Green Smoothie Powder!

I might as well change the name of this blog to "Bianca Drinks Smoothies." I feel like I'm posting about smoothies ALL THE TIME these days, but as I've said before, smoothies are such an important part of my diet. I typically drink Vega One protein smoothies after runs for recovery.

But sometimes, I drink smoothies BEFORE workouts for energy. When I do, I prefer less protein and plenty of fruit for quick, easy-to-break-down energy. And a little greens certainly can't hurt! But let's be honest — when I first wake up at 5 a.m. to do yoga or run or do cross-training stuff, I don't have time to  wash and de-stem kale or chop broccoli. I'm not about that life.

Enter Kaeng Raeng Daily Green Energy.

This is an organic green superfood and protein drink powder. But not too much protein for a pre-workout. It only has six grams compared with Vega One's 20 grams. It's from the makers of the Kaeng Raeng Cleanse, the three-smoothie-a-day cleanse that I've reviewed a couple of times now (you can read my review of their original formula here and my review of their soy-free formula here). I'm a huge fan of the smoothie powders included in their three-day cleanse, so I figured this would also be great.

And my suspicions were correct. I tried the powder in a Strawberry Banana Smoothie this morning before yoga and strength-training.

This smoothie had almond milk, half a frozen banana, three fresh strawberries, and a package of Kaeng Raeng Daily Green Energy. The Kaeng Raeng+banana combo gave the drink a creamy consistency, and even though it was loaded with greens, it didn't taste too green. The powder is made with dried banana, strawberries, and blueberries, so my choice of fresh fruit was a perfect complement.

The package suggests mixing with 8-12 ounces of liquid, but my experience mixing powders with straight water have been pretty awful. While this powder was fantastic in my smoothie, I don't think it would have been so great on its own. They even suggest mixing it into a smoothie for "added flavor or thickness." Good call.

This smoothie started my morning off just right with vitamins A, C, and all the B's, calcium, iron, manganese, and other vitamins and minerals. Plus, it's loaded with chlorella, spinach, celery, spirulina, ginger, broccoli, and carrots. Now that's a good way to start the day! And since I had this pre-workout, I got to have another breakfast (toast with tofu and marmite) afterward. I'm like a Hobbit!