A Greens-and-Protein Meal Powder on Keto: Fiber, Net Carbs and an Honest Taste Test
In this recording
A six-minute clip from July 2017, about six weeks after I started keto in mid-June (video cTGYIFOTPl8). Bad lighting, just home, exhausted. I called it a "keto basic exclusive" for the group.
- [0:01] A plant-based protein and greens meal powder, chocolate flavour. I read the whole ingredient list: sprouted grains and seeds, a long fruit-and-vegetable blend, a greens blend, probiotics and enzymes.
- [1:41] Two scoops gave a lot of the daily vitamins. The label said 16 g of carbs and 12 g of fibre. I worked out about 4 net carbs the way most people count, or about 7 if you only subtract the insoluble fibre. Roughly 40 g of protein, 2.5 g of fat, 250 calories.
- [2:30] No sponsorship. The taste: hay, a barn, and chia seeds like sand. "Chocolate" was a stretch.
- [3:18] Why I used it anyway. It was a quick, cheap glass of fibre and vegetables that sat well and fit my macros.
- [5:00] About the group: I wanted it small and accountable, not one of the huge groups where people shout about the same five questions. A rough weekend, and back on the horse today.
What this is
This is a product review, recorded fast and funny. I'm not linking or naming the product here. The keto content worth keeping isn't the powder. It's the way I read the label.
I didn't take "net carbs" at face value. I split the fibre into soluble and insoluble and counted only the insoluble part as free (live UYDJ7165). That's an early version of a position I kept: labels don't split the fibre types, so a net-carb number is a guess (video 1vyxuWlxT5M).
The fibre evidence page backs the caution. None of the reference bodies defines "net carbs." The US label rule counts dietary fibre inside total carbohydrate, and the FDA's fibre page doesn't use the term (FDA). "Net carbs" is a convention, so it helps to know how a label gets there. See net carbs vs total carbs.
The other line that holds up is the honest one. If you just need something quick that gets fibre and vegetables in, and you don't care about flavour, a glass like this does that job (live UYDJ7165). It isn't magic, and it isn't required. Vegetables on a plate do the same job and taste better. If you have kidney disease, check a 40 g protein serving against the target your doctor gave you.
Key points
- Read past the "net carbs" line. Know which fibre a label subtracts.
- A protein-and-greens powder can be a fibre shortcut on a busy day. Food does the same job.
- Most groups get noisy. Small and accountable was the goal for this one.