Garden of Life Meal Replacement Shakes, Vegan Protein Powder, Raw Organic Meal, Vanilla Chai Powder with Plant Based Pea Protein, Sprouts, Greens, Probiotics, Dairy Free 14 Servings

1/12/2016 UPDATE: They have changed the packaging and blend of this meal replacement powder and it is for the better. The mix no longer gets goopy or solidifies, which should be a plus for anyone who was worried about that in the first place. The scoops are also smaller, but you still get the same amount of servings per container. I will say the taste has changed but not by much. Before they changed this product, I was using the unflavored version. I am still using this one, as I prefer to down this in one quick gulp and do need the artificial sweetness. Unflavored reminds me of powered oats. I recently went vegan, and love that I can substitute one meal a day that is very nutritious. The only drawback to the change so far is the lid. It will not tighten properly and if this container is held by said lid, it will pop right off - which I can imagine would be disastrous should you drop all of the powder on the floor. Be careful carrying this around. Other than that, enjoy all the health and convenience benefits that this offers you. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I was very hesitant at first, but decided to try this. First let me say that I've tasted many protein/meal replacement shakes over the years. I eat very clean and wanted something somewhat clean that I could drink in a hurry if I don't have time to prepare a meal. I ordered the vanilla spiced chai. Upon opening it, I didn't smell anything rancid or gross as other reviewers claim. It smells like oats to me, which is fine. My first shake was one scoop. I used a blender ball shaker. I put a lot of water only because a lot of the reviewers on here had me worried that it would turn into sludge. It didn't. The color is green but I don't see why that should bother anyone. The texture is grainy and that's about the only thing I can agree with others on. It doesn't matter how much water you add, you are going to get that grainy texture, but it's not a big deal. I mean, what were these people expecting? There's no preservatives or additives. It's an organic meal replacement. I have no problem with the graininess, especially since I'm just downing it anyway. On a side note, I tried this in my personal blender and got the same result. I also brought the shaker to work with the powder already in it, and then added water and still go the same result. No green lava. The flavor is fine as well. By the way people talked about this, I was expecting some putrid, bitter, sludgy goop of a drink. Instead I get that same oat taste with vanilla. I could easily see milk or almond milk plus peanut butter adding to the flavor, but those are unnecessary calories for me. The only conclusion I could come to is that a.) these bad reviews came from crybabies who are used to sugary, processed food that don't understand this is a health drink, b.) they attempted to stir this in a cup with a spoon and maybe that led to the sludge, although it wouldn't affect the flavor or smell, or c.) they didn't order directly from Amazon and maybe the product they got was expired? Maybe I'm reaching on that last one but that's all I can think of. If you are expecting a delicious vanilla smoothie than you will be let down. But if you expect a vanilla/oat flavored, grainy, green drink full of nutrients, then you will be fine. For me, the price per shake is a great deal for something so healthy, convenient, and filling. I definitely plan on ordering the bigger size and will try the chocolate and vanilla also. I will update my review later. Update: I have now tried the vanilla and chocolate flavors as well. Vanilla spiced chai wins for me. The flavor is better and the texture is not as thick. To be clear, I have no problem drinking the other flavors, but I like the chai the best. If you're on the fence, go with the chai. Also, I did try mixing the powder with a spoon in a cup and got a thick clumpy mess. Just use a shaker cup and you'll be okay.

I see a lot of people do not like the taste of this, and obviously it's not going to taste like liquid gold, but for how healthy it is, it tastes pretty damn good. I have tried both the vanilla chai and the chocolate. The chocolate was not too good, but the chai is amazing. I also see a lot of people complaining that the texture is like sand....well it could be if you don't mix it properly. I highly suggest getting a mixer bottle for protein shakes and adding in a little bit more liquid than they recommend so that it doesn't get thick. Mixing this stuff with a spoon simply won't cut it. I also recommend using unsweetened almond milk. The other thing is make sure you check the lot number on the bottom of your tub to make sure it wasn't in a lot that was recalled recently. you can find a list on the fda website if you look up " Garden of life raw meal recall". As long as you mix this properly, and you use something other than water (ew), you really can't beat the price for the health you get. Not to mention your body will absolutely get used to the taste as long as you are not eating crap for your other meals. I'll definitely be purchasing a big tub of the chai. (

UPDATE: I have ordered this product multiple times and loved it until my most recent purchase. Thry have changed the ingredients and I could taste the difference immediately. Sometimes, I will use as a meal replacement twice in one day. 1 for breakfast and 1 for a late lunch. I finished the rest of my last order this morning at breakfast and opened my newest bottle today. It tasted very sweet to me this time. I looked at the ingredients and they have added erythriol. They have also changed the size of the scoop and have provided a larger one. The last bottle was 120 cal per 1 scoop to 1 cup (8 oz) of water. The newest one is 150 cal per 1 scoop to 1 cup of water. They did increase the weight of product from net wt 32 oz to 37.53 oz though. All in all, I think I probably won't finish off this bottle. I will not be ordering again. So sad. I loved this stuff. I looked into this at an actual health food store but was on the fence. I hadn't ever invested in supplemental powders before and wasn't sure if I could afford it at the time. 3 days later my mom mentioned this product and raved about how much better she felt after regularly taking it. I looked it up here on Amazon and decided to try the smaller one in case it wasn't for me. Plus it was on sale for $20. After reading reviews about the taste I expected to taste much worse than it actually does. In fact I was pleasantly surprised that it hasn't been a chore to choke down. A lot of people have mixed it with other things, but I found mixing it straight up in water was the best for me. I just mixed it with a fork because I figured the tines would break up the clumps. It worked for me. When I mixed it in almond milk it was incredibly thick. Everyone's tastes will be different. Texture plays a lot into. I received it roughly 10 days ago and the small tub is about 14 servings. So I'm already through the tub I bought because I made a few to replace meals. Drinking it in water didn't leave me as satisfied as having it in almond milk because the milk was thicker. It hasn't been too long, but I'm already feeling much more energetic. I would recommend this product. I will be reordering.

Overall, I’m really impressed with the product. The taste is fantastic—smooth and not overly sweet, with a nice chai flavor that complements the vanilla really well. It's packed with organic, plant-based ingredients, and I love knowing that I'm getting a good amount of protein and nutrients in each serving. One small downside, though, is that the powder is almost impossible to stir into water by hand. I tried using a spoon AND fork, but it kept clumping no matter how much I stirred. I finally had to switch to using a blender, which worked perfectly and gave me a smooth shake. While it’s not a deal-breaker, it does mean I need to plan ahead when I’m on the go or don’t have access to my blender. Overall, it’s a great product with high-quality ingredients, but be prepared to mix it thoroughly!

Until around 2013, I purchased this product frequently. It was a one-of-a-kind as far as ingredients and how they were processed such as sprouting the grains and using juices instead of grasses, etc. But the key protein was coconut. It was not intended to be sipped, you had to get it down otherwise it would get very thick. Despite the popularity, the few who complained about the thickness were catered to and the main ingredient changed to chia seed -- something you could get in dozens of other products at the time. Disappointed, I stopped supporting this product and this company. I started making my own formula, which was no problem since I used it in healing. But now I'm just looking for something for my own personal use and found, again, this product is a one-of-a-kind due to the method of sprouting and juicing ingredients. I bought my first container in over 9 years (that's around $18,000 I did not continue to spend at $40 per week previous to changing the formula). I can say it does feel satiating but not nearly as much so as with the coconut; it's also much less calories so calling it a Meal Replacement seems questionable at only 120 calories. The prior formula was very satisfying. You could tell it was hardy when you put it in your water or juice. This formula, however (which has changed since that first revision) is very dusty and grainy - poofs of dust come up when you scoop it and drop your mixer ball in the container. It remains grainy even after mixing. It has a strong cinnamon flavor. Overall, it's not horrible and for being a one of a kind (some others are similar but have mushroom which is a fungus) I will continue to use it. But you really couldn't beat the old formula. Wish they would bring that back and just call it something else. Keep them both, if this is truly a bigger seller. I personally use 2 scoops if I'm actually replacing a meal.

It takes a minute to get over the grittiness of the non-dairy shake but the Chai flavor is very pleasant. I followed one review and added a banana which does help to smooth out the grittiness some and compliments the Chai flavor well. I also recommend adding additional frozen fruit varieties in addition to the banana. I enjoyed it with strawberries as well as a strawberry blueberry combo. Surprisingly the Chai flavor is very versatile with many other flavors so it's been fun experimenting. The Chai still stands out no matter what you add but that is a perk because it's actually really good and I find myself not only looking forward to it but craving it. I usually only add half a scoop of powder instead of the whole scoop and this works well for me. It keeps me full for a pretty long time and I do notice it helps some with energy. Plus you just feel good knowing you are putting healthy ingredients in your body. I may eventually try the other flavors but for now I am consistently craving this one.

The garden of life meal replacement is my go to for when I want a nutritious healthy snack on the go. I usually make a smoothie with fruit and almond milk plus a scoop of the meal replacement and it is so good! I feel so much more healthier on days when I have the meal replacement in my smoothies. I noticed that it keeps me full longer as well. Recently I got a cold and the days prior to getting sick I was drinking a smoothie a day with meal replacement in it and I only had a tickle in my nose which told me that I probably was going to get sick but since I was taking meal replacement and garden of life vitamin code I never got fully sick. Unfortunately I ran out of the meal replacement and in the days between running out and waiting for a new one to arrive after placing my order, I ended up getting a runny nose. I feel like taking meal replacement helped keep me from getting full blown sick. I was taking vitamins at the time but I feel like the meal replacement has more bioavailability in its nutrients than actual vitamins. This product has definitely become one I will always keep on hand because I can feel the benefits. It also helps me in my weight loss because it keeps me full for longer periods. The only thing I don't like about this product is the taste. But, after a while, I have gotten used to the taste and now barely taste it anymore. But then, I always only use one scoop at a time per smoothie to keep it from tasting bad. It's also very pricey but I feel its money well spent especially since it is going towards my health.

This stuff is wretched! I have meal replacement powders from another company that are legit delicious, but no chai flavor, which I wanted. I tried this one, and basically gag every sip. I dump dark cocoa powder and peanut butter powder into my shakes to try to hide the horrible flavor, but it doesn't really help. The texture is bad, too. It's so grainy, no matter how long you let it sit and hydrate. It is going to be a task to get through this cannister. On the one plus side for it, it does effectively keep me from being hungry for several hours. And no, not just because I'm nauseated by the flavor for that long, hah! In short, you don't want want this. Pick another brand!

Is very very tasty! Not what I expected. It has this nice cinnamony vanilla taste that’s light. I blended with Oatmilk. Next time I’ll do a banana and maybe some peanut butter to really make a nice shake.