The Protein Snack review thread

[Kaido]

The game:

To maximize physical results, it pays to eat according to your macros. My current target is 200 grams of protein per day. I'm always on the hunt for new protein-laced snacks to eat or drink!

This thread:

The point of this thread is to discuss various protein snacks, whether you buy them or make them. There's a lot of awful products out there, but also a lot of neat new products. Post your review!

The format:

1. Post the manufacturer & name of the product
2. Tell where to buy it (locally, online, make it, etc.)
3. Post your review of it
4. Post a picture of it (stock photos OK)

 

[Kaido]

Product:

Ready-to-drink, shelf-stable, bottled Protein Shakes by Premier Protein.

Purchasing:

These are sold individually at gas stations in bottles, in Tetra-pak 4-packs in various grocery stores, as well as on Amazon & in bulk quantities directly from the manufacturer's website online. They have a "where to buy near you" website here:

Where To Buy

Find Premier Protein products at Costco, Walmart, Target and many other stores near you!

www.premierprotein.com

You can purchase directly off their website as well:

Welcome to the Official Premier Protein Online Store! | FREE 1-3 Day Delivery

Welcome to the Official Premier Protein Online Store!

shop.premierprotein.com

Free 1 to 3 day shipping on orders over $49!

Review:

They currently have 8 flavors available:

Protein Shakes

Healthy decisions can be happy ones with our decadent ready-to-drink protein shakes. Find your favorite flavor today.

www.premierprotein.com

1. Chocolate
2. Vanilla
3. Caramel
4. Cafe latte
5. Cookies & cream
6. Strawberries & cream
7. Bananas & cream
8. Peaches & cream

They are sold in 3 formats:

1. 11-ounce Tetra-paks (rectangle paper containers)
2. 11.5-ounce bottles
3. 14-ounce bottles (chocolate & vanilla only)

They also have a 9th limited-edition Pumpkin Spice flavor, which I haven't been able to get ahold of yet. I've tried all of the flavors except cafe latte, as I'm not a coffee person. My favorite, oddly enough, is the banana flavor. Really good cold! Runner up is peaches & cream, as that's a pretty good flavor combination. Most flavored proteins have a hard time actually tasting good, and many walk a fine line between being tasty & tasting like chemicals. Most of the Premier Protein shakes are pretty good. I don't really care for the cookies & cream all that much, and the caramel isn't my favorite either, but the vanilla is good, chocolate is decent, and strawberries & cream is probably my fourth choice after vanilla.

These are also decent at room temperature. Some protein drinks get kinda funky at room temp. Having them be good at room temperature is nice to stick in your desk at work or at home for an emergency food source. If you're not familiar with Tetra-paks, it's basically a sealed paper/cardboard type of packaging that is very compact & has a sturdy screw-off lid. I prefer the paks over the bottles because they're small & easy to tote around & more fun to drink from.

They use milk protein concentrate (MPC) for the protein & sucralose, which is a zero-calorie artificial sweetener. I'm not big on artificial sweeteners, but most protein products use them, unless you go out of your way to get sweetener-free protein powder & then mix up your own shakes. The macros are pretty good:

* 160 calories
* 30g protein
* 4g carbs
* 3g fat
* 24 vitamins & minerals

Ingredients list:

Water, Milk Protein Concentrate†, Calcium Caseinate†, Contains less than 1% of High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Natural and Artificial flavors, Inulin, Cellulose Gel and Cellulose Gum, Salt, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Carrageenan, Tripotassium Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Dl-alpha-tocopheryl Acetate [Vitamin E], Zinc Glycinate Chelate, Ferric Orthophosphate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Niacinamide, Phytonadione [Vitamin K1], Potassium Iodide, Cholecalciferol [Vitamin D3], Copper Gluconate, Calcium D-Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Biotin, Sodium Molybdate, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Cyanocobalamin [Vitamin B12], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Chromium Polynicotinate), Magnesium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate.

These are my go-to protein shakes for a few reasons:

1. They are nicely thick - not too thick, not too thin.
2. At 11 ounces, you can chug one fairly quickly for a quick snack or protein hit.
3. The flavors are good.
4. The Tetra-pak packaging is nice
5. Shelf-stable
6. Depending on where you buy it, cost is typically well under $3 a bottle.
7. No super funky tastes on my favorite flavors (banana, peach, etc.)

Some additional usage ideas:

* Pudding
* Simple frozen ice cream
* Orange Creamsicle shake
* Flavored with extracts
* Fruit smoothies
* Aloha pineapple shake
* Snickers protein shake
* Butterfinger chocolate shake
* Root beer protein shake
* Caramel apple protein popsicles
* Swedish pancakes
* Caramel pumpkin spice muffins
* Instant Pot protein yogurt
* Triple-thick protein shake method

More recipes:

* https://savoryspin.com/?s=premier+protein
* https://www.obesityhelp.com/?s=premier+protein
* https://www.instagram.com/premierprotein/

Photo:

 

[Kaido]

Product:

Protein Pow is a recipe website by Anna Sward. The focus is using protein powder to make protein-enhanced desserts, treats, and snacks. She also has some books out, as well as a line of protein bars, which are unfortunately not available in America (yet).

Purchasing:

The website is free:

Recipes Archives | The Locker Room

proteinpow.com

She has two books on Amazon:

Protein Pow: Quick and Easy Protein Powder Recipes - Kindle edition by Sward, Anna. Cookbooks, Food & Wine Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Protein Pow: Quick and Easy Protein Powder Recipes - Kindle edition by Sward, Anna. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Protein Pow: Quick and Easy Protein Powder Recipes.

www.amazon.com

&

The Ultimate Protein Powder Cookbook: Think Outside the Shake

She has Android & iOS apps available for a few bucks if you want an easy way to browse on mobile devices:

The Locker Room

proteinpow.com

Review:

The recipes section of the website is broken down into 3 categories:

1. Diet
2. Powder
3. Food category

Diet includes:

1. Dairy-free
2. Egg-free
3. Gluten-free
4. Low-carb
5. Nut-free
6. Paleo
7. Raw
8. Sweetener-free
9. Vegan

Protein powders include:

1. Pea
2. Hemp
3. Rice
4. Casein
5. Whey

Food category:

1. Blondies & brownies
2. Cereal & granola
3. Cookies & donuts
4. Muffins & cupcakes
5. Pancakes
6. Bars
7. Breads
8. Cakes
9. Cheesecakes
10. Chocolates
11. Fluff
12. Ice cream
13. Pizza
14. Shakes
15. Truffles
16. Quiche & soups
17. Without powder
18. Wraps & tortillas

Instagram is here:

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

Pinterest:

Protein Pow (proteinpow) - Profile | Pinterest

Protein Pow | www.proteinpow.com

www.pinterest.com

There's also a handful of video recipes on her Youtube channel:

proteinpow

A Channel Dedicated To Protein Pow(d)er Cooking

www.youtube.com

Other than the website, her Facebook page is updated the most often:

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

A few sample recipes:

* Twix protein bars
* Peanut butter protein buckeyes
* Black onyx protein truffles & follow-up post
* Melting heart protein brownies

I believe all or most of the recipes have the macros written out in the recipe, but if not, I use the Very Well Fit free online macro calculator for from-scratch recipes here:

Try Our Recipe Nutrition Calculator

This recipe nutrition calculator will analyze the calorie and nutrition facts for any recipe. Simply enter the ingredients and serving size to get started.

www.verywellfit.com

I love this website because I like desserts & like to cook. I've also come to realize over time that your food intake throughout the day is not monolithic - you care more about some meals than other meals. To me, if you're going to eat a cookie - eat a cookie. However, cookies matter more towards the end of the day when my energy is lower & I'm in my home environment & want to chill, versus say just eating a cookie after lunch at work.

Plus I'm always hungry & have found that doing smaller meals plus snacks throughout the day works best to keep me from tanking.. This is my preferred eating schedule:

1. 5:00am: Morning snack
2. 7:00am: Breakfast
3. 10:00am: Morning snack (savory)
4. 12:00pm: Lunch
5. 2:00pm: Afternoon snack (sweet)
6. 5:00pm: Dinner
7. 6:00pm: Dessert (I try not to eat within 2 hours of bed, helps me sleep better that way with acid reflux & all, although everyone is different & some people do better eating right before bed!)

So with that in mind, I've come to realize that if I can push the "I need a sweet snack" button mid-day, then it doesn't really matter if it's not an amazing cookie or Ben & Jerry's ice cream or whatever, because it's "good enough". And thus, protein-enhanced snacks were introduced into my diet! Protein POW is one of the best websites out there for a variety of creative ideas for using protein powder to make pretty decent goodies.

So, if you're looking for snack ideas, want them to be protein-laced, and don't mind making them yourself - browse through the 100+ recipes on the website & try some of them out! Another benefit is that pretty much all of the recipes are waaaaay cheaper than store-bought protein bars & packaged snacks!

Photo:

 

[ArchAngel777]

Premier Protein - Cookies N Cream and 80-100 grams of rolled oats. Chilled in fridge for 1-2 hours. Delicious. Feels like a cheat meal for me.

Coffee (decaf, or regular) 5oz mixed with 1/2 shake in coffee mug. Heat in microwave (not too long). Stir before it gets too hot, and mic a few more seconds. Hot chocolate protein coffee. Has a very dark chocolate taste when using premier Protein chocolate flavor. One of my Staples.

 

[Kaido]

Premier Protein - Cookies N Cream and 80-100 grams of rolled oats. Chilled in fridge for 1-2 hours. Delicious. Feels like a cheat meal for me.

Oh dang, protein overnight oats, gonna try this tonight thanks!!

 

[deadlyapp]

Protein oats is something I definitely do quite often - 80-100 grams of oats is a ridiculous amount though.

We've started carrying Perfect Bars at our gym. They are high macros across the board but great source of quick energy and protein and leave you feeling pretty satiated for a few hours at least.

I know some people who swear by MuscleEgg, they have a bunch of flavors and mix it into stuff and don't even notice they're drinking egg whites - but I know...i know.

 

[Kaido]

Protein oats is something I definitely do quite often - 80-100 grams of oats is a ridiculous amount though.

We've started carrying Perfect Bars at our gym. They are high macros across the board but great source of quick energy and protein and leave you feeling pretty satiated for a few hours at least.

I know some people who swear by MuscleEgg, they have a bunch of flavors and mix it into stuff and don't even notice they're drinking egg whites - but I know...i know.

I'll add Perfect Bars to my list of stuff to try, thanks!

I've been wanting to try MuscleEggs for some time now, especially the different flavors, but haven't been able to get past the cost yet. Maybe I'll bite on the 2 half-gallons for $50 & try out the vanilla as part of my pandemic food storage project. I used to think all eggs were pasteurized by law, turns out my previous local grocery store just carried those by default haha. I could always pasteurize my eggs using the sous-vide machine at home as well & go the DIY route...I'd have to run the numbers & see if there'd be any cost benefits to doing so. Plus I could use regular sugar instead of sucralose, although I just looked online & you can get liquid sucralose in over 100 flavors! Cookie dough, strawberry, etc.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Protein oats is something I definitely do quite often - 80-100 grams of oats is a ridiculous amount though.

Are you like 100 pounds, dripping wet? The kind of person who eats an apple and say they are full?

100 grams is 2.5 servings of oatmeal, 375kcals. The protein shake is 160 calories. Total is 535kcal. A small meal. I would need to eat 6 of those a day to eat at maintenance when I am training, and 5 when not training.

 

[deadlyapp]

Are you like 100 pounds, dripping wet? The kind of person who eats an apple and say they are full?

100 grams is 2.5 servings of oatmeal, 375kcals. The protein shake is 160 calories. Total is 535kcal. A small meal. I would need to eat 6 of those a day to eat at maintenance when I am training, and 5 when not training.

Just depends on how you break your meals up. I end up around 300 carbs a day and 3000 calories. 2.5 servings of oats is around 75g of carbs, which I regularly would have after a workout but try not to source out of a single carb source like that.

 

[Kaido]

Product:

Protein Wafers by Optimum Nutrition

Purchasing:

These are sold locally at some stores, as well as on their website:

PROTEIN WAFERS | Optimum Nutrition US

15 Grams of Protein Per Serving. 2 Wafers Per Package. 190-230 Calories Per Serving.

www.optimumnutrition.com

And on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Optimum Nutrition New! optimum nutrition Protein Wafer Bars, Low Sugar, Low Fat, Flavor: Lemon Cream, 9 Count: Health & Personal Care

Buy Optimum Nutrition New! optimum nutrition Protein Wafer Bars, Low Sugar, Low Fat, Flavor: Lemon Cream, 9 Count on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

Review:

Did you ever eat those Neapolitan wafers as a kid?



This is the exact same idea. It comes in bar-sized packaging with two large squares inside. They are a bit stiffer than the candy version & not quite as sweet, but still pretty good! And plenty sweet in a pinch, to be clear - not bland at all!

They come in 5 flavors:

1. Vanilla
2. Mocha
3. Lemon cream
4. Chocolate raspberry
5. Chocolate

I'm not a mocha person, but I've tried all the rest. I like vanilla the most, followed by chocolate raspberry, then lemon (note that this has a chocolate base...not bad, but not my favorite with the lemon/chocolate combination), then chocolate. It uses both MPI & WPI (milk protein isolate & whey protein isolate), as well as PPI (pea protein isolate), and is sweetened by sucralose.

Macros: (per 2-pack in a single sleeve)

* 200 calories
* 15g protein
* 13g carbs
* 10g fat

I'm not typically a fan of dry cookies, but these are actually pretty good because they're crispy wafers. They are a bit crumbly, so eat them over a plate or something. Definitely a nice option to have as a packaged protein treat! I tried four of the flavors & then ended up ordering a couple of boxes off Amazon. They run about $20 for a 9-pack, so around two bucks a sleeve (2 square wafers in each one). I think this is a really good idea & they did a great job on making something different but still good for the protein snack market, instead of just another protein shake or protein bar. I'll definitely be keeping a box of vanilla protein wafers in my pantry at all times!

Photo:

 

[ArchAngel777]

75g of carbs, which I regularly would have after a workout but try not to source out of a single carb source like that.

Why? Also, you used the word "ridiculous amount". I suppose you would retract that? Or maybe you were using hyperbole?

For what it's worth, I don't see any reason not to use a single source carb. Especially when it is a very healthy source.

 

[Kaido]

Tried Gatorade's 30g protein drink, the "Super Shake". Chocolate flavor tastes mildly like chocolate Ensure. Meh. Still haven't found anyone who has Premier Protein beaten for flavor. Also tried Gatorade's protein bar. Also meh.

Protein

Formulated to help athletes rebuild muscle

www.gatorade.com