Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Garden of Life RAW Meal Energy in Yerba Mate!

I get most of my produce and fresh foods at the local supermercado, but Whole Foods is right next to my work, so I frequent it for my specialty items, my bulk foods, and occasionally a slice or two of traditional vegan pizza when I'm feeling naughty.

My few visits ago, I saw containers of a new RAW Protein Energy from Garden of Life in the decompression zone of Whole Foods.  Of course my interest was sparked!  It came in two flavors, Marley Coffee or Guayaki Yerba Mate.  I debated momentarily, but picked up the Yerba Mate for it's lower caffeine and acidity.

But wait.. that says RAW Meal!

I was walking around looking for maca powder and the Vega oil blend, and found the RAW Meal version of what I'd picked up!  The best part was the sale price meant it was only $34, instead of $56!  I grabbed the RAW Meal Energy powder in Yerba Mate, and put the other one back on the shelf.  If memory serves correct, the calories and carbohydrates are a little higher in the meal version, but the protein was about the same.  It had added blends of good for you stuff to make it more of a balanced meal.  Some mornings I don't eat anything but my shake, so I feel better mixing up the meal replacement powder instead of the protein powder to hopefully get more nutrients and vitamins.  And for the record, I usually only drink the snack size (one scoop).  When I do two scoops, it's too filling for me.


The scoop is huge.

So I've been drinking it for about two weeks now?  I honestly don't know when I bought it.  I definitely feel a lot better since I started drinking it in the morning, and it's a great no-brainer way to have a raw meal first thing in the morning.  I try to couple it with some fresh fruit when I have time, but most of the time I'm drinking just this while getting ready.  The flavor is better than expected.  It definitely tastes like a slightly sweet Yerba Mate blend, which is good.  It's always nice when things taste like you expect.  I didn't like the Marley Coffee flavor, which I tried in a single serve package to see which one I liked better.  The Marley Coffee flavor tastes like coffee, simply put, and I like my coffee.. decorated.  Coffee Lovers would probably like the Marley Coffee flavor better than the Yerba Mate.  It has chia and flax in the fiber blend, so the texture gets thicker the longer it sits.  This adds to satiety, but this isn't necessarily good if you're planning on mixing your shake up and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours.. I did that one time and it was terrible, but it was my own fault because I am well aware of how chia and flax react to sitting in liquid.


The price point on sale is phenomenal, and I picked up a second tub while it's still on sale.  When these two tubs are gone, I will presumably buy a third, just because it's delicious, it's raw, and it's exactly what I'm looking for.  I want to try the Plant Fusion Phood as well, but it isn't a raw blend so I'll have to decide if I want to do that when I run out of these.  The Phood doesn't come in single serve packets either, which bothers me because I like to try flavors before I commit to a full tub of something that cost $50.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase, and was happy to try the new blend while it was on sale.  I would gladly pay full price when these two tubs are gone, but we'll see if something else catches my eye while I'm finishing these!

What's your favorite meal replacement powder?  Where do you buy yours?  Or do you make your own?

10 comments:

  1. I just tried the marley coffe and was so pleasantly surprised, I loved it! You are right, for coffee lovers, this flavor is great. I usually drink my coffee black w/ a little stevia so I don't mind at all. I've tied sever other garden of life meal replacement products and didn't like the taste or texture when I drank them alone w/ only water. This was disappointing b/c I travel a lot for work and it isn't always convenient to bring a travel blender or need to have almond mill or fruit to mix things with. This was the first GOL product that I found that I actually like and enjoy plain w/ just water :) :) :)

    As for Phood, I will say this is my favorite natural blend that I've found. I use the chocolate flavor & it tastes great. It also is very filling due to powder to liquid ratio you are instructed to use. It comes out thicker and creamier more like a shake than a a protein blend in water.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've had two tubs of the YM Raw Meal now, and I have a Raw Meal Cacao flavor in my locker at work (with a blender bottle), but I really do think I'll try Phood next, just to switch it up. I keep looking at it, it's going to drive me crazy if I don't try it!

      Delete
  2. I will have to try this. I don't really like the stevia-sweetened flavoured powders. I much prefer Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Pro 70 since it is water soluble. It is super pricy at WF, though. It goes on sale on amazon occasionally, so I try to get it there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I finished my RAW Protein and am about 2/3 of the way done with my vanilla rice protein that I bought on a whim before I started focusing on a raw & grain free diet, but once it's gone I'm going to just start getting hemp protein. I get a good blend of proteins in my meal replacers, I'd like to use hemp protein as my protein supplement from now on. It's high fiber, high protein, low everything else.. what's not to love?

      Delete
    2. Just wanted to come back to this & tell you that I've been using the Hemp Pro 70 and love it! Thanks for mentioning it! I had looked at it and put it back like five times, but I saw it on sale for $21 and snagged it. It's perfect! I've been using it as drink mix, in baking, on oatmeal, etc. Love it!!

      Delete
  3. where did you buy it that cheap may i ask?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was on sale at Whole Foods. WF often has coupons for it in their coupon book too. I can't always get it that cheap, so when it's on sale I usually stock up.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for sharing this great article! That is very interesting I love reading and I am always searching for informative information like this.
    raw meal

    ReplyDelete
  5. I havent any word to welcome this post.....Really i am inspired from this post....the individual who make this post it was an awesome human..thanks for imparted this to us.
    vedligeholdelsesfrit havehegn​

    ReplyDelete
  6. Garden of life meal Provides the nutrition of a well-balanced, healthy meal,Naturally filling, satisfies hunger, provides energy. This is very useful blog for those who always busy in their work.Thank You for sharing this article.keep updated.

    ReplyDelete