SUNWARRIOR PLANT-BASED PROTEIN POWDER + BARS || review

I’m a sucker for plant-based protein sources. They have so many benefits, including health, sustainability, and animal welfare. Plant-based proteins also make me feel good, which is something I haven’t felt in a long time with my digestive issues. But which plant protein should you choose? The plant protein market is booming. Grocery stores are now filled with veggie burgers, mock meats, and protein powders are popping left and right. There are so many different brands; it feels impossible to choose.

If you follow me on instagram, you know I have one pea protein I stick to. However, I am looking to expand my horizons in the plant protein powder world. So, I did some research, and my first hit for a plant protein powder was the Sunwarrior brand. They claim to have “the best vegan plant based protein powders and natural supplements”. With a claim like that, I just had to try some of their products!

Lara at Sunwarrior was so kind to send me some Sunwarrior powders so I could try them for myself! She even added in a couple of Sol Good Bars, so you can imagine I was jumping up and down when the mail man came ;-)

I received four different flavors of the Warrior Blend: Vanilla, Chocolate, Berry, and Mocha, as well as the Natural and Vanilla Classic Plus Protein Powders. As far as the bars, I received the Cinnamon Roll, Salted Caramel, and Blueberry Blast. In this blog post, I will be doing an in-depth review of each of these products based on their ingredients, flavor, texture, and my overal opinion.

PROTEIN POWDER

My absolute favorite way to incorporate protein powder into my daily lifestyle is by mixing it into hot oatmeal, and topping everything off with fruit and my nut butter of choice. This combination of ingredients makes for a full-rounded meal or snack that contains carbs, fat, and protein, as well as vitamins and minerals! For this review, I cooked 1/2 cup oats in 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, mixed in 1/2 packet (12g) of each flavor protein powder into the hot oats, and recorded my thoughts over the course of a couple weeks. Below is an overview of each protein powder type, the different flavors, and my thoughts on each!

WARRIOR BLEND This line of protein is Sunwarrior’s most popular, probably because it is made of a blend of three unique protein sources with added chain triglycerides from coconut. The ingredients of the “natural” flavor are simply pea protein, hemp protein, goji berry protein, and whole ground coconut. This protein powder also has a full amino acid profile and is certified USDA organic, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, and vegan. Looking good so far, Sunwarrior!

Vanilla Ingredients: organic pea protein, organic hemp protein, organic goji berry, organic vanilla flavor, organic guar gum, sea salt, organic stevia extract, organic whole ground coconut.

Upon opening the packet, I was pleasantly surprised at the sweet vanilla flavor that wafted out. I hoped the taste would be just as good as the smell! When I mixed it into my oats, I was also pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it mixed in. It didn’t clump or become chalky or gritty at all, which is a HUGE plus in my book because you know I love my smooth protein oats. After I allowed the oats to cool a little, I had noticed the oats had thickened up quite a bit, which is also a huge plus because thick oats=yum! Finally, the taste! I personally loved it, and think it is safe to say one of the best-tasting plant-based vanilla proteins I have tried. I was expecting it to taste more earthy due to the hemp, but I am happy to say I didn’t taste the hemp at all! This flavor also does not have a stevia aftertaste, which is very positive because many stevia-sweetened proteins tend to be overly sweet or slightly bitter when sweetened with stevia. However, with this particular flavor that was not the case!

Chocolate Ingredients: organic pea protein, organic hemp protein, organic goji berry, organic cocoa, organic chocolate flavor, organic guar gum, sea salt, organic stevia extract, organic whole ground coconut

When I opened this packet of protein, the smell was a lot less “chocolatey” than I had expected after experiencing the vanilla scent from the vanilla packet. Don’t let this fool you, however, because the chocolate flavor is definitely chocolatey enough when mixed into oats! This chocolate protein is by far my favorite plant-based chocolate protein, as it tastes simply like chocolate, and not like protein powder. You get me? With other plant-based chocolate proteins I have tried, the taste of the protein it is made with overpowers the chocolate flavor. I am super happy to say I have FINALLY found a chocolate protein I like!

Berry Ingredients: organic pea protein, organic hemp protein, organic goji berry, organic berry flavor, organic guar gum, sea salt, organic stevia extract, organic whole ground coconut

I was honestly the most curious to this flavor, as I have never tried, let alone been able to find a plant-based berry-flavored protein powder. With my love for berries of all kinds, I was quite excited to try this flavor! It mixed into my oats just as well as the chocolate and vanilla, and gave the oats a beautiful pinkish color.  Upon tasting it, I was immediately overwhelmed with a very sweet raspberry flavor. Personally, this flavor was slightly too sweet for my liking, but if you like sweet, this is for you! It doesn’t taste like stevia, but has a natural overly sweetness. Make sense?

Mocha Ingredients: organic pea protein, organic hemp protein, organic goji berry, organic cocoa, organic chocolate flavor, organic mocha flavor, organic guar gum, sea salt, organic stevia extract, organic whole ground coconut

I was skeptical about mixing this one into oatmeal as I’m not a huge fan of coffee oatmeal, but this was truly amazing. This flavor has a perfect balance of coffee and chocolate flavors, and blends perfectly into oatmeal making for a creamy, smooth, mocha bowl of oats! I bet this would be good in overnight oats, or even mixed straight into coffee. I haven’t tried that, but I’m sure you guys already know how I’m going to use up the rest of that packet :)

CLASSIC PLUS I have been looking everywhere for a protein powder that consisted of a blend of pea and rice proteins. When I received this protein, you can imagine I was absolutely STOKED because not only are the first two ingredients organic pea and organic rice protein, but organic quinoa, organic chia seed, AND organic amaranth proteins are also part of the blend! This exquisite blend of sprouted & fermented plant-based proteins are why this line of Sunwarrior is called Classic Plus. It builds off of the classic Sunwarrior protein made with rice protein, but has added proteins from other plant sources for an all-round, complete protein powder with a full amino acid profile! Just like the Warrior Blend, the Classic Plus is also certified USDA Organic, soy free, sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and non GMO Project verified. Now that’s what I call plus. But…does it taste plus, too? I tried the natural and vanilla to find out!

Natural Ingredients: Proprietary protein blend (organic pea, organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic chia seed, organic amaranth)

I tried this “flavor” first, so I could get an idea of the texture of the protein powder on itself without the added gums, sweeteners, and flavorings. When I opened the packet, it didn’t have much smell to it, so I wasn’t expecting much taste either. This is a natural flavor though, so neutral flavor is what we’re looking for here! When I mixed it into my oatmeal however, it was a lot grainier than the classic blend. This is most likely due to the rice protein, as rice protein tends to be grainier than pea. This made the oatmeal a lot less pleasant to eat than when mixed with the Warrior blend, but it was not horrible. I did however, enjoy the flavor. The blend of five different proteins give the protein powder a nice balance, so I would highly reccomend this flavor if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Also, considering it is quite grainy, I would recommend blending it into a smoothie or incorporating it into baked goods!

Vanilla Ingredients: Proprietary protein blend (organic pea, organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic chia seed, organic amaranth), organic vanilla flavor, ancient sea salt, organic guar fiber, organic stevia extract

I was very excited to try this protein after I had tried the natural, because I could now also clearly evaluate the difference between the unsweetened and sweetened version. My first impression of this powder was that it was grainy just like the natural, but this was to be expected due to the rice protein component. However, the vanilla flavor was very tasty, similar to the Warrior Blend vanilla. I again would recommend blending this protein into a smoothie or incorporating it into baked goods, as it does provide complete plant-based protein sources and has an excellent nutrition profile!

SOL GOOD PROTEIN BARS

I absolutely love protein bars because they make an easy and filling snack when I’m at school or on the go, and don’t have time to make something else. So you can imagine I was super excited when I got the chance to try these, because (1) they’re a new item on my list, and (2) they’re made with all natural ingredients and are certified soy free, gluten free, non GMO, dairy free, and vegan just like the protein powders. I couldn’t wait to open them up.

Blueberry Blast Ingredients: Sunsweet (organic prebiotic fiber, organic tapioca syrup, organic stevia extract), sunwarrior protein blend (organic brown rice protein, organic pea protein, organic quinoa protein), organic sunflower butter, organic blueberries, organic rice dextrin, organic grape juice, organic blueberry flavor, organic cacao butter, organic vegetable glycerin, organic quinoa crisps, organic coconut oil, organic blueberry powder, vitamin E mixed tocopherols, xanthan gum, organic locust bean gum, organic Madagascar cinnamon, ancient sea salt, organic Madagascar vanilla bean

Upon opening the wrapper of this bar, I was immediately intrigued by the strong blueberry smell. The bar was also very soft, which i LOVE when it comes to protein bars. There’s nothing worse than biting into a bar and having it hurt your teeth! The bar is also filled with chunks of dried blueberries, so I find the name “blueberry blast” to be extremely fitting 📷 When I took a bite, I absolutely fell in love with the texture. I felt like I was biting into a block of blueberry fudge. But better than fudge, this bar DID NOT get stuck in my teeth! lots of points for that, Sunwarrior! The flavor was also very good, just like a handful of fresh blueberries!

Cinnamon Roll Ingredients: Sunsweet (organic prebiotic fiber, organic tapioca syrup, organic stevia extract), sunwarrior protein blend (organic brown rice protein, organic pea protein, organic quinoa protein), organic sunflower butter, organic glaze (organic cacao butter, organic erythritol, organic vanilla flavor, organic stevia extrac), organic candied pecans (organic pecans, organic coconut nectar, organic cinnamon, organic stevia extract), organic rice dextrin, organic grape juice, organic vanilla flavor, organic cacao butter, organic vegetable glycerin, organic coconut oil, vitamin E mixed tocopherols, xanthan gum, organic locust bean gum, organic Madagascar vanilla bean, ancient sea salt, organic Madagascar cinnamon, organic cinnamon bark oil

This was the second flavor I tried, and I was super excited because cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite things. When I opened the wrapper, my eyes immediately went into heaven when I saw the drizzle of ICING on this bar!

Major points for that, because let’s be honest here: cinnamon roll without icing? Incomplete. Who’s with me? Moving on…just like with the blueberry flavor, this bar was also very nice and soft. I couldn’t wait to take a bite!

My mouth went into heaven when I bit into this bar, because cinnamon roll flavor game=really strong. I literally forgot I was eating a protein bar. I even think I might like this bar better than a cinnamon roll, because it wasn’t overly sweet. This was BY FAR my favorite flavor out of all of the bars.

Salted Caramel Ingredients: Sunsweet (organic prebiotic fiber, organic tapioca syrup, organic stevia extract), sunwarrior protein blend (organic brown rice protein, organic pea protein, organic quinoa protein), organic sunflower butter, organic glaze (organic cacao butter, organic erythritol, organic caramel flavor, organic stevia extract), organic rice dextrin, organic grape juice, organic caramel flavor, organic cacao butter, organic vegetable glycerin, organic coconut oil, ancient sea salt, vitamin E mixed tocopherols, xanthan gum, organic locust bean gum, organic Madagascar vanilla bean, organic Madagascar cinnamon

If you like salted caramel, you’ll LOVE this bar. I am personally not a caramel fan at all, but even I liked this bar! Just like with the cinnamon roll, this flavor also has a drizzle of icing down the middle. It definitely needs the icing, because the bar is not very caramel-y on its own. The texture is the same as the other bars, and doesn’t get stuck in your teeth like actual caramel. In that case, I’d much rather eat this bar!

CONCLUSION

I am highly impressed with the Sunwarrior Protein Company. I LOVE that their products accommodate so many dietary needs; their products are formulated with all natural (organic) ingredients, and are completely plant-based, soy free, non GMO, and gluten free. Also, their protein bars are made with sunflower seed butter instead of nut butter, making them suitable for those with nut allergies or sensitivities. Aside from being made with wonderful ingredients, the overal taste and texture of their products is very good, in my opinion. Their protein powders blend very well into oatmeal, and their bars have an amazing soft texture. All of the tried Sunwarrior products fit perfectly into my daily lifestyle because they provide so many nutritional benefits and make me feel good, which is what I need to live my best life!

I highly recommend trying Sunwarrior products–you will not regret it!

Have you tried Sunwarrior products? What are your thoughts? If you have any questions or comments for me about my Sunwarrior experience, I’d love to hear in the comments!

xx

Liv