Orgain is making a large impact on the clean eating world with its protein shakes, protein powders, protein bars, and snack bars. Dr. Andrew Abraham started the company after a desire to create a nutrient dense protein drink that wasn’t full of fillers and chemicals as he battled his own bout of cancer as a teen. Years later after becoming a physician, he knew that many of his patients would benefit from a clean nutrition product as well. And so, Orgain was born.
All of Orgain Organic Nutrition products are soy free and gluten free as well as being free of corn syrup, carrageenan, GMOs, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Orgain has two product lines: a plant-based vegan food product line and a grass-fed dairy food product line to help improve overall nutritional status of everyone, regardless of dietary choices. I think this distinction is unique and help sets Orgain apart from competitors.
The plant-based Orgain product line includes protein powders, protein bars, superfood nutrition powders, and the ready to drink protein shakes and all-in-one shakes. Today, we’re reviewing Orgain’s Plant-Based Vegan All-In-One Protein Shake in Smooth Chocolate. The ready to drink protein shakes are available on Amazon in Smooth Chocolate and Vanilla Bean.
Taste Experience
I was pretty excited about the idea of vegan nutrition on-the-go. There are few ready made shakes that are vegan, and the pure thought of it excited my bones.
After twisting off the top, I was greeted with a pleasant cocoa, rich smell of chocolate. The first swig wasn’t as pleasant. The smooth chocolate front end is masked by a strong protein powder and oily back end. The shake is not gritty, but the overall taste is not particularly smooth. I was surprised at how thin the viscosity was. I expected a 16 gram protein product in a relatively small package to be thicker, but it surprisingly was fairly thin (this may be related to the first ingredient being water).
Honestly, the overly “healthy” protein shake shows up in the taste. Yes, this is healthy portable vegan nutrition but the taste needs more depth and less aftertaste. After trying it on its own, I blended it with a handful of frozen cherries and THEN it tasted like heaven. However, I feel like that defeats the purpose of a ready to drink vegan protein shake. I will say making a morning smoothie with the Orgain All-In-One Protein Shake and frozen cherries was much faster than my traditional smoothie making. So, the taste isn’t great to me, but the nutrition is pretty on point and I think whether or not you buy these vegan protein shakes on Amazon depends on your overall nutrition goals.
Nutrition
Speaking of the nutrition in the Orgain All-In-One Vegan Protein Shakes, it’s pretty on point! Each carton of this ready to go shake has 220 calories with only 50 calories from fat. This makes the vegan shake a great post workout snack, mid afternoon snack, or a mini meal any time of the day.
With 6 grams of total fat and only 1 gram of saturated fat without trans fat, this is a heart healthy vegan choice that will support your health goals. The fat is from sunflower oil and while this is fine, as a food first dietitian, I would have liked to see the shake with more blended nuts and seeds but the sunflower oil makes it allergen free whiles still providing sustained nutrition.
The shake only has 25 grams of total carbohydrate with 2 grams of fiber and 9 grams of sugar. This makes it a great vegan shake choice without impacting your blood sugar significantly.
Each 11 oz vegan shake carton has 16 grams of protein from the pea protein and chia seeds. 16 grams of protein is a considerable amount to help you meet your nutrition needs, build muscle, or keep your energy levels up for that crazy little thing called life. If you’re too busy to sit down and have a proper meal, the Orgain Organic Protein All-In-One Protein Shake in Smooth Chocolate can help.
I appreciate that Orgain has added in vitamins, minerals, and their own fruit blend to help round out the ready to go protein shake. The shake has 21 different vitamins and minerals! It’s different than drinking a high protein shake and is again more encompassing to help fill in nutritional gaps if eating healthy for a busy lifestyle is challenging for you. If you’re interested in ready to go vegan protein shakes, check out these Orgain All-In-One vegan shakes on Amazon.
The Non-Vegan Review
Chug it. That’s my advice. Chug it. Orgain makes great products, but if you’re not going to mix this in a smoothie, then I would chug it. Or, know that it’s going to have a bit of an aftertaste and not the best chocolate flavor. Honestly though, no one drinks these thinking they are going to taste great. I’m drinking these as a meal replacement and to help with some needed weight lose, so flavor isn’t the most important thing to me. Protein and satisfying hunger is more important to me when considering a protein shake and this Orgain shake is great in that sense. Enjoy! Non-vegan husband out!
Parting Thoughts
If you are a busy professional, bustling parent, or active athlete, Orgain Organic Nutrition All-In-One Protein Shake in Smooth Chocolate is a great mini meal replacement, post workout boost, or a hefty snack to help you power through your day. It’s gluten and soy free without GMOs or artificial flavors and packs a whopping 16 grams of plant-based protein and 21 different vitamins and minerals. I will say, the taste isn’t great but if you have the time to blend it with a fruit like cherries, dates, or a frozen banana, it will significantly elevate the taste. With that being said, if finding the time to eat healthy plant-based foods and protein is your biggest challenge, without a doubt Orgain Organic Nutrition All-In-One Protein Shake in Smooth Chocolate available on Amazon will help tremendously.