If you read our articles regularly, you will know our attitude towards various instant food substitutes. But recently, while browsing the shelves of a drugstore, I discovered the popular Shake-It, which has been experiencing a huge boom lately. Without checking the ingredients at all, I bought four sachets (perhaps out of a bit of a recession) and when I found out at home just how good the ingredients really are, I had to share my impressions with others in the form of this review.
So how does Shake-It taste? Which variant is the best? How does it compare to other supplements in this category? Find out that and much more in today's review.
Content of the review
Just for completeness I would like to add that I tried this drink in three flavours - Choco Bomb, Red Berries and Protein Banana-maracuja, thusyou can look forward not only to a review of the ingredients, but also to a comparison of the variants themselves with each other.
A very solid formula that is among the best
Often times you can come across supplements on the market that look very serious, but underneath the minimalist packaging there are unusable, low-quality and cheap ingredients. Shake-It looks the opposite. When I first saw the packaging design, it evoked in me some over-sweetened and chemical cocktail for little Marvel comics fans. But if you don't be fooled by the rather odd packaging and look at the ingredientsyou 'll find a lot of interesting ingredients that come together to make a really good combination. Since the different variants are a bit different from each other, let's introduce the Choco Bomb variant to illustrate:
- Gluten-free oatmeal, which is a great source of fibre, complex carbohydrates and oat beta-glucans.
- 10% Crushed chia seeds, which are now considered a great superfood and are also high in omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids.
- 12% Unroasted cocoa, which gives the product an absolutely amazing taste without the unnecessary representation of simple sugars. In addition, cocoa has a high content of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
- Coconut sugar, which is used to sweeten the drink, but contains more zinc, iron and prebiotics (e.g. inulin) than conventional beet sugar.
- Rice protein is a really good source of protein because it has a high content of cysteine and methionine. Personally, I would welcome a second source of protein in the product as rice protein alone contains only a minimal amount of proteinogenic lysine. This could be increased, for example, by adding pea protein. However, it is not.
- Indian plantain (psyllium), which is an excellent source of soluble fibre. As a result, it helps to reduce bloating, cleanses the intestinal walls and promotes regular bowel movements.
- Steviol glycosides, which come from a plant called stevia. In our article on sweeteners, we give it more attention while pointing out that its harm score is the lowest of all sweeteners.
As I pointed out at the beginning of this paragraph, the composition of the different variants varies slightly. We have tried the Protein variant in addition to this one, which reliably solves the problem with one protein source. You will find 4 different proteins (rice, pea, sunflower, rice, pea, sunflower). and pumpkin), while the other ingredients remain essentially the same. So in terms of composition, it is definitely better to pay extra for the Protein variant and have a complete meal.
Everyone will appreciate the hassle-free preparation in the morning
When you get up in the morning, are you full of energy and looking forward to cooking a hot breakfast? I usually don't. That's why I found the Shake-It extremely easy to prepare and took me 30 seconds. I put roughly 250ml of milk in a shaker, dumped out a sachet of the stuff, just shook it a few times and the drink was ready. This is not a breakfast staple, but if you add fruit and yoghurt, for example, to this drink, a healthy and quick breakfast is in the world. When prepared, the Shake-It did not form any lumps, did not foam and dissolved almost instantly.
With milk it tastes absolutely brilliant
As every whey protein user has probably noticed, the taste of whey protein is much better with milk. But unlike Shake-It, you use it after a workout, when prolonged absorption is not desirable. But since I regularly included Shake-It for breakfast, any extra calories or extended absorption didn't bother me, hence my use of lactose-free milk. So my flavor rating looks like this:
- Chocolate (Choco Bomb) - This flavor definitely caught my eye the most of all. After preparation, it has a thick consistency that surprised me. The aroma is quite inoffensive, but the hint of chocolate is noticeable. After tasting it, you will find that the taste is quite natural and the cocoa is really strong in the drink. For all the variations of this drink contain whole pieces, but that didn't bother me at all. In lactose-free milk, the taste of bittersweet cocoa stands out much better than in water, which is why I would prefer milk. I rate the Chocolate Shake-It 10 out of 10.
- Red Berries - While the chocolate was hardly sweet at all, it tasted much more intense in the same amount of milk and was also much sweeter. However, the smell and taste were reminiscent of breakfast cereals that I personally like very much, but I don't use them because of the large amount of sugar. In the case of Red berries, the taste of fruit is definitely noticeable, you can smell the fruit in the drinkhints of both raspberries and strawberries, with the raspberries slightly predominating in my opinion. The consistency is again very thick and you will also enjoy this shake. The flavour is good, but I will prefer chocolate in the future. I rate the Red Berries 9.5 out of 10.
- Protein Banana and Maracuja is perhaps the only thing that spoiled my overall impression of the Shake-It, as it definitely ranks among the worst things I've ever tasted. The taste is natural, without any chemical flavourings, but due to the specific taste of the vegetable proteins, the whole drink is also bitter and very hard to drink. I honestly didn't notice the banana at all, the passion fruit is a bit more noticeable, nothingyou only recognise it after you've finished all the vegetable proteins, which don't really stand out. I wasn't even able to finish this variant myself and therefore I rate it only 2 points out of 10.
A double look at the price
When I bought this shake at the drugstore, I paid nearly for a packet of the regular version, and more for the protein version. This is a price for which you probably won't find any other shake providing such a spectrum of nutrients. On the other hand, it is important to note that while such Anapur, which we tested some time ago, contains 440 kcal, Shake-It does not have even half of that. Along with that comes a smaller satiating effect, so all things considered, it doesn't ultimately come out that much cheaper. Still, I think it is a good investment that is worth a try.
Where to buy Shake-IT cheapest?
Final evaluation
Shake-It was frankly a very pleasant surprise for our entire team. The taste is great as well as the ingredients. What is missing in the regular variant is of course improved in the protein variant. The preparation takes a few seconds and if you have busy mornings like us, this supplement will definitely help you. On the other hand, it wouldn't fill me up on its own, so I have to prepare another meal anyway, but for a nice start to the day, Shake-It is ideal.
Other expert reviews
- Gyokuro [experience]: Not so ordinary green tea
- Erebos [review]: natural energy drink with a good composition
- Blendea Supercoffee [review]: miracle coffee with medicinal mushrooms?
- Blue tea [review]: the most used plant of Ayurveda helps you to overall vitality
- Anapur [review]: another nutritional nonsense or a good diet replacement?
