Shakeology Review: Tropical Strawberry
Oooooh, oooh! Shakeology.
That’s what I hear in my head—set to the tune of this song, of course—every time I hear anything about Shakeology. It’s a quirk, I guess. And one that I honestly kind of enjoy. A gal can never have enough Prince in her life in my opinion. But let’s go ahead and get to the point of today’s Shakeology review (of which we are not a vendor, FYI): a new flavor that’s vegan! We were sent a week’s worth of Shakeology Tropical Strawberry power to try, and try we did.
While we’ve reviewed Shakeology in the chocolate flavor before, we were interested in this one because it is a) tropical (like vacay, whee!) and b) vegan. Over the last year or so, I’ve figured out the hard way that my body isn’t a fan of dairy, so a lactose-free protein powder is a bonus in my book. Plus, I’m a huge geek for obscure superfoods—and Shakeology is known for hunting down the most “super” of all foods out there. The Tropical Strawberry boosts the usual goodness of Shakeology, plus the new superfoods: coconut flower nectar, Luo Han Guo Fruit (which I’m kind of obsessed with—expect more on that in an upcoming post), Himalayan Salt and Konjac Root. A one-packet serving comes in at 160 calories, 1 gram of fat, 20 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein from raw sprouted and bio-fermented brown rice protein with sacha inchi, quinoa, chia, flax, amaranth and spirulina.
But—and this is the kind of butt that Sir Mix-A-Lot sings about (AKA big!)—how does it taste? And is it as creamy as it claims to be? Vegan protein powders are notorious for being grainy, so we tried Shakeology Tropical Strawberry in three ways. First, just a packet mixed with water and ice in the Vitamix. Second, “Almond Paradise” with a packet, almond milk and almond butter. And third, “Tropical Breeze,” with a packet, coconut milk, strawberries, an orange and half of a banana (plus I added kale, of course). The verdict? While Shakeology Tropical Strawberry is just okay on its own (just a bit grainy with a stevia-heavy aftertaste), when it’s mixed with other stuff it just gets better. While Almond Paradise was far better than it was just plain, Tropical Breeze was downright delicious. And tropical! (Read: rum would be good in it.)
So if you’re on the Shakeology train (and the stuff does make you feel pretty darn good after you drink it), this flavor is worth giving a shot, although you’ll want some mix-ins. Depending on how many extras you throw into the blender for flavor, just know that—even though it’s healthy stuff—your calorie count can easily zoom up past 300. Which is fab for a meal, but pretty high for a snack.
Has anyone else tried Shakeology Tropical Strawberry? Agree with our Shakeology review? Let’s swap notes—and tell us what your fave recipe is! —Jenn
Comments
I loved your review! I’m a nutritionist and was skeptical about Shakeology claims for a long time, but I have to say I really like it. The tropical is mine and my daughter’s fave and I found out a great way to mix it:
1 scoop Tropical Shako
1 cup pineapple infused coconut water (plain works too)
a few mint sprigs
A handful of fozen pineapple and mango
OH MY! Destination-vacation 🙂 and reminiscent of a mojito
Not a fan of the Shakeo Tropical….I find it VERY thick and with an aftertaste…I have tried it all sorts of ways and I can’t get past the texture of always having to sift through the meally texture….I think there is too much stevia and too much grit. I absolutely love Chocolate. I am about to buy the Greenberry to try that flavor out.
I think the Tropical Shakeology needs to be refined a little more to remove the grit.
i agree with Kahne. i can’t stand the taste of the Tropical. Most of my prospective customers didn’t even want to order more of the smaples. They really need to cut down on the sweetness and improve texture !
I have always been a fan of chocolate Shakeology but now Tropical Strawberry is my favorite. It took a few times to get use to it ( it needs to be blended longer than the other flavors) but I love being able to put different fruits in it and it is so refreshing. My 16 yr old and 11 yr old ask for it which is pretty cool! I have been drinking Shakeology for 2 years and have NEVER been so healthy, felt so great and believed in a product this much!!! I I am happy to answer anyone’s questions about it!!! Cheers ( with shake in hand 🙂 -Molly
I agree with your review on The Tropical Strawberry Shakeology.. It is my 2nd Choice as Chocolate is my all time favorite! I too think it is too grainy but agree that with the other add in’s does tastes very good! My take on it is.. I am a Shake & Go kinda gal and with the Tropical Strawberry I can’t do that.. I have to use a blender.. the Chocolate, I just mix a scoop with 10oz skim milk, Shake it up and GOOOO!!!
I loved chocolate shakeology, but due to chocolate being a migraine trigger – that became a no-go for me. Tropical is now my daily shake – one thing that really helps with texture is double blending (I blend, let it sit for about 4 mins, then reblend). Using more than 8 oz of water helps too. I love adding avocado to help with texture (I can’t stand to eat avocado, but in the shake it is great!). I also love to add just pineapple and mango.
I was so happy when Tropical Strawberry was released definitely my summertime flavor!! I love to mix mine with 1/2 Banana, 2 Tbsp of PB2, 1 cup Almond Milk, and ice blended. Delightful!!
I am a fan of both the Tropical and Chocolate Shakeology. I actually like the chocolate more (I’m a choco-holic) but the tropical is pretty good too. I always make sure I mix mine with some sort of fresh fruit and it always taste great. My favorite recipe is 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup liquid egg whites, 1 cup peaches, 1 cup strawberries or raspberries. yum!
I guess Tropical flavor is kind of a love it or hate it thing… not much in between. I am in the love it camp, especially when you add some mix-ins. I like it with almond milk, frozen berries, and half a banana. For me the banana seems to smooth it out and get rid of the grainy mouth feel. I used to like the Chocolate, but I LOVE Tropical. Not sure I will ever go back to Chocolate flavor again.
Great review!! i was a HUGE fan of the chocolate flavor…until Tropical Strawberry came out! Like the author of the review, I’ve known for awhile that dairy doesn’t ‘sit’ well with me…and although chocolate Shakeology seemed to digest fairly easily, it’s like a whole new world with the vegan Tropical Strawberry!! I have never noticed a gritty taste with the vegan formula and it digests so easily! Plus I just love the flavor so so so much!! I use sugar free almond milk, fresh strawberries, and powdered pb2 in my shakes…have one every morning and often crave enough because it is just so dang delicious!!
What a great article. I’m a huge fan of Shakeology, both the Chocolate and the Tropical Strawberry. I love Tropical, especially in the summer. I find that by adding a banana or some other tropical fruit it really lets the flavor burst through. I’ve added coconut and really enjoy the texture and taste.
My favorite is to make it really thick. I use 1/2 serving Tropical, 1/2 serving chocolate, 1 cup frozen cherries, 12 oz unsweetened almond milk and ice!
Tropical is ok at best. Chocolate is way better. I follow Shakeology on facebook. Its funny that they post all these ideas of stuff to add to the Tropical flavor. Maybe they should have just made it palatable in the first place?? I can drink the Chocolate with just water. Tropical and only water would make me gag. By the time I add enough stuff to the Tropical to make it taste decent — it’s like a 500 calorie shake! I think they were just in a big rush to make a vegan shake since Tony Horton is vegan now….
I’m a Coach .
This being said, I don’t mind the taste plain, but agree with the above in that its better blended. I can’t do the almond mixtures due to an allergy.
My favorites: mixing in strawberries and peanut butter
or pretty much any kind of citrus fruit and some plain greek yogurt
I definitely like the strawberry flavor – it’s a great change to my usual chocolate. The key to decreasing the grittiness (which is due to the brown rice protein) is to blend blend blend, for at least 1-2 minutes! I add lots of ice to cut the sweetness as well. My favorite recipe is to use 1 cup of almond milk, 1 cup of fresh watermelon, and 6-8 ice cubes!
That’s so weird because I absolutely HATE the strawberry one. I seriously have to “chase” it with something, nuts or veggies or something. I gag every time and have to gulp it down. I hate the taste of it, it kind of reminds me of drinking a diet pop. Ugggh I’m so surprised everyone likes it so much, I hate it!
I drink the Shakeology chocolate and strawberry flavors and love them both, not so much a fan of the greenberry though. Most times I drink it fairly plain with just water or milk and some ice. I’d put fruit in it but I already put a bunch in my bowl of oatmeal.
I love Tropical Strawberry Shakeology! I add frozen watermelon, frozen pineapple and some rice milk to mine. Comes out thick like a smoothie!
Chocolate is still my favorite, but the more I play with Tropical, the more I like it. I agree that blending it more than the others and adding banana helps with the texture. Thank you for this review ~ it has prompted some great comments and inspired me to try a few new recipes : )
At first taste I was NOT a fan of Strawberry- but as you girls said- once you get some mixins’ in there it is delicious!
My current favorite mix is:
1 Packet Strawberry Shakeology
1/2c unsweetened 100% cranberry juice (the tart balances the sweetness of the stevia!)
1/2c water
1c Lifeway strawberry Kefir
Handful of fresh strawberries
Blend for a LONG time! I don’t add ice when I want a thin drinkable shake but if I want a spoon fed smoothie I will add frozen strawberries and 4 ice cubes.
(This mix is excellent for female urinary tract health with the cranberry and the Kefir helps cut “the beasty yeasties”with acidophilus.)
Disclaimer: I’m a Team Beachbody Coach.
Everyone’s right about the texture, kinda hard to make brown rice smooth. Letting it sit helps and blending longer helps. I use So Delicious brand coconut milk, which has no sugar and only about 50 calories a cup and I use .5-.75 cups, so it’s not much. I use frozen strawberries and bananas instead of ice, which further ups the smoothness. I like it and can drink it just fine with water and ice. Also frozen carrots (yes really!) are undetectable taste-wise in it but do add some texture. A TBSP of fat free cottage cheese adds some staying power and smoothness.
So that’s one of the great things someone else mentioned: the flavor is good enough to hide yucky stuff in. Anyone love fat free cottage cheese and raw carrots? Here, you can.
I am a Beachbody Coach also, I agree with what everyone is saying about the texture….At first. I found that 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup Orange juice, 1/2 of a banana, 4 strawberries, 4 chunks of pineapple and a drizzle of coconut extract was fantastic. I also blended it longer. I don’t like my Shakeology as a thick shake so I don’t add ice. I prefer it thinner. I think that really helps with the gritty texture also.
I think the chocolate will always be my favorite flavor, but I hardly ever drink it because I am trying to eat less dairy. Despite my love for chocolate, I quickly grew to love Tropical Strawberry as well. I found that double-blending or blending longer and adding an avocado or banana helps the texture immensely! My favorite recipe for it now is with 8 oz POM Blueberry juice, 1/2 banana, 1/4 avocado, and ice… blended twice. I hate avocado, but I must say it really works in this! Now, if they could come out with chocolate in a vegan version, I’ll be in heaven!
LOVE Tropical Shakeology! The chocolate makes me want to gag! This one by FAR surpasses Chocolate!
Am TRYING to get my first glass of the tropical strawberry down as I write this. I am sooo disappointed. I loved their chocolate flavor! I even added some tart flavors (orange juice, peaches and pineapple) to counter that over baring artificial sweetness. I’m bummed I wasted my ripe fruit in this shake. Seriously…eww!
Tropical Strawberry the best Shakeology flavor! Chocolate, of course, is a close second (who doesn’t love chocolate?!). I like to add a lot of ice to my Shakeology shakes to make them freezing-cold and give them a better consistency. What a lot of people are saying here about blending for longer is true. The Strawberry Shakeology shake’s texture improves incredibly when you blend it for longer than normal. Try it out!
I have been toying with the idea of trying Shakeology. I don’t like chocolate and am weirded out by the idea of whey protein from cows fed hormones, etc., so I am really curious about this vegan Strawberry Shakeology. Thanks for the review!
I love the chocolate vegan and I can handle the chocolate, but am supposed to stay away from dairy. This past week Tropical Strawberry came and I was extremely excited to try it! But after 4 days I wound up in ER. This was the only change to my diet. It truly stinks because I was finally getting used to the flavor. I used water and ice, yuck! Then I did a banana with unsweetened almond milk which made it better. Not every flavor is for everyone, but I do love the chocolate vegan!
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