Drink Wholesome PB Chocolate Vegan Protein Powder

I have tried quite a few vegan protein powders. Most of them have not gotten a second look from me because I do not like the aftertaste of stevia. I find that I only like stevia in leaf form and not in powder form. I would rather items contain sugar. When I recently was contact by Drink Wholesome to provide an honest* review their vegan protein powder, I was a bit reluctant. Once I saw that stevia was not an ingredient I agreed to give the powder a try.

One of the things that caught my eye was that it was only 6 ingredients: chickpeas, peanuts, coconut, cocoa, sea salt, and monk fruit. Protein powders are generally filled with many ingredients that are often not things we would generally put into our bodies. I eat all of these ingredients with the exception of monk fruit. It is a fruit though, so I can support that! I was also drawn to the flavor. Chocolate and peanut butter? Yes, please!

My samples arrived and I tested them unsweetened soymilk. I did not follow the directions and tried to mix the powder with a spoon instead of using a shaker bottle or blender. Note to other users: follow the directions! This powder needs the force of a shaker bottle or blender to dissolve the clumps. Once I corrected the issue, I was able to enjoy the after workout drink.

I really enjoyed the taste! It was nice not to have the overpowering aftertaste of stevia. The drink was slightly sweet and tasted like chocolaty goodness! The powder does not have a lot of other vitamins and nutrients beyond protein and fiber, but that is okay with me. Soy milk has much of the added vitamins and minerals that I am looking for in a drink.

Overall, I really like this product and would buy it as an after workout protein shake. The current price is about $25 (it is currently on sale) for 14 servings which makes it a tad more expensive than the other vegan supplements that I am able to find in stores. I compared it to a couple of other brands in pricing and it is about 30-40 cents more per serving with the sale price. Once the product returns to its original price of $28. However, I think that the whole and recognizable ingredients make this powder excel above the rest. The cost is worth it to me!

* Do you have a product that you would like us to review? We are happy to accept samples of your vegan product for an honest review. Please visit here to read more

JustPea Protein Powder

The kind folks at JustPea contacted us recently and asked if we would review their product.* I personally am not a fan of most protein powders because I don’t like the taste of stevia. When I realized this product did not contain stevia, I was immediately interested in trying it. It is made from a single ingredient (peas) and contains no GMO’s. Overall this product has proven to be a winner in my book.

Product: JustPea Pea Protein Powder 

Overall Grade: A

Pros:

• I didn’t even notice it was in my smoothie. Really. The first time I used it, I only used half a scoop because I was worried it might make my smoothie taste bad. It didn’t. The next time I used it, I used the full scoop and we still didn’t even notice it was in there. It really let the flavors that I put in my smoothies shine.
• There are 20 grams of protein in one scoop. That’s a lot of protein!
• The bag is a large one. There are 30 scoops in a bag. I personally don’t feel the need for 20 grams of protein in my smoothie, so I will continue to use half a scoop to get 10 grams of protein and make it last longer.
• NO STEVIA in this product!!!
• Vegan, gluten-free, and fully sourced in the US.
• It’s priced on par with comparable protein powders.

Cons:

• The only suggestion I have to possibly improve the product in the future is to make it fully organic. It IS already non-GMO, so that is a great start. If you’re looking for a protein boost for your smoothies that won’t affect the taste, go ahead and give this a try.

*Please note that we are happy to try vegan products for an honest review. If you are interested, please contact us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cow Vegan Protein Shake and Meal Replacement

The makers of Happy Cow Vegan Protein Shake and Meal Replacement contacted us recently and asked if we would try their product.*  Smoothies are a regular occurrence in my household and we go through the protein shake mixes monthly. I happily accepted as I am always on the search for affordable vegan protein powders. The containers arrived quickly and I was pleasantly surprised by the design. It is different from other commercial shake containers with a picture of a cartoon cow and a black background. It stood out to me immediately that I it was a vegan product and that always makes me smile. I would be drawn to this product in stores. For now it is sold online through Amazon, but I would love to see this product in stores soon. Product: Happy Cow Vegan Protein Shake and Meal Replacement, Vanilla and Chocolate flavors

Overall Grade: A

Pros:

• Great packaging design with an adorable cow. I like that the company advertises boldly that it is a vegan protein shake.
• They have an offering of two common flavors: vanilla and chocolate. Nothing too weird or fancy.
• The products both have a delicious smell that is decedent and inciting.
• They list a good amino acid profile on the container. Many of the other vegan shakes/meal replacements either don’t contain amino acids or haven’t taken the time to label them on the containers. This is important to some people. The more nutritional information, the better.
• The serving amount is one scoop, whereas many other vegan shakes require two or more scoops.
• I have not compared pricing very closely between all other protein powders, but this seems to be on par (or a little cheaper) with the price of other vegan brands. Currently, it is listed for $25 on Amazon.

Cons:

• I wasn’t a fan of this product on its own (mixed with water only). Not many, if any, protein shakes taste good on their own. They all seem to have to be mixed with a vegan milk and other ingredients like fruits, vegetables, nuts and/or seeds.

 

*Please note that we are happy to try vegan products for an honest review. If you are interested, please contact us.

 

 

 

 

Not Quite A Kitchen Tour (and a protein powder) – Day 13

I’m not going to do a full kitchen tour today for two reasons: 1. I don’t live alone so the kitchen isn’t fully vegan and 2. my cabinets are a mess.  I’m in the middle of reorganizing the ones that are specifically mine, but it’s a work in progress.

Instead, what I’m going to do is share with you a new kitchen addition since last year’s Vegan MoFo.  My nephew gifted my sister and me a Nutribullet last Christmas.

The one we got is red, has two small and one large blender cups, two lids, an extra screw-top handle for the handle-free cups, a blender blade and a mill blade.

My nutribullet is like this one.

This thing is a little powerhouse.  We use it for small batches of hummus, for smoothies, to grind chia seeds, to make flour out of whole grain buckwheat, to make nut meal and for various other things.  It’s easy to clean – all dishwasher safe, except the base obviously.  It’s also easy to take the cups on the go…take off the blade, flip the cup, and screw on the lid. The only real issue we have with it, is it takes just the right hand to get the cup/blade to connect with the base.  I’ve found that if you turn it so it fits into the base and makes a slight “drop” into to then you can the push the cup down to blend.  It was hard to get this down at first, but I think I have it now.

The other day, I made a smoothie in it using Vega Choc-a-lot protein smoothie.  As a recall, this was 1 scoop of the protein powder, 1 small banana, a couple handfuls of kale, coconut milk (beverage, not the canned kind), and a small spoonful of peanut butter.

 

 

 

Made with pea protein, hemp protein and other proteins (no gluten or soy), there’s 15 grams in a single scoop.  It also advertises two servings of veggies per 90 calorie serving.

I like using the variety of protein and getting so much nutrition in a small serving.  But, there’s one caveat.  The stevia taste is strong.  If you dislike stevia, you won’t like this protein powder.  I’m ok with stevia most of the time and it’s even a little strong for me.  I find that using a banana as the fruit helps temper it as does adding a little agave or maple syrup.

I realized as I was writing this post, that I’ve never used it in just a glass of non-dairy milk like it suggests on the package.  It didn’t really change my view on the powder.  It doesn’t fully stir in so it wasn’t smooth like a chocolate flavored milk and the taste is still stevia-like with a mild chocolate flavor.

So, it’s a mixed review from me…it’s something I buy because I like the nutrition, but I have to mask the taste a bit to really enjoy it.