NaturalProtein - Mix your own quality protein (Review)

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The idea of being able to mix a protein exactly to my liking sounded definitely appealing, and I was really looking forward to trying the protein. In retrospect, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed the whole combining ingredients thing.

Ingredients and digestibility

Since the composition of each protein can vary depending on how you mix it, it becomes a bit complicated to evaluate the ingredients. So I'll try to evaluate it in some general terms and write down the possible benefits of each food that the manufacturer offers us for mixing.

As a protein source, there are several different options to choose from. The first two of these are processed by the CFM method, which is the most gentle method of processingwhich allows the natural and unchanged structure of the whey protein itself to be preserved. The choice is then either whey protein concentrate with a protein content of 78% or whey protein isolate with a protein content of 87%. The difference between these two variants lies primarily in the multiple microfiltration, which results in a higher protein content in the isolate.

In addition, the manufacturer also offers proteins for vegans, which are made purely from high-quality plant sources. More precisely, it is a combination of organic rice protein isolated from white ricewith 80% protein content and organic pea protein from ripe pea seeds with the same protein content. It is the combination of these two plant protein sources that should achievesufficient amino acids, which can often be problematic with plant proteins.

As far as sweeteners are concerned, we have a total of three natural sweetener options to choose from. The first option is probably the best known and most widely used natural sweetener , StéVie, more specifically Steviol Glycosides, which are sweeteners extracted from the leaves of this plant. The second option is birch sugar, which is equal in sweetness to conventional sugar, compared to whichbut has a lower calorific value and a lower glycaemic index. The third option is coconut sugar, which is made from the nectar of the flowers of the coconut palm. All of these options are thus very welcome alternatives to artificial sweeteners. In addition, no artificial colours or flavourings are used in these proteins. All flavours are thus made from the highest possible qualityfrom peanuts, cocoa and coffee to frozen fruit, coconut and vanilla.

To support our digestion, the manufacturer offers us a choice of two types of fibre. The first is inulin, a fibre that is produced by extracting the chicory root. The second is psyllium, which is a fibre commonly extracted from a plant called Indian plantain.

A chapter in itself are the so-called 'superfoods'. Here, the manufacturer refers to foods that have a very beneficial effect on our health due to their high content of a number of vitamins, minerals or enzymes. We can choose from a total of six different foods, which we can freely combine in our protein. Namely, chia seeds, Maca, basil seeds, hemp seeds, oatmeal or Colostrum. I definitely see the possibility of supplementing my protein with these substances as a huge that makes the brand's supplements even more unique. In terms of composition, there is practically nothing to complain about.

For those of us who don't want to waste time mixing our own protein, the manufacturer gives us the optionthe option to choose one of the pre-mixed blends, depending on the purpose for which we are actually buying a particular protein. We can then choose from pre-mixed blends tailored in their composition for example for diet, sport or immunity.

Solubility and nutritional values

So how do these proteins stack up in terms of solubility? Well to be honest I had a lot of trouble with the solubility of most of the flavours. Basically all of the flavours left a lot of lumps or small piecesthat made drinking the protein afterwards quite unpleasant in most cases.

As far as nutritional values are concerned, their determination is again very individual, depending on the selected ingredients of a particular protein. If we talk about the balanced mixture offered by the manufacturer, this protein has approximately 360 kcal per 100g. The protein content in this case is then around 67 g per 100 g. A single 35 g serving thus contains roughly 23 g of protein, which is not exactly groundbreaking. However, I must point out that this is a pre-mixed, balanced mixture. The protein you mix may therefore have slightly different values in the final result.

Individual flavour ratings

Take the individual flavor ratings with a grain of salt, because most likely you will be mixing your own ingredients, so the final taste of the protein may be completely different. Even so, we would like to review the flavours that NaturalProtein offers:

• Raspberry 8/10 was quite a pleasant surprise as it was very similar to the taste of real raspberries blended in water or milk. This flavour is one of the few I would recommend trying.
• The cocoa 6,5/10 is quite bland when compared to chocolate flavours of other brands. Still, it's one of the better flavours, and its bitterness is really reminiscent of real cocoa. For lovers of sweet flavours, however, I wouldn't really recommend it.
• Vanilla 5/10 should have been a proven classic like other brands. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment for me because it had a lot of too many insoluble bits that made drinking this flavour literally unpleasant. Moreover, even the vanilla itself was not particularly distinctive.
• Strawberry 7/10 is very similar to raspberry, i.e. it resembles the taste of real strawberries, which makes it not taste bad at all. However, I personally don't like strawberries that much, so the raspberry flavour suited me a bit more.
• Banana 5.5/10 was another unpleasant surprise for me. Like the vanilla, it contained too many insoluble bits. The taste of the banana itself was unfortunately very bland and insipid.
• Surprisingly,the 8/10 mango didn't taste bad at all. The lumps were kept to a minimum and the taste was generally pleasant and sweet. So my fears about this flavour were completely unnecessary and together with raspberry it is definitely the best flavour.
• The coconut 6/10 , although it smelled quite nice, tasted very bland and insipid in the end. It also contained an awful lot of insoluble bits again, which made it very difficult to drink.
• Peanuts 6/10 Unfortunately, thepeanuts again left a lot of insoluble bits. In the end, however, this was one of the better flavours, even though I'm not a huge fan of peanuts.

So the flavours are not great in terms of taste. This is because the manufacturer doesn't use any controversial sweeteners or artificial flavors. So it's up to you whether you prefer a quality formula or a good tasting protein.

Affordability

So, finally, what about the affordability of these unique proteins? As with most of the previous criteria, the overall price of each protein varies slightlydepending on whether and how you mix your protein or which mix you choose.

The price of a 700g pack can therefore range anywhere between 499 and . This means that a single serving will set you back somewhere between 25 and , which is a bit higher than many of us would imagine. On the other hand, you can mix your own protein and you have the best possible ingredients to choose from.

Where to buy this protein cheapest?

Final verdict

So, the final rating is a bit problematic with these proteins. On the one hand, they are supplements with great and high-quality ingredients that you can also customize. On the other hand, these proteins are priced quite high. Moreover, when I compare them with recently reviewed high quality proteins like Protein&Co CFM Whey Protein 80 or Prom-In CFM Stevia Protein, I can't shake the impression that rather than quality you are paying extra for the ability to mix and match your protein. There's nothing wrong with that of course, it's a very unique option that I would definitely recommend you try sometime.

However, for fitness exercisers, I find one of the aforementionedWhere you get comparable quality for a lower price, plus a much better taste. However, who wants to try mixing his own protein or find the relatively high price and quite problematic taste are not afraid to invest in NaturalProtein proteins. For your money, you will get a high-quality protein with the added value of so-called "superfoods", which is definitely worth a try.

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