KOS (pronounced k-aw-ss) is a Greek island home to Hippocrates but well known in Greek history as an ancient market made its mark by offering much, welcoming all, and giving back. KOS was the place of peace throughout time. The company chose KOS as the name because of Hippocrates’ simple approach to health to do no harm and eat more plants. KOS wants to feed the world more plant-based protein to not only support health for individuals but to move towards a more sustainable food system.
Their current product, the KOS plant-based vegan protein is available in two flavors (chocolate and vanilla) and mixed in small artisanal batches to maintain high quality. KOS vegan and plant-based protein powder is free of gluten, soy, and dairy and powered by nature’s purest ingredients and whole foods. If you’re ready to check out KOS organic plant-based protein powder on Amazon, click away. Otherwise, keep reading our review. We are vegan dietitian wife and very omnivore husband duo who provides a unique perspective and science backed nutrition information to help you navigate the messy world of plant-based nutrition and decide if the products we review should make an appearance in your pantry and belly. 🙂
For this review, we’re looking at the Vanilla flavor KOS plant-based vegan protein powder. The plant powered protein powder is available in either individual packages or a tub with 30 servings which is perfect if you want to dip your toe in or jump into the deep end.
Taste Experience
The Vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder smells like real vanilla bean immediately after opening the tub – which was a pleasant surprise. There wasn’t a weird super sweet or artificially sweet smell which made me very excited to try it. I first mixed a scoop with water and while it was better than most I’ve tried, it did seem a bit thick (although not gritty or chalky). Because KOS is a plant-based protein powder blend with pea protein, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds, there wasn’t an overwhelming flavor or one food/protein but just tasted earthy and natural with subtle vanilla undertones.
The second time I tried it was in a smoothie with 1 scoop of the vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder, banana, strawberries, ice, and unsweetened almond milk. This was amazing! I love how the vegan protein powder made the smoothie extra creamy and the vanilla taste complemented the fruit well. In fact, I could see the vanilla being used in homemade protein bar recipes, muffins, waffles, or pancakes to help increase the protein and nutrition content while maintaining delicious foods. The plant-based protein powder is fairly thick but still didn’t have grit or an aftertaste with the smoothie.
I did notice that the protein powder not only tasted amazing going down but it settled in my stomach well and I have to think that’s in part because of the digestive enzymes KOS adds to the vegan protein powder. Cheers to great taste and great plant-powered digestion! Check out KOS organic vegan protein powder on Amazon, and you’ll see I’m not the only one who adores the taste!
Nutrition
First things first, in each serving of vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder there are 160 calories of plant-based nutrition from sustainably sourced ingredients including organic pea protein, organic flaxseeds, organic quinoa, organic pumpkin seed protein, and organic chia seeds. These natural superfoods make up the majority of the ingredient list which is why the calorie content is on the lower end compared to other vegan protein powders.
There are only 6 grams of total fat (from the seeds and coconut milk) with 3.5 grams of saturated fat (from the coconut milk likely).
The carbohydrate content is low for a plant-based protein powder at 8 grams of total carbohydrate per serving with 2 grams of fiber per serving. The minimal carbohydrates with fiber from whole foods will help sustain blood sugar levels and may be a great choice for someone with insulin sensitivity or someone looking to follow a lower carbohydrate plant-based diet.
Now, when it comes to the protein, KOS plant-based vegan protein powder does not mess around. Each serving has 20 grams of plant-powered vegan protein made from whole, nutrient dense foods to make a complete protein. The protein powder is soy free and relies on seeds and legumes for the high vegan protein content.
What’s great about this vegan protein powder is that KOS has added five digestive enzymes to increase overall bioavailability of the nutrients including amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, and cellulase. Amylase helps breakdown carbohydrates. Protease helps breakdown proteins and peptides (the building blocks of protein). Lipase helps breakdown fatty acids (like the omega-3 fatty acids present in the chia seeds). Lactase breaksdown lactose (a form of sugar in milk). Cellulase converts cellulose (a type of insoluble fiber) into glucose for energy. All of these digestive enzymes help with absorption and prevent that heavy fullness that can come after consuming a plant-based protein powder shake that tends to be a lot of nutrition at once to try and break down. I find I tolerate this protein powder better than others and have clients tell me the same thing. If you’d like to buy vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder on Amazon and try it for yourself, check it out here.
The Non-Vegan Review
BEST vegan protein powder I’ve tried so far! No kidding. I don’t know how KOS did it, but this vegan pixie dust has no graininess to it at all, even when mixed with straight up water or a plant-based beverage (lol, stupid dairy industry – won’t let us call plant-based beverages “milk”, are you that scared dairy industry?). And, it tastes great, again even when mixed with only water or milk. Must be the pea protein that gives it such a smooth texture. Peas, who would have ever thunk that we would be getting protein from a pea? Crazy! Anyway, you gotta give this magic KOS protein powder a try. Best place to get it? You guessed it, Amazon. Thanks for checking out our site! Non-vegan husband out.
Parting Thoughts
If you’re reading this, there’s a really good chance you want to increase your plant-based protein intake to better meet your nutrition needs, provide sustained energy, or recover after a workout. The Vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder is an exceptional product to help you do that. It tastes like a natural creamy vanilla bean that mixes well into smoothies, baked goods and holds up on it’s own. The digestive enzymes in this vegan plant-based protein powder help increase the bioavailability of the nutrients while supporting healthy digestion. I’ve tried A LOT of protein powders in my vegan (and non-vegan) days and this Vanilla KOS plant-based vegan protein powder might just take the cake. If you still don’t believe me, check out what others are saying are Amazon. If you do believe me, buy it on Amazon today and support a fellow plant-based eater trying to help the world and get more people consuming plants!