Review: VeganSmart Protein Powder

It's time for another smoothie powder review! That's two in one week, so I apologize to any readers who aren't into protein powders. But I'm running my second marathon — Little Rock! — in four days, so I've been doing a LOT of running over the past few weeks. And that means a LOT of post-run protein smoothies. Thankfully, a few awesome companies have mailed me review samples of their powders.

This one — the All-in-One Nutritional Shake by VeganSmart — may be my new fave. Seriously. I've long held the number-one place in my heart for Vega One. And while I'll always love Vega One, this VeganSmart powder made for an even creamier smoothie than my Vega powders. Creamy smoothies = the best smoothies.

VeganSmart shipped me their Vanilla, Chocolate, and Wild Berries powder. Each packet contains 20 grams of plant-based protein (from pea, quinoa, potato, chlorella, and chia), a fiber and omega blend (with flax, bamboo, chicory, apple, and borage oil), a vegan energy blend (this does contain a little organic cane sugar, so some folks might be weird about that but I love sugar!), a whole food complex (made from real fruits and veggies), a digestive enzyme blend, and prebiotics.

I used these powders to develop a few new smoothie recipes. My very fave of these three was my Berries & Cashew Cream Smoothie. This was soooooo good that I actually took a spoon and scraped my empty glass after I was done to get all the remnants.

Berries & Cashew Cream Smoothie

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1 1/2 cups cashew milk

1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked if you don't have a high-speed blender)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1 packet VeganSmart Wild Berries All-in-One Nutritional Shake

2 Tbsp. vegan whipped topping (I used So Delicious CocoWhip)

I also used raspberries in this morning's Chocolate Raspberry Almond Smoothie! This combined the chocolate VeganSmart powder with almond butter, raspberries, and almond extract for a super almond-y treat.

Chocolate Raspberry Almond Smoothie

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1 1/2 cups cashew milk

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

1 Tbsp. roasted almond butter

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 packet VeganSmart Chocolate All-in-One Nutritional Shake

Ice

I've been on a big tahini kick lately, and I realized that I very rarely add it to my smoothies. But I should be because this Greenie Tahini Smoothie was AMAZING. So thick and creamy, and it has good-for-you stuff like spirulina and maca. The VeganSmart powder recommends using 12 ounces of plant milk, but I found with this one that using less milk (8 ounces) made it more like a thick milkshake. Who doesn't want a milkshake for breakfast?

Greenie Tahini Smoothie

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1 cup cashew milk

1 frozen banana

2 Tbsp. tahini

1 tsp. spirulina powder

1 tsp. maca powder

1 packet VeganSmart Vanilla All-in-One Nutritional Shake

Sadly, I'm now out of VeganSmart powder! I have quite a stash of Vega in my pantry because I bought about 15 tubs on sale at TJ Maxx awhile back. But I'm working my way through it (stash is about half gone!), and when it's time to re-up, I'll definitely be ordering some VeganSmart.