Evolve Plant Based Protein Shake, Double Chocolate, 20g Vegan Protein, Dairy Free, No Artificial Sweeteners, Non-GMO, 10g Fiber, 11 Fl Oz (Pack of 12) - (Formula May Vary)

Great chocolate taste. No sugar alcohol after-taste and no chalky texture.

I was looking for a protein shake that tastes good to replace a couple of meals. I tend to not eat until I'm ravenous and then make really poor food choices. That led to a ten pound weight gain in a short space of time. So I'm trying to right the ship while staying realistic about how I operate. I wanted something easy, with grab-and-go convenience, and it had to taste decent. I also did not want any dairy products because, and this is idiosyncratic to me, whey protein/milk protein isolates make me gain weight. So even though I love the taste of whey protein products, they were off table. Let the search begin! I read a few online reviews for the best meal replacement shakes and this one popped up on a couple of the lists and the Amazon reviews looked promising. Now down to the nitty gritty. Does it taste like a real chocolate shake?? Absolutely not. lol. Does it taste amazing? No on that too. But is the flavor decent for what it is? YES!! Look, it's a low-cal vegan protein shake. It's not gonna taste like melted ice cream or even melted non-dairy ice cream. Let's just be realistic here. It does taste like chocolate- Yay! It has a bit of an aftertaste which I think is coming from the artificial sweetener. I do not drink diet sodas or use artificial sweeteners regularly, so I'm pretty sensitive to those kind of tastes. Honestly, my first sip was not great, but as I worked my way through my first shake I got a bit more accustomed to that aftertaste/artificial sweetener taste, and I was able to ignore it. That might not seem great to you, but that's pretty amazing to me. I have jars of other low cal vegan protein powders lying around because I just couldn't get past the taste (I also paid like $50 for each of them and have somehow convinced myself that if I keep them long enough, I'll somehow have gotten my money's worth. lol) I'm on day two of the shake and honestly, I've gotten used to the flavor and I'm finding it pretty tasty. The texture is beautifully smooth and not at all gritty. So overall, I think this is a total win. They're convenient, pretty tasty, they keep me full and I think the price is quite reasonable. I will definitely be repurchasing.

You will like this drink! Drink it cold and shake it up. I'm picky about my protein shakes and I have to say, this is THE BEST non-whey-ready-to-drink shake I've ever had! I like chocolate, and this tastes like chocolate. It is comparable to a skim milk chocolate milk, in other words, not thick, and I didn't find it had any weird texture to it at all. It is a little sweeter than I prefer (I like my chocolate a mix of sweet & salty), BUT I will happily drink this smooth, chocolate drink every day. I'm so glad I gave this a shot and wasn't swayed by some of the so-so reviews talking about the after-taste. I don't like an artificial after-taste, but I don't find that this drink has one at all. If there is one, it's mild. If you must, just finish the shake with a swig of water and be done, I don't understand the big deal. Maybe they didn't shake it up first.

Vega: * Pros: Vegan/ soy free/ gluten free, extra supplemented vitamins/ minerals, ‘green powder blend’ for extra nutrition, 4 grams fiber * Cons: Chalky, chocolate flavor is a miss, difficult aftertaste Evolve: * Pros: Vegan/ soy free/ gluten free, 10 grams fiber, great chocolatey taste, smooth * Cons: less supplemented vitamins/ minerals The background: In the last month I found myself needing to go on a very restricted diet (nut/ dairy/ soy/ wheat free) as I worked through what my nursing baby was sensitive to. Not being able to have my regular premixed whey protein shake to turn to on busy mornings was rough, so I set out on trying to find a suitable replacement. SO many people recommended Vega, so I started there. Chocolate is always my flavor of choice, vanilla flavored anything isn’t really my jam. Long story short- they were tolerable. I could drink them if I had to.... but found myself opting to just be hungry and eat an early lunch rather than grab one (which completely defeated the purpose for me). The texture was chalky, the chocolate flavor didn’t quite taste chocolatey, and I always had to follow it with gum because the lingering aftertaste wasn’t great. It checked all of my required boxes, but I was looking for something more than that. I decided I’d try something else in spite of the fact that Vega got good reviews and many people seemed to be settling with ‘Vegan protein just isn’t that good.’ Evolve was my next trial- and though I planned on sampling several others in order to give a thoroughly rounded review, I decided to stop with Evolve. Why? Because it’s actually good! The chocolate flavor is rich and chocolatey, the texture is super smooth, and it’s still Vegan + soy/ gluten free. I’m compromising in pretty much all areas of my diet right now, but this doesn’t feel like a compromise and I’m thrilled to have found something that meets all of my current requirements and is enjoyable to drink. The only real thing it’s missing is the extra vitamins/ minerals that Vega has, but I’m happy to just continue eating well and taking a multivitamin rather than relying on my protein shake to supplement in that area.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT added 12/28/19: Many people ask why one of the photos illustrating these shakes shows 1 gram of Fiber versus the 10 grams stated in the description and everywhere else. I think when the photos were uploaded, they may have been the drafts of the packaging or artist renderings of the packaging and whoever created the nutritional info panel made a typo. Each of the flavors I have purchased (Vanilla, Almond, Chocolate, Mocha, Carrot/Ginger) say 10g of Fiber on the individual containers and on the cardboard 'wrapper' containing the four containers. In addition, the company's website states 10 grams, too, for all of their shake flavors regardless of packaging. So, it's 10 grams, not less than 1. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I have been drinking the Mellow Mocha and Classic Chocolate, and just came on to order some Vanilla. These are just fine for what they are - a meal replacement drink for people with food allergies who have problems making food or eating food . When I am well, throwing fluids, veggies, protein powder and some fruit into a blender and making a nutritious drink/smoothie/shake is no big deal. Having many food allergies, I prefer building a meal from scratch, on a plate or in a glass, so I know exactly what is in it. I love a cool, tasty nutritious smoothie meal for lunch when the weather is hot, eating "real" food for breakfast and dinner. But when I get really sick, as I have been for the past couple of weeks, not only is making "real food" not possible, neither is making the smoothies. After getting to the point of being seriously dehydrated and malnourished, while sipping electrolytes while talking with a friend, she pointed out that there are now gluten- and dairy- and soy-free meal replacement drinks. After reading many product descriptions and reviews and looking at costs, I decided to try the Evolve. Thank you, Amazon, for getting it to me the next afternoon which enabled me to get some easily digestible nutrition into my body for the first time in several days. Some negative reviews mentioned the texture/consistency. I shook the container well before opening it and taking my first sip. Yes, the shake is not thick like a milkshake or homemade veggie-protein-fruit smoothie. It is a drink that was, for me at least, easily swallowed. Being at room temperature made it feel soothing going down. It tasted like a commercially produced protein drink. I wasn't expecting gourmet food, so I was not disappointed. I wasn't expecting my own tasty concoctions, so, again, not disappointed. The 11 oz containers are made of those shelf-stable packaging materials, lined with a silver material and having a plastic screwtop and base, so if you are drinking right out of the container, your lips are going to touch plastic. Not a deal breaker for me, so I sip right from the container. If one is very sensitive, there might be a teeny bit of a 'tang' from possibly the gellan gum (which I appreciate as the more typical carrageenan and guar gum can be pro-inflammatory for many people) and/or the sweetener (the organic stevia extract rather than the organic cane sugar) as much as from the interior lining of the package itself. Are these drinks fine dining? No. Are they palatable when you can't eat or eat enough to get enough nutrients? Yep. I plan on keeping these around even when I can eat again, to occasionally replace the meat bars I usually eat when I need a nutritious snack on the go, and to supplement my emergency food stash, since finding shelf-stable emergency foods that don't have ingredients I am allergic to is tough. The Best Before date on the Classic Chocolate 12-pack I purchased on Sep 26 is Dec 2020; the date on the Mellow Mocha purchased on the same date is Nov 2019. Note this is a "Best Before" date, not an "expires on" or "use by" date. I won't have any hesitation drinking whatever Mocha remains after Nov 2019. UPDATE 11-28-2019: I recently bought the Carrot Lemon Ginger flavor and like it, too. I was hesitant to get it because I don't like carrot juice and, while I like ginger, I don't like a really strong ginger flavor (hate ginger tea, love pickled and candied ginger), so getting 12 bottles of something I can't stand the taste of would be a bad thing. But, I risked it, and it paid off. The Carrot Lemon Ginger drink has a mellow flavor, not overtly carroty or gingery or lemony. Makes a nice change from the mocha, chocolate and toasted almond. I am better than I was when I first got these Evolve drinks, but still not fully well. I find that I still drink them when I haven't been able to cobble together enough 'real food' protein for a meal, or for a between meal snack because my gut still can't handle my usual meat or nut bars.