Vega Winner!

Its that time again! Time to pick a winner! I have to say, I'm really glad that Vega is doing the mailing this time because I am terrible at getting to the post office. I know it sounds silly, but I honestly just don't live or work near one.

Anyway, congrats our winner of this awesome giveaway by Sequel Naturals:

Gabriela!

Many thanks to everyone who entered, and definitely give the bars a try. I do have to say that I preferred the original out of the two that I tried, but they do have them in chocolate too!

Gabriela, I will get in touch with you and get all of your information for the people at Sequel.

Have a great weekend everyone!! And thanks for the tips on what you do when you're not feeling so great, I'm doing a lot better!

Sniffles

::Sniffle::

So I've been sick the past few days, and don't have much to post about, but I did want to update to let you guys know that a winner for the Vega Vibrancy Bar Giveaway will be chosen this Friday, February 19!

Be sure to get your comments in on the Giveaway Post (not this post, please!), and link back if you'd like a second entry! Sorry I forgot to post the end date when I originally posted the giveaway.

What do you do when you're sick? Do you ever take medication? I always try and wait as long as possible to take something, but its hard with having to stand at work all day.

Vibrancy - Giveaway!

I haven't talked a lot about this yet, but I've been taking a Mysore Ashtanga class about three times a week. If you are unfamiliar, it is essentially the primary series of Ashtanga, self-led, with the teacher adding on pieces as you are ready until it is completed. I love it. I also love that I go first thing in the morning, because I walk away from it feeling so alive, peaceful, and vibrant, and ready to make my way through the day. If you follow me on twitter at all, I've been updating here and there, and I have working on standing up from my backbends. I am proud to say, I have got it down. Or up... Either way, I am dropping back and standing up unassisted. I am totally thrilled!

Along with that Mysore class adding some vibrancy to my life, I was lucky enough to be gifted from the lovely people at Sequel Naturals with some of their new Vibrancy bars.

The first big draw is the full name of the bar Whole Food Vibrancy Bar. I love doing product reviews for Vega because I know that they really focus on pure, whole, good foods, and these bars are no exception. In fact, this is what they had to say about them:

Each Vega Vibrancy bar features:

• Sprouts galore – Sprouts are like the express bus to nutrition. The sprouting process converts complex carbs into simple carbs, protein into amino acids, and fat into fatty acids, meaning your body doesn’t have to produce its own enzymes for digestion. Plus the nutrients are in a usable, highly digestible form. With 17.5g of sprouts, Vibrancy Bars have more sprouted ingredients than any other bar on the market.
• Raw protein – Packed with 10g of plant-based protein from sprouted buckwheat, hemp seeds, sprouted almonds, brown rice and pea protein.
• Fiber, fiber, fiber – With 20% of your daily recommended intake, Vega Vibrancy bars have 5g of soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows the release of carbs into the bloodstream, helping control insulin levels, prolong energy, and gives you feeling of fullness, signaling that hunger mechanism to shut off. Insoluble fiber is important in terms of digestive health and cleansing by ensuring toxins don’t build up and spread to the bloodstream.

Now, I know some of people have reservations about Vega. Maybe you've tried their whole food powders, maybe you've just heard, but they can be less than pleasant. I've found that the key to their protein powders is adding some fruit to it. Luckily, these bars don't need anything.

They're not too sweet, so they do have a bit of a "healthy" taste, but they also have a nice crunch from the buckwheat crispies in there, and they're just full of so much good stuff that I feel good about eating them. They can be a bit on the pricey side, but with all the goodness packed inside of them, they're definitely a worthwhile on the go treat.

I've done a few giveaways and reviews, and I have to say that the people at Vega are always so wonderful to work with. They're always friendly, they always check up to make sure I got the package because my building is terrible about letting me know when I have something waiting for me, and every once in awhile, they offer a giveaway for my readers too!

So, one of you will be the recipient of a Vega Vibrancy Bar prize pack from the people at Sequel.

The entry format is the same as always, minus tweeting...I just don't dig it:

To Enter:

1. Just leave a comment on here and you will be entered!

2. If you are really motivated and want another chance, give a mention to the giveaway on your blog.

OR

3. If you don't have a blog and want another chance, get someone else to comment, mentioning that you told them about the giveaway.

Good luck!! These bars are definitely worth a try. There are plenty of whole food bars out there, but I feel like these have the most goodness packed inside of them!!

Vega Sport - An Honest Review

How was everyone's weekend? Hopefully the weather was beautiful for you too, and you went out and did something fun. Yesterday morning, I lay in bed, convincing myself that I didn't have to work out. I don't usually work out on Sundays, but...I missed Friday. So I *should* work out, but it was, after all, a Sunday. A day to relax. The last day of the weekend. You know the feeling, right?

So I used my husband. Its always easier to go out and exercise if he is coming with. Coupled with a promise of breakfast at our favorite place, we took it the next level, and instead of doing cardio in our basement gym, we went for a run around the lake near our place.

Before we went though, we downed some of the newest product from Vega: Vega Sport Performance Optimizer.

I get a decent amount of products to review. Most of them are just fine. Although I've said before that Vega isn't my favorite. The regular stuff is too weird tasting me for me to bother with. The Smoothie Infusion isn't too bad, once its mixed with fruit, fruit juice, and maybe some coconut milk yogurt.

And while I've never been a fan of "performance optimzers" in the past, I really have to say that I love this stuff.

First: The Taste

Well, typical of Vega products, on its own it doesn't taste like ice cream going down. But it doesn't taste terrible either. In fact, I've only taken it three times, and its definitely a taste you get used to easily. I was gifted the berry variety, and its definitely drinkable on its own, but its actually good with half-water, half-apple cider.

Second: The Ingredients

If you know anything about Vega, you know that the ingredients are top notch. The main ingredient is sprouted whole grain brown rice syrup, intended to give you an instant energy boost, and organic palm nectar, for sustained energy (it claims around 30 minutes worth). Coupled with Yerba Mate, Green Tea, Kombucha, Rhodiola Extract, Ginger Extract, etc, this stuff is full of not only energy, but herbs that are meant to stimulate your system to help you naturally perform better.

Third: The Results

So all this doesn't matter if it doesn't work, right? Well, it does. And I don't just say this because they sent it to me, honestly, I wouldn't do that. This stuff, no joke, works. I first tried it last Monday and went for a run on the treadmill after not having ran for over two months because I hurt my knee. It seemed to work, but I wasn't convinced yet. After all, I ran pretty slow, and hey, it could have just been endorphins. I also used it before my first Mysore yoga class on Thursday, just to have something in my system.

But what really has convinced me that this product is awesome was our run yesterday. Remember, this is after not having really ran at all (besides Monday) for over two months). The loop around our lake is 3.65 miles, and I didn't feel the need to stop and walk for any of it. This might not mean anything to you, but I haven't not stopped on a run that long in well over a year. I have never felt that good on a run, my body never got tired, and my mind was completely clear and focused.

I also had a girl yell at me that I was her inspiration as we ran past her and her friend walking. So there you go, I have their new tag line. Vega Sport - Be Inspiring.

It comes in two flavors, and I have yet to try the lemon-lime. I don't really know what that would mix with, maybe orange juice? Suggestions anyone? At only 70 calories a serving, I feel it needs to be mixed with a little something.

So there you have it folks. A product that does what it claims to do. How often does that happen? Of course, Vega is always on the pricey side, but I really think this stuff is worth it. In fact, I will probably continue to purchase it myself once I run out of the container they were so generous to send me.

This actually makes me really excited to start running again. I'm seriously looking forward to doing our Turkey Trot again at the end of the month! Maybe I can get my dad to try it too!

A New (Raw) Day

The first time I ever did a "raw day" I was nervous about exercising.  Worried that I wouldn't be eating enough, not getting enough calories, would be tired, sluggish, etc.  Yesterday, after having some dates, I went out and ran (and walked) a total of 5 miles, and I'm still feeling pretty peachy.  

The menu included a lot of nut and seed soaking, prep time, and a very messy kitchen, but it was well worth it.  

Breakfast was a Vega Smoothie.  The very lovely people at Vega sent me a nice sized bag of Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion last week.  While the hemp in Vega is raw, the other proteins aren't (like the pea protein).  I figured with so much good stuff in it, was still okay with me to start a raw day.  

But, I was skeptical.  Oh SO skeptical.  I have regular Vega and I'm not a fan of it.  I bought it because it has so much great healthy stuff in it, but I just can't have it every day, for various reasons.  I decided I'd make their Blueberry Smoothie suggestion on the back of the package, since I had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market yesterday.  My first impression?  Ew.  The powder is a gross green color...but that's because its filled with greens (spirulina, spinach, broccoli, etc)!  So I sucked it up and made the smoothie.  And...it was really good!!  It was still a gross greenish brown color (hence the lack of picture...you didn't want to see it), but that's just what happens when you add greens to a smoothie.  The Vega Smoothie Infusion is about 120 calories a serving and has 14 grams of protein.  So the verdict is, if you're looking for a very healthy, very easy way to start (or end, or continue) you day, there is no denying that this stuff is really good for you, and pretty tasty to boot!

I can't possibly say enough about how delicious my lunch was, so I will just give you a picture which does not do it justice.  

This is the Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Everyday Raw, with Buckwheat Cheezies (recipe follows).  This was SO good.  What really made it just the best was that it was dehydrated for awhile, so the squash softened a little bit.  Really, this is fantastic, if you have the book, you must try it.  

The Buckwheat Cheezies are based on a recipe that was in Vegetarian Times a few months ago, but I made it raw-ish, so I will share.    

1/2 cup Raw Buckwheat Groats

1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (not raw)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves

5-ish Basil Leavs (depends on how much you like basil)

2 tsp salt

1.  Soak buckwheat groats overnight.  Give them some space because they just about double in size.

2.  Dehydrate the groats for about 3 hours at 104 degrees.

3.  Blend together the oil, garlic, salt, and basil until it makes a thick paste.

4.  When the groats are dehydrated, add them to a bowl with the paste and mush everything together until all the groats are more or less coated with something (it may not be even).  

5.  Dehydrate for another 30-60 minutes.

These are so yummy!  I wouldn't eat them by themselves, the raw garlic is fairly strong, but they were absolutely perfect over the baked mac and cheese.  Also, for those of you without a dehydrator, you can do this in a 300 degree oven too, which is what the original recipe calls for.  If you want to roll that way, you don't need to pre-dehydrate them, and you should only keep them in for 30 minutes.  Also, if you're not keeping it raw, you could cook the garlic with the oil.  

Makes 8 2-Tbsp Servings

Nutritional Information:  90.5 Calories;  4.1g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  10.7g Carbohydrates;  2.6g Fiber;  4.6g Protein.  And 181% of the RDA for Vitamin B12!

One of the things I was really itching to make with the dehydrator was Ani's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread.  

I had it as a raw sandwich for dinner along with her Sun-Dried Tomato Cheeze, topped with some avocado and tomato, along with some fresh farmer's market green beans.  This Cheeze was okay.  The Black Pepper Cheeze was way better.    

The bread was somewhat of a disaster, although it worked out in the end!  Because my kitchen is still in pieces all over the country, I don't have things like sieves, so it was hard to get all the water out of the teeny flaxseeds and sesame seeds.  I think that made it too watery, and it made a bit of a mess.  Again though, it worked out.  Next time I make it I think I'll take her advice to make a few batches of it.  I calculated the nutritional information for it and was really surprised.  I'm not a big "real" bread person, so I'd choose this any day.  

Makes 9 Slices

Nutrition Information:  167.6 Calories;  13.0g Total Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  9.6g Carbohydrates;  7.0g Fiber;  6.6g Protein

Dessert, of course, was the impetus for having a raw day at all.  I've had my eye on the Key Lime Kream Bars in Ani's Raw Food Desserts since the moment I opened the book.  

I really didn't need a "raw day" as an excuse to make them, since they came together in all of 5 minutes (plus freezing time).  They are yummy!  I made a dessert or two in Ani's first book and I thought that they were incredibly salty, but it seems like she's toned it down for this book, and everything I've tried so far (like the Strawberry Macaroons) has been fantastic! 

I really love having an (almost) entirely raw day.  Because I have far too much time on my hands now, I calculated the nutritional information for everything (email me if you want any of it), and it came to just about 2000 calories (including an orange I had for a snack), which is perfect for me.  What is really more important to me though, is that it all came from good, whole food.  Nothing is better than that, right?