Foodie Find! CVS Whey Protein Packets

I posted about these the other day on Facebook and wanted to flesh out my review a little bit more.

So picture it. Baltimore. 8:30 a.m. Nik is in a rush to get to work but needs a couple of things from the drug store. While there, Nik remembers that she packed no lunch today (boo!). So Nik goes to the aisle where the protein bars are to see if anything is on sale. While there, Nik happens upon a discovery: single serving packets of protein powder from CVS. Price: Just over $2.

Strange but true fact: I keep milk in the fridge at work and my baby Hamilton blender. So I took the packet and decided to give it the nutritional pat down. Here are the stats:

Serving size: 1 packet

Calories: 140

Fat: 3g

Carbs: 5g

Sugars: 2g

Protein 25g

Ok, so far so good.  It looked like a whey concentrate (which in my book is ok, your mileage may vary) so I bought it and endeavored to give it a shot.

(NOTE: I WOULD have taken pictures but I am still getting used to the reduced battery life of a smart phone so my phone was about as dead as a doornail. I was happy to just get the pic of the product.)

When the blender stopped, I sniffed. No wonky smell. That’s a good sign. I could tell by the color of it (sort of “clay brown”) that it was probably not going to be chocolatey enough for me but I forged on.

Poured it in a glass, tasted it and…not bad. Not bad at all. I was right, though. Not quite chocolatey enough for my liking. But then I am a choco-monster, so you might take that assessment with a grain of salt. I  usually add extra cocoa powder and just a wee bit of coffee (per Ina Garten who taught me that if you do so it’ll amp up the chocolate factor) to my shakes to get the full-on chocolate effect. It’s a 25 calorie investment that I am willing to make.

Anyway, from what I saw they had chocolate and vanilla at my local CVS. I’m sure there is strawberry somewhere. Wait…hold on one sec and I’ll Google that for you…ok, I’m back! There does not appear to be. Strange. No matter to me. I’m not a big strawberry protein fan. I’ve had the same canister of strawberry protein since I had surgery, if that tells you anything.

S’anyway, I probably would not use this as my regular protein, but seeing as I am occasionally prone to forgetting my lunch (or getting stuck in meetings at lunchtime) it is comforting to know I have an option for a cheap shake that is nutritionally balanced. That would be my suggestion for the rest of you all as well. If you feel so inclined, pick up a few and keep them in your “emergency stash.”