My Naturopath recently suggested that I increase my protein intake at breakfast after looking at my daily food log and finding that I was coming up short on occasion. Breakfast is usually my meal that’s lowest in protein (lunch and dinner are fine) and he thought that an increase in breakfast protein could help with my energy levels and workout recovery. Knowing that I’m a vegan, he suggested using protein powder as an easy way to sneak in more protein.
I’ve tried all kinds of protein powders and tend to go through phases with them. Sometimes I use them every day for a week and other times I fall off the wagon or just forget to buy it when I run out. I think part of the problem is that I’ve never been able to find one that meets all of my needs. I’m really picky with protein powders! Sometimes they have sneaky artificial sweeteners, too much sugar, taste like dirt, or they just don’t have as much protein per serving as I’m looking for. If I’m going to fork money over for powder, it better be high in protein!
I said I would give his protein-boosting breakfast challenge a try and set out to find the perfect protein powder once again. I remembered Ashley saying that she was really happy with the Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder, so I thought I would give it a try since she gave it rave reviews.
The specs of this protein powder:
- 17 grams of protein per serving (per 1/4 cup scoop)
- Only 80 calories per serving
- Less than 1 gram of sugar per serving
- No fillers, artificial flavours, or synthetics
- USDA Organic
- Probiotic and enzyme blend
- Recyclable container
That is a lot of protein per serving for very few calories!
Ingredient list:
The nutritional profile:
One thing I really like about this protein powder is that there’s no added sugar. I like to be able to control my own sweetener in my smoothies (hello, frozen bananas), so this is a nice change.
What about the taste?
Well, let me just say that it’s pretty earthy, but certainly not the worst protein powder I have tasted (hemp, I’m looking at you).
Don’t expect to add this protein powder into a smoothie without any fruit/sweetener and enjoy the taste. That’s to be expected because there’s no sugar to cover up the taste like in other powders. I would say it’s quite easy to mask the taste with a frozen banana or other fun ingredients. Once I added my normal smoothie ingredients, it was fine!
What I don’t like about this protein powder:
- I’m sure there is iron in this powder, but they don’t report it. As a vegan, this is crucial info for me to know.
- It’s expensive to buy from a natural food store ($40-45), but I found it online from Iherb for $27.97 and you can probably find it cheaper.
- Very slightly chalky and earthy tasting, but again, I don’t think this is a deal breaker for me. It’s much less chalky than some powders I have tried.
I also picked up this Heartland Gold Brown Rice Protein Powder to compare it to the Garden of Life Brand. Compared to Garden of Life, this gives me much more bang for my buck. It has 40 servings per container vs. Garden Of Life’s 28 servings. It’s also about $8 cheaper too.
At less than $1 per 16 grams of protein, I’d say this is a cheap source of protein!
This protein powder has just one ingredient: Organic Compliant, Sprouted, Non-GMO, Brown Rice Protein Concentrate! It’s vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. I think this would be comparable to the popular Sun Warrior Protein Powder as it’s 100% sprouted brown rice.
It’s 80 calories per scoop and 16 grams of protein. It also has 40% of the RDA for iron which is good for me to know as a vegan.
I also love that it’s a Canadian company based out of Toronto. I was not able to find a website for them though! Suspicious…
The cons?
It’s a bit more chalky than the Garden of Life protein powder, but only slightly more chalky. This was me comparing them side by side, mind you. The flavour is still earthy (remember- it’s unsweetened), but it’s less earthy tasting than the Garden Of Life powder. Unlike GOL, it’s not a complete protein source, but as long as I get a balance of protein sources over the day, it shouldn’t be an issue.
I still have yet to find my perfect protein powder, but I think these are two decent options weighing the pros and cons. I will definitely buy them again.
With one scoop of powder you now have a high protein smoothie base of 17 grams of protein. Add some chia seeds and other smoothie ingredients and you have yourself a smoothie that’s 24-25 grams of protein per serving.
As for my energy levels? I’ve noticed that I don’t get as hungry before lunch as I used to and I seem to be more focused and alert in the morning. I think it’s probably a better balance of carbs/protein/fat for my body’s needs.
Are you a protein powder fan? Which ones have you tried and loved or tried and hated?
For my part I like the hemp protein that they sells at Loblaws : North Coast Naturals. I always buy this one, it has nothing else than organic hemp proteins in it (no sugar), 110 calories per portion of 30g, low fat and it taste great. I don’t know how it’s possible to enjoy brown rice proteins, I tried it once and had only one sip… then thew everything in the garbage. I tried Vega superfood (vanilla) but I hate the taste, I like Vega almond smoothie though humm… but too low in proteins.
Forgot to add, North Coast Naturals hemp proteins has 15 g of proteins per serving.
Lol. I like your “tastes like dirt” comment.
Interesting to read about protein powders.
I really enjoy RAW and Spirutein powders – I usually go with Spirutein because its SO much cheaper and I take a raw green supplement to get my active greens in!
I do not use protein powders anymore. Have you thought about just throwing some tofu in the smoothie?
I’d be curious to know what amount of protein your Naturopath is recommending.
I just started using a protein powder, too. I tried the sample 1-serving pack of a few before committing to one, and so far I like GOL Raw best. Vega & Sun Warrior are both good quality and protein bang for your buck, as well as great for the flavor, but I’m like you and don’t want them controlling my sweetener. I’ll have to try the Heartland Gold. I think it can be a good thing to keep switching my protein powder, that way I’m getting more variety in protein source and other nutrients.
I have a very hard time finding powders that I like. Right now I’m using a brand from Complete Nutrition that’s not bad.
Do you have any tips for using protein powder besides making a smoothie?
I mix GOOD tasting powders in vegan overnight oats :) shake & go vanilla almondilla is good.
Some ppl use them in baking but I haven’t really had much success with the texture it produces.
Protein powder is a tough one! My favorite is hemp protein powder, it’s high in protein and fiber! Another great powder that I like is Vega Shake and Go mix. SO good and clean and awesome! And smooth…
Thanks for the review – I am always curious about other protein powder brands. One that I see that is huge in the blog world is Sunwarrior. The only one I have tried that I can stomach the taste of so far is Kaizen Vanilla Ice Cream flavoured whey protein – but it’s not as good for me as a lot of protein powders could be so I am looking for one I can handle the taste of but that is healthier than my Kaizen…!
This is such an interesting read – I really enjoyed it! As a person who rarely eats meat (personal preference) and cannot eat dairy, tempeh/tofu or eggs (because of my eczema, it is very irritated by these foods) I use protein powder a lot in my morning meals and snacks to get more protein in. And I have tried very many powders!
My favourites in terms of taste, and nutrition, are Spirutein Keto-Slim in Vanilla (I often use the sachets while travelling), and Sun Warrior in Vanilla and Chocolate flavours. The latter is my absolute favourite – I find it really helps my digestion as well, which is increidble! It is only sweetened with stevia, and tastes lovely – I can eat it with water and a spoon, so that must tell you how yummy it is! No chalkiness, and so easy to eat – very impressed :-)
Finally, I have also tried the Vega protein powders, but I find them very very sweet and quite unpalatable unless mixed with fruit, almond milk or coconut milk.
Go for sun warrior! <3 xyx
Hi Yolie,
I would love to chat with you about your Eczema… How did you determine what triggered it? I have had it all my life and am trying to figure it out… I’m pretty sure dairy, and it used to be soy as well, but since I’ve had kids I think my triggers have changed. I don’t want to start over with elimination diets again… Did you have any testing?
Thx :) Janet
I love using the Garden of Life. Because it isn’t sweetened, you can add it to other food besides smoothies. I mixed some into some energy bars I made and also some soup.
mmmm I’m a Vega girl. I like their protein powder and Shake and go. I love that there are greens packed into their products as well.
I used to use a whey protein, but recently found out I’m gluten and soy intolerant so I had to toss that. I just ordered sun warrior so I’ll see how that goes! Have you ever tried it?
Thanks for the reviews, Angela. I have tried Jay Robb brown rice vegan (vanilla & choc), Sun Warrior Brown Rice vegan (vanilla & choc), Nutribotic brown rice vegan (natural, choc, vanilla) and a million kinds of soy-based vegan proteins as well as whey proteins about 10 years ago. Oh and the Vega line and some other specialty lines, too. As well as hemp, too.
In general, I am not a huge fan of pp’s because they just don’t digest well for me, even the brown rice ones. They do have their place and they can be great tools and aides but I am not a person who relies on them much at all. Of all of them, the Sun Warrior brown rice vegan in Chocolate is probably my fave.
I’m a fan of GoL’s raw protein, but also Sunwarrior and Vega. Sprout Living is a newer company, and I LOVE their Epic Proteins.
ythign with epic in the name has to be good, right? :) heh I will keep my eyes peeled for that one.
I am barely working through my Sun Warrior package. I can’t stand the taste and I think it’s because of the Stevia. (anyone want a barely used sunwarrior vanilla bag? seriously, only 6 scoops have bee removed from the behemoth bag) I do like the Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion though, but the taste seems off lately.
Looking for a good quality non sweetened protein powder. I don’t mind dirt (I ate it as a child^^;) , but no sweeteners!
You used to have lots of Amazing Grass as well, have you stopped using that one?
If you will ship to canada for free, I’d LOVE to have it :)
I’m not really a huge protein powder fan. I think there are some things vegans definitely should supplement (B12!) but I think eating a well-balanced diet takes care of the protein. Especially considering the RDA for protein is way higher than what we actually need in my opinion!
I fully agree that it’s possible to get your protein through a balanced vegan diet, but for myself personally I find it hard to have the perfect balance during breakfast. I find protein powder to be a great option.
Vega has many different protien options! I use Vega, they are definetly pricey, but the taste and fact that you don’t get that “chalky” texture is worth it. So what’s your opinion on their products? I know you use the shake and go line. Im just curious because you are very knowledgable on these things and know what to look for where as I tend to base my decisions on taste :) Maybe I better take a second look at that ingrediants list…….
I LOVE Rainbow Light protein powder. It’s about 100 calories for 14g of protein and 3g of fiber and it has a bunch of greens like spirulina in it. Plus it’s pretty cheap and mixes well into almond milk.
Do you just use the powders in smoothies or can you put it in other things? Wondering if I would have to specifically drink smoothies every day to get my protein in. I used to purchase another protein powder, but it was so long ago I don’t remember the name. It wasn’t bad, but then again, its a powder. If you can’t find one you like that has enough iron, what about putting wheatgrass in the smoothie with the protein powder? I used to have to drink that being anemic. Was just hoping I could put the powder in say pancakes or oatmeal? Don’t imagine it would work in cold cereal.
Ang. I had found this bloggers take on Protein powders and would like your opinoin: http://www.choosingraw.com/the-low-down-on-vegan-protein-powders/ When I used to use the powders many years ago, I’m pretty certain they were soy. But after reading recently about the carcinogenic soy isolates, I have not used any. Do you avoid the soy products? What do you think one should look for in determining a good protein powder?
Hey Kathy!
I can’t comment on whether soy isolates are carcinogenic or not, but I avoid soy because it gives me bad stomach pains most of the time. Mainly, tofu, tempeh, seitan