Vanilla Almond Smoothie

Eating a vegan diet, one concern that often comes up is sources of complete protein and vitamins. While I firmly believe that eating a vegan diet is much healthier than a meat eating one, the question keeps coming up. Research shows that following a whole foods vegan diet leads to increased digestibility of protein, vitamins, and minerals, since a whole food vegan diet is easy to digest. Still, I like to start of my morning right, and most vegan gluten free breakfasts leave me hungry 5 minutes later. Hence, my morning protein smoothie ritual. Words cannot express how good I feel when I start of my morning with a healthy, and preferably green breakfast smoothie. In my 2 years as a vegan, I have tried many smoothie protein powders with mixed success. Some tasted AWFUL, while others tasted better but loaded with isolated soy protein (official word is still out, but I believe in sticking to vegetables and whole foods, instead of relying on isolated soy protein for my only protein source). I found the best combination of healthy and tasty smoothies in Sequel Natural's Vega Whole Food Optimizer Smoothie Mix.

Vanilla Chai Green Morning Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 scoop Vanilla Chai Flavor Vega Whole Food Optimizer

1 scoop Vega Smoothie Optimizer (loaded with green stuff)

1 tablespoon Raw Crunchy Unsalted Almond Butter

1 small banana

water to blend to smooth (or natural Zico Coconut water for a boost of potassium)

No matter how hard I try, this usually make enough for 2 smoothies. I usually have 1/2 of the recipe before my morning bootcamp, and the remainder when I get back. Keeps me from getting that post-work out energy crash. Nutrition Facts based on recipe made with water. Add appropriate calories for coconut water.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 398

Total Fat: 14.3

Saturated Fat: 14.3g

Trans Fat: 0

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 85mg

Carbohydrates: 47grams

Dietary Fiber: 15.5 grams

Sugars: 16.1 grams

Protein: 24.5 grams

Vitamin A: 56%

Vitamin C: 68%

Calcium: 61%

Iron: 69%