Boston, we have a problem. My camera is jacked up. Short story: don't leave a $2K camera on top of a toddler stroller and not expect it to get knocked over. The camera no longer auto-focuses, which makes me manual, and I am not manual. It will be shipped away to be fixed, but, I might cry.
This means -- my review photos will be short and sweet -- good or bad? Could be both, it depends.
Here we are - with few photos! Another from the Bariatric Eating line of ready to drink protein in glass bottles - Believe in Vanilla Brulee.
"The most popular drink in town - smooth, thin, creamy texture... with 20 grams of protein. No caffeine... just pure creamy butterscotch vanilla. For those who are not coffee fanatics."
First things first -- I AM A COFFEE GIRL. However, I am also a HUGE VANILLA FAN. Bring. it. I adore vanilla. In fact I douse myself with vanilla body sprays often. (I know, gross.) But, I don't have to have coffee all the time, I do enjoy a nice diversion, and something "like this?" Could it be?! (Melted vanilla ice cream was in my mind when I purchased this product. Just saying.)
The stats - 120 calories, 0 fat, 5 carbs, 4 sugar and 20 protein. Again, pretty darn good.
I shook the bottle of Believe, and poured it into a glass. It looks enough like melted ice cream! I can pretend! I started to think about freezing it and scraping it. :x
And, then I smelled it.
The protein is quite -- SCENTED. It's vanilla, but amplified. Quite frankly, I gagged at the smell, and I love vanilla. It's just awfully intense. I handed it to Mr. MM for the man-review:
"Something that went bad, and you lit a Yankee Candle Buttercream candle to cover up the smell."
Sour milk + Yankee Candle Buttercream.
Seeing as that candle happens to be one of my favorites, I decided to push forward and drink it, even if I was picturing melted wax in my cup now.
First sip in, I noted that the taste is NOT as insane as the odor is. But I cannot get past the smell. It's not as vanilla so much as it's sickly sweet, BE calls it "butterscotch."
There is no sour taste like the Mocha Latte flavor had -- this one is ALL sweet. ALL.
The texture is -- sandy, gritty. You can feel the protein suspended in liquid. I won't finish this, so I will leave it out for an hour to see if it separates like the Mocha Latte.
Edited to add. It did, the protein (I assume) is now on the bottom of my glass. Again. I don't want to hear a comment from the peanut gallery about how I am "mixing my protein wrong" -- because -- THIS IS A READY TO DRINK PRODUCT. There was no mixing.
However, I could cut it and make something entirely new. A couple readers just emailed to say they used this in coffee instead of Vanilla Creamer, because it's That Sweet. I might try that. *goes and puts another pot on*
But, if you're not a coffee fan, maybe cutting it in the blender with ice and a little milk and a dollop of something ELSE might make this pretty good.
Perhaps (thinking out loud...)
- 1 bottle Believe Vanilla Brulee
- 1/2 cup frozen blackberries*
- Ice
- Blend
*(OR -- a scoop of CLICK, MOCHA, PLEASE.)
Then again, it's a ready to drink, the whole point is convenience and not having to doctor it up. <shrug>
Ewwyuck. Fail.
(*I will reiterate, this must be different than the BA version, because I did not GAG on theirs.)
- Product - Believe Protein Drink in Vanilla Brulee
- Via - Bariatric Eating, now available at some local retail shops
- Price - $27.99-$34.99
- Pros - 120 calories, 0 fat, 3.5 grams of sugar, 5 carbs, quality protein, RTD, comes in other flavors, Italian Cappuccino, Soothing Chai Tea, or Mocha Latte, Caffeine Free
- Cons - Serious smell aversions, protein mouth feel, dry lips, gagging, eating my favorite expensive candles.
- Rating - Non-pouchworthy, MM.
