Drink Your Vegetables: The Best Green Superfood Powders for Athletes

For the most part, we all agree that adulting is overrated. Being an adult means paying bills, dealing with mind-numbing co-workers, and having to thwart political telemarketers. It also means that you have to take your own health into daily consideration, and do things like feed yourself properly. We’ve all had ice cream for dinner (because I’m a grown up and I can if I want to, damnit!), but we all know that performing well in and out of the gym requires actual nutrition.  To properly adult, we must eat our vegetables.

As athletes, nutrition is even more important. Instagram makes it seem like food prep with a bounty of vegetables is an easy thing, but not all of us have the luxury of a food delivery service or access to high quality produce. Luckily, it’s the 21st century. We’re living in the future! In 2016, we can drink our vegetables!

These days, vegetables literally come in pouches. These dried superfood blends are a great way to get a few extra vitamins or a pre-workout boost without having to shell out $16 on a salad. However, there are so many dried superfoods on the market that it’s annoying to figure out which one will work for what purpose.

That’s what we’re here for, folks. We scoured the market to find the four best green superfoods to supplement your pre and post workout shakes, sneak into your paleo meatloaf, and even drink straight out of a glass.

Best Greens to Enhance a Paleo(ish) Diet: Vibrant Health Green Vibrance

The Paleo diet works for a lot of people, but it’s easy to use Paleo as an excuse to eat nothing but bacon and sweet potato fries. With a host of nutrients from a wide variety of certified organic vegetables, fruits, juices, and extracts, Green Vibrance claims its superfood blend will aid in digestion, immune support, bone health, and circulation.

Mixed in water, Green Vibrance tastes like a whole lot of nothing, which is actually a huge perk. Its neutral flavor means it can easily be mixed into burgers, dissolved into soups, or sprinkled on your favorite sweet potato fries without adding unpleasant flavor. We’d particularly recommend adding a packet into our Pretty Close to Perfect Protein Bars for an added nutritional boost.

Best Greens for Pre-Workout: Eboost SPRUCE

For those of you looking for a pre-workout boost without the pre-wod signature tingliness, look no further than Eboost’s SPRUCE. Unlike many other superfood powders, Eboost contains 85 mg of caffeine thanks to whole coffee cherries, approximately the same as one cup of brewed coffee.

Unlike most superfood powders, Spruce doesn’t contain a laundry list of dried vegetables, which means it’s doesn’t have the signature grassy taste. Ginger root extract, stevia, and just five air or freeze dried veggies — asaparagus, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and kale — make for a lovely, bright flavor. Spruce can easily be drank on its own, but it does particularly well in a pre-wod smoothie. Add a few berries and bananas and you’ve got yourself a tasty, high carb treat to fuel your body throughout a long workout.

Best Greens to Get Your Chocolate Fix: Garden of Life Perfect Food Raw Chocolate Cacao

With so many athletes following IIFYM or RP Strength style meal plans, many people find it difficult to get in a chocolate fix without blowing your fat and carb macros for the day. Perfect Food Raw cacao flavored green superfood might be the answer to this conundrum. With less than 1 gram of sugar per packet, we were initially skeptical of a chocolate flavored green powder, but this product is delicious. Mixed with water, raw cacao trumps all of the greens’ grassiness and instead leaves a pleasant, chocolatey flavor. It’s not quite like downing a Nesquik, but for those of you who like the bitterness of dark chocolate, you’ll love this product.

Furthermore, Perfect Food Raw is USDA Organic and Non GMO verified.

Best Greens for Purists: Amazing Grass Original Green Superfood

Though the Amazing Grass line of powders has a variety of flavors, the most basic, no-extra-anything-added is their Original blend. Certified Organic, Vegan, Kosher, Gluten Free, Raw, and Non GMO, Amazing Grass is the product to go to if you want all the benefits of greens and nothing else.

Flavor wise, Amazing Grass tastes as healthful as well. There is a definite grassy and earthy aftertaste that while not unpleasant, might not be best for people looking to make their healthy food taste like junk food. Paired with a great workout and a squeeze of fresh orange, Amazing Grass makes you feel like you’re vacationing at a swanky health spa.

So, give one of these superfood blends a shot. Your mind, body, and your gains will thank you!

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