Strawberry Green Smoothie: Vega One Protein Powder Recipe and Review

Embarrassingly, I've had a sample of the new Vega One Protein Powder* in my cupboard for about 4 months now. You might (or might not!) have noticed that I was basically absent from the blog for a few months during my very challenging winter term (January - March), and spring term is just starting to lighten up enough for me to start blogging again. I'm so thankful for that fact, as I see this blog as an enjoyable and relaxing way to talk about my favorite thing: food. Whenever I don't have time to write on here, my life seems a little less bright, so I'm always thankful for the breaks in schoolwork and studying that allow me a chance to put up a post again.

All that aside, I want to recommend this delicious protein powder to you today! Frankly, I'm not the biggest smoothie drinker in the winter months, specifically because I hate to drink anything cold when I'm already cold (either because of the weather outside or just the fact that I'm naturally cold all the time). When it gets warm outside, though, I tend to look towards smoothies as a regular snack or meal option. And since we've started having a wonderful heat wave here in Seattle (see? it DOESN'T rain all the time here, haters!), I've been enjoying smoothies quite often.

What I love about this protein powder is not only the flavor, but the amount of nutrients that are in every scoop-full. Per scoop, you get:

• only 150 calories 
• 20 grams of plant-based protein
• 1.5 grams of Omega-3 fatty acids
• 1 billion cfu (colony-forming units) of probiotics
• 26% of your daily recommended fiber intake
• ...and so much more!

The ingredients are simple, easy to pronounce and recognize, and, when added to a smoothie, the powder adds a delicious (but NOT overpowering) vanilla flavor. In playing around with smoothie creations recently, I've actually discovered that I prefer only using half the scoop at a time, because of the stevia aftertaste, but for those of you that don't mind it, I highly recommend using an entire scoop to get all the vitamins and nutrients intended for each serving.

I created the following green smoothie with this powder, and I have to say, it was pretty perfect. I made enough for one serving, but if you are particularly hungry or want to share, double this recipe to make even more!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Green Smoothie with Vega One Protein Powder
Vegan, Soy-free, Gluten-free, High-protein
Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/4 c. fresh strawberries (quartered)

1/4 c. canned (crushed) pineapple; include juice

1 c. kale - ripped off stem into small pieces - about 1 leaf

1/4 c. plain yogurt (I used So Delicious Coconut Plain Greek Yogurt)

1/2 c. coconut water (I used C2O coconut water with pulp)

1 scoop Vega One Protein Powder (French Vanilla flavor)

Prepare:

1. Put ingredients into blender in the order listed above. 
2. Cover and blend for about 10 seconds, then stir ingredients around, making sure to scrap off sides of glass. 
3. Blend until mixed and desired consistency. 
4. Scrap sides once more, blend for another 10 seconds, then pour into glass and enjoy.

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary sample of this protein powder from Vega; however, all pictures, thoughts, and recipes are my own.