Protein shakes/bars WITHOUT artificial sweeteners

MissAllison
MissAllison Posts: 33
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
I try my best to stay away from artificial sweeteners. I'm looking for suggestions for a good protein shake/bar that is naturally sweetened but not excessively high in calories. I'm tired of standing around in the store reading tons of labels. And I'm tired of buying something and throwing it out after one drink/bite because (even though I read through the ingredients) I failed to notice that it contained artificial sweetener.

Please share - what are your favorite products? thanks! :smile:

Replies

  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I suggest going to a health food store. My local health food store has a great selection of protein shakes and they're all natural, some are organic, and none have artificial sweeteners or genetically engineered ingredients.

    I've been using Bluebonnet whey protein powder, but it has Stevia in it. While it's natural, it has a weird taste, I like natural sugar or fruit juice sweeteners much better.
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
    I use Jillian Michael's protein powder. It's sweetened with stevia. It comes in chocolate and vanilla, and both taste great.
  • caitska
    caitska Posts: 1
    I used the Vanilla Whey protein powder from BioChem, it is all natural and sweetened with Stevia. It tastes great in smoothies and you can get it at Health Food strores or else it is cheaper to by it online at vitacost.com.
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
    As far as protein bars, CLif Builders Bars have mostly organic ingredients, they are sold at Whole Foods which I beleive doesn't not allow any of it's products to contain artificial sweeteners.

    They are 270 calories though, but very tasty.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Pure Protein (I get it at Target for about $18 for a 1.6lb container) isn't too bad. They have all natural protein powders that use fructose and stevia extract. 130 calories. 2g fat (1g sat fat). 23g protein. 5g carbs. (It tastes like it has artificial sweetener though. I guess that's the Stevia)

    I'm not much on artificial sweeteners and I try and stay away from them but have to admit that their regular powder Frosty Chocolate (uses sucralose - like Splenda) is absolutely yummy. It thickens the milk up and tastes kind of like a melted milkshake.
  • Tree72
    Tree72 Posts: 942 Member
    For protein bars I like Odwalla and Kashi brands. And if you're not too worried about fat, just overall calories, the Honey Stingers taste great. All of these are in the 170 to 210 calorie range and don't have any artificial sweeteners.

    For a protein drink I use Biochem sports natural flavor. It's just a whey protein isolate with no sweeteners of any kind (20g protein, 1g carbs per serving). I add it to a cup of nonfat milk or blend it into a fruit smoothie. I tried a few of the protein shakes and just couldn't deal with all the other ingredients.
  • Mike523
    Mike523 Posts: 393 Member
    Right now I'm using Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard Natural Whey:

    http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/natural-100-whey-gold-standard-p-202.html

    I bought it because it is advertised as having no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors. I later found out that the ingredient Rebaudioside A is a Stevia-based sweetener made by PepsiCo. The problem is, I have read multiple articles that state that Rebaudioside A is anything but a natural Stevia sweetener, but instead is a highly refined, chemically processed product which contains only part of the molecule of a genetically modified Stevia plant. Not so natural if you ask me...

    But I bought the tub already and it cost more than $40, so I'm going to use it. In the future I plan to buy Now Foods Whey Protein Isolate:

    http://www.nowfoods.com/Products/ProductsAlphabetically/M014822.htm

    This is 100% pure whey protein isolate with no sugar, no sweeteners, no colors, no flavors, nothing. Since I just add it to a recovery smoothie anyway, I don't need it to be chocolate flavored...
  • dwallace27
    dwallace27 Posts: 33
    Think thin bars and cliff builder bars have no artificial sweeteners and are the best tasting protein bars ever!! I buy them at whole foods and smoothie king (about 210-230 calories and 20g protein per bar). If you have a whole foods or health food store near your home try there for products without artificial sweeteners. I am positive that WF does not carry products with artificial sweeteners. Hope this helps:)
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Luna Bars are 70% organic and don't use artificial sweeteners or GMO's. Plus, they're really yummy! I love the white chocolate macadamia and blueberry bliss.
  • MissAllison
    MissAllison Posts: 33
    Thanks for all the great info! Thanks for all the suggestions and for the tip about Whole Foods - I think I'll head over there this weekend (only a 15 or 20 minute drive, just not close enough to be a store I frequent...).
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
    I started taking protein because normally I only get like 30 grams a day if I don't supplement. I found the body fortress super whey protein shots. It's 26 grams of protein for 110 calories. Here's the website for it: http://www.bodyfortress.com/SUPER-PROTEIN-SHOT I don't know about sugars because I can't find anything that says about them..so, maybe there aren't any? I don't know...but since I don't have to worry about sugars, and I don't know if these have them or not, they work good for me:)
  • run100mi
    run100mi Posts: 1
    Sadly the Body Fortress products use BOTH surcralose and Acesulfame Potassium.

    Seems they should be skipped if you are trying to avoid artificial sweeteners as I am.
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