Protein Powder, Vegan Protein Powder, BCAA, Probiotics & Digestive Enzymes, Gluten & Lactose Free, Chocolate, 1.5 LB

I’ve been using Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein for years. I get the vanilla, and if I want chocolate, I just add cocoa powder. It is not sickening sweet. Low sugar and carb. When I’m in a hurry, I can blend it in a blender ball cup with a few ice cubes, and no lumps. I have tried dozens of protein powders. I have never found one that isn’t at least a little bit gritty and they all have a certain protein powder-y taste. The vanilla Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein can be mixed in oatmeal, baked goods, plain Greek yogurt as well as smoothies, and doesn’t have an over-powering flavor. I find all chocolate protein powders taste weird, and if they don’t, there is too much sugar. That’s why I add cocoa powder if I want chocolate (favorite cocoa powder is Guittard in the little red canister. Worth the money. Compare the taste, straight, with cheaper brands. No bitterness). I like the chai, also, but less versatile than the vanilla. I can add my own chai spices to the vanilla….so I get vanilla, chocolate and chai and only have to buy and store one canister. (Best price is on vitacost website when there is a sale. )

After having tremendous problems with immune system issues, particularly in the gut with IBS, I had a doctor that thought I had gluten issues. I was tested for this during upper GI endoscopy and the test showed negative. The only thing I know for certain is that I cannot digest meat very well. I am not a vegan, but my body has moved me more and more in that direction because I cannot digest meat without massive stomach issues and I felt hungry and tired all the time. On the quest for a protein supplement that doesn't come from animals, I discovered this product. First and foremost, this is not the best tasting thing you ever tried, but the taste will grow on you. Make sure you are mixing it properly and with COLD water. I have the Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome and this is what I use to mix mine. It's so easy! I add about 8 oz water, instead of the recommended 6 oz and this gives me a better blend. By the way, while people are going on and on about how bad this is. It is not that bad. As I said, the taste will grow on you, but if you're not mixing it fully, it can be quite chalky. BTW, I use the chocolate flavor and if you're mixing right, it DOES taste like a chocolate shake. In the beginning, I didn't mix mine well using a standard blender and it tastes bad if you don't get it fully mixed. I switched to the hand blender, which does a marvelous job and so much easier to clean up afterward. All of that aside, the real question is, does it work? Do you have more protein? Do you feel differently while taking this supplement. The answer to all of those for me is absolutely YES! Not only do I feel more energized (I have two shakes a day now), my IBS is practically a thing of the past. The great thing about this product is that it contains probiotics and these are different than the usual kind you see in pill form. I never noticed any difference with the probiotic pills, but with this, I am more "normal" than I've ever been. Perhaps it's the combination of the raw protein and the probiotics and the amino acids? I have no idea, but it's rare I can say this: It has changed my life! I have never felt this good in my life, no really, never. I noticed it just after two days of use, so I discontinued using it to see if it was just placebo effect. Within 3 days, all my old gut issues came back, so I went back on this supplement and now I'm never going off. Even my mood is so much better and when people notice and say how happy you seem and what are you doing different - then you know you're onto something. It's amazing how much happier I am when I'm not malnourished and sick to my stomach all the time. I never thought I would feel well enough again to live life fully, but I am now. I have been telling everyone that if people knew how much better this stuff could make them feel, they couldn't keep it on the store shelves. Maybe I was just that bad off, but I can't believe this powder has made all that difference, but it has. Even my seasonal allergies have improved since taking this product. What in the world is in this stuff? I don't know, but I hope they never stop making it. I'm on the subscription plan now. I call this my prescription because it works better than all the stomach pills the doctors had me on and this has given me no side effects. If you are having digestion issues, please give this a try. You might be as lucky as me and see a huge difference in the way you feel. I feel awful for people that are suffering, like I was. This might do the trick for you, too.

This isn't totally tasteless, but it certainly doesn't have that nasty, chalky taste.

This is my favorite protein powder. It is plant based with a lot of protein. It has a nice vanilla flavor that isn’t over powering.

Update (2023): Nestle is a wicked corporation that bought this Garden of Life brand and ruined it with bad ingredients and filthy marketing lies. This was my go-to protein supplement for many years, but each year they change the formula for the worse and lie by calling it “new and improved". The taste and texture may be improved, but its health benefits certainly are never improved; you just get lower-quality ingredients and cheaper fillers while paying more for it. Here is a list of changes that show why no one should waste their hard-earned money on this trash (refer to my pictures to see the changes on their packaging): 1) This product used to have no pea protein, one of the cheapest and lowest quality of plant-based protein next to soy, but now it is almost 100% pea protein and Nestle is peeing on their customers and calling it “rain”. It’s not even sprouted pea protein, even though they deviously list it under their “sprouted protein blend” heading. 2) This product now contains erythritol as a cheap sweetener. Erythritol causes bloating and gas and is their cheap and inferior substitute for stevia. If it originally had erythritol, I never would have bought this product. 3) This product now contains guar gum as a cheap thickener with no nutritional benefit. This might as well be sawdust, just added weight with no benefit. 4) This product no longer lists what foods their added vitamins and minerals are sourced from, and their mineral profile has been reduced. Most vitamin C that is added to store products is sourced from lab-grown black mold grown cultures and is of poor quality, while this product used to derive most of its added vitamins from more high-quality brewer’s yeast. Since they no longer list the source of the vitamins, it is safe to assume the worst as they wouldn’t hide it if they were proud of it and the FDA does not require them to list it. This product is also no longer a good source of selenium, molybdenum, manganese, and magnesium. 5) This product is no longer a good source of probiotics. To be considered a good probiotic, a supplement should have more than 3 billion CFUs, but it now has less than 250 million. Not only has the quality of their cultures declined, but I also got a Listeria infection (Listeriosis) from eating one of their products. A probiotic supplement should help prevent you from getting life-threatening bacterial infections, not actively give you one. Nestle is opening itself up to a serious lawsuit with a lack of quality control.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 — I’ve tried a lot of protein powders over the years, and Garden of Life’s Raw Organic Protein (Chocolate) is easily one of the best-tasting ones I’ve ever had — especially for a plant-based formula. The flavor is rich, not chalky, and actually tastes like real chocolate instead of that weird artificial aftertaste most powders have. What really impressed me, though, is how well it blends. It’s super smooth, no gritty texture, and no clumps when you make it right. Quick tip: If anyone says this doesn’t taste good, they’re definitely not blending it correctly. My go-to mix is: • 1 banana • Oat milk • 1 scoop of the protein • A handful of ice cubes Blend that together and it literally tastes like a chocolate milkshake. Creamy, cold, smooth, and genuinely enjoyable. If you’re looking for a clean plant-based protein that actually tastes good, this is the one. Highly recommend

The headline says it all - mostly. I did a lot of research before choosing this protein powder. And was exited to try it as soon as it arrived. I dipped my nose in the container, took a whiff... "Hmm... smells like maple syrup." Checked the label - "Chocolate". I was sure it would *taste* like chocolate. So I added a cup of water and a scoop of the protein to my Vitamix and did a quick blend to test it. It tasted just like it smelled, like mayple syrup! And it wasn't very smooth - a bit gritty, not a lot. So I decided to doctor it up. I added two tablespoons of Cocao powder, 1 date, 5 pieces of frozen banana and some ice into my Vitamix, and gave it a good blending. This new recipe seemed to further enhance the maple taste. I used to exercise a lot at gyms, then at home, and would drink Optimum Nutrition's Bulk protein powder (forgot the name), and that chocolate version was very smooth and tasty. Then I got old, and was exercising less and adopted a Vegan diet. I was making shakes with pea protein addding the Cacao, date, and frozen bananas, when my wife introduced me to a vegan protein powder by Just Ingredients, Roasted Chocolate flavor. That was pretty good, but I still incorporated the other ingredients because dates and bananas are good for you, and I like the dark chocolate flavor. THEN: Just Ingredients decided to change and remove the Roasted Chocolate to just Chocolate and the stevia flavor was overwhelming and I couldn't take it - plus somehow it didn't make as much. So I went searching and decided on Garden of Life. I had been scouring the internet, reading reviews on all vegan offering, but after watching a woman's review on Amazon, how she loves it, and using only water, my descision was made. And here we are. I tried it again a couple of hours ago. I used a cup of almond milk this time and a splash of water. Nope! same results. And I thought, "Do I taste *any* chocolate?" No, I don't. Isn't that weird? How can that be? Why am I singed out, being the only one I've read, who think it tastes like maple syrup? I also has a hint of stevia on the back of my tongue. We all have different sensory experiences ... some think cilantro tastes like soap, while others just don't like it. Some people see a blue and yellow dress, while others see the same dress as black and purple. The ingredients and benefits of this protein is also what sold me. But to experience those benefits one has to drink it, and I'm having a hard time with that. There's no returning it. My wife asked me to try vanilla extract to mask the flavor, or peanut butter, but I'm not keen on those flavors either. Nevertheless, I'll keep trying. There's 20 servings per container. I've got 18 to go!

I'm in my mid-30s and was starting to get bogged down with a bunch of extra weight. I am about 5'11 and was getting up to the 235lb point. Feeling sluggish, tired all the time, eating too much, and just not making healthy choices. On top of that, I work from home and wasn't getting any exercise in, so my body just wasn't doing well. This year I decided to make a change. I work out pretty much every day now with 30 minutes of decent intensity cardio (heart rate ~155 for at least 20 minutes) and do some weight lifting about 3x a week to target some areas of my body that are weaker. I have also started counting calories and keeping around 1300kCal a day with an intermittent fast to lose some of the extra weight. This Garden of Life powder is a great meal substitute for my lunches! On the plan, I do not eat a morning breakfast, work out over my lunch break from work, and then have one of these to break my fast as a lunchtime meal replacement. I'll eat a normal high-protein dinner to get to my calorie goal for the day. I mix this with an unsweetened oat milk for a 120 calorie protein boost after working out. I am not dairy-free or vegan, I just like how oat milk tastes. Adds a nice creaminess to this powder. After blending for at least 30 seconds in a nutribullet, this comes out as a pretty nice shake. Smooth, non-grainy and a decent cocoa flavor. I also appreciate how the plant-based protein really rounds out my diet. With this plan, I have lost about 35lbs in about 2.5 months. This protein shake helps me feel satiated enough over the day (I am in a deficit, so I do feel hungry and just have to push through it). My body looks better, I have real natural energy, and I am reaching fitness goals I never thought possible. I should be to my goal weight by this summer and I couldn't do it without some modern health supplementation and hard work.