Garden of Life Meal Replacement Shakes, Vegan Raw Organic Protein Powder, Vanilla Chai Protein Powder with Plant Based Pea Protein, Sprouts, Greens, Probiotics, Dairy Free 28 Servings

Last year, my wife got interested in losing a few pounds, and she considered Nutrisystem, but I vetoed and searched for some shakes solutions. I heard very good things about Herbalife from a few colleagues, but I personally didn’t like their distribution system which is kind of like a pyramid scheme. Long story short, after reading a lot of reviews from different protein shakes and diet pills, we finally chose RAW Meal, and we were very skeptical about it. I should also add that we tried the Garcinia Cambogia pills a few years ago, and it didn’t work for us.We first ordered the Chocolate and Vanilla as our first batch. We used a hand blender, and the recipe that we followed was this one:1- One Cup of Frozen Fruits preferably from an organic or co-op store (~70 Cal)2- One Cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk (30 Cal)3- Two Scoop of RAW Meal Powder (240 Vanilla, 250 Chocolate)Total Calories per Cup: 340-350The first time we had the Chocolate, we easily could taste the Raw Meal Powder aftertaste. It is a very distinct taste that you want to almost gag. However, we were determined and had already bought two large containers, so we continued having four shakes per day for two weeks. It worked amazingly great and in just two weeks, we started to lose a lot of weight. Also, our body kind of went into a cleansing state after a few days, which I am not going to repeat what happened, since it may be different for you, but you will definitely notice when it starts to happen.Another problem is that you need to drink this shake quickly. If you wait, and it gets warm, the taste is going to be a lot worse. It also changes its texture and becomes something very gooey. We find it impossible to bring a cup to work as our lunch. Even so, we were so happy with the results that ordered the second batch: Vanilla and Vanilla Chai. At first, I preferred the “chocolate” taste more, but “vanilla” kind of grew on me, and we changed the recipe a little bit: first, we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and then we only used one scoop of the powder (under 250 cal. total). Later, we also tried the unflavored version, but aftertaste was stronger with that one.We lost a lot of weight we decided to only make the vanilla shake for breakfast. So after more than a year, we maintained our desired weight, and only make this once a day. We hardly notice the distinctive taste of the powder anymore, but it’s there. If you are very sensitive to the taste, maybe it helps if you get a better blender. We recently upgraded our blender to Blendtec 675, and you can tell the difference between shakes made by our hand blender and shakes made by this beast. You certainly don’t feel the fiber texture in your mouth anymore, and the blend is so smooth you less notice the aftertaste.Lastly, my wife prefers frozen fruits with lots of berries, and I prefer berries mixed with mango. Sometimes we add a fresh banana or an apple to make it taste different than the last one. You should experiment with different frozen and fresh fruits mix and find your ideal blend. You may also like to have different kinds for breakfast and lunch.Conclusion: this diet works and you feel amazingly light and healthy after a few weeks. If you have a hard time adjusting to the taste, try vanilla version and mix it with vanilla almond milk and frozen fruits. Also, you can start with one scoop of powder which results in each cup to be about 220-230 calories. Lastly, don’t forget that your choice of blender can have a huge difference on the aftertaste. Happy shaking and best of luck.*** UPDATE *** July 2015:RAW Meal has recently changed the container, and at first glance, you will notice that you are paying the same price for less amount of powder; to be exact, the price has increased by 17%: 949 gr vs. 1,150 gr. However, if you look closely at the nutrition facts, you will notice that they have changed the formula quite a bit. The new stuff has about 30 gr less sugar in each scoop, but it's somewhat sweeter. They also say on the label that it has 15% more protein. It is true in a sense that they raised their prices by 17%, but they've at least improved their product.*** UPDATE *** December 2018:More than four years has passed, and this product is still being used daily. Many of my friends tried this powder and changed their life style soon after. Most of them even got good blenders after a while, like Vitamix or Blendtec, and tried other blend combinations with or without this powder. Needless to say that all of them are happy shaking. YMMV.

A few years ago, I tried ordering Shakeology, and actually loved the convenience of a healthy powder blend that I could use to whip up a healthy smoothie. The only problem? The price. It costs more than $130 for a 30 serving bag of the stuff! Also, I recently discovered that I have a sensitivity to dairy, so any products with whey protein are out. So, I stopped ordering it, and there weren't any comparable products on the market at that time for me to order.I recently wanted to find an alternative to Shakeology and found a couple of products that have the same idea in mind but at about a quarter of the price. I stuck with vegan products because I can't have whey protein. Also, I needed a product that was gluten free because of my gluten sensitivity. The two products are the Garden of Life RAW Organic meal replacement shake (in Slightly Sweet because I don't like stevia), and the Nutiva Organic Plant Protein Superfood 30 Shake (Vanilla). Here is my comprehensive review of the two.Price:Buying a jar of both of these powders will run you at about $40. The only difference is that the Nutiva shake has 18 servings per jar and GoL has 30 servings per jar. GoL also tends to be a little bit cheaper, depending on which flavor you get.Winner: GoL - 30 servings for less than $40 is a BARGAIN compared to Shakeology!Nutrient Macros:A scoop of either of these blends is going to be about 125 calories. The only difference is that the GoL has a little more fiber, and Nutiva has a little more healthy fat. Both brands have 20g of vegan protein, are still fairly high in fiber, and are low sugar.Winner: Tie.Ingredients:Here's where I am really impressed with the Garden of Life version. There are just dozens of health foods crammed into this powder that it is really reminiscent of Shakeology. Every ingredient comes from a pronounceable food, with the exception being the addition of digestive enzymes and probiotics (1.5 billion CFUs or colony forming units per scoop). I am a bit of a health nut, and seeing all of these healthy ingredients just makes me jazzed! In nearly every category here, GoL beats Nutiva. With two exceptions: flax seed meal and proteins from grains. I have to be really careful about what I eat because I have a mild form of crohn's disease that flares when I eat something I'm sensitive to. Something in the GoL powder causes me to react, and though I think it is the flax seed meal, it could also be the protein from rice, which can also cause celiac sufferers to flare. That being said, I am a rare case, and I am truly impressed with GoL here.Nutiva is also a great shake, with lots of grain free protein, digestive enzymes, and probiotics as well, though the ingredient list is about half as diverse as GoL.Winner: GoL by a landslide.Taste:Here is the kicker. I want to make this abundantly clear: these are HEALTH drinks, not a vanilla milkshake. Anything you make with these products is not going to taste like a milkshake. There are tons of reviews for both products about how bad it tastes. To be honest with you, I enjoy the taste of healthy things. And if you blend it up with some fruit for natural sweetness, they become downright delicious!Here's another thing: yes, I have been eating healthy for a long time, and I have a high tolerance for bitterness and grittiness when it comes to these powders. But as you put more healthy foods in your body, it begins to heal, and your brain will actually start to crave things that you used to hate. A perfect example for me is avocados. I couldn't stand avocados, but I ate them in whatever way I could stomach them because I knew they were good for you. In about a month, I got to the point where I craved them regularly! Sometimes you have to just push through the initial dislike before reaching nirvana. I think it is worth it!Okay, now that we have that aside, I'll compare the tastes one by one. I went with the Slightly Sweet flavor of RAW Meal, and I genuinely loved it! But I also blended it with other things! A typical smoothie for me consisted of unsweetened almond milk, RAW meal, some pumpkin seeds, some greens, and about a cup and a half of dark berries. This usually resulted in the perfect amount of sweetness for me, which is about the sweetness of 70% dark chocolate (slightly sweet but also bitter). Yum! The best part about blending it with other ingredients is that it also covers up the slight grittiness of the powder. Vegan proteins are never going to be as smooth as whey. The only downside to the RAW Meal powders is that you only have two options for sweetness: sweetened with stevia, and sweetened with sugar. There isn't a sweetener free option.The Nutiva shake powder smells better than the RAW meal powder - almost like a healthy cake batter. But Nutiva is sweetener free (except for a small amount of monk fruit extract, which you do NOT taste). This means that you can add in natural sugars, like from fruit, and have your smoothie sweetened that way. I actually like this option, because I prefer to sweeten my smoothies with bananas, which would make the RAW meal smoothie too sweet. Nutiva is also a little bit gritty, about the same level as RAW Meal. However, I did always notice that I enjoyed the RAW Meal smoothies more than the Nutiva ones.Winner: GoL - though if you want a sweetener free option, Nutiva still tastes pretty good!Drinkability:This category is similar to the 'Taste' category, but here is where I want to mention that both are a little gritty. Also, some other reviews mentioned that the powders congealed when left too long. I never had this problem, but I have a high power blender and always drank my smoothies fresh.Winner: Tie - with slight edge toward GoL.Final Thoughts:I really really wanted RAW Meal to be my new go to drink. It tastes better, has more flavors, is more cost effective, and has an incredible ingredient profile despite still being organic. However, I personally can't drink it. The flax meal in it causes my crohn's disease to flare up. I also know people who can't eat rice, and they would also react to RAW Meal (though Nutiva does have a little bit of 'rice extract' in it, the people I know don't react to the rice extract in Nutiva).Both are great alternatives to add a little extra dose of healthy to your morning shake, and, even though I can't drink the one I really like, I am grateful that Nutiva created a product that someone with my disease can drink!