Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
This review was sponsored by BariatricPal. All opinions expressed are my own!
Protein. Multi-vitamins. Fiber. BariatricPal’s new Protein One.
We’ve got a lot to talk about. Grab a latte. I’ll wait.
You back? Good!
New post-ops. Do you know how spoiled you are?
Lemme tell you what life was like when I was a new post-op.
There three…maybe four…protein companies that catered specifically to bariatric patients. There were maybe 6 flavors that mixed well (which is why The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes features so many recipes with sugar-free syrups…I’m working on it though…)
Now? Everyone and their mama is making protein powder. Protein powder companies are making protein powder. Protein bar companies are making protein powder. Vitamin companies are making protein powder.
All this choice is very, very good. But I just want to be that old craggity post-op who reminds you that back when I was a young whipper snapper, we did not have all these choices!
Moving right along…
Guuuuuyyyyyyyyyysssss. I really like BariatricPal’s new Protein One. (Was that a spoiler? Oops. Sorry. Yes. We must go through the steps! Although to be fair you may have already seen how I feel in the video review we did on Bariatric Foodie Live.)
Still, there’s decorum to think of. So let’s dive in.
The Stats
So the whole “schtick” around Protein One is that it is a three-in-one protein, vitamin and fiber supplement. But more specifically it has:
- 150 calories
- 1.5 grams fat
- 8 total grams of carbs
- 5 grams of fiber (so 3 net grams of carbs)
- 0.5 grams of sugar
- 27 grams of protein
So far as vitamins and minerals, it contains 100% recommended daily allowance or better for vitamins A, C, D, E, folate, vitamins B5, B6, B12, biotin, zinc and selenium. It also contains a bunch of other vitamins (although less than 100% RDA) and you can find all that information on this page (scroll down). By the way, shout out to Alex at BariatricPal because in checking the nutrition label, I see that he has my video review right on the product page. Woot! (Did I mention there was a video review? Cuz there’s a video review.)
It comes in four flavors:
Not bad for an initial offering! I like the fact that straight out the gate you have two “fancy” offerings (unflavored and Cinnamon Swirl). Many protein companies tend to play it safe with the traditional chocolate/vanilla/strawberry model.
NOTE: I gave the big picture “stats” for this product, but you can find out the exact amounts of everything in it by visiting the BariatricPal store!
Aesthetics
When I first got to try Protein One, it wasn’t out yet, so I got it in a sample packet. But now that the protein has officially launched, it looks like this.
My first impression is that I liked the packaging. It looks like smart protein. It looks like protein that would make me smart if I drink it. Yes. I got all of that from packaging!
Opening up the packets, I always sniff them first. There is this pervasive smell in poorly engineered protein powder that I like to call “monkey butt.” And it’s not pleasant. When monkey butt is present, you pick up on it right away and you know it’s not going to be a great experience.
Protein One did not have monkey butt. Hooray.
In fact, the flavors smelled true to form. The chocolate had a faint chocolate smell. Vanilla was the same. The Cinnamon Swirl had a kind of “hit you in the face” cinnamon-y-ness to it. Which I wasn’t so sure about (I’ll go into greater detail in a minute). From the looks of the Raw Natural I was expecting it to smell like wheat grass or something. (Do I even know what wheat grass smells like?) But it didn’t really have a smell at all.
Mixability
So now would be a good time to reiterate the review we did on Bariatric Foodie Live. I’ll paste it right here for your viewing pleasure because we mixed the proteins up live on the show. Yes, even with a blender! So you can see for yourself how that shook out.
But I have to point one area where Protein One seems to shine.
Hot protein drinks.
If you’ve ever had a poorly mixed hot protein drink, you know the pitfalls of trying to make one. Heating protein powder is sort of like tempering an egg. You have to do it carefully or else you’re going to end up with a nasty mess! Well, Protein One actually mixed very easily with hot liquid to make smooth protein drinks. Ahhhh. I really appreciated that. So much, in fact, that I decided to drum up four brand-new protein drinks for you featuring Protein One. You can download the mini-recipe book at the end of this post. (Don’t you dare skip ahead…)
Taste
In my experience you are going to get one of three experiences with the taste of protein powder:
- “Oh my God, it’s horrible! Get it outta my mouth!”
- “Eh. It’s ok. It kinda tastes like nothing but I can tolerate it.”
- “Nom nom nom nom nom!”
Ok I am not BSing you when I say that Protein One, all the flavors, are #3. No lie. Watch the video review if you don’t believe me!
I do have a few words of advice for each flavor though.
- Chocolate Fudge: Unless you like your protein drinks really sweet, mix this one with water. The addition of milk makes it really sweet and super rich. Now if you are a person who adds lots of ice to your protein drink before blending it, that’s ok. For the rest of us…not so much.
- Creamy French Vanilla: This one I actually liked better with milk but I liked it even better mixed into stuff. When I did it cold I did it as a pumpkin pie protein shake and HOT DIGGITY DAMN it was good!
- Cinnamon Swirl: You might remember I was nervous because of the smell. I mean…I like cinnamon. I do. But I’m not a Red Hots eating person, so too much is definitely too much. I could see lots of cinnamon in the powder as I mixed it. It turned out ok though. I add lots of liquid to my hot drinks and lots of ice to my cold ones, so I think that saved me. If you don’t usually do that, add an extra ounce or two to balance things out.
- Raw Natural: I got no comments. It tasted like nothin’. (And yes, I tried it plain…watch the video!)
Value
Ok, Foodies. This is where it usually gets real in my reviews. Because you guys are all like, “Yeah, yeah it’s wonderful, it’s great. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?”
I got you, I got you.
So if you’ve been in the #FoodieNation for a while, you know I use a measure I call the “price per protein gram” as a measure of protein value. Think of it as the same thing as a product unit price in the grocery store. So, c’mon. Let’s do the math.
A 21-serving tub of Protein One retails for $39.99.
- $39.99/21-servings = $1.90/serving
- $1.90 per serving/27 grams of protein per serving = $0.07 per protein gram
If you browse the other product reviews on this site you’ll see I use this number a lot. I consider under 8 cents per protein gram a pretty good price, and this meets that standard!
Final Verdict
Guuuuuuuyyyyyyyyssss. I really like this protein.
And I really like that I was able to get this discount code.
Because I really like this protein.
- The stats on it are good. (It’s beats the 10:1 protein ratio!)
- The flavors taste true to form.
- It mixes into a hot protein drink like a dream.
- And I’m getting vitamins and fiber?
Yes. Please. Thank you.
I highly recommend this protein. I’ve been using it a few weeks now and I am a believer!
So now, onto the good stuff…
A brand spanking new, FREE recipe mini-ebook for you!
Just fill out the form below, and I’ll shoot the book straight to your inbox. Enjoy!
[convertkit form=5093062]
