Recommended shakes and meal replacements

At our wellness center, we're often asked to give recommendations on the best tasting shakes. Here are the top five shakes that our health coaches and physicians use and recommend -- and a few that, sadly, get the thumbs-down vote due to taste.


Our top 5 recommended shakes:

Low-Carb Ultramet:
Deliciously creamy, and very satisfying. Blends well too. Great protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. This comes in two flavors -- Vanilla Cream and Chocolate Fudge -- and is what the medical director at Healthy U drinks every day for her afternoon snack After a few minutes in the freezer, it tastes just like an ice cream shake.

Body Fortress Whey Protein:
This is a favorite of the head trainer at Masaya Healing & Wellness Center. It is available in Vanilla and Chocolate, and tastes good mixed with skim milk or fruit and yogurt.

JUVO:
Another of Healthy U's medical director's favorites, this is a raw food meal replacement. Tastes really chalky when mixed with water, but when blended with vanilla soymilk it has a creamy taste that's not too sweet. Throw in a few frozen raspberries or a tablespoon of nut butter, and it makes for a very filling breakfast drink that takes you through the morning.

Vegan Complete Mint Chocolate Chip:
An all-natural protein shake that tastes good and has a lot of nutrients. If you mix it up with water it isn't very thick, but it still gives you enough nutrition to last till your next meal or snack. A minor drawback: The little flakes of "stuff" that settle out at the bottom of the cup; it doesn't dissolve completely. Still, it's a terrific and easily digestible, pea protein based meal replacement.

Myoplex Light:
Another favorite of the head trainer at Masaya. Comes in Chocolate, Strawberry, or Vanilla.


Ones that were voted down:

Raw Power:
It's a great idea for a raw food, high protein, non-whey-based shake, and is very healthy for you. But the problem is the hemp protein. It's gritty and doesn't mix well. It also has a very bitter taste that's difficult to mask.

Nutiva Organic Hemp:
Again, it's the hemp protein. Bitter and gritty, our health coaches said it tasted like drinking dirt. Although the components are healthy for you, it's hard to give it a good recommendation based on the taste.

Vega Complete:
We really, really wanted to like this one. The ingredients were right on target as far as being healthy, all natural, and unprocessed. The problem is that it was hard to get past the taste.

Accelerade:
This is another one that loses because of taste. The head trainer at Masaya says it tastes like an unpleasant mixture of milk and juice.