Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein
I'm not going to do a long series of food reviews related to my diet. Most of the things I eat are too simple for that, these days. I mean, there's only so much you can say about "baby carrots in a little bag," or "pieces of colby jack cheese." Either you like those foods or you don't.
But these aren't completely obvious in that way, so I wanted to recommend them to people, 'cause the ones I've tried are divinely yummy.
First, a warning: though most of the protein in these drinks comes from soy, and they're advertised as primarily soy beverages they are absolutely not vegan, with the possible exception of the Vanilla Chai Tea, which I'm not sure on, and I don't have a bottle handy to check. Also, most of these drinks contain both soy and dairy, so if you're allergic to either, stay away. But then, if you have food allergies or any kind of restricted diet, you probably already know to read labels. These are no exception.
If, however, you can deal with at least small amounts of both and like organic smoothie-type protein drinks that don't, for once in a blue moon, have ginseng in them (praises be to this company), then you should try these.
They come in four varieties, one tea and three coffee: Vanilla Chai Tea, Mocha Cappucino, Vanilla Latte, and Hazelnut Latte. The only one I don't have an informed opinion on is hte Hazelnut Latte.
The Vanilla Chai Tea was the first in the line, and in my opinion is still the best. It tastes a little bit like egg nog, even though it bears no relation. The primary ingredients are tea, vanilla, smaller quantities of other chai spices, and soymilk, apple juice. It's delightful. Not too sweet, and surprisingly creamy for being soymilk based, though in consistency it's still more like a glass of milk than it is like a smoothie, unless it's a very thin smoothie. Everything in it is organic, and it has a very fresh taste. It's also the easiest to find.
The Mocha Cappucino was one of those things I wasn't sure I wanted to try, but I'm glad I did. It uses a blend of Arabian coffee and a soy-and-dairy milk blend, and, of course, large amounts of chocolate. It's much, much more chocolate than coffee, though if you're one of those people who can't tolerate even a little of coffee taste it might still be too much. If you're one of those people who likes to take coffee and add to it until it's barely recognizable anymore, you might like it. I like it as a chocolate milk beverage, rather than as a coffee one, but my taste in coffee means you should probably take that with a grain of salt. It's extremely creamy, this flavor is definitely more of a smoothie than a glass of milk. I find that a glass of this makes a great dessert-type snack. It's not too sugary, which I was surprised at. It tastes more like really good organic chocolate than like anything else.
The Vanilla Latte I haven't actually tried, but I've checked ingredients lists, and it's the same vanilla from the Vanilla Chai Tea, with all the ingredients from the Mocha Cappucino except the chocolate, which gives me a pretty good idea of the taste. Now I really want to try it, because that should be amazing but this one is really hard to find. I'll update if I actually manage.
I haven't tried the Hazelnut Latte, because I can't find it. But it uses some of the same techniques used to make almond milk, so I'm interested, 'cause I love hazelnuts. I'll update if I can actually try it.
But these aren't completely obvious in that way, so I wanted to recommend them to people, 'cause the ones I've tried are divinely yummy.
First, a warning: though most of the protein in these drinks comes from soy, and they're advertised as primarily soy beverages they are absolutely not vegan, with the possible exception of the Vanilla Chai Tea, which I'm not sure on, and I don't have a bottle handy to check. Also, most of these drinks contain both soy and dairy, so if you're allergic to either, stay away. But then, if you have food allergies or any kind of restricted diet, you probably already know to read labels. These are no exception.
If, however, you can deal with at least small amounts of both and like organic smoothie-type protein drinks that don't, for once in a blue moon, have ginseng in them (praises be to this company), then you should try these.
They come in four varieties, one tea and three coffee: Vanilla Chai Tea, Mocha Cappucino, Vanilla Latte, and Hazelnut Latte. The only one I don't have an informed opinion on is hte Hazelnut Latte.
The Vanilla Chai Tea was the first in the line, and in my opinion is still the best. It tastes a little bit like egg nog, even though it bears no relation. The primary ingredients are tea, vanilla, smaller quantities of other chai spices, and soymilk, apple juice. It's delightful. Not too sweet, and surprisingly creamy for being soymilk based, though in consistency it's still more like a glass of milk than it is like a smoothie, unless it's a very thin smoothie. Everything in it is organic, and it has a very fresh taste. It's also the easiest to find.
The Mocha Cappucino was one of those things I wasn't sure I wanted to try, but I'm glad I did. It uses a blend of Arabian coffee and a soy-and-dairy milk blend, and, of course, large amounts of chocolate. It's much, much more chocolate than coffee, though if you're one of those people who can't tolerate even a little of coffee taste it might still be too much. If you're one of those people who likes to take coffee and add to it until it's barely recognizable anymore, you might like it. I like it as a chocolate milk beverage, rather than as a coffee one, but my taste in coffee means you should probably take that with a grain of salt. It's extremely creamy, this flavor is definitely more of a smoothie than a glass of milk. I find that a glass of this makes a great dessert-type snack. It's not too sugary, which I was surprised at. It tastes more like really good organic chocolate than like anything else.
The Vanilla Latte I haven't actually tried, but I've checked ingredients lists, and it's the same vanilla from the Vanilla Chai Tea, with all the ingredients from the Mocha Cappucino except the chocolate, which gives me a pretty good idea of the taste. Now I really want to try it, because that should be amazing but this one is really hard to find. I'll update if I actually manage.
I haven't tried the Hazelnut Latte, because I can't find it. But it uses some of the same techniques used to make almond milk, so I'm interested, 'cause I love hazelnuts. I'll update if I can actually try it.