Shake, shake, shake Señora

Time for a review!

As a member of the Zumba Instructor Network, I get to scope out new Zumba stuff before it gets out.  Zumba's latest offerings include meal replacement shakes.  Being that I've made these things a part of my life already (because I just can't get myself committed to a "real" breakfast on the weekdays, no matter how hard I try), I quickly ordered my samples* so that I could see how they stack up compared to other shake products I like.

The hype looked great: plant-based protein (vegan formula, in fact), fiber, probiotics, 100 calories per serving, no artificial sweeteners (uses stevia and monkfruit).

The cost is comparable with other shakes that are sold through programs (and cheaper if you use auto-ship/subscription and buy through an affiliate.)  At the lowest cost option (~$99/bag/month) and 30 servings in a bag, the cost per shake works out to $3.30.  I've split up my review into a section for each of the three flavors, and we can check them out together throughout the week.

(For consistency's sake, and to keep my evaluation as close to my existing shakes as possible, I mixed each of the packets with 8 oz of original, unsweetened almond milk and 8 oz of water.)

La Vida Mocha 4/12/16:


I tried this flavor first because I thought it was the flavor I was most likely to dislike.  I love coffee, but sometimes coffee-flavored foods are pretty gross.  I enjoyed this one.  The shake was sweet, without being overbearing, and you can taste both the chocolate flavors and the coffee flavors.  The taste was a little one-dimensional (I didn't get goosebumps or anything, although this is a "fitness shake"), but all of the pieces were there.

The texture made me really happy too.  I've had other brands of shakes where the powder is pretty grainy and leaves quite a bit of chunky/chewy material in the shake to get stuck to the bottom of your cup.  This powder was ground very fine and incorporated well with the almond milk and water to make a smooth product.

As far as curbing hunger/appetite, I got a good 4 hours out of the shake before I started to get hungry for lunch, which is comparable with other products on the market.  Overall, while I don't think the coffee flavor is an every-day flavor for me, I definitely enjoyed this shake, and thought it was as good or better in many ways than other shakes I have used in the past.

Thrilla in Vanilla 4/13/16:

After drinking the Vanilla on day two, my conclusion is that the flavors in these shakes are generally pretty mild.  If you crack one open expecting ice-cream-type vanilla flavor, you will probably be disappointed.  That said, the flavor is not bad (I enjoy it) and I think it would probably make a great base for adding in other flavors (raspberry please!)

Again today, the texture was surprisingly smooth for a protein shake.  I did not get the degree of grainy that I've had with other products.  Across the flavors so far, the shakes stand up as a meal replacement, my body has been feeling pretty full and satisfied having just the powder and some almond milk in the mornings.  If you wanted to dress these up with some additional fruit or veggie items, I think you would have even better success.  I'm currently just doing breakfast shakes, but I can see that with add-ins you could do a 2-shake-per-day with these and feel satisfied.




Cocoa Loco 4/14/16:

My final day of samples was the Cocoa Loco flavor.  I've got to say again, the flavors in the shakes are very mild/gentle.  I did not get a lot of chocolate out of this, in the way you would expect for chocolate milk.  I may have liked the mocha flavor better!  I think if you put a tablespoon of cocoa powder in to kick it up a little (about another 10-12 calories) you would have a more chocolaty experience.

The sweetness was right on point though, and I think I like the combo of stevia and monk fruit as a sweetener.  I had never heard of monk fruit before I found out about Zumba's shakes, so I enjoyed learning about another natural sweetening option.

The texture in this mix was about the same as the others, and the shake went down pretty smooth and easy.  If I were going to do the chocolate on a regular basis, I would definitely be relying on add-ins (banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, peppermint extract) to pump the flavor up over the long term, but again, I did enjoy the shake overall.



Wrap Up:

I like the Zumba shake offerings.  There are things I really love about them, and things I think they could keep working on in the future.  I have not used them long-term like other products I am used to, so I can't speak to their long-term protein effectiveness (plant-based vs. whey) or to their long-term weight loss/control benefits, but as far as cost relative to other comparable products, taste, texture, and nutrition profile I think I am a fan.  Let me know what you think!


*DISCLAIMER: 
As a ZIN ™ member I received these samples free of charge.  Also, as a member of Zumba's affiliate program, if you utilize my affiliate code to get a discount when you order from Zumba, I receive a kick-back.  I was not solicited for this review, and the feedback and content of the reviews are my own.