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)

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.

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 aftertasteEvolve:* Pros: Vegan/ soy free/ gluten free, 10 grams fiber, great chocolatey taste, smooth* Cons: less supplemented vitamins/ mineralsThe 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.

Delicious! I can’t have dairy, and have been leery of vegan shakes—the one I tried earlier, fruit flavored, was so disgusting I had to spit it out—but this really tastes like chocolate.