Pro\Grade: Lean - Initial Review

Today (8/9/2012), I started using Pro\Grade: Lean (chocolate flavored) as a replacement meal instead of my normal lunch.  This is my initial review and thoughts.  I mixed two scoops with 15 oz. of water and used a Blender Bottle to mix it.  I was starting to feel hungry right before lunch, so this should be a good test.

Taste

9/10:  When mixed with water, milk would increase the taste some.  The taste reminded me somewhat of Nesquik.  I easily finished it in 15-20 minutes, while talking to a co-worker, and never got the feeling that I had to force it down.  I believe I'll be able to continue mixing it with water, thus avoiding the added calories from milk.

Consistency

10/10:  It mixed really well with refrigerated water, there were no lumps and no gritty feeling you might get with other mixes.

Fullness

8/10:  This product is packed with 11g of fiber which helps make you feel full.  It was odd not having to chew my meal and I suspect it will take a bit for my body to get use to a liquid only meal.  After 2 hours I started to feel a slight need to eat a snack. I am not sure if this was because of the meal being less solid feeling in my stomach or some other reason.  I would recommend that dinner not be a meal that is replaced, mainly because you have all night before your next meal.  At the 3 hour mark I was definitely feeling hungry.

Nutrition

9/10:  The product contains an excellent mixture of vitamins and minerals.   It gets a ding because of the 15g of sugar, though without it the taste would have been a lot less.

Value

8/10:  When deciding the value, I take in consideration if the product does what it suppose to.  There are many lower priced meal replacement products on the market.  Some do not fill the role very well.

Summary

8.8/10:  Starting at $4/meal it is one of the more expensive meal replacement options.  Where Pro\Grade: Lean really shines is in the quality of the product.  My initial opinion is that the product does an excellent job replacing a meal.

Tip:  If you really like Pro\Grade: Lean, there are deals on their website where when you buy 2 or more you save money.  For 2, your price per meal goes down to $3.33.

Update:  I have tried mixing with the minimum about of liquid (12oz.) and it is thicker and there was a small amount of residue that didn't mix completely.   I recommend using the full 15oz of liquid to mix this.