This week we were going to review Garden of Life RAW Meal, but the product didn’t arrive on time. Instead of just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, someone mentioned that they had seen that Special K, had released a new weight loss shake. We ran to the store and stopped when we saw the product. Special K is marketing the product as a protein shake, not meal replacement. Given that we just spent the time to define the difference, we were going to pass the buck.
Until we looked at the label and saw that it only had 10 grams of protein per serving. Really? We bought strawberry and dark chocolate and here we are to give the rundown.
Value
9.0
We ended up spending 16$ for eight bottles so the shake is a getting a solid 9 with a $2 per shake price tag. There is a convenience factor here that means you can get the shake at the store. It’s immediately negated by the fact that it only comes in four serving canisters…so there’s the awkward event of filling your cart full of weight loss shakes each month. It’s a bit much for some of us.
Hunger Blocker
6.7
Given that they are calling this a protein shake, you shouldn’t expect this to contain a lot of hunger blocking. We certainly weren’t. The shake contains 5 grams of dietary fiber, but that’s pretty much the only hunger blocking it contains. How much does a glass of chocolate milk fill you up? Well, that’s about the same you should expect from the Special K shakes.
Nutrition
9.0
For a protein shake, 10 grams of protein is ridiculously low. For a meal replacement it’s about average. They also have about 35% of your daily vitamins and minerals per serving which is perfect for replacing one of your three meals. However, 29 grams of carbs, 18 grams of sugar and 190 calories are just too high for us to rate them higher.
Taste
8.6
These shakes had an interesting smell to them. Not bad, necessarily, just there. Some of us aren’t really fans of dark chocolate and this shake wasn’t going to convince us otherwise. The dark chocolate got a “meh, it’s not bad.” from the dark chocolate eaters and a “yeah, I didn’t think I would like it.” from the rest. The strawberry was pretty good but nothing special. It had the ‘I’m a protein shake’ vitamin taste to it.
So there you have it. If you were thinking of using these shakes as meal replacement, they can do a decent job at it. Not a terrific job, no, but decent. As a protein shake? We don’t run that site, but we don’t see it getting many high marks.
I’ve been replacing two meals a day with the Special K shakes in addition to exercise for 70 days . I have lost 30 pounds! These are great tasting and fill me up. (Which says a lot since I was a major over eater!) I frequently find myself craving a shake! I’ve tried the slim fast shakes, but they don’t keep me satisfied long. The Special K shakes are so good, even my finicky six year old daughter loves them. She drinks a shake as an after school snack every day! They care very convenient, tasty, and easy to buy at almost any store. I can buy 4 Special K shakes for about $6. That will last 2 days. I would recommend trying it If you’ve never tried meal replacement shakes before (like me.) This is a great way to try it out without spending much money up front or feeling overwhelmed.
Hi Angie, I have never drank protein shakes before and was wondering if they are good and safe.I am starting to walk 5 days a week.I walk about 5-7 miles per day but need something eles to help with some weight lose.I feel great but not really seeing any progress.Help!!!!!. Joyce
I started drinking the special K shakes for breakfast when I have to be up early and moving. It’s hard for me to eat solid food first thing in the morning, but the shakes have allowed me to get my metabolism started right when I wake up. The milk chocolate is definitely the best tasting and I don’t even like chocolate milk that much. Strawberry and vanilla flavors definitely have the taste of protein shakes, but I don’t mind it and often blend fresh fruit into the vanilla ones.
I’ve lost 15 pounds in the past 2.5 months and this is not because of the shakes, but they did help a lot. If you are looking to lose weight you have to control how much you consume. Replacing one meal a day is awesome, but if the rest of your meals are super high in calories, you will not lose weight!
Back to the shakes, I love them! This morning I was out of them and stopped by fresh and easy, hoping to find at least one in the cooler because I found myself craving it! I wasn’t able to find it and settled for the closest thing I could find which was the light muscle milk. AWFUL. The taste of Special K is far superior and I love it!