Even five years ago, it was hard to find a high-quality, ready-to-drink plant-based protein shake in your run-of-the-mill grocery stores. Now almost all grocery stores and even many drug and convenience stores are flooded with healthy and nutritious plant-based protein shake options. While I have tried quite a few brands and certainly have my favorites, I recently stumbled upon the Forager Protein Shake while shopping at Whole Foods and decided to give it a try.

What constitutes a good plant-based protein shake?

I always looks look for simple, clean ingredients in my ready-to-drink protein drinks. I also strongly favor protein shakes with mostly organic ingredients, which is often harder to find in your everyday grocery stores. Singe serve plant-based protein shakes tend to be a bit expensive – so I tend to stock up when I see a good one on sale.

Lastly but most importantly, the protein drink must taste really good. Unfortunately, some plant-based protein drinks taste chalky or have an unpleasant aftertaste. I had high hopes for Forager’s protein shake based on my past experience with the brand’s other plan-based products and I was excited to give this protein shake a try!

A little about the Forager Project brand

The Forager Project brand was founded in 2013 and has become synonymous for creating organic, plant-based products which are not only good for your health but are also good for the planet. The two founders of Forager created the brand because they became super frustrated with deceptive food labels in the plant-based food space.

Forager offers a wide range of products, including plant-based milks, yogurts, yogurt drinks, sour cream, cheese alternatives and protein shakes and smoothies. I’ve tried several of their products before, including their unsweetened cashew vanilla yogurt, which is one of my faves and is in my fridge today. I haven’t been disappointed yet by Forager!

In addition to using organic ingredients, Forager Project products are all chemical free and non-GMO. They go through rigorous testing of all of their products to ensure quality ingredients are used and that they continuously deliver on their promises. While they have discontinued some past products like their juices, Forager Project continues to innovate and introduce new and exciting plant-based products.

What is the deal with the Forager Protein Shake?

The Forager Protein Shake is perfect for anyone following vegan or plant-based diets, those who are allergic to dairy or if you are just looking for a healthy protein shake with clean ingredients. Forager offers two flavors at the moment: Nuts & Vanilla and Nuts & Cocoa.

I ultimately decided to pick up the Nuts & Vanilla shake – and I must say that I was impressed even before I took a sip. First of all, Forager Project’s clean, distinctive packaging always draws me in.

What I love most about this protein shake are the ingredients.The ingredients are super simple, clean and almost all are organic. Better yet, there is no added sugar and the Forager Protein Nuts & Vanilla shake is sweetened with dates. You can’t get more natural than that.

The Nuts & Vanilla shake has 12 grams of protein – so like most protein shakes it will likely keep you full longer in the morning. It does have 18 grams of fat probably due to the coconut cream ingredient. The shake also includes a bit of calcium, iron and potassium in each 12 ounce bottle.

So how does it taste?

Truth be told, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the taste of this shake. Is it the tastiest plant-based shake on the market? No; however, this Forager Nuts & Vanilla Protein Shake tastes quite flavorful and there is absolutely no unpleasant aftertaste. I don’t think I have tasted a date-sweetened protein shake before so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

This Forager Protein Shake has the right balance of sweetness and nuttiness and you can distinctly taste the vanilla extract/vanilla bean flavor, which is often lacking from other vanilla flavored protein shakes. I also think this protein shake might make an excellent, protein-packed creamer for cold brew or iced coffees. Based on the amazing ingredients, my love for the brand and the taste, I will be adding this to my rotation of protein drinks. Overall, I give this Forager Protein Shake 4.25 stars out of 5 stars.

Click here and here for other recommended high quality protein shakes.