Up & Go!

It started some time early last year, when I discovered in the cereals aisle of the supermarket a new product called Up & Go, by Sanitarium. It looked just like any ordinary popper (packet drink), until I read on the back that it had the same amount of protein, energy and dietary fibre of Weet-Bix and milk! It came in several flavours (at the time) - vanilla ice, strawberry, choc ice, banana, and banana & honey. It also apparently had:

• Less than 1.5% fat
• No artificial colours
• 10 essential vitamins and minerals
• e.g. 50%RDI calcium, 50%RDI folate, 50%RDI vit B12, etc.

I was very intrigued. And so I bought a packet to try.

One thing you should know about me is that when I get up in the morning, breakfast is the last thing I want. I need around a good hour to be conscious enough to tackle a meal. Cereal is my usual breakfast, and is not the most appetising thought when you're groggy. Having said this, I do actually like big breakfasts, like bacon and eggs and hashbrowns etc. But I still need time to work up to it.

The problem comes with my waking up lifestyle, because I usually don't give myself much time in the morning before I have to leave the house. Typically, if I need to be out the door at 8, I'd get out of bed around 740. I don't need much time to get ready in the morning. And you can see why that's at odds with breakfast.

Up & Go tastes like a thick shake. It's best served chilled (said the packet, again) and takes about a minute to finish (brainfreeze notwithstanding). And it's actually pretty good. It took maybe a few mornings for it to grow on me, but now, I'm hooked.

Up & Go was definitely made for people like me. For lazy morning people who can't be bothered to make a big breakfast, and so grab a little packet just before they leave the house and have their breakfast while walking to the train, or on the bus, or when they reach work/school.

Choc ice ended up being my favourite flavour by far (banana/honey second), and it's hard to believe that I can drink a little packet of chocolate milk every morning and have a (relatively) complete breakfast! The most amazing thing about this is that I actually feel full for the rest of the morning. It's like cheating! Only not!

Up & Go, however, is a bit more expensive than your regular breakfasts, on the shelves for around A$1.50 a packet. But every now and then, a sale will bring it down to A$1 a packet (in packs of 6) and that's when I stock up. I mean, $1 breakfasts are great! And so...with slight embarrassment, here is my current Up & Go stock in my pantry cupboard:

Yum. You can see I'm branching out to try different flavours.

Having said all this, I typically only have Up & Go on school mornings, because I usually go quite early to prepare for the day, and can easily have breakfast then, or even as I walk to school. I recently brought Up & Go to my minister's house for a planning meeting, and he went: "You're becoming like those overweight people in Wall-E who drink all their meals!" He's right, but hey, only for breakfast! So far :p