Vega Sport Review & a Free Giveaway!

I have to prelude this post with the disclaimer that I am ideally a fan of whole-food based nutrition. Having dedicated myself more seriously to LFRV-ism over the past week, it's obvious that I will always pick the banana over the vegan supplement. That being said, I do also respect and recognize the place that supplements and protein powders hold for some people, especially vegan athletes. I've used them in the past, and when they're organic, natural and plant-based, I think they're great!

So last week, the lovely people at Sequel Naturals sent me a couple packs of their Vega Sport to try out. (They ship both in the US and Canada!) As you may know, Vega was designed by plant-fueled triathlete, Brendan Brazier, and if there's a guy who knows vegan fitness nutrition it's him. He's got pre-workout, during-workout, and post-workout nutrition down to a science. As a triathlete, he's worked really hard to find optimally-absorbable vegan supplements and powders for any person on any diet.

His stuff has been on the market for quite some time now. In fact, I have a very fond memory of Vega, because it was one of those quirky vegan fitness products I discovered in Andrew's apartment when we first met (and I was still an omnivore). Little did I know that he would turn me into a vegan fitness enthusiast too. Since then, we've used the traditional Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer off and on, and it's always been both tasty and handy. Mostly, it allowed us to sleep at night because we could be 100% sure that we were getting all the vitamins and minerals we needed on our diet.

Since then, Vega has expanded to include a specially designed Vega Sport (which I'll get to in a moment) for workout optimization; the Shake & Go, a mix you can just blend with water to get an optimal nutrient (and probiotic!) boost when you're on the run; and the Smoothie Infusion which is the perfect protein, fiber, and Omega 3 blend for all your smoothie making needs. One of the reasons I've always found Vega so great is that aside from being nutrient packed, all of the ingredients are sourced from a recognizable food item, so reading its product labels is a piece of cake.

The Vega Sport I got to try comes in two varieties:

• Performance Protein, a natural plant-based protein blend designed to improve your workout, while reducing inflammation and recovery time. I tried it in vanilla (also comes in berry flavour) after my workout.
• Pre-Workout Performance Optimizer Beverage, designed to sustain your energy, enhance your focus, and increase your aerobic and anaerobic capacity during your workout. It also replenishes your electrolytes, reduces inflammation and any joint or muscle pain during recovery, and helps improve your body composition in part by reducing body fat. I got to try the Acai Berry flavour before my workout (it also comes in lemon-lime).

The verdict? Both of them were really tasty and blended easily into our pre- and post-workout smoothies! I didn't make a crazy fancy smoothie for the occasion, just the usual banana, blueberry, water and spinach type combo and they were a lovely addition. I can't really attest to whether or not they worked their magic, but considering I definitely jumped right back up from those workouts, I'm assuming something worked.

And now, onto the giveaway!!!

Seeing as how my blog recently turned 2, I finally got my own url, and that I haven't hosted a giveaway since I said goodbye to my first dehydrator, I figured it was high time to get back into the gratitude wagon. So to say thanks to all my readers and followers, one of you awesome peeps will received a vegan goodie bag from me!

As the die-hard smoothie maker I am, I've included one sample pack of each blend of the Vega product spectrum, other great smoothie boosters like Amazing Grass Superfood mix, organic wheat grass powder... and what would a giveaway be without chocolate? I've also included a yummy bar of MacaSure and chocolate covered sacha inchi seeds. I may also add more yummies if I'm in the mood ;)

For a chance to win, please leave a comment and tell me something you're grateful for. Anyone can enter, you don't have to have a blog or anything special like that.

I (or my kitten) will randomly pick a winner on July 1st, which also happens to be Canada Day, eh! When I'll announce the winner, I'll need some contact info to get in touch with them and ship the goods!

Enter away, and good luck!