The Perfect Protein-The Quest to find the Best.

Taste Testing for Years

Man, I have seriously tried more than forty different brands and types of powdered protein in the last twenty or so years, trying to find one that actually tastes good, and lately that doesn’t destroy my stomach. Its hard to find a good balance between calories, flavor, protein content, and sugar content.

I’ve tried some that taste really good but have only have about 20grams of protein per scoop (35gram scoop), with alot of sugar. And others that have a higher protein content, low sugar, but taste and smell like last weeks socks. When I think I’ve found one that seems to check all the right boxes, my stomach says NOPE!

Protein is an essential nutrient that is important for building and repairing tissues in the body, as well as for the production of enzymes and hormones. There are many different types of protein, each with its own unique benefits.

Whey: Whey protein powder is a fast digesting protein that is commonly used in sports nutrition supplements. It is quickly absorbed by the body, making it ideal for post workout recovery. Whey protein is derived from milk during the cheese making process. It is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own.

Casein: Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein that is often used before bed to provide a sustained release of amino acids throughout the night. It is rich in glutamine, an amino acid that supports immune function and gut health.

Soy: Soy protein is a plant-based protein that is rich in essential amino acids. It is a good alternative for those who are lactose intolerant or who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Pea: Pea protein is another plant-based protein that is rich in essential amino acids. It is hypoallergenic and easily digestible, making it a good choice for those with food sensitivities.

Egg: Egg protein is a high-quality protein that is rich in essential amino acids. It is often used in sports nutrition supplements and is a good alternative for those who cannot tolerate whey or soy protein.

Collagen: Collagen protein is a type of protein that is found in skin, bones, and connective tissues. It is rich in the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which support healthy skin, joints, and bones.

I wasn’t always picky about the protein supplements I would chug after working out but as I’ve gotten older my stomach has turned against me, and I’ve started choosing brands that contain less sugar. I finally decided to try several vegan protein brands about a year ago. You really have to go through some taste testing to find the right one. There are a few that seriously taste like blended cardboard and grass clippings. I don’t know who at their company tested and released those products to the world but something is wrong with their taste buds.

These are some that I’ve tried and made it to the top of my go-to list. As you’ll probably notice, I can’t stand much of the plain old Strawberry, Chocolate, and Vanilla anymore.

I was on one deployment overseas and had ONLY strawberry Myoplex, for about 8 months. I can’t even stand the smell anymore. These new flavors are awesome.

If you have no idea what some of the Ingredients in your Protein are, check out the SUPPLEMENT GLOSSARY.

I did find one brand that is surprisingly good and it has pretty much been my #1 since I tried it.

PLANTA: My New Favorite Protein

Peanut Butter Cup

I’ve been using the plant-based powder from Ambrosia Collective called Planta. Their Peanut Butter Cup flavor is the best I’ve ever tried. The protein Content is at 20g per 34g gram scoop and only has 1g of sugar, with pretty much Vitamins A-Z which alot of other brands don’t have much of. And it seriously tastes like a Reese’s milk shake. I could drink several in one sitting. And since its 100% Pea and Organic Rice Protein it doesn’t mess up my stomach at all. So far this the the best protein powder supplement I have tried.

There are several flavors from Planta but my next two favorites are the Banana Maple French Toast and the Peanut Butter and Jelly.

You can kind of tell when you open a container of Protein and you get that first whiff of air that comes out whether its going to be good or not.

I’ve opened some tubs and got smacked in the face by a smell similar to when you don’t wash your wrist wraps regularly. Yeah you know what I’m talking about.

But as soon as you open a pack of Planta you just want to start eating the powder.

You know like when you were a kid and you dumped a pack of instant hot chocolate in your mouth because it smells so good?

They smell like that but better. Don’t judge me, I know some of you have done that too.

Try them all!

Order the Sample pack along with your favorite flavor to see which one you want to order next!

Use Code: ATOMTHEOPOLIS at the ambrosia collective checkout and get 10% off your order

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Jocko Molk

This one….. I seriously walked right past in the store more times than I can count, simply because I didn’t like the name, even though I had seen and heard about it on Instagram and on his Podcast.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

The Brand JOCKO MOLK is founded by Jocko Willink, a highly respected retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, Dichotomy of Leadership, host of the top-rated Jocko Podcast, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer, leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor. Jocko spent 20 years in the SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer.

I am a fan of Jocko Willink, have read all of his books, and listen to his podcast most of the time when I’m at the gym. But I was a little timid about trying the protein. I just figured it was another Military guy with a name, trying to make money on some cheap supplements. I had to eat my words later on.

A friend of mine told me he tried it and it was pretty good, so I finally went online and checked it out. It has a good amount of protein (22g) per scoop (30g) and only 1g of sugar.

Most of the reviews were good, some had me laughing. People are brutal on some of these reviews. And a few people complained that their lids didn’t fit right so they gave it 3 Stars…come on.

But anyways it seemed ok, so I went and bought some to try out.

I chose the Chocolate Peanut butter, which is my favorite with most protein brands and its easier to compare the taste if I buy the same flavor. I was impressed, the MOLK was good! It wasn’t gritty, or chunky after mixing in my shaker. And it didn’t have any kind of bitter or sugary aftertaste that some have. I think its the Monkfruit Sweetener that is used instead of Sucralose or Aspartame. It is a little more chocolatey than Planta’s brand, I prefer it to be a little more on the peanut buttery side, probably because I’m just tired of plain old chocolate. But it was surprisingly good.

It has a blend of Amino Acids that alot of other proteins tend to lack and also digestive enzymes and probiotics to help with stomach issues. After I drank my first shake I did feel a little bloated for a while, but it went away after a few minutes. There was no running to the bathroom or protein burps.

The flavor is good, protein content is good, sugar content is very low. No upset stomach, no weird aftertaste, and my lid fit just right. So its one of my new favorites. I’ll be ordering the Banana Cream Bomber once I’m done with the Chocolate Peanut Butter.

I haven’t tried these other flavors myself yet, but here they are if you want to check them out. I’ll pass on the Strawberry, but let me know how it tastes!

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Ghost

When checking out reviews online there quite a few that singled out GHOST as being one of the better tasting options, so when I saw they had so many different flavors other than the plain old vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry I decided to give it a shot.

Chips Ahoy

The flavor is pretty damn good and there are real bits of chocolate chip cookie in it which was quite a surprise. I’ve tried several brands that tasted chalky or had a weird aftertaste but this one was awesome. I guess it depends on whether you use milk or water to mix with but it did kind of taste similar to the Cereal Milk flavor they also offer. It blended well in my shaker cup and wasn’t clumpy at all. The protein content isn’t bad at 25grams per scoop (39 gram scoop) with a sugar content of 4grams per serving.

I’ve only tried the Chips Ahoy and Cereal Milk flavors, but Ghost offers serval other unique flavors that I will have to try in the future. All of Ghost’s Whey Protein flavors contain around the same amount of Protein (25-26g) and the same amount of sugar (1-4g) which is pretty good considering it tastes almost like a super sweet dessert milkshake.

Ghost Vegan

Ghost also offers a few vegan protein options with the same delicious unique flavors you won’t find in too many places. Each scoop contains 20G of pure, fully disclosed vegan protein derived from pea protein concentrate, organic pumpkin protein, and watermelon seed protein. Alot of plant-based proteins also contain soy, but Ghost uses sunflower alternatives in all of their protein products.

I didn’t even know watermelon seeds had protein in them…

Lastly this Brand of protein powder is easy on my stomach, even though it is Whey. I’ve had issues with bloating and discomfort with some other whey products, but this one sits well with my digestive system.

Ghost always puts out quality products. Check out my Blog Post to see their Pre Workout Powder-9 Best Pre Workout Supplements.

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SYNTHA 6

The Chocolate Syntha 6 had been my go-to for several years starting around 2008. It tasted better than Myoplex (which isn’t hard to do) and its way more affordable than some other major brands. But now with so many other options out there, it has dropped down on my list, but its still better than ALOT of others I’ve tried.

Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some

This new flavor, Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some is really good. I don’t know what they were thinking when they came up with the name, but nobody’s perfect… When you blend it with ice and milk it does taste like you’re drinking a sugary milkshake even though it only has 3g of sugar per serving. It has a strong vanilla scent with a little caramel, chocolate, and cookie dough flavors that are blended together perfectly.

They worked really hard on the flavors, but the 200 calories per serving is alot, with a protein content of only 22g per scoop (47g scoop). That’s a big scoop. If you’re like me that does double scoopers, that’s 44 grams of protein and 400 calories. I’d much rather stick with Planta where I can double scoop and get 40 grams with only 220 Calories.

There is a bit of an aftertaste its not a bad aftertaste, its just there. Probably due to the Sucralose and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Don’t get me wrong, the protein is really good, but I’m just comparing it to Planta and Jocko. There are at least 40 different proteins that I’ve tried and Syntha 6 is still way above them.

I have seriously tried some proteins that are just plain bad. Like I couldn’t give them away bad. First thing everyone does when you offer it is smell it, and if it doesn’t smell good its a big NO.

This Syntha 6 smells like when you walk into Cold Stone Creamery with the scent of waffle cone, chocolate and vanilla.

The only reason I started looking for other proteins is because Syntha 6 started to cause problems with my stomach. I guess because I’ve gotten older, or maybe my stomach just decided there was something in it that was unappealing. I’ve had other whey proteins that I didn’t have an issue with, but this one I have to take it easy with half servings.

If you’re looking for an awesome tasting protein at a good price check this one out. The calories per serving are a bit high, but some of you young bucks out there that are hitting the gym everyday trying to put on muscle, 200 calories is nothing to burn off.

Syntha 6 has kicked it up a notch in the last few years busting out these newer flavors. Guess they have to try and keep up with all the unique ideas the other companies are coming up with. Check these out.

The rest of them just have plain old names like “chocolate peanut butter” and “banana”. I wonder what happened to the person that came up with “Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some”. BSN Management was probably like, “Na Na Na Becky, sit yo ass down. You ain’t naming nothing else…ever”

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Dymatize ISO100

I’d never tried the Dymatize ISO100 brand at all until just recently. I have tried a few different “cereal” flavors in the last few years. Chocolate cereal milk, plain cereal milk, marshmallow cereal milk, and they’ve all kind of tasted the same. I saw this one at GNC and thought, well its Fruity Pebbles, and I love Fruity Pebbles, its my all time favorite cereal. So I grabbed grabbed it and headed home to try it out.

Fruity Pebbles

The first thing I noticed was the protein content was 25g per serving (30gram scoop) which is outstanding. Better than about 90% of other proteins on the market, and with a low calorie content and only 1g of sugar. Its priced a little high even though its in a smaller container with only 20 servings. And I don’t know if it was just mine, but when I opened it, it looked like someone had taken about 10 scoops out already. If they all come like that….come one Dymatize at least fill it to 3/4 full, I just paid $40 and $11.25 of it was Fruity Pebbles scented air.

But it does smell and taste like Fruity Pebbles! I could probably get my kids to drink it. It tastes sweet, but not overpowering, its just right, and doesn’t leave that funny after taste and weird feeling on your teeth when you’re finished, even though it has Sucralose and Stevia in it. After a few minutes I was expecting the bloating and stomach bubbles, but nothing ever happened. I actually went back into the kitchen and made another shake. It does say “easy digesting” but so do alot of others that have caused the “Stomach Tsunami”.

I was kind of excited to try the other flavors but they don’t have as much of a unique selection as other brands. They do have a birthday cake version of the Fruity Pebbles and a Cookies and Cream. But then they have Rich Chocolate, Fudge Brownie, and Gourmet Chocolate. Not sure if there’s much of a difference between “rich” and “gourmet”, seems like it would taste the same to me. But someone at that company really likes chocolate. I’m pretty burned out on chocolate unless it has peanut butter in it.

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Each type of protein powder supplement has its own unique benefits, and the best choice will depend on your individual needs and preferences. It’s important to choose a high quality protein source that is free from fillers and additives so do your research and check the labels. Always check out the reviews online, some people are pretty harsh when it comes to flavors and their taste tests, so they’re good for a laugh if you get bored.

Keep in touch and check back later, I am going to keep adding and updating this list…