Protein shake review thread

[powerlifer]

Anyone here take Plantfusion ? If so how do you like it? http://plantfusion.net/products.html

I thought it was quite decent, although didn't like the inclusion of bromelain which is a common allergen. Didn't taste all that great but was a decent shake for a change now and again and contains some unusual protein sources such as artichoke protein which is pretty cool. Extra BCAA's and L-Glutamine is cool too.

[Goob]

I can say the vega products taste mostly like hemp and stevia but mix well in water, so it is drinkable. The vanilla chai flavor is the best at covering up the taste. The cost is unreasonable though, and I discourage anyone from buying it. There are better tasting, cheaper alternatives available for sure and no need to encourage this type of pricing.

[powerlifer]

I can say the vega products taste mostly like hemp and stevia but mix well in water, so it is drinkable. The vanilla chai flavor is the best at covering up the taste. The cost is unreasonable though, and I discourage anyone from buying it. There are better tasting, cheaper alternatives available for sure and no need to encourage this type of pricing.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but what alternatives do you recommend then that are better tasting/cheaper but also contain similar to what vega wholefood optimizer contains i.e a good solid multivitamin/mineral blend(i.e citrate absorbable forms of vits/mins) so that alone eliminates my need for a Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 supplement, which utilizes 4 different protein sources so better amino profile than say hemp alone and then the rest of the little extras such as maca, chlorella, omega-3s, enzymes, probiotic and prebiotic blend, for a couple of quid a serving i don't mind justifying its cost. People are happy enough to spend a couple of quid on a builder bar, when it doesn't contain anything near the nutrition a serving of vega does.

The Vanilla Chai wholefood optimizer has grown to be one of my favorite breakfasts as nutritionally it is very rounded and more of a meal replacement rather than just a stand alone protein source, i personally feel much better on a 2 scoop shake than i do starting my day of with just carbs like i used to with oats/cereals which would leave me bloated and low energy.

[Goob]

I can say the vega products taste mostly like hemp and stevia but mix well in water, so it is drinkable. The vanilla chai flavor is the best at covering up the taste. The cost is unreasonable though, and I discourage anyone from buying it. There are better tasting, cheaper alternatives available for sure and no need to encourage this type of pricing.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but what alternatives do you recommend then that are better tasting/cheaper but also contain similar to what vega wholefood optimizer contains i.e a good solid multivitamin/mineral blend(i.e citrate absorbable forms of vits/mins) so that alone eliminates my need for a Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 supplement, which utilizes 4 different protein sources so better amino profile than say hemp alone and then the rest of the little extras such as maca, chlorella, omega-3s, enzymes, probiotic and prebiotic blend, for a couple of quid a serving i don't mind justifying its cost. People are happy enough to spend a couple of quid on a builder bar, when it doesn't contain anything near the nutrition a serving of vega does.

The Vanilla Chai wholefood optimizer has grown to be one of my favorite breakfasts as nutritionally it is very rounded and more of a meal replacement rather than just a stand alone protein source, i personally feel much better on a 2 scoop shake than i do starting my day of with just carbs like i used to with oats/cereals which would leave me bloated and low energy.

5 pounds of flavored soy isolate will cost me $35 shipped, flax seeds are $1.85/lb and a 90 day supply of multivitamins can be had for like $15. All the other bullshit is just bullshit. It's not my opinion that it is way overpriced, it just is. With sites like Trueprotein in the states and Myprotein in the UK, there is no need to spend so much on something like vega.

Even the vega sport protein which has much less additives is quite a bit more expensive than other protein powders. In your web store that stuff is £1.90/serving and the whole foods optimizer is £3.23/serving. Vegan products are a niche market and they are trying to capitalize on the situation. It's companies like vega that make people think that being vegan is too expensive.

Your reviews sound too much like sales pitches for me to believe them. And, it's the caffeine that helps you start your day, not the superfood goodness.

[powerlifer]

Firstly there is no caffeine in vega so that just isn't true. I also didn't say it was the superfood goodness, just that i feel much cleaner and more energetic starting my day with the wholefood optimizer over cereal/carbs such as oats.

Personally like i said the wholefood optimizer is more of a meal replacement rather than just a protein shake such as the soya you mentioned. The wholefood optimizer serves as a meal to me rather than just a protein shake, although it obviously doubles up as both. You start to mix 3 or 4 protein sources such as in the vega wholefood optimizer or the sport protein product and you'll see your price jack up(non-soy protein sources of course), then add in a 5g BCAA supp, 5 L-glutamine serving etc etc then it adds up, course its cheaper to just go with a standard soy or pea protein isolate and if thats what you want to do that is your choice. Hopefully one day they will bring the price down so that more people can enjoy there products.

Soy protein is cheap in bulk this can be a good thing or a bad thing, you have to remember that Soy is a common allergen for many so not everyone has the joys of being able to pick up 5 pounds of soy protein isolate at cheap prices. The next cheap option tends to always be pea protein isolate which tastes like crap in my opinion with standard unflavoured hemp protein not far behind unless you mix it in a fruit smoothie(which isn't always the most convient when im walking back from the gym). I could understand if the vega products just contained one protein such as hemp or pea with the flavourings and the extras, but they contain multiple plant protein sources that are non-soya so the price does add up. Start mixing yellow pea protein, hemp protein, organic brown rice protein and flax seed along with the other bits and pieces and you'll notice that your price has gone up substantially.

The vega products are well enjoyed by many vegans, myself included. Doesn't mean thats all i consume, i bulk my protein for the day out with cheaper sources also. I found the wholefood optimizer to be damn handy when i was transitioning to 100% vegan as often i would not have a clue what to eat, so a quick well rounded shake was pretty convient. Anyway there certainly not the only vegan protein/meal replacement on the market, your entitled to your opinion but it won't stop me from enjoying my daily vega shakes whether i continue to sell them in the future or not.

Anyway this thread has been derailed sorry, lets get back to the different plant based protein shakes.

[baldy]

You start to mix 3 or 4 protein sources such as in the vega wholefood optimizer or the sport protein product and you'll see the price jack up, then add in a 5g BCAA supp, 5 L-glutamine serving etc etc then it adds up, course its cheaper to just go with a standard soy or pea protein isolate and if thats what you want to do that is your choice. Hopefully one day they will bring the price down so that more people can enjoy there products.

I dunno, I find it hard to believe that Vega is so expensive because of the ingredients. Pretty sure you could make up a nutritionally equivalent for half the money, probably less, it would probably taste horrible though.
This issue isn't just with Vega though, walk into any supplement shop and the prices are just crazy. Even more crazy when you compare to the cost of the raw ingredients. Sure the "research" costs money but this is once off. Not really sure what my point is, but the crazy price of supplements does piss me off.

[sosso]

I dunno, I find it hard to believe that Vega is so expensive because of the ingredients. Pretty sure you could make up a nutritionally equivalent for half the money, probably less, it would probably taste horrible though.
This issue isn't just with Vega though, walk into any supplement shop and the prices are just crazy. Even more crazy when you compare to the cost of the raw ingredients. Sure the "research" costs money but this is once off. Not really sure what my point is, but the crazy price of supplements does piss me off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vxrTMYXpZo

[rattus]

Three quid does seem, at first, a shocking amount for a drink, but it's only about the same as a pint of beer, so objectively may not be so bad.

This vega stuff is claimed to be a meal replacer and does contain a lot of stuff (all of it highly processed, but nevertheless a lot of stuff) bought together in one handy place.

But whereas I'll neck a shake when training, or just afterwards when having a sit down, I'm not ever going to replace a real meal (made of food that you can chew and stuff) with something from Moonbase Alpha!

Having said that I went through a phase of making Super Death Shakes (like death shakes, but you have two portions), but I'd still want peanut butter bagels with them!

I don't have enough years of eating solid food left to me (before senility, dotage, and lost teeth overtake me) to waste my time have bloody Vega for me breakfast, dinner, or tea though!

[baldy]

Three quid does seem, at first, a shocking amount for a drink, but it's only about the same as a pint of beer, so objectively may not be so bad.

Not the best comparison as beer has a huge tax on it and for 3 quid you would expect to be sitting in a classic Ole English pub with a coal fire. I would happily pay 3 quid for a pint of vega sitting on a tropical island.

[powerlifer]

Three quid does seem, at first, a shocking amount for a drink, but it's only about the same as a pint of beer, so objectively may not be so bad.

Pretty much how i look at it, builders protein bars for example are about £2 a serving and don't match wholefood optimizers nutrition. I still treat vega as a luxury but when i look at the price for many other plant based foods on my shopping bill its not far off, a block of smoked tofu is like £3 here for probably a similar amount of protein. Small tub of blueberries is £2 etc. I know a few who constantly complain about the price of vega etc but have no qualms spending a couple of quid on an can of energy drink.

Sure i could mix a cheap legume/bean and some grain and create a similar amount of protein to the tofu. I could buy £1 grapes instead of the blueberries etc. The choice is there.

[rattus]

Not the best comparison as beer has a huge tax on it and for 3 quid you would expect to be sitting in a classic Ole English pub with a coal fire. I would happily pay 3 quid for a pint of vega sitting on a tropical island.

Alas, there is little I can do to either change The Chancellor's Draconian policy on beer taxation, or to press Vega into providing a free tropical beach holiday with each scoop.

And Alak that the "classic Ole English pub" is now increasingly homogonized, franchized, neutered, and delivered under the ever pervasive banner of Wetherspoons and that since 1985 all coal fires in England are, in fact, and made of plastic.

[rattus]

Small tub of blueberries is £2 etc.

Very true. But I'm pretty sure that a small daily tub of blueberries is not considered vital for happiness and fullfilment - unless of course, you live in The Home Counties.

[vegimator]

There actually is a vega knockoff with mostly the same ingredients at about half the price -

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Whole-V ... B00276BKBS

[powerlifer]

There actually is a vega knockoff with mostly the same ingredients at about half the price -

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Whole-V ... B00276BKBS

Never seen before, good find . Any idea if it tastes good and the ingredients?

EDIT: Can't find it in the UK anywhere most say currently unavailable, if not already with a UK supplier will mean after custom tax and importing probably be around the same price as Vega in the UK. Still good find though.

[baldy]

Can't find it in the UK anywhere most say currently unavailable, if not already with a UK supplier will mean after custom tax and importing probably be around the same price as Vega in the UK. Still good find though.

You should try source it!