This Protein Powder Review will help guide you to pick your favorite protein powder. You’ll be able to choose your favorite based on taste, ingredients, availability, and price.
CLEAN EATING PROTEIN POWDERS
Which protein powder do you use? <<< That is a question we are frequently asked! Honestly, we use different protein powders and wanted to share a few of our favorites with you.
We’ve explained protein powders and why you need protein, how much you need, and the different types of protein powder previously. We’ve also mentioned what to seek and avoid in a clean protein powder (artificial sweeteners, unnecessary additives, etc.).
Now we reviewed some of the cleaner protein powders we’ve tried based on taste and cleanliness and provide the pros and cons of each below. We will be sure to come back and update this post as needed.
- Scott’s Favorite Protein Shake: Blueberry Avocado Protein Smoothie
- Whitney’s Favorite Protein Shake: Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Protein Shake
Want to try a vegan protein powder? We reviewed those too!
THE BEST HEALTHY PROTEIN POWDERS – REVIEWED:
NOW Sports Grass-Fed Whey Protein Concentrate, Creamy Chocolate
- Taste – 10/10
- Cleanliness – 10/10
- Pros – uses grass-fed whey without any sugar added, tastes great and mixes very easily
- Cons – this contains xylitol which some people have digestive issues with plus Xanthan gum is added to help thicken up your shakes when added with water…just not a necessary ingredient, in our opinion. Also, it is a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for with higher product quality!
- Overall – great taste, very trustworthy company with extremely high production standards with Informed Sport and Informed Choice certifications
- Where to Find It – Amazon
ProMix Grass-Fed Whey Protein (Unflavored)
- Taste – 10/10
- Cleanliness – 10/10 (pure grass-fed whey from Northern California farmers with non-GMO sunflower lecithin)
- Pros – grass-fed and undenatured means you’re consuming the purest protein available; sunflower lecithin is added to help with mixing, so soy ingredients are avoided
- Cons – powder can get clumpy when mixing with a blender bottle; also, it is a bit more expensive than other proteins on the market
- Overall – the upper echelon of protein powders on the market – completely clean. We typically purchase the unflavored powder so it’s more flexible with different recipes and does not include sugar. If we want vanilla, we just add vanilla extract. Want chocolate? Just add cocoa powder.
- Where to Find It – Amazon
Naked Whey Grass Fed Whey Protein Powder
Naked Whey sent us a container of their protein powder to try. We LOVED the protein powder and the fact that it is a great protein powder option for a clean eating diet (more on that below). I’m honestly so surprised we had never heard of it until now, which is why we wanted to share it with you ASAP!
- Taste – 10/10
- Cleanliness – 10/10
- Pros – from grass-fed cows’ milk, no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners, 25 grams of protein per serving
- Cons – availability: only available on Amazon or the Naked Whey website
- Overall – completely clean, available in many great flavors, try different options: blending with frozen fruit, vanilla, cocoa powder, stevia (if desired), etc
- Where to Find It – Amazon or the Naked Whey website
SDC Nutrition – About Time – Whey Protein Isolate (Birthday Cake Batter)
- Taste – 8/10
- Cleanliness – 7/10
- Pros – uses only a few ingredients; does not have any artificial sweeteners; high in BCAAs; whey protein isolate = faster and better absorption; all-natural protein and they seek milk protein from cattle not injected with hormones or antibiotics; heavy metal tests results are extremely low and they actually put the results on their site!; great product disclosure and very trustworthy
- Cons – the only reason this did not get a 10 is because it is not organic and they also use soy lecithin, which likely isn’t organic either; a little more expensive than the other brands, but worth the cost
- Overall – great taste, plenty of flavors, but I’ve only tried the birthday cake batter. We wish it didn’t have soy!
- Where to Find It – Amazon
Optimum Nutrition – Gold Standard Natural – 100% Whey (Chocolate)
- Taste – 7/10
- Cleanliness – 5/10
- Pros – uses whey isolate as a primary protein source; does not have any artificial sweeteners; contains digestive enzymes for better absorption; uses only a few ingredients
- Cons – does not disclose whether or not milk protein source has been injected with hormones or antibiotics; contains soy (lecithin) which is used as an emulsifier
- Overall – certainly one of the better and more prevalent natural whey products on the market… if this is all you can find, great, but not my first choice.
- Where to Find It – Amazon
Needless to say, there are plenty of good, clean protein powders on the market for you to choose from and this is just a sample of the products I’ve tried – there are plenty of other natural protein powders to choose from, but the main ingredients you want to avoid are the artificial sweeteners (Acesulfame Potassium or Ace K, Sucralose, and definitely aspartame), additives (natural/artificial flavors) and food colorings. As I said in my previous post, it would be ideal to get all of your protein from whole food sources, but with our busy lifestyles and hectic schedules, protein powder is a necessity for active individuals.
Browse our protein shake recipes here and learn about one unexpected ingredient we add to all of our shakes here.
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Whitney Carlson says
COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS WEBSITE (ADMIN):
Great review, thanks
Hey! Your website is amazing! THANKYOU for all of your help and support, you will never really know how much you have helped me become the woman I have always imagined. I have recently heard of Bode by vemma protein powder, would you personally use this?
People, trust the guy, just tried only protein (hard to get in my country, paid over 30$ for shipping ..) but it is awesome. Taste is different but great (now, don’t compare it with syntha-6 cookies, that is like actually eating a home made cookie..but also so stuffed with fillers plus over 200kcal/scoop!). would gladly pay 40& for only protein, but 35shipping … that takes me to 8-$/jug witch is too much (75+5$ local tax).
Stop buying things you are unsure, things with carageenan, Sucralose,acesulfame-K and the #1 red/blue stuff … YOU DON’T NEED IT! also, they must learn an respect us, the consumers, and stop thing MGo bullshit. But only YOU can make it happen, not buying the damn crap! You need protein but don’t afford things like only protein? buy milk,eggs,fish,chicken,beef,pig,cheese etc etc etc. Regards.
You have provided a great public service. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this information! Im looking for a good protein powder for getting lean muscle, but im trying to cut down on costs.
I just wanted to thank you for this post. I am new to clean eating and I cut out protein powder because I was having a difficult time locating one that wasnt filled with sugars or artificial flavoring. I appreciate the time you took to review these.
Keep up the great work!
Ok,so I’m a raw, newbie with eating clean, and am trying to do it gradually, cutting out the most obvious culprits first, and then tackling the rest one at a time!!! I rely on protein shakes for my lifestyle, and I actually enjoy them. My all time fave (best match of taste/protein value/low carb/price) is Kaizen Whey from Costco!! (goes on sale for $38 for a HUUUGE bucket!)
Ingredients: Undenatured cross-flow microfiltration whey isolate, whey protein isolate 97%, Cocoa, Natural Flavours, Soy Lecithin, sucralose (Splenda, 20mg/41g) Stevia Leaf.
Thanks SO much for doing this!!!!! Amazing!!!
Thanks for doing this review of clean protein powders. It helps me shop without wasting money by trying several before I find the ones I like. I have just purchased the trial pack from About Time and look forward to the Cake Batter flavor. Keep up the good work!
This was an awesomely helpful post! Thank you.
What do you use to mix your protein powder in? Are you just mixing in water?
Thanks so much for all of the information!
breann conroy says
My husband said he just read an article that Optimum Nutrition just changed their formula and has surcalose in it now. Do you know if this is true?
Hannah says
I used these reviews over 6 years ago when I first started exercising. I come back to it every now and again when I want to try a different one. The About Time protein is delicious albeit pricy. Thanks for the comparison!