While some party girls and boys are aces at keeping it going till the breakadawn, other early-to-bed, early-to-rise types need some help in lasting till after the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Instead of yawning your way into 2007, keep your bag stashed with an energy drink that’ll put the pep back in your step.

The buzz-providing beverage of choice on ThisNext is G Pure Energy Drink, recommended by thedelicious, esh, elange, SeanCLucas, and melissaparker05. As a testament to the product’s revitalizing powers, esh recounts his first experience with G Pure:

“I don’t normally drink coffee or energy drinks but when a friend gave me a G Pure Energy a few days ago I tried it. I drank it in the early afternoon and didn’t get to sleep until 9am. Coincidence? Maybe, but I’m going to be very careful about when I drink my next G Pure Energy.”

True to its name, G Pure is loaded with natural energizers, explains Melissa: “The green tea and vitamins provide tons of energy and are good for you,” says our shopcaster, who notes that the drink “tastes crisp and citrusy and is a great mixer.” Sean also praises G Pure’s New Year’s-perfect potential as a mixer, sharing that “I love mixing G with cachaca to put a new twist on caipirinhas.” And since the drink “goes well with just about every other type of liquor,” he suggests checking out the brand’s website or MySpace page for more cocktail recipes.

...continued: Allnighter elixirs

While I was home for Thanksgiving, my mom asked if I knew anything about Monavie, some new miracle juice her friend had just discovered with a little help from Oprah. And even though I’m in the business of constantly researching and writing about natural products like miracle juice, Monavie was a total mystery to me till I tracked it down on ThisNext. There I found thedelicious’s Monavie Active Acai product pick, in which our shopcaster shares that “acai extract + pomegranate juice = extreme jungle juice that is scary high energy…but scary in a good way.” Meant to be downed in just a one- or two-ounce shot twice a day, Monavie gets a good deal of its health-enhancing superpower from the antioxidants, amino acids, and omega-3s found in acai (the chocolate- and berry-flavored fruit of Amazon palmberries). Those energizing, disease-fighting components can also be accessed by drinking a cup of Sambazon Acai with Mango Juice, another recommendation from thedelicious: An “all natural super energy from the Amazon, Sambazon Acai Juice will have you swinging through the corporate jungle vines at top speed,” she promises.

Although Sambazon’s blend should be sweetly sipped like a morning glass of OJ, most of the new superjuices pouring into the natural foods markets are taken like a supplement — just one quick hit a day, usually no more than a couple of ounces, and we’re good to go (a good thing, since most bottles cost at least 30 bucks).

...continued: Strange fruit

Gift-hunting on an empty stomach can only lead to bad things, especially when you’re out on one of the many marathon shopping excursions bound to transpire over the next few weeks. Instead of giving into greasy food-court temptations and other sources empty calories, stash a Clif MOJO Bar in your handbag (or pocket, or man purse, if you’re a dude). All salty and savory with roasted whole nuts and organic pretzel pieces, MOJO bars are made with 70 percent organic ingredients and at least eight grams of protein per serving. New ThisNexter chaimuffin says the flavor’s “like trail mix in your hand, only not dry and cakey, like a granola bar, but like true gorp or trail mix…I found myself buying them by the case now and eating them as a snack after running or the gym. A really nice way to reward myself for hard work and have also had them as a breakfast substitute and mid day pick me up snack.”

Steph Davis prefers the Mixed Nuts variety of MOJO bars, noting: “I don’t eat refined sugar, and get sick of too much sweet when I am losing salt through sweat. These are full of almonds and cashews, not too sweet, mostly organic too. They are so good, I never get sick of them.”

Of course so many of us love our Emergen-C, but others like to go for a stir-in solution with even more immune-boosting, energizing power. Green Vibrance - a powder that you can add to your juice, rice beverage, or water - contains a near-mind-blowing mix of superfoods: There’s wheatgrass, alfalfa sprout, spinach, chlorella, and bee pollen for nutrition and healing; vitamin E for cell membrane and nerve support; flaxseed and brown rice bran for fiber; ginkgo biloba and green tea for circulatory support and antioxidants; astralagus for immune support; a slew of probiotics; and so much more. The effects? “I started putting this stuff in 6 or 7 ounces of apple juice every day, along with a shot of liquid vit. B and some liquid chlorophyll,” says ThisNexter Jason. “BANG! I’m like a superhero now…I’m like 5x as alert as I was just drinking coffee in the AM, and I’m a full for the first four or five hours of the day.” And since starting to down a second six-ounce shot later in the day, Jason’s found that Green Vibrance “really fills me up and makes me feel more alert. I’m also sleeping better.”

Gordon, meanwhile, considers Green Vibrance “a good and healthy alternative to junk food.” But just how appetizing is it? “It’s a little gritty, and the color is evergreen - a bit hard to convince yourself that it’s okay to drink something the color of mold,” says blogger Luna at Stars for Eyes, who mixes her Green Vibrance with cider. But, she concedes, “it’s not bad tasting at all.” What’s more, Luna adds, “[t]his stuff knocked that cold demon on its ass. Not only was I not getting sick, I found I had plenty of energy when I really needed it.”

While Clif no doubt ranks as the most popular energy bar on ThisNext, the brand’s endurance-enhancing Shot Bloks are also getting much love from some of our sportiest shopcasters. With 100 calories per blok, the brown-syrup-based chews deliver carbs and electrolytes to boost your energy, performance, and muscle function when you’re sweating hard. And as Hans points out, these “healthy gummi bears” can make for the “perfect energy snack during a bike ride or any form of exercise”: Sarah loves her Shot Bloks because “they keep me going but don’t upset my stomach on long trail runs,” while Jessica says they’re “a wonderful invention for longer runs.” Professional climber Heidi Wirtz includes the product on her Alpinist to Alpinist list (a collection of stuff she “wouldn’t climb without”), and “dedicated and admitted backcountry skier and ski mountaineering addict” Steve Romeo regards Shot Bloks as an essential for “when the air is rare.”

Clif’s newest Shot Blok provides 210 mg of sodium (three times the amount in other Bloks), and the fact that it’s margarita-flavored just makes me all the more intrigued…

Grown-ups need a minimum of one gram of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day to keep from slowly breaking down their own tissues, according to Harvard School of Public Health. (For those not down with the metric system - that amounts to about 9 grams of protein for every 20 pounds.) And when you work out, that protein need may increase: During exercise, you break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears, explains the blog Leading A Better Life. In order to aid muscle repair and prevent muscle from breaking down even further, you need to consume protein (as well as carbs, which help your muscles cells process the protein).

A strong balance of protein and carbs can be found in Clif Bars, aka the most popular energy bar on the ThisNext block. (“My all time favorite flavor of energy bar,” says Lynn Kennan of the Lemon Poppyseed Clif Bar. “Not only is it all organic but it doesn’t freeze and get hard in the cold.”) For those looking for a bar with lotsa protein and minimal carbs, Maria Kang at Fitness Cure names the top 6 low-carb protein bars, including Luna Bars and the Snickers Marathon Low Carb Bar. And to pump your protein intake while staying low on the glycemic index, Joanne Eglash suggests Amino Vital Fit Bars (with 1,000 mg of amino acids per serving) and Solo G.I. Bars (“the perfect snack”). Designed to be digested slowly, the fiber-rich Solo G.I. Bars help you stay full longer – and the lemon lift flavor is particularly yummy.

...continued: The power of protein

I can’t remember what life was like before I discovered Emergen-C and other drinkable vitamins. I was probably fighting off the flu by chopping 12 bulbs of garlic into my stir-fry each winter night, chasing away hangovers with Coke Slurpees, and defending against airplane colds simply by keeping my fingers crossed for the entirety of every flight. But those little packets of fizzy goodness make staying healthy so much easier, as many a ThisNext member has realized.

First, there’s the cold and flu factor. Like it or not, fall and winter are right around the corner, as David points out in his recently added shopcast about Airborne. With 1,670 percent of your daily vitamin C needs, the effervescent tablets should give a whopping boost to your immune system. Still, David remains pragmatic about Airborne’s ability to act as superhero-esque protection against sniffling and sneezing:

“If Airborne doesn’t work, the worst thing is you take some vitamins. If Airborne does work, you stay healthy for the season. Not a bad offer. Oh, if Airborne is just some psychosomatic quackery and it works because you think it works, do you really care?”

Gerry Ann prefers to get her wintertime immune boost from Tangerine Emergen-C and then “look with pity on all those coughers and sneezers who haven’t seen the light.”

...continued: Drink your vitamins

Click the “energy bar” tag on ThisNext and you’ll get a whole page of Clif products. Indeed, in trolling the running/biking/hiking blogosphere over the past few months I’ve found that bloggers love Clif. And what’s not to love? Not only does Clif skimp on scary mystery ingredients and go for yummy, naturally energizing stuff like organic peanut butter and loads of vitamins and minerals—the eco-conscious company promotes the use of renewable energy, donates 2,080 hours of volunteer time to various groups yearly, and gives back to causes such as the American Hiking Society and the Breast Cancer Fund. To discover the best of the best, here’s a look at ThisNext’s most favorite Clif products—and what makes each so superior.

...continued: ThisNext: Crazy for Clif

Like Carrie Bradshaw, I’m a girl who generally only uses her oven for storage. But I’m much tempted by a baking-required recipe recently discovered via (W)EIGHT (a weight-loss blog, natch). It’s for homemade vegan granola bars, and includes so much wholesome goodness: honey and peanut butter and cinnamon and nutmeg, plus your choice of naturally yummy stuff like coconut, raisins, dried apples, and chopped nuts. I might end up concocting some variety with about a 1,000 calories per bar, but hey.

Who doesn’t love Luna bars? I could probably live on the Lemon Zest variety for the rest of my life, if - for some odd reason - ever such as need arose. So I was thrilled to discover (via vegetarian blog A Vintage More New) that Luna has launched the “first and only organic morning nutrition bar created specifically for on-the-go women.” Available in Blueberry Yogurt, Strawberries & Creme, and Vanilla Almond, Luna Sunrise gets you a good dose of calcium, fiber, folic acid, B vitamins, iron, and those oh-so-essential omega-3 fatty acids.

File under “Potentially Life-Improving Stuff I Think About Doing All The Time But Never Actually Get Around To”: Healthia Cynthia blogs about dry-brushing, the practice of sloughing your dry skin with a long-handle, natural-fiber brush. In addition to leaving you all glowy and beautiful, dry-brushing helps stimulate your lymphatic system and help rid your body of toxins. Cynthia recommends making it a pre-shower ritual, assuring one pain-fearing commenter that “it feels really great, like a brisk walk on a gently raining evening.” Somehow I’m finally sold, and in between starting this post and ending the last sentence, I visited Amazon.com to get myself a way-affordable Tampico Dry Skin Brush from Yerba Prima. Seven bucks for a product that Cynthia promises will “give you a whole new lease”? A big huge happy hooray to that.

Maybe I’m slightly overeager to try out strange-sounding and potentially gross new health and nutrition products. But after blogging about C Is For Cookie’s post on Active Greens Chocolate Organic Food Bar, I had to run out to my local Whole Foods and experience the algae-containing treat for myself. And while it’s worlds away from a Vosges-Haut Chocolate Black Pearl bar (perhaps the most drool-inducing of all my ThisNext picks), Active Greens wins major points from cramming so much supernutrition goodness into such a small package - while still managing to create an energy bar with a flavor that’s superior to many of those on the health food store shelf.

Turns out I’m not the only shopcaster with a thing for the green stuff, and with good reason: Rich in chlorophyll, greens like wheatgrass, spirulina, and chlorella are said to help protect against cancer, lower cholesterol, enhance immunity, and promote detox. But ThisNext members seem most amped about algae’s energy-boosting powers.

...continued: ThisNext goes green

Although Lara Bars first struck Bunnyfoot’s Rae as “nothing more than a new take on that old seventies classic, the dreaded date roll,” the “mostly vegan” blogger recently discovered that the all-natural energy bars may have actually earned their popularity among sporty health nuts.

Not to be outdone, Rae has created her own “homemade Lara-type bars.” Check her post for the recipe and some very yummy ingredient combinations (cranberry + coconut = yes, please).

Right now we’re wondering if it would be too pushy to ask triathlete blogger KLN at !! Tri-als Of The Day !! to give us the recipe for the homemade lime/garlic/hot sauce chicken soup she so casually and teasingly references in a recent random-thought post. The jury’s still out on that, so in the meantime we’ll have to make do with the Lara Bars she name-checks in the same post. Like KLN, we love Lara Bars for their lack of added sugar and think the taste is terrific. So nice to have an energy bar with such wholesome ingredients and no mysterious mush that you’re left to try to worrisomely identify.

File under “Um, what?”: Bethenny Bakes and Shakes just attuned our consciousness to the new Kabbalah Energy Drink, a “citrus fusion” that contains spring water direct from the Kabbalah Center. Lest any customers be confused as to whether the drink’s pick-me-up power stems from some sort of divine intervention, the product’s FAQs readily explain that “the energy ‘buzz’ that results from drinking Kabbalah Energy Drink is primarily attributed to our unique blend of taurine and B vitamins, ingredients common in most energy drink products.”

Oh, Madonna, what have you done?

The Dirty Greek is one of the best-known green blogs in sight, and he’s also got one of the best blogrolls in the field. Sustainable tech, alternative fuels, local food, global warming – he’s on top of it all, with a cram-full blog…including reference to a wonderfully hopeful article in Popular Science about electrical generation from the wind…but not just any wind. “ Sky WindPower Corporation is developing a flying electric generator that would autorotate at 15,000 feet, tethered to the ground with an electricity-conducting cable,” they report. These high-blowing breezes are the strongest and smoothest on the planet, and if the technical challenges can be overcome, they may very well be a rich new source of power from a nearby, unexpected, and entirely invisible source.