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?

Vega Shake and Go Smoothies

A couple of months ago, Vega generously put out a call to bloggers offering samples of their Shake & Go Smoothies.  Since I've been toying with the idea of a short-term juice fast, I thought this might point me in the right direction and I took them up on it.  I was impressed to receive a 5-pack assortment of varying flavors and thrilled to see that the directions were simple: "Just add water, shake, and go!"  Since I have water, my measly muscles are capable of shaking, and I really do have to go (to work every morning), this sounded just right; being healthy ain't so hard after all ;-)

I decided to start with the tropical tango flavor because I rarely keep orange juice in the house and I really miss the citrus.  It was suggested to me that I actually mix the Vega with orange juice, but I didn't have any (see above).  I wasn't too disappointed since I really wanted to try the product exactly as intended;  an additional element would have both defeated the convenience aspect and affected the taste. 

I was surprised that the powder smelled like Hi-C, but the green-tinged orange color of the mix allayed any concerns that it might taste the same.  I vigorously shook the contents of the package with ice water in a lidded Magic Bullet mug, but could see unappetizing bits of green on the sides of the cup and collecting on the bottom; I was afraid to try it.  Thanks to No Meat Athlete's suggestion, I quickly added about a dozen small ice cubes, gave it another shake, and headed off to work. 

I'll admit that I feared it might taste like Tang (which I never liked), but it was much too thick to even be compared.  After two small sips I had to add some extra water to dilute it.  That seemed to thin it out, but although the powder was no longer visible, it was still discernable between my teeth.  I did manage to drink the whole thing and may have even felt a little bright-eyed as a result- albeit slightly nauseous.  A large glass of water was in order to wash it all down.

the only bits I like in my drinks are chocolate chips

I had every intention of trying the chocolate next, but punked out and went with the vanilla almondilla (like godzilla?).  The mix smelled unpleasant, but once it was shaken with 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup ice, the smell inexplicably transformed into something dinstinctly almond.  The hue, however, was decidedly green.

Despite the unappealling color, I do think this flavor was better.  Unfortunately, I was still left unsettled by the consistency- which is that of a watery smoothie, but with a bit of chalkiness.  It did fill me up, but I had to have a few pretzels an hour later to get the taste out of my mouth cleanse my palate.

I really did shake and go.

The next day I decided that I would really try the chocolate flavor; it was go big or go home time.  Best case scenario?  Yoo-Hoo.  Worst case?  Well...

I admit that I wussed out and didn't just shake and go this time.  Instead, I mixed it up- smoothie style, with a banana and lots of ice; this was the best of the bunch!  I'm not saying it was a chocolate shake, but it was a relatively outstanding chocolate smoothie- and that's saying a lot.  Mixing it with the water, fruit, and ice absolutely solved the problem I was having with consistency.

I've yet to try the remaining flavors: raspberry and plain, since I think I'd prefer to just stock up on the chocolate for now. 

But, I think it's safe to assume that if I enjoyed the chocolate, those of you who normally enjoy fruit smoothies may enjoy those flavors much more than I did; give them a try and see for yourself.

Thanks to Vega for sending me the samples to review; I would recommend the Vega Shake and Go Smoothies as a great way to get your nutrients when you're on the go, but I'd definitely add fruit and ice for improved taste and texture.  

Cacao Smoothie (With Fruit)

As a lover of dark chocolate, I have always just assumed that I would like raw cacao.  However, when I finally decided to try some organic, raw, cacao nibs I was more than a little disappointed.  They were delightfully crunchy, but a little too bitter.  Plus, there was an underlying taste I couldn't quite put my finger on.  I tried to bake some into a peanut butter cookie (in place of a non-vegan chocolate kiss), but it came out simultaneously unmelted and slightly burnt (my baking prowess is second only to my cooking prowess).  I was left wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my bag o' nibs.  Smoothie to the rescue. 

I am a simple smoothie type of gal: one fruit, one milk, sweetener...never juice or veggies (ack!).  My standard is blueberry & soy milk, but if I'm feeling crazy I'll try banana with coconut milk & cinnamon.  Per usual, I don't mix chocolate (dessert) with fruit (healthy).  But I had inexplicably picked up some frozen dark cherries from Trader Joe's and thought that they mightn't be horrible mixed into a shake smoothie with the cacao nibs.  Perhaps the residual effect of the cherry chocolate almond cup incident?  Whatever the impetus, the mixture was scrumptious. 

I know that cacao is full of antioxidants and a lot of other good stuff (iron, fiber, magnesium), but basically I'm here to tell you that it gives your smoothie an unparalleled chocolatey taste that trumps all of the healthy reasons that would otherwise lure you to partake.  While the taste of the plain cacao was a bit too pungent for my palate, it was somehow perfect within my black cherry smoothie.  I realize that most people use the powdered cacao in smoothies, but I wound up really liking the crunchy bits that remained from my nibs: reminiscent of the millions of non-vegan coffee chip shakes I'd consumed as a teenager working in an ice cream store.  Slurp, swallow, munch, repeat.

So, here's my "recipe":
Take one Magic Bullet mug and fill it up half way with frozen fruit (I used dark cherries).
Cover the fruit with milk (I used soy) & squirt in some agave.
Generously spoon in cacao nibs (I proudly used six teaspoons).
Whir away, adding milk and/or ice depending upon how thick you like your shake smoothie.

Genius, I know.  The cookbook will be out soon.