Contours of the Earth

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus: Chocolate

admin — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:11:25 +0000

Chocolate is the third Bolthouse Farms flavor I’ve tried so far, and mango & strawberry were great so I had high expectations. The Protein Plus Chocolate is good, but it’s tough to stand up to such competition. I may be biased because chocolate is such a standard flavor that it’s hard to set it apart against the rest of the protein shake pack.

That being said, Bolthouse Farms does chocolate well. It’s got the consistency and taste of cold hot chocolate, which is great. As for the nutrient content, it has 30g of protein and a “21 nutrient blend” including B vitamins & minerals. This is another one that comes highly recommended.

See the rating and more pics after the jump

Taste: 5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (30g/450ml) = 5 (very good)

Pure Protein Shake: Cookies ‘n Creme

Joe — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 01:24:50 +0000

Pure Protein is the same company that makes those protein bars that I had earlier in the month. Their Cookies ‘n Creme protein shake comes in a can, with 35 grams of protein and only 4 grams of carbs.

This is another one of the chemical tasting ones, and even though I can decipher the cookies & cream taste, I wouldn’t have known if it didn’t tell me the flavor on the front. It tastes milky, with a little bit of that artificial chocolate flavor.

Taste: 3 (ok)

Texture: 4 (good)

Protein: (35g / 325ml) = 5 (very good)

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Strawberry Parfait Smoothie

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:13:42 +0000

Bolthouse Farms’ Parfait Smoothie almost makes weird drink status – it’s basically a food that’s been blended up. And it actually tastes just like a strawberry parfait blended up smooth. Contrary to most protein shakes, it’s all natural, with no preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, or GMO’s.

It tastes good, but is naturally a little sour because of the yogurt. If you like yogurt though, this taste will be completely normal. They actually include real yogurt, granola, and strawberries. And you can’t taste any of the 25g of whey & soy protein per bottle.

Taste: 4 (good)

Texture: 4 (good)

Protein: (25g / 450ml) = 4 (good)

Odwalla Protein Monster: Chocolate Protein

Joe — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:03:31 +0000

I’ve tried enough of these protein shakes to not expect much from them in the taste department. Especially in the chocolate ones, there is usually some kind of weird aftertaste. To my surprise though, Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster is great. It tastes just like chocolate milk made with whole milk. The chocolate tastes real, and it’s a little thick, but not too thick. This one blows vanilla out of the water.

I like Odwalla because they use natural ingredients and no GMO’s. Chocolate Protein Monster is 90% organic, with 25g of soy & dairy protein. They even use a 100% recyclable, plant-based bottle, which is great for the environment. This bottle has 150% DV vitamin B12, 19% DV potassium, 75% DV calcium, 150% DV vitamin B6, and “happiness.”

Taste: 5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (25g/355ml) = 5 (very good)

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus: Mango Review

Joe — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:49:00 +0000

I’m excited to finally get a pre-made protein shake that isn’t either vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. Bolthouse Mango Protein Plus looks like a nice all natural alternative to the chemical slurries that are most protien shakes.

When I first smelled it, there was a hint of ‘protein’ flavor which is common among these types of drinks. However, it doesn’t have that distinctive taste. Instead, it tastes like thick orange-carrot juice with a hint of mango thrown in. It’s a little tangy but actually refreshing.

Protein Plus: Mango has 3 servings of fruit per bottle, with mango, carrot, apple, orange, and banana. According to the ingredients list, the drink is mostly fruit (including pineapple juice), which is great to know that it’s basically fruit purees, soy & dairy protein, and some electrolytes & vitamins. Sounds healthy to me.

Taste: 4.5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (30g / 450ml) = 5 (very nice)

(more pics after the jump!)

Pure Protein: Blueberry Crumb Cake Protein Bar Review

Joe — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:48:14 +0000

I haven’t come to expect much from protein bars over the years. They never taste the way you expect them to, and this is no exception. the blueberry crumb cake pure protein bar looks like it has a layer of blueberry puree on top of some “crumb cake” and the whole bar is covered with yogurt. It has 0g trans fat and 3g of sugar.

Well, the yogurt melted off for the most part, but the blueberry part does taste like blueberries. The crumb cake part is not crumbly or cakey at all. It’s just a chewy blob of protein bar like the chocolate Pure Protein minus chocolate flavor. While the bar is sweet on first bite, it actually ends up a little bit salty.

Overall, this isn’t a protein bar that I’m fond of. Now, to find one that I am fond of…

Taste: 2 (meh)

Texture: 2 (meh)

Protein: (28g / 78g bar) = 3 (good)

Vanilla Creme Muscle Milk Review

Joe — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:33:17 +0000

Muscle Milk: Vanilla Creme is a good-tasting, high-protein “nutritional shake.” It actually does taste like vanilla creme, with a little bit of off aftertaste, but not as bad as chocolate Muscle Milk.

Its texture is good and goes down very easily. If you’re getting Muscle Milk, I recommend this vanilla flavor

Taste: 4 (good)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (32g /500ml) = 4 (good)

VPX Protein Rush: Chocolate Dream Review

Joe — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:21:47 +0000

The chocolate protein rush isn’t quite as good as the vanilla protein rush in my opinion, but it still tops the charts compared to the other protein drinks I’ve tried.

It’s smooth, and the flavor reminds me of the chocolate Popsicles I used to eat as a kid. There’s no sourness like the chocolate Muscle Milk has.

With 40g of protein, it’s also the highest protein content for a pre-made protein shake. There’s not much more I can say about it, except to say that it’s recommended

Taste: 5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (40g/ 500ml) = 5 (very good)

VPX Protein Rush: Vanilla Dream Review

Joe — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:17:07 +0000

I’d never heard of VPX or Protein Rush before, but it was right next to muscle milk in the GNC coolers so I decided to grab a couple for the first week of my protein experiment. It’s thick like a melted milkshake, and the vanilla flavor reminds me of ice cream or cake batter.

It’s made with a “7 Stage Protein Complex” which is “designed to increase lean muscle & reduce body fat!” (“when combined with resistance training and a sensible diet”). This all sounds good to me, but I’m good with knowing that it has 40g of protein per container.

Protein Rush Vanilla Dream is good, I recommend it

Taste: 5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (40g/500ml) = 5 (very good)

Odwalla Protein Monster: Strawberry Protein Review

Joe — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:14:32 +0000

Odwalla Strawberry Protein Monster doesn’t live up to it’s name. Compared to some of the other monster protein shakes I’ve tried, this one is pretty tame, even dainty. It comes in a smaller bottle, and has only 20g of protein. Plus, it’s pink. (They seem to know this: the side of the bottle says “Because this monster would rather be ‘berry’ than scary.”)

It does taste really good though, just like strawberry milk. It’s very smooth, and the (natural!) strawberry flavor is light but enough. Odwalla Strawberry Protein shake is the best one I’ve tried, plus it has lots of natural ingredients and is 82% organic.

For nutrients, it has: 20g of protein (I ate 10g worth of protein bar to get up to 30 today), 150% Vitamin B12, 15% Potassium, 15% Calcium, 150% Vitamin B6, and “happy camping.”

Taste: 5 (very nice)

Texture: 5 (very nice)

Protein: (20g / 355ml) = 2 (meh)