Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Cookies & Cream, 5 Pound (Packaging May Vary)

Whether you’re new to the health craze or a seasoned veteran gym rat, navigating the supplements marketplace can be very challenging. Everywhere you look, you’ll be peppered with advertisements falsely claiming that their product is the magic bullet that transformed some random Joe Schmo to Ryan Gosling. However, in my unbiased opinion, the closest product to a sure fire magic bullet is Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Cookies & Cream Whey Protein. Whether you’re looking to get “jacked” for spring break, like me, or preparing for Mr. Olympia, this is hands down the product for you. I’ve concluded that this is the best protein powder based on three essential criteria for a college student: the taste and mixology and the quality and value. TASTE & MIXOLOGY - 9/10 The first thing all consumers of supplements ask is “how does this product taste?” Well, unlike most other protein powders, the 5lbs of Cookies and Cream is really damn good. You might think that the low carb artificial sweetener would ruin the taste, and you’d be wrong. In milk, the flavors are genuine and robust. If you’ve ever had a Chick-fil-A Cookies & Cream milkshake, imagine that but toned down a notch. In water, the flavor was much more subtle and didn’t taste as good as it did with milk, hence the reduction of 1pt. Just as important to taste is how well the product mixes. For fair analysis, I used the spoon and cup method in two solvents: water and 2% milk. The instructions call for 1 scoop (~30g) of powder along with 4-6oz of fluid. The powder held its own in both liquids with an edge going to milk in the flavor department. Best of all, there was no mineral grit that you sometimes get with other cheaper products! QUALITY & VALUE – 10/10 (reduced from an 11/10) Where this product truly shines is in the value department. While protein powders should merely act as a supplement to your regular diet, achieving your desired level of macronutrients can be tough and expensive! Priced at $57.99 for 74 servings, one scoop containing 24g of protein comes to only $1.27 – about the same cost as a McDouble but tastier and filled with less chemicals. These 24g of proteins solely come from whey concentrates or isolates meaning better absorption for repairing your muscles after a tough workout. BOTTOM LINE If you want a product with no frills or false advertising, this is the product for you. The cookies and cream flavor is a tasty protein packed with the highest quality of protein all at an affordable price. Whether you’re new to the gym or have been pumping iron since Arnold, this is the product for you.

The cookies and cream flavor taste great. Mixes well and has great protein content and easy to drink. Optimum nutrition always sends to have great products.

I'm definitely not a professional body builder by any means. Until recently, I was a college undergrad, and now I'm working full-time. In general, my workouts usually consist of weight lifting at home, with a set of adjustable free weights, and occasional trips to the gym for exercises not easily done at home. More recently, I've been doing P90X, and am finishing up the third phase now. This whey protein works wonders. In general, if you're only going to supplement your workouts with one thing, it would almost definitely be whey protein. It speeds up recovery, gives more energy, and really enables muscle growth. As far as whey goes, I've tried a few other brands, and ON Gold Standard is the winner when it comes to the balance of amount of protein, ease of use, price, and taste. I've tried three flavors thus far. Vanilla is okay, when mixed with milk it tastes mostly like runny, melted vanilla ice cream. Not disgusting, but not exactly my cup of tea. I went through a couple jars of the Double Rich Chocolate, based off the recommendations of many reviews, and ended up sticking with it for a while. I've never been a fan of chocolate milk, so the Double Rich Chocolate isn't amazing to me, but it still tastes good and is easy to get down. I recently tried a tub of the Cookies n' Cream flavor, and I'm not going to be sticking with it. It's nice, as a change of pace from the months of chocolate I had, but mixed with milk it was waaaay too rich for me. I usually mix it with water, which makes it taste sort of like a Jack in the Box Oreo cookie shake. It tastes kinda weird if it's warm, though, so I usually either pre-mix it and stick it in the fridge for a long time, or throw in a couple ice cubes when I mix it, to cool it down. Some reviewers have commented on a bitter aftertaste (for Cookes n' Cream only, not the other flavors), some say they have never encountered it. I seem to be stuck in the middle. Every once in a while, one of the gulps will hit me with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It's not often enough to make me hate drinking it, but it's worth a mention. It seems to happen less often if I pre-mix the shake and leave it in the fridge for a while, so temperature may have something to do with it. One last thing I want to mention, if you're just someone who works out a bit in their free time to stay in shape, there's one other supplement worth taking a look at: creatine. It's cheap, not harmful, and can work wonders for you! This review's already pretty long, so I won't talk about it, but there's plenty of info out on the web, so take a look!

Great flavor! This product is my son’s favorite. Quality item. Ships promptly. Price is reasonable.

My go to is Vanilla since I find the Chocolate flavors too sweet. I decided to give the Cookies and Cream a shot to change up the flavors, it is good - like it. You can see the small pigments of cookies in the powder which is a plus for me, however blending the powder with a spoon is almost impossible as it gets lumpy. I did that once since I forgot my blender bottle at home, with a blender bottle you do have to shake it a bit more to ensure no lumps are left. Once I did experienced lumps on my blender bottle in which I had to shake a bit more time. The down side is the fact that I tend to chug the protein however the cookies are usually settled at the bottom, you can see it once you clean your blender bottle. However pretty good flavor profile.

This is easily one of the better-tasting options out there, but without the artificial aftertaste. It blends smoothly and actually works great for making protein ice cream, adding flavor without clumps or chalkiness. With solid protein content, it’s my go-to choice post-workout and whenever I want a dessert that helps hit my nutrition goals.

The cookies and cream flavor is impressive but too sweet for me. I had to cut it with an unflavored powder to tolerate long-term. 5 stars cause I suppose that sweetness is by design, I’m just particularly sensitive to it.

The taste is pretty good. And the powder breaks down easily. No clumps.