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.  

Souen Union Square

Much to the pleasure of two of my healthier friends, I agreed to go to Souen SoHo one day last year when I wasn't feeling particularly like myself was craving healthy food.  I'd been forewarned that there was fish on the menu, but aside from that it was nothing like I expected; I ordered the macro plate because nothing else piqued my interest.  I'd never before purposely eaten macrobiotic food; I assume it's just boring by nature.  So, other than discovering that I really don't like hijiki seaweed, I had nothing significantly good or bad to report; I didn't blog it.  Ok, I'll admit that the restroom sink was cool even though the dining room itself was nondescript at best, but really- that was it.  In any event, I assumed I'd try it again and then have a better sense of my opinion, but it turned out that I really had no urge to return.  Months and months later one of the same friends suggested we visit his favorite Souen: Union Square.  When I saw that they had an A things were looking up!

The modern dining room was packed: both the sushi bar and two floors of tables.  I distinctly smelled the fish, but my table mate disagreed (it could have been mind over matter?).  The menu again surprised me- nothing stood out as being extraordinarily appealing.  Although it was very cold outside, it was quite hot in the restaurant- so I decided to focus on something cool.  I skipped the generic vegetable sushi because now I'm spoiled, but I found this appealing on the lunch sandwich menu: stuffed tofu pita: whole wheat pita bread stuffed with homemade baked tofu, avocado, cucumbers, carrot, sprout, onion, and tofu dill mustard sauce.

The service was supremely slow, but the sammie was really good.  Fresh, tasty, and well-proportioned; my only complaints were that it was overly dressed and impossible to eat without utensils.  However, the pickles that it came with were delicious enough that I was able to easily overlook this minor infraction.

My pal also ordered from the sandwiches: seitan vegetable gyro: whole wheat pita bread stuffed with sautéed seitan, broccoli, green, carrot, and onion in olive oil and garlic, topped with tofu dill teriyaki sauce.  This looked really appetizing and it was reported that it was delicious.  I didn't try it; I'm very finicky with seitan, but I was also still too hot for warm food.

His lentil soup also received the thumbs up.

Souen Union Square was definitely a vast improvement over Soho.  I'd prefer not to eat where animals are served, but now that foodfeud has raved about the East Village location, I'll probably complete the trifecta.