Contours of the Earth

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)

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)

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)

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 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)