Birthday Cake
About Time from SDC Nutrition is a 100% all natural, 100% whey protein isolate protein powder with no artificial flavorings, no growth hormones, no artificial sweeteners, that is lactose and gluten free, zero carb, and zero fat.
So with THAT as a description, it has to taste nasty as hell, right?
MeltingMama said no. So, well, I thought, why not give it a shot. So I ordered my two samples (details below) to try. Cause I mean, too good to be true.
Put my “Birthday Cake” into my little green shaker and hubby, being home and equally interested, decides to shake it. I wouldn’t call it vigorous, but he does give it a good 2-minute shake.
We noticed no huge lumps when we opened up the shaker — wow! How nice!
Poured it into a glass — this was thin. Like “glass of milk” thin. It has a few lumps at the top.. I don’t know if you can see the slightly discolored portions in the top of the glass.. they were very small lumps. Honestly, this mixed very, very well.
Mmmm.. Birthday Cake milk...
Now, the instructions said to mix with 8oz of fluid, or how you like it. Since I wasn’t sure, I went with 8oz of water. Next time, I’ll use 4 or 6oz because while I think this could have good flavor, it really was way too washed out. In this case, the lumps were the highlight of the drink experience. Very rarely do I wish for lumps — this was one of those times. I think making it with 4oz for my taste buds would make this a good flavored shake.. maybe 6oz. But 8oz was way too thin and had too little flavor and it was difficult to get the full amount down.
The stats for the powder are great, though — especially for those who are lactose intolerant (and geez, that happens so frequently after surgery):
Stats
It’s not listed on the webpage, but these also have quite a nice Amino Acid profile which is imperative for keeping our muscles. The body requires amino acids in order to build the protein chains that are then used to build the muscles we need to keep our heart beating and our bodies in motion. I’m always impressed when a company is transparent with their ingredients and their makeup.
I have another sample from the company to try, and I will be doing so soon. I encourage anyone looking for a new protein powder to give this company a shot as the stats are really good. With it being so thin, it might be a great supplement for early postops to get the protein down without heavy volume and without lactose.
Samples can be purchased from SDC Nutrition – 2 for $1.99
Available at SDC Nutrition, GastricBypassSupplements, and others.
OOh.. that looks like what's in my Advent Calendar -- can I haz one?
Bariatric Eating was at the Atlanta OH Event with samples. While there, if you shared your email addy, you got a $5 coupon. Well, I’m not only an email whore, but I’m a coupon whore, so of course I sign up to get my free coupon. I wasn’t sure I would actually use it — they DO sell the Calcet candy (err.. calcium), but knowing I’d never leave it alone, I wasn’t sure what I’d buy. So who knows.
But then they tempted me with an email about this new, limited edition flavor of protein — Candy Cane.. I like mint. I like it enough that I once got sick on grasshopper drinks.. It’s a nice flavor for me. So I figured — WTH and ordered it. It came in yesterday, and I fixed it for my “dessert” for lunch today.
Candy Cane is our delectable Limited Edition Holiday flavor!
- Mixes instantly and completely with a spoon
- Zero sugar & zero fat
- Created to blend with just four ounces of water
We know what qualities it takes to make the perfect protein, and we’re proud to bring you Inspire Pure Whey Isolate Protein Drink. Inspire is a thin, smooth, small-volume protein drink offering excellent taste & convenience. We use 100% pure whey isolate as it offers a clean unflavored background for luscious real peanut butter & premium flavorings. Our bestselling protein is flavored with cool natural Peppermint!
How to blend: Place one scoop of protein isolate in a dry shaker cup or glass; add four ounces (1/2 cup) of cold water and gently shake or blend with a spoon. Add ice if desired. You many use more or less water to your taste
Candy Cane is our delectable Limited Edition Holiday flavor!
- Mixes instantly and completely with a spoon
- Zero sugar & zero fat
- Created to blend with just four ounces of water
We know what qualities it takes to make the perfect protein, and we’re proud to bring you Inspire Pure Whey Isolate Protein Drink. Inspire is a thin, smooth, small-volume protein drink offering excellent taste & convenience. We use 100% pure whey isolate as it offers a clean unflavored background for luscious real peanut butter & premium flavorings. Our bestselling protein is flavored with cool natural Peppermint!
How to blend: Place one scoop of protein isolate in a dry shaker cup or glass; add four ounces (1/2 cup) of cold water and gently shake or blend with a spoon. Add ice if desired. You many use more or less water to your taste.
So yeah, while I’m holding clingy baby (he’s always like this on the days I work outside the house — can’t blame him since this is a new thing), I put together my 4oz of ice cold water, a scoop of this protein, and my Tupperware shaker cup that I got from ATL and shake for about 5 minutes. And I really shake it. It’s not a wimpy shake. We’re walking around, I’m being shown the gingerbread house that the preschooler and papa put together (and the video that papa made on his iphone..), the coloring pages that were done, and talking to Terminix about the fire ants out by my mailbox that WILL NOT DIE (which got more violent shaking.. 0_O)
My shaker. Complete with lump ON the shaker thingy.
Remember how this said it could be spoon stirred?
One lump..
Two lumps..
I only make a big deal out of the lumps because BE makes such a big deal about how this can be spoon stirred. Honest. I’m a busy gal. I rarely sit and do one thing at one time except late at night when I get to blog in relative silence after the kids go to bed. Today I was holding clingy baby, while shaking this and doing everything else while on a lunch break from my paying job. I used a shaker cup rather than a blender cause 1) it said I could even use a spoon and 2) I could walk around and be productive while doing it. If BE hadn’t made such a big deal about the blendability of the protein, (especially after blending as well as I know I did this time.. sometimes I’m half-ass — this time I was not) I’d not make a big deal of the lumps. Honest. I have lumps in my Click AND I DON’T CARE. Enough about that.
The taste. Well, I honestly thought it would be really strong, like a slightly toned-down Altoids for some reason.. but it was very, very mild. I was quite surprised with how mild it was. I could totally drink this on it’s own — and don’t kid yourself, 4oz was thicker than you’d think with the foam that was created with my violent shaking (DIE FIRE ANTS, DIE!) — but I’d like to try it with maybe some coffee for a java burst, and also some of the Monin SF Dark Chocolate Syrup for a mocha blast. One interesting note — I did not find it uncomfortable, but I did feel it in my pouch for about 30-45 minutes afterwards.. kinda a cool / hot feeling. Imagine a icyhot patch for your skin, but in your pouch. It wasn’t unpleasant.. just that instant cold that warms up sorta feeling. It was intriguing. But I didn’t burp it, which was a pleasant aftereffect. I don’t do well with some of the artificual flavorings, so this was nice.
The stats are great — and I think are particularly nice for early postops who are limited in volume, but still need their protein:
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
So yeah, I’m willing to give BE Inspire some more chances — they have other flavors available, and this one was pretty good. We’ll see.
Available at Bariatric Eating. $19.99 for 14 servings
Bananas & Creme
The milkshake-like taste of our 14oz. OhYeah! Ready-To-Drink (RTD) shakes deliver 32 grams of portable, muscle-building protein with an incredible, unmatched taste. Made with fresh diafiltered milk, OhYeah! shakes are extremely low in carbs, sugar, and 100% lactose-free. The OhYeah! RTD is available in 5 award winning flavors and was recently awarded the #1 Nutritional Shake in America by the American Masters of Taste Foundation. Whether you’re an extreme athlete, carb-conscious dieter or you simply want to maintain lean muscle mass, OhYeah! ready–to–drink shakes exceed expectations in every possible way.
Now, full disclosure — I’ve had an ISS shake before at a gym — the Cookies and Cream shake. I’ll “review” it later, when I get back around to them again. So knowing I liked that flavor, I was shocked into absolute bliss (really, ask Sam) when I saw that my Harris Teeter (grocery chain down here in the South) had these, and had them on for a really good price. I mean, a case was $29.99! That’s $5 less than Netrition’s price, and no shipping? WIN! I mean, TOTAL SHINY WIN.
But would I like the other flavors? Well, HT also had some onesies for sale so I could try them. How nice and convenient! I like that. So I picked up some — they had them all except Vanilla.
Now, I preface this by saying I like the fake banana flavorings found in shakes usually. In fact, I have BSN Lean Dessert Banana Nut and Banana Cream in my pantry as we speak. So I expected this to be the same.. and I wasn’t disappointed. Although “shake” isn’t what I’d call it — it was much thinner than the name implies (and from having had the Cookies and Cream which was a bit thicker) a bit surprising..
Now, I may not have shaken the bottle SUPER well, but I think I did. I did not shake throughout my “drinking experience,” but I noticed towards the last, oh 1/2″ of the bottle, the consistency went from nice and smooth to very gritty. A nice pleasant drink to “igh, I need to just take a big gulp and get the rest of this down cause I’m sure that’s where all the protein is and gagh it tastes like banana flavored sand!” And of course, I was at work, and trying to prove to my non-op coworkers that not all protein shakes are gag-worthy so I had to put a great face on it. This was not an ideal place to do a taste test in retrospect. I’ll keep that in mind for future tests.. or at least make sure I’m alone for the entire experience next time. I mean, it did start out so well…
The stats are quite lovely..
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| Ingredients: Filtered Water, Diafiltered Skim Milk, OhYeah!� Proprietary Protein Blend (Milk Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Calcium Caseinate), And Less Than 2% Of: Sunflower, Safflower and/or Canola Oil, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Sucralose, Salt, Vitamin & Mineral Blend (Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, Ferric Orthophosphate, Zinc Amino Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Biotin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Niacinamide, Phytomenadione, Potassium Iodide, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Chromium Chloride, Copper Amino Acid, Cyanocobalamin, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Cholecalciferol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Manganese Sulfate), Lactase, Xanthan Gum, Acesulfame Potassium, Datem, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.
Contains: Milk |
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While these contain milk, they are clearly marked lactose free for those postop that suffer from lactose-intolerance (oh where, where where were you ISS when I was fresh out?). And of course, a bit large for early postop tummies. No worries, y’all — ISS makes a smaller version as well that is 8oz and 18g protein.
Could the gunk at the bottom have been a side effect of user error? Sure it could have. Easily. But when it came down to putting a Bananas and Creme case in my cart last night before the sale ended at Harris Teeter (I mean, really, $29.99? I can’t pass that up..) I did not put a Banana in there. I have two other banana shakes that I like without the possible gunkiness that I can get my craving kicked with.
Available at Netrition.com for generally the best price.
Disclaimer – I got this from the OH Atlanta convention. Theresa from Bariatric Eating was handing these out, along with the Calcet creamy bites (which might be where I got mine, I’m not certain..) BE doesn’t know I’m doing this review — in fact, I’m not certain Theresa knows who I am, and she certainly didn’t know I was going to be blogging about the product when she handed it to me. Actually, neither did I. It took Beth several conversations over the course of the weekend to convince me to do so. So basically, again, no product endorsement was asked for, implied, or anything else.
Italian Cappuccino
Italian Cappuccino, is a Splenda-sweetened espresso latte, with 20 grams of protein, a blast of natural energy and a hint of caramel goodness.
You have never tasted anything quite as delicious as Believe, our new ready-to-drink sensation. Smooth and delicious coffee lattes filled with healing protein & natural energy – packed in premium glass bottles, they’re a pleasure to sip.
Believe is perfect for a busy morning or afternoon break – these deliciously bold coffee protein beverages invigorate the body and mind with pure natural energy. Bliss in a bottle that’s actually good for you!
We’ve infused the finest coffee with natural flavorings and 20 grams of protein, making Believe a smart alternative to skipping a meal or eating fast food. Enjoy a bottle either chilled or over ice; wherever you are it’s pure perfection.
So I’ll be honest — I opened this expecting it to be exactly like the Buxx drinks in the same containers. I’m not certain why, given that this is good for me and those, well, aren’t. But my mind saw the bottle, the packaging and thought “mmm.. creamy coffee goodness..”
Well, not quite.
It’s thinner, much much thinner. It’s sweeter, to me, than the Buxx drinks, and this comes from an admitted Splenda whore. To me, it leaves an aftertaste — kind of a gritty aftertaste on my tongue, like a dry taste, but not horrible. This might just be me because I handed it to the hubs, who does not like diet anything and he said it tasted much like the Buxx drinks to him. So maybe my tongue may be broken, or overly-sensitive, or something else. It is nowhere near as strong as Click is, so if Click is too much for you but you like your coffee, then this might be a good alternative to try.
The statistics are really good for the drink:
Italian Cappuccino Stats
So would I drink this again? Yes. In fact, since I have one in my fridge, I will be drinking it again. It’s not as strong as the Click, which might be great for people who aren’t into the massive espresso need like I am. It’s definately something I would drink, and would consider buying again. And let’s face it, the stats are super.
