Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shake Starter Kit Giveaway

Vega One is one of my favorite products and I pretty much drink it everyday. So when I get the chance to give away some Vega One to the uninitiated, I get excited. It really is the perfect Laziest Vegans supplement! Great for meal replacements, pre/post workout or even as a treat. I'm a realist, I know many of you think Vega is expensive, so here is your chance to try Vega One for FREE.

The new Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shake Starter Kit has two packets of French Vanilla (my favorite), two Chocolate and one Berry. It also comes with a $5 off coupon off a tub of Vega One! If you don't know what the fuss is about, check out my review from last year.

Vega has kindly given me FIVE boxes of the Starter Kit to giveaway. A Starter Kit retails for $18.99, so you definitely want to win one of these! All you have to do is tell me is which flavor you think you'll like the most in the comments below, and leave your email so I can contact you when you win. Fudge your email if you're worried about spam (example: laziestvegans at gmaildotcom.) Contest ends 9/20, Friday 7pm CST. Good Luck!

Vega One French Vanilla Nutritional Shake

Earlier this year, Vega introduced their new all-in-one nutritional shake, Vega One. Initially, there were four flavors; Vanilla Chai, Berry, Chocolate and Natural. I was pretty happy with the flavor choices and I didn't anticipate a new flavor anytime soon. Well surprise, surprise, Vega contacted me about sampling their new Vega One flavor, French Vanilla. You know I'm not going to turn that down!

As with the other Vega One flavors, French Vanilla is easy to mix and drink. As much as I love the old WFHO, it was gritty and, at times, slimy. I didn't mind it (I'm still drinking it from the massive surplus I bought when Vega One was introduced), but I know a lot of you did and lo and behold Vega responded! Taste-wise, I really dug the French Vanilla. It has a clean, strong vanilla-ly taste, not supplementy like at all. I love vanilla in general so I would totally buy this flavor. It reminds me a bit of the Vanilla Almondilla Energizing Smoothie, not totally, but close enough. I bet this would be great with strawberries if you drink your Vega that way.

So as far as I'm concerned, French Vanilla Vega One is another delicious option for your whole food supplement needs. I can't wait until I finally run out of my WFHO supply so I'm able to start getting some Vega One. When that happens, French Vanilla will be at the top of my list!

Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shakes

When I heard that Vega was changing their Whole Food Health Optimizer to a new product called Vega One, you could say I was a little concerned. You see, I have been a loyal buyer of WFHO for 5 years and it has been very important in my life. Many questions were spinning in my head. What if this new fangled Vega One sucks? Where does that leave me? Is there even another Vegan supplement out there that's half as good? Well, I'm happy to report, it seems Vega has improved its formula and at least from these samples they gave me, I feel confident that I will survive the change.

Lets start with the flavor! As far as I'm concerned all of the flavors have improved. My two favorite WFHO flavors were always Chocolate and Vanilla Chai and that is still the case. They seem to be the same flavors, just a little sweeter with less bitterness. I also found the Berry enjoyable but I don't think I would ever want a whole tub of it. Natural was a little less putrid then it used to be but you'll never see me chugging on it after a workout.

Texture wise, Vega One is a revelation! WFHO always had a grainy, gritty texture but Vega One is super smooth. It's definitely more shake-like than it used to be. I'll probably never do it, but I imagine fruit and juice could be seamlessly integrated with Vega One. With the new flavor and texture I think that some of my friends who have been telling me that Vega tastes like crap will be converted.

The one complaint I have is that it seems Vega One is more expensive. According to my calculations per large jug, WFHO had 30 servings (according to the new serving size) and Vega One has 20. So you lose 10 servings but pay about the same price. While that won't keep me from buying it, I imagine some people might be upset. Is it because it's more expensive to produce than it was 5 years ago? Probably. High quality food isn't cheap as I'm sure you know -- you get what you pay for.

So bottom line is that I love Vega One. I feel that it's an improvement over WFHO and will make Vega accessible to more people. The flavor has been enhanced and the texture is smooth. The price increase will upset some but in the end, Vega is making a better product. Drink up!

Vega Sport Supplement System

So why is John McDevitt, the author of The Laziest Vegans in the World, reviewing a sports supplement? Well, I like to workout! Specifically, I go to the gym to when I want to forget about life's daily stressors. 5 years ago I was introduced to the Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer and I have never looked back. Out of all the products I blog about, the W.F.H.O. is one of my most used. So when Vega contacted me to try their Vega Sport products, I naturally said yes!


Now, the Vega Sport system seems like it's geared towards athletes or people who are hardcore about their workouts but you can break the system up to fit your needs. Every item in the system falls into one of three categories: Prepare, Sustain and Recover. Be it a powder you mix with water, a gel or a snack bar, each item has its place. And best of all, the ingredients are all natural. I know Vega products can be expensive but you definitely get what you pay for.

The Pre-Workout Energizer is a powder that gives you a boost before you hit the elliptical or the weights. The two flavors are Lemon Lime and Acai Berry. The Lemon Lime is a little strong but it does the job 'cause I was ready to rock.

The Electrolyte Hydrator is a powder you mix with water during your workout. Kind of like Gatorade, but actually good for you. You flavor choices on these are Lemon Lime and Pom-Berry. I tried the Pom flavor and it was decent. Nothing I would chug, but not bad.

The Endurance Bar is supposed to give you energy during your workouts. I can't eat during my workouts so I saved it for the drive home. I had the Mocha Bar but there is also Acai Berry. It was a pretty dense fulfilling bar. In this bar alone there are dates, dried apples, sprouted whole grain brown rice protein, pea protein, sacha inchi seeds, sorghum syrup, pumpkin seed butter, sorghum, quinoa, rice, tapioca, grape juice, natural rice dextrins, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, rice crisps, white chia seeds, natural mocha flavor and coffee fines. Pretty wild!

The Endurance Gel is an interesting product. It reminds me of some sort of crazy gel candy from the 80's. While it doesn't taste like candy, it was fun to drink/eat while on the elliptical. I needed a drink of water to wash it down but I'm sure that helps the effect. The flavors on the gel are Orange Zest and Raspberry.

Now to my favorite part of the Vega Sport program, the Performance Protein! This is the stuff you take after your hard workout. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to drink a Vega shake after coming home, tired from a workout. Similar to the Whole Food Health Optimizer, I thought these tasted great! You can find them in Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry.

The Protein Bar was my 2nd favorite part of the system. They almost taste like chocolate dessert bars! These are great for the drive home from the gym but I would also have some on hand when you want a good, nutritious snack. You have a choice between Chocolate Coconut and Chocolate SaviSeed.

The Recovery Accelerator is a recovery drink that you are supposed to take within 20 minutes after your workout. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Protein Bar or Shake but it definitely has its place. Look for Tropical and Apple Berry flavors.

So to wrap up, I think Vega Sport is an excellent supplement program for you hard core athletes out there. For us novices, I think there are parts of the program you can use everyday.

Vegan Supplements

I guess you can say I'm pro-supplement. Besides the fact I drink Vega everyday (well almost), I also try to take a daily vitamin, an Omega-3 and a B-12. Some days I forget but that's life! Sure you can't live on supplements alone but they can augment a normal Vegan diet. Please consult a doctor before taking any kind of vitamin or supplement. I'm not a professional!!! Here are some of the things I like and use on a regular basis.

Deva is one of the best companies around for Vegan supplements. The two I take on a normal basis are Coenzyme Q10 and B12. Other supplements Deva manufactures are Vegan Multi-Vitamins, Vegan Essential Fatty Acids, Vegan Glucosamine, Vegan Calcium and Vegan Herbal Supplements.

The Omega 3 Capsules from V Pure. I've been taking them for about a year or so. Do they help my well being? I think so but try them for yourself and see. A great way to get your Omega 3 fatty acids.

Pangea's Vegan Life multi-vitamin is the first Vegan vitamin that I ever bought and I'm still with it. You're suppose to take three vitamins a day but I usually end up just taking one. Note that the bottle shown has added iron. Typically the only people who need added iron are premenopausal women (aka not me!).

So there you go! What kind of Vegan supplements do you take?

Vega-riffic!

For almost three years now I've been using the supplement Vega religiously. Produced by Sequel Naturals and formulated by Vegan Triathlete Brendan Brazier, Vega is the first all whole food Vegan supplement. Vega is loaded with vitamins, minerals and protein to provide an easy way to get a majority of your nutritional requirements. In a perfect world you would be able to get all of that nutrition from you daily meals, but I just don't have the time to do that. Every day right before I go to work I make sure to whip up a serving. I hate to eat anything when I wake up but I also know that the first meal of the day is the most important. Vega is always my breakfast! FYI- my favorite flavor right now is Vanilla Chai.

I was introduced to Vega by Robert Cheeke, who is a Vegan bodybuilder. Robert produced a documentary called Vegan Fitness Built Naturally. I bought the DVD hoping for some workout tips as I had just started working out at the gym. Watching the documentary made me really proud to be Vegan. The best part is you have three different body types and exercise styles represented in the film. Robert gives you the bodybuilding insight, Tonya Kay dazzles with her aerobic skills and Brendan displays the workout of a Triathlete. You know, we can do anything a meat eater can. Vegans can be ripped, muscular and energetic.

So while Vega might be the norm for the typical fast food Vegan, I would wholeheartedly recommend it for someone always on the go. It's a tad on the expensive side but you have to realize you get what you pay for. Vega can be found online and at almost any Vegan/ Vegetarian supermarket. I'm partial to Vegan Essentials because of their monthly 15% coupons but Vegan Proteins and Food Fight would also be fine choices.