, it arrived just as the weather was taking a turn for the worse and I was taking my annual hibernation from smoothies, so I've only just recently visited Smoothie King to have a go at the vegan options.

 

I was expecting two variations to choose from: mango kale and dark chocolate banana, but to my surprise there was a third listed: nutty super grain. I figured it must have been added sometime between now and when Smoothie King had first contacted me.

SK was empty when I visited late morning on a Saturday, and I was greeted happily. It turned out that the sign for the nutty super grain: Sunwarrior raw plant-based protein, almond milk, peanut butter, super grains, 100% cocoa, apple juice, bananas had preceded it's arrival, so I did have only two options to choose from. More importantly, I was happy to see that it was so easy to identify the vegan options on the menu. Two thumbs up on vegan branding, Smoothie King!

I asked the employee to tell me how much money was on my complimentary gift card and she gladly swiped it to let me know that it was loaded with $7.50. At $3.00/small smoothie*, I decided to get one of each. And, since there were plenty of vegan snacks available, I threw in a bag of salt & vinegar potato chips to use up the remaining dough.

*To my surprise, the total came to almost double of what I was expecting. Apparently I was reading the calorie counts as opposed to the prices. When I explained my surprise, the woman who was ringing me up said, "yeah; everyone does that..." which then begs the question: is it intentional? I eat out a lot and I've never before made this mistake.

I will say that while I wouldn't ordinarily pay $5.99 for a smoothie in the suburbs, weighing in at 20 ounces, it was of significant heft for a "small." However, I was shocked that the cups seemed to be made of styrofoam. I haven't eaten out of styrofoam since 1994 and I have to admit that I thought it had been banned. But, after spending $7.00 in addition to my entire gratis gift card, I decided to throw caution to the wind. Since I thought I recalled that drinking hot beverages out of styrofoam was the real health culprit, I let the environment be damned this time around.

I took these photos of the smoothies before trying them or leaving the store. There's just no prettying up a smoothie.

Since I'd gotten two, VM and I took them on the road with us as breakfast. I tasted both and decided that the dark chocolate banana: Sunwarrior raw plant-based protein, 100% cocoa, apple juice, bananas, acai sorbet was my preference. As it added more banana-y flavor the creaminess, I assume that the banana hadn't been frozen. I prefer things the other way around. But, I did unexpectedly enjoy the acai flavor mixed with the cocoa. Overall it was just okay.

VM, on the other hand, declared the dark chocolate banana inedible and said that if she had to pick one, it would be the mango kale: Sunwarrior raw plant-based protein, kale, mango juice blend, bananas, apple juice, almonds. She then promptly refused to take another sip of either. We agreed that there was something gritty about the mango kale; I'm not sure if it was the protein powder or perhaps the almonds hadn't been pureed smooth, but I couldn't drink much of that one. We ultimately had to deliver them both to OD, who will eat just about anything. But after a few gulps of each even he declared that he "didn't wanna." So, 2 smoothies + 3 people = this much down the drain.

Needless to say, it wasn't a success. Have you had a better experience with Smoothie King? Since it's smoothie season once again in the northeast (almost), what are your favorite smoothies?

Keep Your Greens Crisp in a Vejibag (VeganMoFo 2013)

89 does her part, but as a singleton, it's sometimes a race to finish all of the produce in the fridge before it's past its prime.  I've tried those green bags, but I can't help but feel that the condensation that accumulates on the bottom means my lettuce is sweating.  Besides, the last thing I need is more plastic in my life.  Fast forward to foodfeud blogging about vejibag, and I was extraordinarily intrigued.

As luck would have it, vejibag was generous enough to send me a bag for review.

Are you wondering what a vejibag is?

 

The vejibag came with simple instructions that I, of course, had to over-complicate.  To start, should I wash it in the washing machine before using?  Yes.  After I wet it, how hard do I wring it out?  Hard enough so that it's not dripping, but not so hard that it's practically dry: moisture is the key.  And later, do I fold the bag closed in the fridge or leave it open?

 

I folded it over like those confusing "sandwich" bags and have been doing so ever since; it seems to do the trick.

For the initial test, every morning- for 6 days straight, I reached into the bag to grab a huge handful of spinach for my green smoothie.  The spinach was fresh and crisp each time: right up until the last leaves.

I thought spinach would be the best test for the bag because 1) I use so much of it, and 2) I'd rate it's hardiness halfway between iceberg (limp) and kale (robust).  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to test the vejibag with anything else because I've since been addicted to using it for my spinach, which is always around for my daily smoothies.  Probably time to get another bag for other things.

spinach, banana, blueberries, flax, cinnamon, almond milk, water

And you should too.  It's true: "No more slimy vegetables."

You can buy them directly from their website and I highly suggest that you do. No one likes slimy vegetables.

Getting Acquainted With My Vegan Vitamix

I've been trying to get to know Vita, my vegan Vitamix.  In the first month of having her, I admit I didn't use her much; she just sat on my counter glaring at me with imposing menace.  Everyone I knew who loved their Vitamix also loved smoothies...and I didn't.  So, I began to think- again, that I'd made a mistake.   Then, when a non-vegan friend said she was considering doing a cleanse of sorts, I decided to do it with her; I can always stand to eat more healthfully.  Drawing on things we know we should do (but don't) and vice versa, as well as information gained from my previous cleanse, we came up with some rules*.  I took the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Vita.

more on this later

This recipe for curry carrot soup was the turning point; it made Vita worth every penny.  I actually used berbere instead of curry, so in my case it was an Ethiopian carrot soup and it was outstanding.  I sauteed the carrots and onions first for extra flavor (this was a suggestion in the search results, but oddly not within the recipe).

Using the same recipe, the very next night I skipped the carrots and berbere and made zucchini and jalapeno soup.  It wasn't as good as the carrot soup, but it was still really good.

My ratio of one, giant jalapeno with seeds to one medium zucchini may not have been proportionate; I had to have a handful of these to dull the burn.

 

In between, I made my first green smoothie (ok, maybe it was the second); you may recall that green juices do not go over well with me.  But my friend was a sport; she'd already made two by the time I finally got around to it.  I first used this cinnamon banana green smoothie recipe, because it didn't seem too weird.  I had enough anxiety about drinking green, nevermind the fact that I didn't want to think more specifically about mixing greens with milk.  It wasn't awful; I mostly tasted the banana and I was able to drink about 75% of the large portion before my gag reflex said enough.  It's really mind over matter with me and I have to keep in mind what my friend BYOL told me, "...you can benefit from adding just a little bit of greens to a non-green smoothie if the color is what is throwing you off."  Indeed!

After that I wanted to try a green smoothie recipe that didn't include milk, so I chose this kale, cucumber, and pineapple smoothie from Nava Atlas' Veg Kitchen.  I used orange juice and mango instead of pineapple because that's what I had; I could definitely taste the cucumber and mango the most.  Also, this time I halved the recipe; what it is about green smoothie recipes that assumes you're making them for two? 

I feeling really smug from starting each morning with a green smoothie knew was doing well healthwise, but nothing really stood out as far as taste was concerned until Julie Morris' raw mint chip superfood smoothie.  There was no flavor so discernible that I found myself wondering what it was; it just tasted like a cooling, mint shake.  That's exactly what I want in a smoothie!  Of course the first time I made it I wound up with a mere 8 ounces when I was striving for 12 (math, you are my enemy), but all day I kept thinking about how I'd have another one to look forward to the next morning.  Mind you, I had this thought on what was supposed to be the last day of the cleanse; eery, right?  But still, the next day....a weekend no less.

not a bagel

This has been going on for a couple of weeks now and I haven't died.  Not only am I feeling good about eating more healthfully (and glad to finally be getting my money's worth on Vita), but I'm also enjoying it enough to want to continue to do so.  Stay tuned. 

In case you're wondering, these were our tenets:

No:

alcohol

coffee

sugar

bread

oil

processed foods

prepared foods

animal products (in her case)

Yes:

everything else (fruits, veggies, beans/legumes, nuts/seed, spices, etc.)

I HIGHLY recommend doing this type of thing with a friend; it made it fun, relatable, and easier to face everyday- knowing someone else was choking down unusual smoothies in an effort to get it right as well.  We're both still going strong, and I dare say my friend is teetering on the precipice of vegetarianism.  Woo hoo!