Tasty Tuesday : Vegan Protein Powders
Welcome back to another Tasty Tuesday post! I've been working on this one for a while and I hope you all find it helpful. For the past few months (really when I started training for the Gettysburg Marathon), I knew that I needed to add protein to my diet. There were so many vegan protein powders out there that I didn't even know where to begin! So, I bought all of the brands that I could find at Target or Amazon that weren't crazy expensive (and luckily, most are available in a sample size). Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on them!
Overview - Pea, Pumpkin Seed, and Hemp Seed Protein, 18g of protein per serving
This powder immediately tasted like licorice, then had an aftertaste of sweeter chocolate. The texture was a bit grainy, but blended really well with milk and smoothies.
Rating - 3/5 (docked a point for the licorice taste and grainy texture)
Price - $22.79 for 1lb 3.6 oz on Amazon
Overview - Pea, Pumpkin Seed, and Hemp Seed Protein, 18g of protein per serving
Similar licorice flavor at first and not much vanilla flavor. Sweeter after taste, but you can really taste the pea protein. This was even worse at blending and had big chunks when I mixed it with milk.
Rating - 1/5 (docked points for bad flavor and texture overall)
Price - $22.79 for 1lb 3.6 oz on Amazon
Overview - Pea Protein, Golden Chlorella, Flax Seed, 18g of protein per serving
Very sweet, almost tastes like the milk that's leftover after eating a sugary cereal. The texture is grainy and sandy, and also very thick.
Rating - 3.5/5 (docked point for thick texture and half for being almost too sweet)
Price - $26.51 for 1lb 6.2 oz on Amazon
Overview - Pea Protein, Golden Chlorella, Flax, 9g of protein per serving
Sweet, natural chocolate flavor without any bad aftertaste. Really good, smooth texture that blended perfectly. I think this one tastes so good and the texture is better than the others since there isn't as much protein, which makes sense since it's intended for kids.
Rating - 4/5 (docked a point for lower protein content)
Price - $26.59 for 1lb on Amazon
Overview - Pea protein, flax seed, hemp protein, and sacha inchi protein, 20g of protein per serving
Really great, unique flavor that's natural and not overly sweet. Really tasted like I was drinking an iced coffee with cocoa. The texture is really thick which makes it hard to mix with milk, but had a smooth texture.
Rating - 4.5/5 (docked half point for being a bit too thick)
Price - $47.03 for 1lb 13oz on Amazon
Overview - Pea, pumpkin seed, organic sunflower seed and alfalfa protein, 30g of protein per serving
Really subtle vanilla flavor, that's sweet but not overpowering. Amazing ingredients to help with recovery, like tart cherry and turmeric. Blends really well in smoothies and with milk with a silky texture.
Rating - 5/5 (so good for recovery and amazing taste)
Price - $34.72 for 1lb 13oz on Amazon
Note- I received this product from the company for free. I promised to share my honest thoughts and I'm not being paid for my review!
Overview - Yellow pea protein (that's the only ingredient in this powder), 27g of protein per serving
There's no flavor added, so there's a slight pea taste. When blended in smoothies you can't taste it at all, and it's an easy way to get in a ton of protein without affecting the flavor or texture. I'm not a fan in milk because it doesn't have a good taste by itself and it has a slight grainy texture when it's not blended.
Rating - 4/5 (docked a point since the flavor isn't great on its own, but I love the simple ingredient list)
Price - $52.25 for 5lb on Amazon
Do you take protein powder?
What's your favorite flavor or brand?
Post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
linking up with Amanda
Aloha Chocolate
This powder immediately tasted like licorice, then had an aftertaste of sweeter chocolate. The texture was a bit grainy, but blended really well with milk and smoothies.
Rating - 3/5 (docked a point for the licorice taste and grainy texture)
Price - $22.79 for 1lb 3.6 oz on Amazon
Aloha Vanilla Bean
Similar licorice flavor at first and not much vanilla flavor. Sweeter after taste, but you can really taste the pea protein. This was even worse at blending and had big chunks when I mixed it with milk.
Rating - 1/5 (docked points for bad flavor and texture overall)
Price - $22.79 for 1lb 3.6 oz on Amazon
Olly Velvet Vanilla
Very sweet, almost tastes like the milk that's leftover after eating a sugary cereal. The texture is grainy and sandy, and also very thick.
Rating - 3.5/5 (docked point for thick texture and half for being almost too sweet)
Price - $26.51 for 1lb 6.2 oz on Amazon
Olly Chipper Chocolate
Sweet, natural chocolate flavor without any bad aftertaste. Really good, smooth texture that blended perfectly. I think this one tastes so good and the texture is better than the others since there isn't as much protein, which makes sense since it's intended for kids.
Rating - 4/5 (docked a point for lower protein content)
Price - $26.59 for 1lb on Amazon
Vega One Mocha
Really great, unique flavor that's natural and not overly sweet. Really tasted like I was drinking an iced coffee with cocoa. The texture is really thick which makes it hard to mix with milk, but had a smooth texture.
Rating - 4.5/5 (docked half point for being a bit too thick)
Price - $47.03 for 1lb 13oz on Amazon
Vega Sport Vanilla
Really subtle vanilla flavor, that's sweet but not overpowering. Amazing ingredients to help with recovery, like tart cherry and turmeric. Blends really well in smoothies and with milk with a silky texture.
Rating - 5/5 (so good for recovery and amazing taste)
Price - $34.72 for 1lb 13oz on Amazon
Naked Pea Protein
Overview - Yellow pea protein (that's the only ingredient in this powder), 27g of protein per serving
There's no flavor added, so there's a slight pea taste. When blended in smoothies you can't taste it at all, and it's an easy way to get in a ton of protein without affecting the flavor or texture. I'm not a fan in milk because it doesn't have a good taste by itself and it has a slight grainy texture when it's not blended.
Rating - 4/5 (docked a point since the flavor isn't great on its own, but I love the simple ingredient list)
Price - $52.25 for 5lb on Amazon
Do you take protein powder?
What's your favorite flavor or brand?
Post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
linking up with Amanda
So it sounds like vega performance is the way to go. Have you tried Sunwarrior? That was actually the first protein powder I ever tried. Or Healthy Skoop?
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen those at Target! Are they only available online?
DeleteI've tried Vega but not Vega Sport--I definitely found the regular Vega really thick and grainy too. I'll have to try the Sport version!
ReplyDeleteI definitely prefer the Sport. It tastes a lot smoother, which is weird because it's higher in protein!
DeleteI was using protein powder daily, and then I bought one I didn't like and now it's just rotting away in my cabinet...
ReplyDeleteIt's Vega + Greens, and you can DEFINITELY taste the greens. It's gross.
I love Designer Whey, in vanilla or chocolate, but vanilla is a bit more versatile. But not sure if it's vegan. I usually only use a half scoop, because everything seems so protein-y with a full scoop. Maybe it's just me.
Ugh that doesn't sound good. I have Amazing Greens powder as well which basically tastes like drinking grass. Whey is made with milk so not vegan :(
DeleteOkay, so... here's the thing. As much as I want to like Vega powders, I haaaaate them. I think it's the stevia or something that I don't like. Like maybe they dumped a little too much stevia in there to make it sweet. I'm looking for a protein powder that is completely tasteless and blends into drinks with zero taste or texture and I'm having the hardest time!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that magical powder exists :( You might like the Naked line though..they don't add any sweeteners or flavors to their powders.
DeleteI agree Suzy, I don't like the "synthetic" taste of protein powders! But I love Imlak'esh Organics' Sacha Inchi Protein Powder. One ingredient- Sacha Inchi- with 17 grams of protein per serving, and has a slight nutty flavor but that's it! www.imlakeshorganics.com
DeleteThanks for sharing that brand Misty! I haven't heard of it but it sounds great.
DeleteI've never eaten (drank?) protein powder but I can see where it would help as a recovery shake blended with fruit (I've only previously used soymilk since that has a lot of protein, but sweetened soymilk has a lot of calories). I've heard such good things about the whole Vega line so that's probably the one I'd most want to try.
ReplyDeleteI can give you a little sample if you want to try it out!
DeleteWe've been using Naturade Vanilla pea protein powder and we LOVE it. They used to have it at Market District, but now we buy it on Amazon. We also just started using Tone It Up's chocolate and vanilla powders too and we love them as well. They're newly available at Target, so they've been sold out almost everywhere. Now that we have our favorites I'm hesitant to try others, haha.
ReplyDeleteHaven't tried either brand but I'll have to check them out!
Deletei used to just drink whatever protein powder KC had on hand, but he doesn't drink it anymore so i had to buy my own and do my own research. i got orgain - it says its vegan, has good reviews on amazon. i got the choclate flavour, but i got mine from costco as it was cheaper. i've only been drinking it for 3 days lol, the 1st day was awful because it was so chalky and not blended properly, yesterday and today were perfect. i just mix it with milk, a banana and a bunch of spinach. i used to do fruit as well but it just got to be too much and i'd get annoyed with it, so this is super easy and quick. and delish!
ReplyDeleteYou wrote this post vanilla bean powder very carefully. The amount of information is stunning and also a gainful article for us. Keep sharing this kind of articles, Thank you.
ReplyDelete