This may come as a shock to you (after I professed my love to cardio barre), but I’ve been all about boot camp lately.

By lately, I mean once a week the past 3 weeks, because with my mom guilt, I continue to allow myself one night a week to go to the gym after work.

Anyway, I still love barre—but I’m really enjoying the variety and challenge that boot camp offers.

The first class was sooooo squat-heavy—dead lifts, shoulder presses, and some other barbell work. I loved it. The second class was all about shoulders—and boy did I feel it! I’m still dealing stiffness/weakness from what I’ve affectionately termed “nursing shoulder,” so any kind of shoulder work is extremely challenging to me.

It wasn’t until this week’s ridiculously challenging class that I realized I haven’t been very diligent about refueling post-workout, which is a detriment to my already stiff and sore muscles.

Serendipitously, a representative at Hawke Media reached out to me a while back to sample some Sunwarrior protein powders.

By no means am I a protein powder loyalist. I’ve used a few, but I generally try to add protein to my smoothies with Greek yogurt or hemp seeds.

But since Sunwarrior is a 100% vegan protein and I’ve mostly used whey-based, I eagerly gave them a try.

A little more about Sunwarrior:

Sunwarrior is a small, growing health food company that’s committed to making only the best plant-based foods and supplements while elevating humanity and preserving the planet. Our mission is clear—Illuminate Body, Mind, and Planet—and we strive to live those ideals in everything we do, from growing microgreens in our office to sourcing the finest ingredients from around the world when developing a new product.

We believe that plants provide the cleanest and most powerful foods, rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients we’re just beginning to understand. Our bodies crave real food—especially in this age where we heavily process everything we eat, stripping out all the benefits and nutrition well before we have a chance to use them.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far.

Classic Protein: Chocolate (mixed with 300 ML almond milk)

• slightly chalky, but not in a bad way; almost malty
• lightly sweet (perfect!)

Immune Shield (not protein-based but full of vitamins)

• really, really tart!
• would’ve been fine mixed with juice, but I downed it like a shot
• hoping it helps ward off any sickness (since my throat was a bit sore the other day)

Classic Plus: Vanilla (mixed with 1 cup frozen cherries, 1 small banana, 1 cup almond milk, a splash of orange juice, 1 handful spinach, 1 TBSP peanut butter, and a few cubes of ice)

• slightly chalky (again), but less than other powders
• delicious; no weird, chemical taste like other vanilla powders
• kept me satiated

Warrior Blend: Chocolate (mixed with 300 ML milk)

• too earthy on its own; would’ve enjoyed it better blended into smoothie
• something “off” about the stevia taste (I’m still getting used to this sweetener)
• flavor improved as I drank it
• stomach cramping a few hours later; coincidence or possibly due to some of the heartier ingredients?

Warrior Blend: Vanilla

Since most of my smoothie-making happens in the mornings for breakfast, I wanted to throw together a quick protein-filled snack to eat after my evening workouts. It’s too early to tell if my muscles have benefited from this extra care, but the bites tasted pretty delicious! I followed this recipe, except I subbed in almond meal (+ about 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour) for the coconut flour and the packet of Warrior Blend. I also had to bake them about 8 minutes (around 300°F) since the dough was really runny (due to my substitutions, I’m sure).

I’ve yet to try the other supplements (they also sent me packets of Liquid Light, Activated Barley, and Super Greens in both Natural and Peppermint) but I’m especially curious about the peppermint (mostly because I love all things mint).

Of the few samples I’ve tried so far, the classic blend is my favorite. I’m trying to decide if I want to purchase the vanilla or chocolate—both were so tasty.

**I received samples of Sunwarrior Protein Powder free of charge through Hawke Media in exchange for a review. I was not compensated for this blog post, and all opinions are my own.**