Vega “On the Run” Breakfast Challenge

By Jessica Michael

Chocolate, Very Berry, Natural and Vanilla Chai

I recently tried Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer as an experiment to see how it measures up to a regular breakfast and the results were eye-opening.   As most of you know, I already am an avid Vega/Sequel Naturals enthusiast but haven’t been drinking the shakes for a couple of months out of sheer laziness so this was a much needed reminder for me of how I should be eating.  Thankfully, Vega sent me four different flavors to try as I have only previously had the Vanilla Chai so I was excited to check them out!

When I don’t have my Vega shake, I eat a variety of things for breakfast including building my own smoothies (I need about 500 different ingredients in there to just get the same health benefits as a Vega Shake).  Unfortunately I’m not always good and do go for the bagel and cream cheese or the luscious but crappy pecan roll from Panera.

Here is how they add up (from Panera site):

Ouch – 730 calories from a tiny pecan roll?  I don’t think I need to tell you how fattening and terrible that is for you.

Here are the benefits from Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer (p.s. it’s only 240 calories):

Needless to say, I was looking forward to starting my four days of Vega to try to flush that Pecan Roll from my system.  Here is the lowdown on the four days of Power Breakfasts:

CHOCOLATE POWER

Day 1: There is no better way to start off your power smoothie breakfast challenge than with a little bit o’ chocolate.  Whether you add Cocao Nibs (oh yes, I went there) or just a banana, this Vega shake gave me so much energy and I didn’t have to put in tons of fruits and veggies to make sure I had enough vitamins and minerals because it’s already in there (though I do still like to add a little fresh greens to my smoothies for freshness sake, this week I’m letting it go)!  I haven’t had my Vega Shake for a while now and have been subsisting on whatever food I could find on my way to work.  Needless to say, my lack of Vega shakes has killed my path to veganism.  So I’m back on track this week, I feel so much cleaner and healthier knowing that what I’m putting in my body for breakfast is straight from nature itself.  Plus the added benefits of a cleaner running system (I won’t go into that here).   I also love the Vega smoothies because it doesn’t feel like I’m having this overwhelming chocolate swampy drink that tastes like it’s got so much sugar in it that it negates any healthy benefits.  It’s clean tasting and made with natural sweeteners like Stevia.

VERY BERRY

Day 2: I only have two days left after today to have my smoothies and I’m kind of bummed out that I don’t have more healthy deliciousness for the rest of my week.  In today’s shake, I added some cacao nibs and Almond Milk.  Most of my shakes are made with unsweetened almond milk because I find that fruit juices provide a little too much sugar, I don’t know about you but overdosing on sugar sometimes makes me sick.
The Very Berry taste is definitely not overwhelming, it’s not as “berry” tasting as I would have liked but still really good.

VANILLA CHAI

Day 3: Vanilla Chai is the flavor that I usually purchase on my own.  I love this flavor because it is probably the sweetest one of all the Vega WFHO.  What can I say, I have a sweet tooth! 

NATURAL FLAVOR

Day 4: Final day, sniff sniff.  This one might be the best of all four flavors because you can play with it.  You can make it anything you want.  You want it to taste “Peachy Keen” add a peach and some apple juice.  You want it to be chocolaty?  Add some Cacao nibs and cocoa powder and maybe a date or two, you’re free to be completely creative.

All in all it has been a great four days of not having to think about what I’m eating for breakfast.  I know that I’ve been able to get all the vitamins, minerals, protein and carbs that I need in one fantastic meal.  It’s been so easy to just pop it in the blender with some ice and take on the go and it gives me the energy I need to get through my morning.

Thanks Vega for letting me have four fantastic days of Whole Food Love!  If you’d like to see how your breakfast compares, take the Breakfast Challenge on your own.  Check out these links for more information:

·         Breakfast Challenge: http://myvega.com/breakfast?cid=BLOG

·         Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vegafanpage?cid=BCBLOG

·         myvega.com: http://myvega.com/?cid=BCBLOG

·         Vega Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/VegaTeam?cid=BCBLOG

Vega Smoothie in a Healthmaster Blender

Me with Brendan at the beginning of my vegetarian journey

By Jessica Michael

I talk about Vega (Brendan Brazier’s Health company) shakes all the time and decided to post some pictures today.
Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer has the most amazing ingredients; Maca, hemp seeds, antioxidants, etc. the list goes on and on.  While the large tub is somewhat pricey – between $65 and $75 depending on which health food store you shop at- it lasts for an entire month as well as being about 99% organic. These nutrient packed tubs come in four flavors: Berry, Chocolate, Vanilla Chai and Natural.  It does say “14” servings (of two scoops) on the label but after speaking with Brendan at an event he assured me that one scoop is perfectly fine for a person of my height who exercises about 3-4 days a week.  However, if you’re a very active person or a larger man, two scoops is probably better for you.
(For an after-exercise drink, Brendan recommended coconut water to replace your electrolytes)

My smoothies are usually made with frozen berries, bananas, either Kale or Spinach :

I also add unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk.  Fruit has all the sweetness you need already packed in, plus the Vega shake has a natural sweetener already inside.

My most important purchase that I’ve ever made (for my health) was the Healthmaster.  I had been reading “Thrive” by Brendan Brazier, who recommends the smoothies and soups etc. and I realized I didn’t have any way of making them.

It was the infomercial that sucked me in and all the sudden I was spending $250 on a blender!  But that blender has literally saved my life.  I know people rave about the Vitamix, and truthfully I’ve never seen one but at almost $400, I think that the Healthmaster makes a great buy for only $250.  It makes soups, smoothies, ice creams and even juices things if you own a strainer; I’ve heard that you can even make some breads in this thing.  It’s worth the investment and I use it almost daily.   Healthmaster doesn’t have to pay me to rave about them, I am a true convert!

Both of these get a 5 Carrot rating for being life-changing.

For more information on Vega and Brendan Brazier (who helped me to become a vegetarian) go to http://myvega.com/. This site also provides a community of vegans and vegetarians who are striving for health and they are great resources!

For more information on the Healthmaster go to http://www.myhealthmaster.com/ which also has some great resources like recipes and reviews.