Thursday, April 02, 2009

Shakeology Taste Test

This isn't really a Shakeology taste test. Nothing in its class compares so that wouldn't even be interesting. But read on and you'll understand a bit about why. I'm re-purposing something from my Mailbag.

Bobby from Norco writes:

I see that you have some fructose in Shakeology. You also have stevia, fruit extracts, and yacon, which I’ve heard is a sweetener. What’s the function of the fructose?


=================================

Bobby, have you ever tried to drink a greens formula shake for dessert?

This story goes way back. The official Shakeology story begins with Carl getting together with his wife, Isabelle, who chided him about “eating like a second grader.” Indeed, that was probably the catalyst for it to move into development but I’d been working on Carl for years prior. The first time I put a green concoction in front of him he just sat there looking at it. After a long pause he said, “I’m supposed to drink this?” I don’t think he bothered tasting it.

You see, it’s pretty easy to throw a lot of healthy ingredients into the same container. The trick is getting these things to be appetizing. If they tasted great, and were easy to prepare, we’d already be getting plenty in our diet. But up until Shakeology it seemed like anybody making an all-inclusive meal in a bottle was happy enough to fill it full of nutrients and let the taste fall where it may. The resulting formulations tended to taste like sand or—wait--Carl did try one of my concoctions. He said it tasted like he got dumped into a swamp.

Of all the obstacles we faced creating Shakeology by far the biggest hurdle was taste. Yes, Bobby, yacon is a sweetening agent. It’s also the most potent prebiotic known to man. The fruit blend is also sweet, and loaded with polyphenols as well. And stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar. But any chef knows the importance of not just adding ingredients but balancing them, and that’s what we had to do with Shakeology. The few grams of fructose powder used is to balance the flavor, and we went through many rounds of development before we got this right.

As for the results; I challenge you to pick up a “superfood” shake at the local holistic market and whip it up side by side with Shakeology. The only downside is that you may end up wasting money. I’ve still got a couple of jars of that stuff in my fridge that haven’t been touched since we finalized the Shakeology formulation.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

The stuff is AMAZING. I can't imagine a day without it. Literally!

bob banks said...

Good to see Bobby from Norco is still inquisitive.

Steve Edwards said...

Man, that guy asks a lot of questions.

Carl Daikeler said...

I had a "mini-vomit" moment, reliving that swamp bog you made me drink.

Viva la Shake!

CoachMonica said...

Hey Steve:
Thanks for being part of this Shakeology Craze. We have tried every type of Meal Replacement, Whey type drink out there. I use to do Infomercials so I had all kinds of samples sent. My boyfriend was my "White Rat" so the only thing we thought up until now that would compare was Jay Robb.
Right now he is injured (he's a marathoner & cyclist so he is bummed & is now reduced to walking (past all his friends)Thinks he has a Sports Hernia-OUCH.
Again, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. Lovin the Chocolate!

Keith Williams said...

Steve,

Loving my Shakeology. I've been using it to replace supper. I've been trying it this way since normally we have our biggest meal at that time, but yet are the least active after it.

I just wondered if there is a "best" meal to replace with it?

Is it possible though that drinking it that late may be keeping me from being able to wind down a bit at night and go to sleep?

Thanks!

Keith

Anonymous said...

Steve, what do you think of this?
http://bit.ly/dwjNUT

Steve Edwards said...

Lanny,

There's an FAQ about that on the boards. Even in reference to that article you could have Shakeology every single day of the year and consume less fructose than we did in 1900. Fructose is not a problem when consumed in, say, fruit and could never be. The problem is that it's in everything. The small amount in Shakeology is perfectly healthy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Steve,

I like Dr. Mercola, but some of his stuff sounds way out there. I know Beachbody products are great and I trust what you are doing with the company. Shakeology is a great product. Thanks again.