New Vega Sport Performance Protein

I'm back to running again! As you may know if you've been following my occasional whiny posts over the past eight months, I've been suffering from a hellacious case of runner's knee. For months, it seemed like even the physical therapy exercises I was prescribed weren't working. And honestly, I still have knee pain when I squat or do lunges or walk up stairs. But it doesn't hurt when I run for now. And I've been taping my knees with KT tape.

For me, part of the joy of running comes in the form of my post-run smoothie. I experiment with different protein powders from time to time. But my fave has always been (and probably always will be) Vega. It's stevia-sweetened and made with high-quality vegan plant protein. I typically use Vega One, which is loaded with all kinds of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, greens, and omegas after my shorter runs.

But when I start to step up training for a half-marathon (and hopefully a full marathon later this year!), I will start following runs with Vega Sport, which contains a whopping 30 grams of protein per scoop. That's great for post-run muscle recovery. Vega recently released a new formula for Vega One, and now they've released a new Vega Sport formula.

The new formula has increased protein (made from non-gmo pea, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, and alfalfa seed), glutamine, probiotics, BCAAs, and added performance boosters, like turmeric, tart cherry, black pepper, and bromelain.

Vega sent me some samples to review. Yay! So I used each flavor — Vanilla, Chocolate, Berry, and Mocha — to create a new recipe. I love each flavor, but vanilla is probably my fave just because it's so versatile for pairing. As always with Vega powders, they blend wonderfully. There's no gritty texture, and they work well to thicken smoothies. One thing to note: For the following recipes, I used a 1/2 scoop of Vega Sport (for 15 grams of protein) because I'm not at a level yet where I need 30 grams. I'll start using full scoops when I get up to 10 miles or so.  Right now, I'm just back at 5K level since I basically had to start over.

If you choose to make the following recipes with a full scoop, bump the plant milk up from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups. 

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie
2 tbsp. vegan cream cheese (I prefer Kite Hill)
1 cup cashew milk
1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 scoop Vega Sport Performance ProteinVanilla
Ice
Graham cracker crumbs

Combine all ingredients (except for graham cracker crumbs) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Top with graham cracker crumbs.

Mixed Berry Banana Smoothie

1/2 scoop Vega Sport Performance Protein Berry
1 cup cashew milk
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup spinach 

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Smoothie
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2  cup almond milk
1/2 strong cold coffee
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 scoop Vega Sport Performance Protein Mocha
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Ice
2 tbsp. vegan whipped topping (I used CocoWhip)

Combine all ingredients (except for whipped topping) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Top with whipped topping.

Chocolate Cranberry Citrus Smoothie
1 cup cashew milk
1/2 scoop Vega Sport Performance Protein Chocolate
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen cranberry
1 clementine, peeled

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.