Facebook is LOADED with advertisements for the 310 shake. Advertising works so naturally I looked at that one first. Advertising good, shake not the best... although I DID like the price! After checking them out I started looking at different websites and blogs to see comparables between the different shakes available. The best blog that was updated with WAY more information than I can process with fibro-brain is this one. I took all my new-found knowledge and went to amazon to read the reviews.
I ended up choosing
Garden of Life Meal Replacement - Organic Raw Plant Based Protein Powder, Chocolate, Vegan, Gluten-Free
I read the BEST WORST review of this product and am going to copy it here because it's too funny not to share.
Customer Review
on March 28, 2014
First off, the short version: This is the worst tasting stuff I've ever actually put in my mouth, and I just ordered another tub.
It's amazing what the human body can get used to. Seriously. The taste is bad. Like ground up elephant dung mixed with sand.
A little about me: 38, used to be in shape, then got kinda fat and decided to do something about it which entailed T-25 and an improved diet. I also waited to write this review until after I had finished my first tub of Raw Meal and went to regular protein powder instead so that I could compare the results. Let it be known that I am not a raw foods, vegan, vegetarian, health or excersize nut or anything like that. Just a regular guy trying to correct years of eating and drinking whatever it occoured to me at the time to consume.
Part of my diet is a breakfast smoothie, which is where this product came in. I read the reviews (just like you) and decided to give it a go because I had no intention of drinking it straight, but instead was planning to mix it as an ingredient in my smoothie. The other things I blend in my smoothie include ice, juice, almondmilk, frozen berries, ground flax, and chia seeds. The first day I added this to my smoothie, I thought someone must have mixed up at the Raw Meal factory and put ground up latex paint in a tub and sent it over. Awful. Really bad. Anyway, I got that choked down, and decided to try it again the next day...and the day after that...and so on. Every day it got slightly less bad and eventually became something I got used to like paying taxes, going to the dentist, or spending time with my in-laws.
The problem started one day when I made my wife's smoothie too thick (Did I mention that I make a smoothie for both of us in the morning? The only difference between them is that she refuses to drink the Raw Meal and instead gets regular vanilla protein powder.) and had to drink it down a little to put more liquid in. OMG. It tasted like licking angel tears off a unicorn's horn. I couldn't believe it. So good. Then I mixed up my Raw Meal smoothie and cried.
I finished my Raw Meal about 2 weeks ago, and went back to regular protein powder. There really is no compairison when it comes to taste. The only way they could make the Raw Meal taste worse would be if they somehow added durian fruit to it. New problem is that taste isn't the only thing to consider here. With the protein powder, I'm HUNGRY in an hour. With the Raw Meal, I wasn't hungry for lunch until early afternoon. Now whether this is because it keeps you from feeling hungry because it's so great, or because it makes you a little nauseous for several hours is up for debate. All I can say is that I'm eating a bunch more food now than I was when Raw Meal was part of my diet.
Now lets do some Pros and Cons:
Cons:
Absolutely everything that has to do with sensory percetion of Raw Meal. Taste, smell, sight, texture, etc. They are all really bad. Have I made that clear? Only some vegan who'd given up on life would think this stuff tastes good.
Pros:
Everything else. Feel better. Full for longer. Eat less. Poop better. Etc.
It's really a good product, it just tastes like the south end of a north bound rhino.
A couple of things I've found to make it tollerable:
Mix it with more liquid than it reccommends. This stuff is THICK and gets thicker the longer it sits. If you were to let it sit for an hour, you could probably lay bricks with it.
Never mix a banana with it. Bananas make it WAY thicker than it already is. You'd have to eat it with a spoon.
Drink it kinda quickly. No need to sit around and sip this stuff.
I never even tried it without mixing it in a smoothie, and I never will. Do yourself the same favor, and at least put some juice or something with it.
In conclusion, if taste is important to you, look elsewhere. If you can deal with putting this in your mouth and are more interested in the nutritional benefits, you can't beat this product. Understand that your body will get used to it if you force it to. You'll probably be glad you did.
It's amazing what the human body can get used to. Seriously. The taste is bad. Like ground up elephant dung mixed with sand.
A little about me: 38, used to be in shape, then got kinda fat and decided to do something about it which entailed T-25 and an improved diet. I also waited to write this review until after I had finished my first tub of Raw Meal and went to regular protein powder instead so that I could compare the results. Let it be known that I am not a raw foods, vegan, vegetarian, health or excersize nut or anything like that. Just a regular guy trying to correct years of eating and drinking whatever it occoured to me at the time to consume.
Part of my diet is a breakfast smoothie, which is where this product came in. I read the reviews (just like you) and decided to give it a go because I had no intention of drinking it straight, but instead was planning to mix it as an ingredient in my smoothie. The other things I blend in my smoothie include ice, juice, almondmilk, frozen berries, ground flax, and chia seeds. The first day I added this to my smoothie, I thought someone must have mixed up at the Raw Meal factory and put ground up latex paint in a tub and sent it over. Awful. Really bad. Anyway, I got that choked down, and decided to try it again the next day...and the day after that...and so on. Every day it got slightly less bad and eventually became something I got used to like paying taxes, going to the dentist, or spending time with my in-laws.
The problem started one day when I made my wife's smoothie too thick (Did I mention that I make a smoothie for both of us in the morning? The only difference between them is that she refuses to drink the Raw Meal and instead gets regular vanilla protein powder.) and had to drink it down a little to put more liquid in. OMG. It tasted like licking angel tears off a unicorn's horn. I couldn't believe it. So good. Then I mixed up my Raw Meal smoothie and cried.
I finished my Raw Meal about 2 weeks ago, and went back to regular protein powder. There really is no compairison when it comes to taste. The only way they could make the Raw Meal taste worse would be if they somehow added durian fruit to it. New problem is that taste isn't the only thing to consider here. With the protein powder, I'm HUNGRY in an hour. With the Raw Meal, I wasn't hungry for lunch until early afternoon. Now whether this is because it keeps you from feeling hungry because it's so great, or because it makes you a little nauseous for several hours is up for debate. All I can say is that I'm eating a bunch more food now than I was when Raw Meal was part of my diet.
Now lets do some Pros and Cons:
Cons:
Absolutely everything that has to do with sensory percetion of Raw Meal. Taste, smell, sight, texture, etc. They are all really bad. Have I made that clear? Only some vegan who'd given up on life would think this stuff tastes good.
Pros:
Everything else. Feel better. Full for longer. Eat less. Poop better. Etc.
It's really a good product, it just tastes like the south end of a north bound rhino.
A couple of things I've found to make it tollerable:
Mix it with more liquid than it reccommends. This stuff is THICK and gets thicker the longer it sits. If you were to let it sit for an hour, you could probably lay bricks with it.
Never mix a banana with it. Bananas make it WAY thicker than it already is. You'd have to eat it with a spoon.
Drink it kinda quickly. No need to sit around and sip this stuff.
I never even tried it without mixing it in a smoothie, and I never will. Do yourself the same favor, and at least put some juice or something with it.
In conclusion, if taste is important to you, look elsewhere. If you can deal with putting this in your mouth and are more interested in the nutritional benefits, you can't beat this product. Understand that your body will get used to it if you force it to. You'll probably be glad you did.
Oh my gosh! This makes me laugh so hard!
Well, needless to say, I ordered myself a large tub of chocolate elephant dung mixed with sand. It should be here right before I run out of my chocolate shakeology. I'll keep you posted...
