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?
Have you tried putting any of these powders in to your oatmeal recipes? Or would that be gross? I’m very inexperienced with protein powders, but looking to increase protein in my breakfast (mostly I eat oatmeal – a lot of your recipes!)…
Hi Amy,
I use about half a scoop of Proteins+ vanilla whey powder by Genuine Health in my overnight oats. It’s only a bit of added protein, but every little scoop helps and I find that amount works with the flavour of the oats for my taste. You could get away with more powder depending on your taste buds or amount of oats.
I use GOL daily but I HATE IT. I think its so gross. I take it only for the protein benefits. I’m pregnant and have to get in 80+ grams of protein and since i’m vegan it makes it tough without supplementing. What did you add to your protein shake when you tried the GOL to make it taste good? I’ve tried several things and think it is just awful. I usually just shake it up with some water and pound it in a few gulps just to get it out of the way. I’d love to know what you did to make that stuff taste good!! FILL ME IN!!
ugh yes – I know what you mean about hemp!!!
just wondering what you put in the mix for the protein shake in the above pictures?? looks so peanut butter-y :)
in case you want to make your own protein powder mix, Emily (Daily Garnish) did a great post!
I really liked this post. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been feeling so fatigued lately. I supplement b12 and use protein powder a few times a week in smoothies and bars (like mama pea’s pumpkin protein bars…yum), but I’ve been drifting off in every class. I really hope it’s not related to a deficiency of some sort. I know I get enough protein…
But iron is a different story. The one time I got it measured, it was a little low. Do you supplement iron? I eat lots of beans and leafy greens but I don’t realistically see it being enough.
I think it’s been almost two years since I purchased the Chai Vega protein powder as I was feeling my energy depleting…However, I chose energy depletion over that horrid stuff. Every now and then I try my hand at it…and the overwhelming powdery texture and NO-chai taste makes me nauseous. I still have it in my cupboard (it’s probably bad by now, hey?)
Maybe I’ll try one of your recommendations…
I really enjoy Leanfit Whey Protein chocolate flavor powder. With 25g of protein and only 1g of sugar and it tastes great! I’ll mix this with almond or soy milk, grab a banana and it sticks with me much longer than my typical bowl of cereal!
I’m true and true loyal to Vega products. The vanilla “Sport” variety is my fave for ramping up protein. Typically I go with chocolate on that kind of thing, but this one has a really nice flavour that I can augment with a spoonful of raw cacao and maybe some organic peanut/almond butter if I want. I’m pretty persnickety with chalkiness and obvious “green flavour” so the fact that I can actually recommend this is kiiiiind of a big deal!
Totally appreciating your review of the Garden of Life product though. I’ve always been curious about it.
I’m a big health nut but I’m not a vegan. I eat meat but I’m allergic to dairy and eggs. I do a lot of weight lifting so I’m big oon getting enough protein. Lately I’ve been trying out plant protein powders, so far my favorite is Life Basics. It is more natural, contains greens, has about 20g protien, and the vanilla has a nice sweet flavor thats not to chalky. I don’t like any brown rice protein powders, the hemp don’t have alot of protein generaly, and the last one I used (Nitrofusion ) had an overpowering flavor (plus my acne got realy bad while I was using it =( Next up is plant fusion.
I love the Jordan Rubin’s Raw Protein! I love that it is not made of just one source (peas, brown rice) but dozens of spouted grains and seeds! I have found it for about $15.00 ($25.00 and then $5.00 off coupons..you can find and print these online) so it’s a super cheap but also really great nutrition protein source! They also have great recipes you can make with the powder! Hope you enjoy!
I’ve never bought a big container of protein powder before, but I’ve tried a few samples. One was Vega Vanilla Almondilla and I was not a fan of the aftertaste at all! The other was About Time chocolate flavour and I really liked that one so I’m considering buying it.
I would love to see some of the creative recipes for protein powder in some future posts! :)
Hi Angela,
I have been following your blog for many months now and absolutely LOVE it! Your recipes are amazing. I’m a Naturopathic Doctor and generally (but not always) vegan. One thing I just wanted to mention that the downside of the Rice Protein Powder (2nd option) is not a complete protein so you would be missing some amino acids ….which is crucial for vegetarians and vegans. The Vega line generally has a combo of proteins as does the garden of life which gives you all the amino acids you need. This would be something to consider when reviewing protein powders! The Garden of Life should have iron in it based on the ingredients but you’re right in that they should really have that in their nutrtional evaluation! take care and I look forward to trying many more of your delicious recipes!
Thank you Rikst. I’m aware of it not being a complete protein (and I noted it in my post). However, I’ve read that it’s not essential to get a complete protein at every meal as long as you get a balance of amino acids over the course of the day.
I think I might actually start mixing the two powders! :)
Sun warrior makes new one called warrior blend and it it more complete (it has pea protein hemp, cranberry protein, coconut) They have neutral flavour with no stevia added so you can try that one. I am just curious why you want to avoid stevia?
Thanks a lot
Hey Sam,
Ive tried Stevia in the past and it gave me bad digestive cramps
These both llok great! Thanks for the heads up! I have a thing of hemp protein waiting for me in the fridge because I didn’t know about the taste when I bought it. Ugh…
I love Sunwarrior vanillia taste , but I jus got my new warrior blend from RawNatureBoy and it was even better. Sunwarrior makes it.
I haven’t tried Sunwarrior protein powder as of yet, but I always always hear the best rave reviews about it! Maybe you would like it? :)
I have been struggling with this same issue – though not so much about taste (seems like if I put enough stuff in my smoothie, the taste is more of all the other ingredients – we never drink the protein powder with just water). I have been searching for the best – and get overwhelmed with the various things out there- wish I could see them all next to each other and compare ingredients/nutrition info. (like you did for us – thanks! – only with many more of them!). Right now we are using Sun Warrior (though do not like the xanthum gum and stevia – my boyz and husband like it) – and hemp protein for me. Have wanted to try vega but have yet to. Also – I feel better about the sun warrior knowing they use the green stevia at least. Thanks for another great post!
Hi Angela,
I like your reminder to try to up the protein at breakfast. I just bought a protein powder for the second time – after many yucky first-time tries with other brands. It`s Genuine Health`s Vegan Proteins Plus in vanilla. It`s a bit stevia-ey so I cut it right in the jar with flax seed meal. I add it to a lot of things: smoothies, homemade ice cream, pancakes, oats, and bars.
Jenna
I forgot to mention that one of the worst ones, in my opinion, is Vega. I took it back to Shoppers for a refund.
The first one is the protein powder I use! I really like it-primarily because it’s from so many different sources so I don’t feel like I’m depending on one plant for my protein-and obviously I don’t want any added sugar. I’ve also tried hemp, which I don’t actually mind, but again, I like that there are so many different sprouts in this. In my absolutely non-fact-based opinion, I think it must be better not to get my protein all from one plant all the time.
Like you I’m very picky about my protein powders and I hate when they have added sweeteners, even if its stevia. I remember trying the nutribiotic powder everyone raved about and it had stevia and I hated it! I rotate between 3 different ones right now and I like them all. 1) Hemp (I know you hate this but I actually like it in oatmeal with celery and a little stevia), 2) Source naturals pea protein (nothing but peas!), very neutral tasting and 3) Southern grace farms protein plus peanut flour (nothing but peanuts). I like all and best of all they don’t hurt my tummy! Hope this helps!