Sunwarrior Smoothies & Simple Meals

The Vegan Zombie guys have the first couple of videos posted from the Vegan Vacation at Sea, Leaving for Seattle and Day 1 Leaving Seattle. Check them out if you want to see video from the cruise. I can’t wait to see the rest of the videos, such happy memories!

Leela has been having a rough week. For the last few years she always gets really itchy in October and I haven’t been able to figure out why, possibly an allergic reaction to something. The vet tried prednisone and other treatments, but the side affects were way worse and we’ve just been dealing with it bathing her and keeping her beds clean. But she’s been pouting under the coffee table lately.

While Smokey has been happy to continue to stalk us around the house yelling for more attention.

She may still be mad at us for going on vacation.

Smoothies are something I don’t write enough about considering they’re a regular part of my daily routine. Even on the weekends, we usually stick to smoothies for breakfast loaded with plant-based protein powder, kale, carrots, fruits, etc. and there is usually a variety of protein powders in the pantry to mix and match from.

I’ve fluctuated a lot in the percent of my vegan diet that is raw over the years, but breakfast smoothies have been a consistent habit for 5+ years now. They’re perfect for hurried week mornings when my stomach might still be waking up and for getting a jump on the fruit and vegetable servings for the day. I admit that I’ve gotten a bit pedestrian with them using plainer flavors and getting adventurous with what veggies I throw in from cauliflower, broccoli stalk, juicer pulp, to even raw beets and other veggie scraps I don’t want to waste. I’ve gotten comfortable with the concept that a good, nutrient dense smoothie is not gonna taste like a Wendy’s Frosty and it shouldn’t. I guess you could call them level 10 smoothies.

But I had to rethink that a bit when I started making double batches of smoothies every morning for hubby and I because level 10 smoothies take a little adjusting to and I wanted him to enjoy his smoothies and be willing to drink them again in the future. So texture and flavor became important again and some protein powders, such as plain hemp powder, can be a little earthy and bitter if not paired with a smoother powder, flavorings, and banana.

I jumped at the chance to try Sunwarrior protein products and they sent them in Blender Bottle which is awesome for traveling and toting large smoothies to work.

It was filled with lots of products from Sunwarrior to try, new smoothie supplements as well as protein powders.

I started with the Sunwarrior Classic Plus Organic Vanilla protein to try in our smoothies.

It’s a smooth rice protein enhanced with amino acids and 18 grams of protein per 100 calorie servings.

The powder is very fine, almost silky smooth.

I blended it with frozen kale, carrots, and frozen banana with just enough water in our Vitamix for a hearty smoothie.

It was delicious, almost like a sweet vanilla dessert shake with a very smooth texture. The flavor and texture just does not compare to plain hemp protein.

I got a little crazy for the second tasting blending the Sunwarrior Chocolate Warrior Blend Protein Powder with the Sunwarrior Immune Shield packet.

I know, crazy right? But I love being able to turn smoothies into super meals to charge into the day. The Immune Shield is a flavorless liquid that contains silver ions and other minerals for immunity support and blended easily with the powder. Can’t say how well it works, but it did not have a negative impact on the overall flavor of the smoothie.

Again I blended it with simply frozen kale, carrots, and banana to make a complete and hearty smoothie.

And I was pleasantly surprised at how strong the chocolate flavor was over the veggies and the smooth texture, it was almost a whipped and airy texture – not earthy or gritty.

Sunwarrior isn’t the cheapest plant-based protein powder and the costs can add up quick for adding supplemental smoothie boosters, but of all the protein powders I’ve tried – it has the smoothest texture and sweet flavorings strong enough to be blended with fruits and veggies. I have a few more products to try and review, but you can grab a blender bottle sample pack too here. For the price, I’ll grab another for hubby’s next business trip since that’s a better deal than buying individual smoothie packets locally.

One of the things I found really interesting about the Vegan Black Metal Chef from our cruise is that he refuses to measure ingredients which is very different from other chefs. He’s more about preparing recipes on the fly and to taste which is what my go to hummus dressing is. There is no measuring with this one, simply dump a large spoonful of hummus into a bowl, add some apple cider vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, water, and seasoning blend of choice to taste. Stir and done! I like to prepare a large spinach or kale salad with this dressing to eat from for a couple of days, the ingredients in the dressing also do a great job of preserving the greens making for simple work lunches or side salads with beans and rice hubby sweetly prepared.