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Coming soon to Canada @Team_Vega Essentials Shake
I’m so excited to tell you about this shake that’s coming very soon to Canada. Right now its only available at Target in the US. So all my American friends have probably already tried this already but my Canadian friends will either have to wait a few weeks or cross the border.
I was sent a container of the Vanilla flavour of the Vega Essentials shake powder by the folks at Vega Toronto. I was not required or asked to write this and do so of my own doing to offer you guys my opinion.
The great thing about the shake boom that is going on right now is the convenience and speed at which you can whip them up! As most of you know my family and I are very busy and very active. My wife and I are currently training for our first full marathon in the fall and the Dopey Challenge in January along with us both working full time and me also having a second part time job. My son plays hockey which is 2 nights a week, my daughter is in competitive dance 3 times a week and they both have swimming lessons on another day of the week. So you can see its important for my wife and I to have a meal option that allows us to to put ourselves first without having to having to put anyone else second. This Vega product does just that for us! It provides us the better nutritional building blocks so that we can focus on what really matters; training, taxiing our children, and breakfast before those really early day shifts at work. There are SO many different option for liquid meals out there which makes it hard for me to find the ones that work best for me and provide the optimal nutrition for my needs.
Here are some of the facts about this shake that I love and personally find important!
- 20g of Plant based protein
- 3 Servings of greens! Great for some one like me who doesn’t like a lot of veggies!
- 25% of your daily intake of food-based vitamins and minerals
- 16% of your daily fiber intake
- 1g of omega-3’s
- 130 Calories and with the protein and fiber content you’ll feel fuller for longer
- It’s also Project Non-GMO verified, gluten-free, vegan, and made with no added sugar, dairy, or soy ingredients, artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners
Recipe:
Here’s how I mixed mine up:
- Heaping cup of frozen fruit… I used the Presidents Choice 4-Fruit Blend
- aprox 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1 scoop Vega Essentials Shake Vanilla
Blend fruit and powder with aprox 3/4 of the water then slowly add more to make the consistency you desire and you should end up with this:
Variations:
The beauty of shakes is that you can always add or take away things to always make them fresh and new so you don’t get sick of the same thing all the time. Things I have tried so far: replace the water with milk, half milk half orange juice, adding a half an avocado, banana, changing up the fruit you use and either fresh or frozen, adding frozen kale or spinach. I have merely just scratched the surface and the possibilities really are endless. I’m fairly new to this so I’d love to hear what you guys have tried and what you like for your shakes! Sharing is Caring 😉
My review:
This powder mixes up really well in all the fluids that I tried. I find the vanilla flavor could be slightly stronger especially when you mix it with water. I mixed it with water to test how well it mixes without being blended and it performed way better than I thought it would. Too many times I’ve tried protein powder hand mixed with water and always end up with clumps. There were no clumps or extra powder settled at the bottom. It mixed to a milk shake consistency both in the blender and with spoon every time. I did not find it had any gritty texture either. Overall I would give this a 4/5 and that’s only because I like the extra flavor so for you it may be just right! I know for my wife she doesn’t like a strong vanilla flavor so it all comes down to personal preference. I highly recommend this to you all and I would love to hear back from you if you do end up trying it.
If you are interested in trying this it will be available in Canada October/November at Walmart exclusively with a lower price point and unique tub size to what you’ve seen with other Vega Products.
I am including the Nutritional facts and ingredients for those that are interested
I would love to hear from you guys!
Have you tried Vega products?
What’s your favorite nutritional supplement?
#KeepSmilin 🙂
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New gear! @NewBalanceCan sponsors the @RBCRunForTheKids Ambassadors
This is my second year now as an ambassador for the RBC Run For The Kids and New Balance Canada has stepped up their sponsorship game with a $250 gift card to spend on gear! This comes with the preface that we use this gear while training and post on our SM wearing the gear. There was no obligation for me to do a blog review and I do so at my own choice and offer my honest review here for your benefit.
Thanks New Balance Canada
Bayview Village New Balance
I chose to visit the Bayview Village location. The staff there were more than helpful as I explained what sort of items I was looking for. First and foremost I wanted a new pair of kicks! I showed the associate what I am currently running in so she would have an idea of what type of shoe I needed {she didn’t even mind that it was a competing brand ;)}. With the general idea in mind of what I wanted she still did a proper gait and walking analysis to ensure she would be bringing me the proper models.
My “Foot Print”
Just a small selection of the men’s shoes available
I was then presented with these shoes:
New Balance 880v5:
Vazee Pace:
Fresh Foam Zante:
While they all really felt amazing and gave me great support I found the Zante’s fit my foot the best. I prefer a shoe that doesn’t feel like it has a high sole and the Zante gave me exactly what I was looking for under my feet. I find with some shoes that the top sometimes is too snug across the top of my foot and the upper of this shoe wrapped around my foot like a grove. Since it fit so well I did not need it to be laced too tightly until I got to the last eyelets where I like the back to be tight around my ankle.
My new Zante’s in all their glory!
Along with the shoes I also picked up some sweet New Balance clothes!
Windcheater Jacket
Technical deets:
- Material: 100% Polyester moisture wicking fabric
- Athletic fit
- Lightweight performance woven
- Reflective logo
- Reflective tape at back
- Two zipper enclosed pockets
- V-fold binding at hem and cuff
- Water-resistant
- Wind-resistant
Accelerate 5 Inch Short
Technical deets:
- Material: 100% Polyester moisture wicking fabric
- 5 inch inseam
- Athletic fit
- Contrast color mesh insets
- Internal key pocket
- Reflective logo
- Sleek woven
My thoughts:
The shoes are amazing! The have performed exactly the way that I need my shoes to perform! They are not heavy and feel so light on my feet! The cushioning on the sole is exactly right. The upper is the perfect fit for my foot shape and requires little tension on the laces to keep my foot snug. The toe box is roomy and airy and with the all the vents on the shoe they breath really well! I never have any soreness on my feet from my short runs to my long runs. I have a really good feeling that New Balance is going to be my go-to shoe from now on!
The jacket and the shorts are both made with the same NB DRY material. They but work perfectly at wicking the moisture away from my body. I wore the jacket for a run along the lake on a windy but still very warm day. I found it worked very well as a wind breaker and at the same time did not find I was sweating or overheating any more than usual in the heat. The length of the shorts is perfect for me since I don’t like long shorts riding up and down my leg with each stride. They come with and inside liner which does exactly what I need it to do. The NB DRY material means all of the sweat I generate is quickly evaporated away from my body! I actually find myself reaching for these shorts over all my others now!
I am so happy with all the New Balance gear I was so lucky to have been given! I would recommend all these products to my friends when asked.
I want to send out a thank you first to RBC Run For The Kids for giving the opportunity to be an Ambassador again, New Balance Canada for sponsoring the run and providing the gift cards to the Ambassadors and to Fit4Balance for all their expertise and help with selecting and purchasing this amazing gear!
See you out there!
#KeepSmilin 🙂
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Review @TeamTiux Compression Socks; not just selling socks but doing social good as well!
Have you heard of the compression sock company Tiux? Well don’t be worried if you haven’t because I didn’t either up until a few weeks ago! That’s when Heather Gardner from Run Soul Cycle held a give away on her Instagram profile to win a pair!
https://instagram.com/p/4W66q-mZjR/
TBH I had only entered the contest to support Heather, totally not even thinking I would win! But low and behold a few weeks later I was notified that I was the winner of a pair of their socks!
https://instagram.com/p/4cQJCfGZpc/?taken-by=runsoulcycle
I immediately went to their website to see what they were all about and what colors they had. Except when I got there I didn’t immediately go to the shop section of the website. Right away I was drawn to the Tiux 1% Social Mission section. I am a big fan of companies doing social good and love supporting the ones that do! So when I read that Tiux:
will donate 1% of our revenue to help save lives and protect communities from landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other weapons remaining after conflict
by partnering with MAG (Mines Advisory Group), I was even more happy that I had won these socks! Mind you since my socks prob came from their marketing budget I don’t think the 1% came from my socks; I am hoping that by writing this some of you will check out their socks and buy a pair 🙂
Now onto the socks! After a quick look at their “Why Graduated Compression Socks” you can see that they provide:
- Muscle Stabilization
- Enhanced Proprioception
- Increase Arterial Inflow
- Increase venous return
After reading this I don’t know why I didn’t try compression socks before. Seemed like a no-brainer to me! The Tiux business model is a little different that some other fitness apparel companies that you may be used to. Everything they do is centered around keeping the cost to the consumer at a minimum. They offer 3 colors Black/Neon Yellow/Dark Grey, Neon Yellow/Blue/Black, and Pink/Neon Yellow/Lavender. They sell directly to you online (you wont see them in any stores) and they cut out the wholesalers and distributors. The best part is they don’t charge you shipping! So what do you call that? A win-win-win? lol
As for my experience, I’m not gonna lie, I was was checking the mailbox like everyday to see if they’d shown up! lol Then the sexy black box finally showed up! Not gonna lie I was super excited to finally give these things a whirl. I tried them first while doing 10k on our local high school track then a few days later on a 15k long run. At first I thought that since they were such a slippery material that I would be sliding out of my shoe. I did have to tighten my shoes a little more than usual since they are a little less bulky than my reg socks but not once did I never slipped out of my heal. Once I had them on they immediately felt like a second skin to me and my lower legs felt more stable and secure. I am very lucky in that I have never had issues with my arch, tendons, or my calf’s but I would imagine that these would work extremely well for that with their added stability. Running with them on my long run felt extremely well. My legs felt lighter and it was like I couldn’t really feel them at all but not in a bad way, like they were going numb or something, just like they weren’t there. I usually don’t have any issues with recovery I guess because my long runs really haven’t gotten that long yet but I’m really confident in the science behind these that It will aid me in that department.
I am really looking forward to future runs in these socks and I anticipate buying another pair in the future!
Do you own a pair or compression socks? What do you think?
If you do buy I pair od Compression Socks from Tiux I’d love to hear what you think as well!
Until then run happy and #KeepSmilin 🙂
This just in!!! I can offer all my readers a discount of 10% off your next purchase! But hurry this code is only valid until July 31st 2015!
Click here!
Paramedic Mike 