Vegan Cuts Fitness Fuel Box!

A few weeks back, Vegan Cuts ran a week-long sale on a few of their boxes, and they had a Fitness Fuel Box on sale for $29. I'm a huge fitness nutrition nerd who probably spends way too much time obsessing over protein powders and bars and planning what I'll eat pre-workout, during, and post-workout. But that's what makes fitness fun to me! I sometimes think, if it weren't for the food, I wouldn't be as nearly into fitness.

Anyway, I ordered that box, and it arrived a few days later. I've been working my way through it over the past couple weeks.

Inside was Gorilly Goods Jungle Trail Mix, Emmy’s Organics Dark Cacao Coconut Cookies, Legendary Foods Pecan Pie Almond Butter, Bell Plantation PB2 powder, Orgain Protein Bars, Vibrant Health Pro Matcha Packets, Ultima Lemonade Stick Packs, Veggie Elite Cinnamon Bun Protein Powder, WOWBUTTER packs, Navitas Naturals Cacao Cranberry Bars, Kunachia Chia Shots + Probiotic, Soylent Drink, Organic Gemini Sliced TigerNut Raw Snack, Joe’s Oat Patties Burger Mix, Namaste Foods Broccoli and Cheddar Soup Cup, Atlantic Natural Foods neategg, GURU Energy Drink, and a Bob’s Red Mill Blueberry Hazelnut Oatmeal Cup.

With most of the items, the box included two of each! I haven't tried everything yet, but here are some thoughts on what I have tried. The box was shipped to my office, so at snack time that day, I reached for the Gorilly Goods Jungle Trail Mix. This had dried bananas, cashews, pecans, coconut, and raisins. Really yummy on it's own, but this would also be great in a yogurt cup.

The Emmy’s Organics Dark Cacao Coconut Cookies are just 100 calories each. I tend to take in about 100 calories before my morning short runs of 3 to 4 miles. These lightly sweet coconut chocolate macaroons were great pre-run snacks.

I need larger snacks before afternoon workouts — yoga or gym classes — since I tend to be much hungrier in the 5 p.m. hour. These Navitas Naturals Cacao Cranberry Bars were great for pre-yoga. These raw bars had a subtle, tart cranberry flavor with hints of cacao.

But my fave bar of the box were definitely the Orgain Peanut Butter Protein Bars! Because peanut butter!! I tend to reserve protein bars for post-workout since you need protein for muscle recovery, but they're also nice for a pre-workout, afternoon snack when you're really hangry. I find the protein tends to tide me over until dinner. I also really love the lightly chewy texture of a protein bar.

While I tended to use much of these items for fitness, I also found use for some of them at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival a few weeks ago. For example, the GURU Energy Drink came in handy on the 6-hour drive to the fest. I'm not really a fan of energy drinks, but that's because most taste like chemicals. But this one is all-natural and tasted fruity and delicious. I can't say if this drink alone was enough to power me through a drive because I also had at least 3 cups of coffee, but I'm sure it helped!

I packed the Namaste Foods Broccoli and Cheddar Soup Cup, the Bob’s Red Mill Blueberry Hazelnut Oatmeal Cup, and the WOWBUTTER packs for Bonnaroo as well. The soup and oats made for easy camping meals, and the soynut butter was a nice stir-in for my oats.

I'm not running long distances right now since I'm in a pre-training mode before I start marathon training again. So I don't really NEED protein powders with 20+ grams, but I was dying to try the Veggie Elite Cinnamon Bun Protein Powder anyway. So I made a Cinnamon Bun Smoothie after a short 4-miler one morning. Banana, almond milk, cinnamon bun protein powder. Tasted like a cinnamon roll in a glass!

I added the Kunachia Chia Shots + Probiotic packet to a chocolate smoothie post-run one day. This contains ground chia seeds that are enhanced with probiotics. Fun add-in!

I've long been a fan of Ultima Electrolyte powders, so I was happy to see my fave flavor — Lemonade — in the box. These are SO REFRESHING after a tough run in the Memphis heat.

The item in the box that I was most excited about were the Legendary Foods Pecan Pie Almond Butters! There were two of these small sample jars, each containing about 2 1/2 tablespoons. I immediately opened one to take a tiny taste, but I've not used any yet because I want to wait for just the right thing to try it on (probably a bagel!). These are sooooo good! Sweet almond butter with cinnamon and chunks of pecan. Tastes like pecan pie!

The Tiger Nuts were really interesting! I'd never heard of these, but they're actually not nuts at all but rather tubers that are thinly sliced to look like almonds. They have a nutty flavor but a chewier texture, and they're high in magnesium and potassium. I've been enjoying them on yogurt bowls like this one with Kite Hill Pineapple Yogurt, fresh strawberries, walnuts, and Tiger Nuts.

Another neat item in the box was the small sample pack of Joe’s Oat Patties Burger Mix. This is a dry mix made with oats, portabella mushrooms, and other dried veggies. You just mix with water, form patties, and fry them in a skillet. I really loved these burgers! They reminded me of the oat burger that was served in the long-closed Square Foods in Memphis years ago. The patty was soft, of course, but it held together well and had an earthy mushroom flavor. Bonus: They had a high protein content. I topped mine with Chao cheese, tomato, pickle, and lettuce. Served with a side of air-fried "roasted" potatoes. 

I've not yet opened the PB2 packs because I already have a jar of PB2 open, but I love this low-fat powdered peanut butter! Same with neategg — already have an open package, but I do love this stuff as an egg substitute for baking. I'm soooo very excited to try the Soylent, which is a complete nutrition drink with 20 grams of protein. I've tried coffee Soylent and loved it, but I've never had the original formula. Will make a great meal replacement on a day when my long run goes through the lunch hour. I like to eat lightly on those days to make sure I'm plenty hungry when dinner time rolls around.

It looks like the Fitness Fuel Box is sold out now (sorry!), but Vegan Cuts offers various fitness and athlete boxes from time to time so I'm sure another box will be coming out soon.