eat run sail: d’vida Pre-Made Smoothies Review and Giveaway

When I was given the opportunity to try out these d’vida pre-made smoothie mixes I jumped at it. I am always eager to sample new protein powders or meal replacements, particularly when they sound so appealing. These shakes are designed to be a healthy, on-the-go nutritious snack alternative or meal replacement!

The d'vida sachets begin with a proprietary, low Glycemic Index smoothie base, and contain all-natural ingredients with only the freshest fruits and vegetables. All products are non-GMO, gluten free and act as an excellent source of fibre.

They are available in four flavors:

vidapump - Banana and Peanut Butter
vidaboost - Pineapple and Coconut
vidaslim - Strawberry and Banana
vidagreen - Cucumber, Kale, Green Apple and Spinach

The blending directions (for 16 to 20 ounce smoothies) say to add the packet contents to 6 ounces of cold water and 8 ounces of crushed ice in a blender, and then to blend up to 30 seconds.

Honestly, I was kinda disappointed by that because I don’t have ready access to crushed ice (nope I don’t have one of those fancy refrigerators anymore). But I do have a shaker cup and lots of cold water, so I decided to forge ahead and give them a try.

Two of these mixes, the vidaslim and the vidagreen. are available in lower protein formulations and that is what I received to sample. Rather than 15g of protein, they have only 3g.

I chose the Pineapple and Coconut vidaboost to sample first. The Captain and I had eaten a very light breakfast before heading out for a 5 km run so we were both ready for a snack while we stretched afterward. I like to make us a high protein snack to help with our recovery, especially when lunch will be delayed, and decided this was the perfect opportunity to test one of the higher protein d’vida mixes. We had some fresh pineapple in the fridge and I thought it would go nicely with the Pineapple and Coconut smoothie.

I dumped the d’vida pre-made smoothie mix into my shaker and added 16 ounces of cold water. And I shook it wildly and vigorously for a couple of minutes and then poured the drink into 2 glasses and garnished them with a bit of pineapple, for grins.

It was truly delicious! So good, in fact, that I was ~~almost~~ sorry I had agreed to share it! The coconut flavor is wonderful and the smoothie is thick with bits of coconut meat. If you like Pina Coladas, this high protein shake mix is for you. Truly! The added vitamins are just a bonus. I almost wanted to go find some white rum to pour into it.

The second one we tried was the Strawberry and Banana vidaslim. Again, it was after a morning run. We had both only eaten a small banana prior to heading out, and I wanted just a little something to tide us over before we showered and changed because we were going out for a big Chinese lunch.

Again, I added 16 ounces of icy cold water to the sachet contents in my shaker cup…

and blended it well for a couple of minutes. It was a great little refresher… bits of strawberry really added to the flavor! Lovely. No disappointment here for sure.

Then, just this very morning we sampled the remaining two flavors. We were watching the men’s French Open tennis finals on TV and I didn’t want to take the time away from the exciting coverage to make breakfast so I made up a smoothie for each of us… the Peanut Butter and Banana vidapump for The Captain, and the Cucumber, Kale, Green Apple and Spinach vidagreen for me.

If you are a peanut butter fan, this smoothie will be a dream come true. REALS! Wonderful peanut butter flavor… neither of us could really detect any banana at all. Thick and creamy and decadent. Now this I would consider a meal replacement for sure. Very rich. Very filling. VERY satisfying.

And the vidagreen tastes just that… green. And I really liked it, too. Very refreshing. And the cucumber is quite nice. It tastes as cool as it sounds. You won't be surprised that I couldn't get The Captain to taste it.

All in all, I really like these pre-made mixes, and can only imagine that blending them up with crushed ice would result in a frothy, thicker, frappe sort of consistency that really would enhance the delicious flavors and make them seem even more special.

And would I purchase them? Yes, absolutely… I think they would be good to keep in a desk drawer at the office, or to toss in a gym bag, or a day pack, or a suitcase and take along for a quick snack or pick-me-up. You could make one up easily wherever you can get cold water… and now they are available outside the D’Vida Health Bars in New York City and available for purchase online through Amazon.

Check out this link if you are interested

They are currently on sale in boxes of 7 packets for $29.99 (which a savings of $5.00) for any of the high protein flavors, and $26.99 (which is a savings of $8.00) for the 2 lower protein flavors.

But if you don’t want to wait… I have great news!

One winner, who must be a U.S. resident, will win one packet of each of the 4 flavors I have reviewed here. And they will be shipped directly by the sponsor.

I am going to keep the requirements for this giveaway very simple…. Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

One mandatory entry…just tell me the following in a single comment:

Which flavor appeals to you the most?

And optional entries:

Tweet about the giveaway. You may do this every day if you like.

I will be randomly selecting one winner from the qualified entries and attempting to contact the winner by email. If I cannot easily find an email address, I will select another winner. Don’t miss out on the win by making yourself hard to find!

The giveaway will end at midnight PDT on the evening of Sunday, June 15th, 2014.

This giveaway has now ended and the winner has been notified. Thanks for your entries.