I’m not vegan. I’m not vegetarian. I have a dairy allergy of some kind and whey proteins seems to mess with my stomach. All lactose items mess with my stomach, but in my weight loss journey I’ve discovered that Whey, even Whey isolate, affects me poorly. I get all sorts of intestinal inflammation and it’s just no good. So, I’ve made the switch from whey protein isolate, to regular plant based protein. There is some kind of pea isolate, but I’m going to be honest. This stuff is expensive. I’m only reviewing as many as I can. I will add more to the list, if I try more. This should be a living list of my opinions. Like it’s festivus and it’s my turn at the table.
Let’s start with some SEO fake information. Wait, wait, wait. I don’t have to start everything with a story about spending summers on my grandparents farm at the base of the Rockies in Montana, where father and grandpappy would chop wood in preparation for the winter and mother would help granny can the latest excess personal harvest. Although these might actually be true stories with my family (just the farm at the base of the Rockies in Montana part), I don’t need to embellish in anyway, because I don’t think anyone will read this and if they do, why would they want to read all that crap?
I will preface this with one thing. I have yet to taste a plant based protein powder that worked when mixed in a shaker cup, even with the mixing piece. I will go into detail below. But not a single one. None. Blenders are the only way to go. I have also yet to have a plant based powder that I would choose to drink. Whey powders often taste like chocolate malt or chocolate shakes to me. They were like a treat for my taste buds (not the intestines). I’ll be blunt. I wouldn’t choose these if I didn’t have to. BUT, there are ways to make them much better. I will discuss.
Updated: Checking in a couple of months after I started this list, I’m adding another plus, I got a fancy shaker with a blender attached. It blends way better than hand shaking, but not always enough for some of these below. I don’t have Amazon affiliate yet, so I don’t have a link. There are many to choose from though, and I’m sure all the mid level and up are good enough. Mine’s mid level.
I’ve also decided to finish what I’ve purchased. I’m doing this for the love of the game. Or something. I don’t know. These things are just expensive and I can’t waste what I’ve bought. Some of these are so thick they feel like meal replacements.
Let the shit talking begin!!!!!
Rule 1 Plant Protein Dark Chocolate
I’m not going to hold anything back and start with the best powder. This is the one I was suggested to buy originally. I purchased the small container from Amazon and actually got it in a surprisingly short period of time. There had been issues with my previous Rule 1 (whey isolate, before I realized it was an issue) delivery time, so I expected the same here, but nope. It was delivered next day.
I tried it in my shaker for my next protein drink. I shook it good and long, making sure to get it all mixed up. Plant protein powders seem to be harder to mix than whey. A lot harder to mix. They also need more liquid than whey. I was using 6oz of Oat milk in my whey shakes, but I’ve found 8oz is a lot better for the plant based ones. Although some of these containers suggest up to 12oz.
Once I felt like I had it mixed well enough, I cracked the lid, titled the cup back, and watched as the thick mass of protein sludge poured into my mouth. I was expecting this. I was not grossed out, but I was grossed out, you know? Anyway, the taste wasn’t good, but it wasn’t terrible. The sludge itself was thick and gritty. The chocolate flavor is nearly overpowered by whatever the plant mix is. BUT, with my background as a Seattle native from the 80s and 90s, I knew I could handle it. And with that high praise, I was sure this was going to be the winner. I just needed to find a way to make it better.
I finally wised up around now and pulled out the blender. This is THE game changer. I put my 8oz of Oat milk in. I added the scoop of powder. I closed the lid, blended that sucker like never before (10 seconds, scrape the sides, 10 more seconds) and out comes this smooth and soft totally drinkable and somewhat good plant based protein shake. The chocolate even tasted more chocolatey. I didn’t even have to drink it all in one quick, forced chug. I didn’t have to take breaks because I couldn’t handle it and needed to pump myself up. I actually could drink this one.
I also tried this same blender version with a tablespoon of no sugar added peanut butter. Holy crap! That jumped it up like 6 levels. It also got me some more prote! Double win.
This is why Rule 1 Plant Based is my number 1. The flavor is there and it’s drinkable, and that’s the absolute most important part when you have to go to the plant based protein world. It’s still emerging, so there will be many more options in the future, but for now. This one is the best we’re going to get.
Non-affiliate link here. 20 servings for under $40 at the time of this writing.
Orgain Organic Protein and Superfoods Plant Based Protein Powder, Creamy Chocolate Fudge
I bought this one at Costco. It was sitting there in the front, looking all nice and perky. Look at how bright and inviting the container is! At least I thought it was bright and inviting. It looks like it would be a pretty good one. Especially being Creamy Chocolate Fudge.
I took this one home and mixed it in my shaker cup with the mixer piece. I opened the lid and… what? There was powder in the top of the lid. It hadn’t mixed and was stuck. I realized that when I shook the cup, it shoved the powder into the top of the cup and it stayed up there. I closed it up and kept shaking.
I continued to shake.
When I felt I was done shaking, I opened the lid again noticed that it had finally mixed some. Yay! Not fully, but some.
So, well, I guess that was going to have to be good enough. I lifted the shaker to my mouth, tilted my head and it back, and waited as the thickest grainiest sludge you could ever imagine slowly poured into my mouth. Granted, this was the first brand I tried and I was just now learning what to expect from these, but never would I have expected a shake that could be eaten with a spoon. Like a thick oatmeal. It was rough. BUT, I was also able to down this. I was not happy with it, but I was able to succeed with the getting it inside, so that’s a win. Not a good win, but a win.
I later tried this one in the blender in the hopes that it would recover. I first tried it with a scoop of no sugar added peanut butter. I could choke this down too, but I’ll be honest, I was choking it down. The flavor is just rough. The plant based mix stands out pretty heavily. The texture was hard for me to deal with. It took some will power to get the drink down.
For the next one I tried it without the added tablespoon of peanut butter.
I returned the product to Costco.
Non-affiliate link here. 24 servings for under $50 at the time of this writing.
Orgain 35g Dairy Free Protein Shake, Creamy Chocolate 14 fl oz, 12-count
Actual best, but not a powder and also has an odd after taste after having drank more than half.
I will absolutely choose these, if given a choice of protein to drink. The cost is kind of high and the one time use bottle thing kind of sucks, but I’m not sure what they could do to fix it.
It’s funny to me how highly I think of this one when I returned their chocolate powder for being unpalatable, but that’s how things go.
This one tastes like chocolate. Kind of like a Yoo-Hoo, but not really at all. You need to mix it well like a Yoo-Hoo, though. So there’s that similarity. It’s also best when served very cold.
I bought my first pack of these with the powder. When I returned the powder I went back to this display and grabbed two more boxes of these bottles. I’m definitely a fan of it. Another thing I like about it is that it feels more like a meal replacement-ish item. I said ish, because they do not claim that at all on the bottles or anywhere and I don’t want anyone thinking they do. I feel like it’s a good replacement for me, on certain days. It’s also crazy with prote. 35g per bottle! That’s nuts!
I’m all about this one, except for the price. The price is up there, but I’m not sure if it evens out because of the amount of prote you’re getting in comparison to the powder.
I’m only seeing it online at Costco (not even on the Orgain company website). About $25 for 12 at the time of this writing.
Naked Nutrition Chocolate Pea Protein Powder
“JESUS CHRIST.”
The Naked pea protein was responsible for a gut reaction vocal outburst. I blended it with not enough oat milk, that’s for sure. Maybe 8oz, and you add two scoops of this pea protein.
I point out that it’s a pea protein, because I’ve already noticed a pattern and I don’t think Naked can do anything else with what they got here. This is maybe just what pea protein has to be.
However, since everyone’s different and I don’t want to just trash them, maybe this is something you will enjoy, I don’t know. Everyone has different tastebuds. Maybe you like eating the flavor of powdered old vegetables turned to sludge. Which somehow made me feel like it dried my mouth out too.
So what happened with the mix was I blended it with the 8oz of oat milk, What’s crazy is that this is the amount they suggest on the bottle. It says 6-10oz of water or you can choose your favorite beverage that would work with it. Although I don’t know what you should use, I don’t see this being saved. Anyway, I blended the thing. I opened the blender cup. I watched the sludge slide towards my mouth. It creeped in. I took a full drink and pulled the cup away. “JESUS CHRIST,” I exclaimed. I finished it, but shit. This one is rough. It’s too thick. Too farm like.
Update: Since I wrote the above I have purchased the blender cup I spoke of at the top of this post. I’m now using that to blend the powder with 12oz of oat milk. I’m doing my best to not be wasteful and get through this one, but I don’t know that I can. I’m thinking of just getting rid of this one. I hope Naked has other products that are better.
I strongly suggest, and kind of hope, that young lifters use it in a challenge.
Found here.
Future Kind Vegan Protein Powder – Chocolate Flavored
This one is firmly in the middle. It blends fine, so it’s pretty drinkable, but the flavor isn’t really too powerful. It’s more of a touch of chocolate flavor. I think a big part of that is the overwhelming vegetable protein taste. As I stated earlier about the pea protein, I think some of this is fighting an uphill battle. Vegetable proteins are hard to make taste good in a powder. Maybe they’re better in other foods. I don’t know, because I’m only doing the drinks.
I will say that this is definitely my backup brand, if I were not able to get the Rule 1 brand prote.
The thing about this one is that I’m pretty much done with my review already. It’s just kind of a forgettable, not so great, but not too bad, prote.
You can find it on their website here. It’s the most expensive of all at $59 for 30 servings at the time of this writing.
I will keep this list going as I try more of these prote powds. I will chase a satisfying protein shake for the dairy free crowd until I fide something that’s actually enjoyable!
I know it’s out there somewhere!
