Unboxed: 7 clean non-protein powders to power smoothies
Powders are more than just protein sources. A new generation of clean, no-protein powders offers convenience and colors to customers' smoothies.
![Unboxed: 7 clean non-protein powders to power smoothies Unboxed: 7 clean non-protein powders to power smoothies](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltce3f72f067e0d6f4/64ff19e925afb6ca41e10440/unboxed-powders-cover.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
5.29 oz / 30 servings SRP: $17.99 Hopping on the collagen bandwagon is this plant-based alternative to traditional animal collagen protein. The ingredients start with the company’s signature wheatgrass, which provides its distinctive green color when added to water. There’s also amla, camu camu, acerola cherry, schisandra and maqui. Biotin, sourced from sesbania leaf, is added to make sure skin and nails are supported like a proper collagen would do. Plus, it’s all USDA Organic.
10.6 oz / 30 servings SRP: $44.99 How many red foods can be blended to make red? How about beet root, sweet potato root, cabbage leaf, pomegranate, tart cherry, grape seed, raspberry and strawberry—with a little blueberry and acai thrown in to balance out the color? All those fruits mean some sugars, but only 7 grams per serving (monk fruit is added), along with 3 grams of fiber. A probiotic blend of 1 billion CFUs is included, of Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. acidophilus and Saccharomyces bouldardii. Tastes sweet and kind of beet-y.
9.4 oz. / 30 servings SRP: $34.99 Green drinks are hip; can blue drinks catch on? Everything about this says “fun!” The little illustrations on the canister. The copy. It’s all to help people melt their sorrows. We can talk about the adaptogenic king, ashwagandha. Or the soothing lemon balm. Or the chill passion flower. Or the roundly powerful reishi mushrooms. Or the blue spirulina, mostly there to drill home the blues message. (The coconut sugar and monk fruit add sweetness.) All organic. But instead we’ll just leave you with this excerpt from the package: “Imagine yourself adrift in an azure limbo, floating among the clouds, a feather borne on fragrant springtime breezes. Your mind wanders to an elysian field of wildflowers, where—uh, hello? You still there? Hey, HEY. Snap out of it! You’re gonna knock something over!” ’Nuff said, right?
12.7 oz / 60 servings SRP: $28.95 The old standby of digestive health and regularity is fiber. A teaspoon serving of this powder provides 4 grams fiber from psyllium husk, as well as the odorless, colorless, tasteless Fibersol-2. And there’s more—oat fiber, the prebiotic inulin and chia seed. Then, there’s three probiotics—Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, Bifidobacterium bifidum and B. lactis. Oddly, the probiotics are not listed on the Supplements Facts panel but in the other ingredients listing below the panel, so we don’t know how many CFUs of the probiotics are included. The company notes it is redesigning labels, so we hope they get the ingredient deck figured out. The powder is mild with just a hint of sweetness.
6.6 oz / 25 servings SRP: $29.95 Red seems to be the “in” color, which is ironic because Republicans got swept out of power this year. Just goes to show that politics and nutrition don’t mix. But this USDA Organic, gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, sustainably sourced, keto-friendly—and, significantly, 100% fermented, for improved uptake by the body—powder mixes quite well and goes down like a blue wave. The powder does not immediately disappear in water, but it’s not chunky at all and it tastes lightly fruity.
5 oz / 30 servings SRP: $27.99 An early entrant to Costco, Youtheory and its distinctive square plastic containers are now using the branded ingredient TurmiPure GOLD for its curcumin. Because of bioavailability concerns over curcumin—remember, turmeric is the spice and what can be considered the tree, while curcumin is the extract and is like the apples on the tree—TurmiPure GOLD enhances the absorption. Curcumin wars provide curcumin at varying levels of bioavailability at multiples over the plain stuff; this one, from ingredient supplier Naturex, boasts 24 times more absorbable in a water-dispersible form that makes it easy to blend in even plain old water without mixing and is also to account for its heightened bioavailability. Three grams of added organic cane sugar (plus xylitol and monk fruit) helps the medicine go down.
7.14 oz / 30 servings SRP: $75.95 This high-end post-workout powder is Informed-Sport certified so consumers can feel confident in the cleanliness of the formulation. The Recovera branded ingredient, from Anderson Advanced Ingredients, is a prickly pair cactus extract that has been shown at 1,000 mg to modulate the insulin response and stimulate nutrient uptake in cells of the attendant amino acids in the formulation. The R3PAIR product uses the 1,000 mg, which leads to shorter muscle recovery time, helps reduce muscle soreness and modulates the inflammatory response. The cat’s claw addition promotes mobility in the joints. The formulation is gluten-free and vegan. The powder is a light brown, but in water it turns pink.
7.14 oz / 30 servings SRP: $75.95 This high-end post-workout powder is Informed-Sport certified so consumers can feel confident in the cleanliness of the formulation. The Recovera branded ingredient, from Anderson Advanced Ingredients, is a prickly pair cactus extract that has been shown at 1,000 mg to modulate the insulin response and stimulate nutrient uptake in cells of the attendant amino acids in the formulation. The R3PAIR product uses the 1,000 mg, which leads to shorter muscle recovery time, helps reduce muscle soreness and modulates the inflammatory response. The cat’s claw addition promotes mobility in the joints. The formulation is gluten-free and vegan. The powder is a light brown, but in water it turns pink.
Powders offer the promise of being free of fillers and full of life. They are a delicious, pill-free way to get a nutritional boost, and they aren't all about protein anymore.
Check out these new shelf-stockers that pack a big-time nutritional punch with nothing to choke down and no non-nutritive fillers or excipients to worry about. Oh sure, they have sugar, but not a lot—and most get their sweetness from low- or no-calorie natural sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia. We even taste-tested them so you can give solid recommendations based on our expert palettes.
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