Lauren Wallace
June 14, 2022
"The most convenient, best tasting greens, on the planet...." That's a big claim, I know. And to admit, I was very skeptical when my husband first introduced me to this particular brand of greens. I had never even heard of Athletic Greens (aka AG1) until he introduced me, and honestly, I was not expecting a whole lot. David (my husband) happened to be listening to a podcast and overheard Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) start talking about this amazing brand of super greens, that were great for you and tasted amazing.
Here is your *spoiler alert*- It IS amazing. Link below to get yours and your FREE shaker bottle, FREE on-the-go packs, and a 1-years supply of Vitamin D3 + K2 Drops.
My Husband came home that day and said "Babe, DDP recommended these greens that you just scoop into water and it apparently tastes good and is really good for you. It's called AG1. I want to try it!"
Ok, so let me pause and give you some back story here. When I met him, my husband HATED vegetables, and I mean, he hated them passionately. Over the years I have gotten him to start including vegetables in his diet, but it was no easy task. He will eat tomato's, onions, spinach, peppers, etc... so long as they are literally liquified in tomato sauce/ salsa. We have even gotten him to a place where he will now eat broccoli, asparagus, squash, zucchini, and carrots, SO LONG as they are cooked to a point of total deterioration and are heavily salted. (It's a work in progress, but we will get there.)
He is the type that truly just doesn't want to know that vegetables are in something, and frankly, I have gotten quite skilled at making leftover kale and spinach "magically disappear" on spaghetti night. (Him and the kids have yet to find out that I switched them to chickpea pasta either, but we wont talk about that right now.) So, long story short, the pure idea that he would even THINK about telling me (the health nut) about wanting to TRY GREENS absolutely floored me. The whole thing was a blur. Once I realized that he was truly serious about trying this, that's when the PTSD of past greens powders kicked in.
I looked him dead in the face, rolled my eyes, and said "babe, there is no such thing as greens that taste good AND are actually good for you."
He (who has never even considered looking at greens) told me that Diamond Dallas Page (who was HUGE into juicing vegetables and fruits himself) actually stopped doing that because AG1 was so good. That caught my attention. You see, Diamond Dallas Page is no fake. He is the real deal who believes in treating your body like a temple. He's a believer who actually does it himself, every day. This is one of the reasons I find him admirable and take his word at face value. But still... the idea that greens could taste good, seemed like a stretch. Even then, getting my husband to actually drink greens sounded like a win, so I was skeptically on board.
I am going to pause one more time- If you have never read any of my blogs before, let me give you a brief introduction. Hi, I'm Lauren. I am a wife, mom to 4 crazy kids, a web developer, and have been frequently referred to as a super health nut. Several years ago, after I had our youngest, my body changed. Suddenly, I could no longer tolerate dairy, alcohols, gluten, sugar, corn, refined carbohydrates, or any type of processed meat or foods. I was diagnosed with an unknown autoimmune disease and Hypothyroidism and had to change my entire diet. Because of that, I have spent years studying Nutrition, just for my own application.
I am the complete opposite of my husband. I LOVE vegetables. I love wellness. And I love whole foods. I love all food and wont shy away from trying new foods. My friends and family make fun of me because I am always "that person" who has the really weird food at lunch. I'll try anything once, and I love to cook new dishes from all over the world. I believe in eating as healthy and sustainably as possible, and do not believe in waste. We have a full organic non-GMO heirloom garden in our backyard, our freezer is stocked with a grass fed beef, wild range hog, and a grass fed lamb from our local farm, wild harvested venison and wild caught fish, and free range poultry, and I recently convinced my husband to get organic free-range chickens and ducks! (I am so excited, you have no idea) We are dairy free, use local honey for any sweetener, and are the crazy people who have all natural, chemical/ toxin free everything. I make bone broth weekly (and the whole family loves it), drink collagen, colostrum, matcha, and bone broth protein, drink a gallon of water daily, take all of my vitamins and probiotics, and eat healthy. ALL of that being said, you would think that greens would be a no-brainer addition to my daily diet. Until now, that has not been the case.
I can tell you from experience that every brand of greens that I have tried, have tasted terrible. I mean like literal dirt. Dirt, in fact, might even taste better than the greens I have tried. And, If I happened to actually tasted good, it was packed with refined sugars and wasn't actually good for you. And I say that with all the love & disappointment in myself because I know how GOOD some of these brands are for you! The ingredients are always great... I just can't get them down, even when mixing them in juices. If you follow our blog at all you KNOW that I absolutely LOVE Dr. Josh Axe of Ancient Nutrition, and frequently post his articles. I am a firm believer in him, and his product. His research has closely aligned with several other doctors/ nutritionists who promote wellness and believe that food is medicine, and I have found his research to be the most enlightening. My whole family takes his supplements, and I personally use his product every single day. Why? Because it is phenomenal. I can see and feel a difference. I know that they are good ingredients. I take Ancient Nutrition Multi-Collagen daily, SBO probiotics or Ancient Probiotics, Matcha Elixer, Zinc, Multi-Vitamin, Digestive enzymes, Omegas, and recently added the Collagen Peptides as an additional source of collagen throughout the day. HUGE. FAN. I love all of it... except for the greens. Don't get me wrong, he has a lot of excellent reviews of the greens powder and I know a few people that love them. And, I will admit that I have not tried his new Watermelon greens, but, fruity/ candy flavors are not for me. I want to love it... but I just cant.
So, when my vegetable hating husband said that he wanted to try this AG1, I was very skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised that he was willing to try something like this though, so I got on board real quick. If I would have known that all it takes is a health enthusiast wrestling legend to get him to eat his vegetables, I would have hit up DDP a heck of a lot sooner.
So... AG1. Let's talk about it. I looked it up before ordering it and read the entire ingredients list thoroughly. I was extremely impressed with the amount of vitamins, superfoods, antioxidants, enzymes, adaptogens, and probiotics that were included in the blend. Of course, with it being so packed full of clean nutrients, this further solidified my assumption that it would taste terrible. I appreciated that the greens were convenient. And because it is also Vegan, Paleo, and Keto-friendly, it truly is built for everybody. It is "optimized for athletes, lifeletes, and everyone in between, and every AG1 scoop is like 9 health products working together as 1, giving you the equivalent of a multivitamin, minerals, probiotics and more." Furthermore, I value the companies integrity and transparency- Ag1 has crystal clear nutrition facts, with no hidden fillers or sketchy ingredients, and they went out of their way to outline and detail every single ingredient and their reason for putting it in there. Below I have broken down a few of their ingredients from their website, but definitely check out their site for the full breakdown. Or, click the Nutrition facts below to check out all of the ingredients.
Anyway, the greens finally came in the mail, and I will say, as a website designer with a thing for pretty packaging, it was packaged beautifully. 10/10 on the design. The box is fully recyclable and beautiful. The heavy Metal scoop and double-walled and air tight metal container were very impressive. You are supposed to refrigerate the product after opening so its nice to have a super clean modern sealed tin to put in your fridge. And the metal scoop is convenient and doesn't get lost in the container. (for those who do protein powder, y'all know the struggle. )
The pretty box came with a one-month supply of the greens in a sealed pouch, the very high-end metal tin to transfer the greens into, a nice metal scoop, and a branded mixer bottle.
Plus, thanks to our good friend Diamond Dallas Page, this kit came with everything you see below, including a bonus 5-pack of the on-the-go pouches of the greens and a 1 year supply of Vitamin D & K drops for free by following this link.
Anyway, we tore open the package, dumped a scoop in cold water, shook it up and prepared ourselves. David went first. He hesitated, then slowly took a sip. I was fully prepared for the look of disgust to consume him, and for him to instantly spit it into the sink whilst dramatically gagging.
But.. there was nothing. He swallowed. He kind of tilted his head to the side, closely examining the dark green juice, and said hmm while shrugging his shoulders. And then... he went back for more. I was stunned into silence, just staring at his face, waiting for some type of reaction.
He nodded, raised his eyebrows, and said "Wow. It's... good. It's not bad at all. It kind of tastes like pineapple"
That was it. I snatched the cup out of his hand and took a mouthful. The first thing I tasted was pineapple and papaya. There was a mild refreshing background taste of greens, mostly tuned out by a soft creamy vanilla, and it had a green tea/ matcha finish. It was actually... good. Like really good. I truly couldn't believe it. I'm not going to lie, I could tell that there were some type of greens in it. But they were so mild and muted that it really just tasted like a gentle and refreshingly light drink. There is no struggle to drink this, whatsoever.
I was so impressed, instantly, and for the first time since I met him, my husband actually shocked me with a good, healthy, all-in-one product that will never leave my shelves again. He too, continued to drink the greens, nodding, and re-reading the packaging.
He said "It's weird... I can tell its healthy, but its good. I can tell there are some greens in it but it's easy to drink. I would never eat most of these ingredients either, so I am very impressed."
My vegetable hating husband actually LOVES it. And, we have learned to have fun with it. Though I will admit most mornings I just throw a scoop into water, shake her up and sip it while I do my skincare routine, every once in awhile I switch things up. David mixes it with pure organic pineapple juice and organic orange juice (Recipe below - SUPER delicious btw) and he adds a shot of Ningxia Red. He will even add a drop or two of Red Shot or Tangerine Vitality essential oil sometimes. And to this day, I have yet to hear him complain about it. In fact, he tells me it's delicious. *Mind. blown.*
DAVIDS MORNING GREENS
Ingredients:
6 oz organic 100% pinapple juice
6 oz organic 100% orange juice
1 scoop AG1
4 Drops AG1 D3+K2
I shot glass of Ningxia Red
Optional:
Directions:
In the Ag1 blender bottle, add all ingredients and shake well.
I drink mine every morning with plain old water. If I want to get friskey with it, I'll add a shot of Ningxia or I'll mix it with organic coconut water. But I personally like the flavor by itself so usually I just drink it straight up. Of course, neither David or I ever forget to add 4-6 drops of the AG D3+K2. My favorite recipe, when I am already making my husband and my overnight oats, is my overnight greens (recipe below). Its like a fancy tropical beach-side drink but its super healthy and refreshing plus it has all of your servings of vitamins, fruit, and vegies for the day PLUS 20 g protein. check it out:
Lauren's Tropical Overnight GREENS
Ingredients:
6 oz Bolthouse farms C-boost
6 oz Bolthouse farms Green Goodness
1 scoop AG1
2 scoops unflavored collagen peptides powder
6 Drops AG1 D3+K2
Directions:
In the Ag1 blender bottle, add all ingredients and shake well. Put in the fridge overnight so that the natural enzymes and bromalin can break down the Collagen into readily digestible amino acids.
Tropical Avo-Greens Protein Smoothie for 2
Ingredients:
6 oz Bolthouse farms C-boost
6 oz Bolthouse farms Green Goodness
1 cup frozen organic tropical fruit
2 scoops AG1
4 scoops plain or vanilla collagen peptides
1/2-1 small organic banana, frozen
1 small organic avocado
1 tbs of MCT oil + Caprylic Acid
8 Drops AG1 D3+K2
Directions:
In a blender or nutribullit, blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes two smoothies, each contain: 20 g protein, 18 g collagen, ~7 servings of fruits and vegetables, antioxidants, and all of your vitamins, aminos, minerals, digestive enzymes, adaptogens, and probiotics for the day.
All of these recipes are great but AG1 alone tastes fantastic and it covers my vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, probiotics, starts my day with superfood fueled energy, and thanks to the collagen, it has 20 grams of protein. I have to admit... I am extremely impressed. I have never in my life found a product similar. It tastes so light and refreshing and is PACKED full of excellent ingredients. For a greens powder, there is nothing that I have ever found that compares. Trust me, you want AG1. To take advantage of the free D3 + K2 & 5 Travel packs of AG1, plus the airtight metal storage tin, metal scoop, and shaker bottle, click here.
All I can say, is well done, @athleticgreens aka AG1. You have far surpassed my expectations and have created a valued customer for life. And Thank you, @diamonddallaspage I will never question your judgement again. And remember ya'll... I am not sponsored for sharing any of these blogs with you. I simply believe in exceptional nutrition, elevated wellness, food that is medicinal and sustenance that tasted good. I just want to share the love. Go check out AG1 and order your kit today. And, if you have never tried DDP Yoga, its time to start. Download the app here or visit his website.
Until next time, stay health my friends.
XO
-L
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