Santa Cruz Paleo, Beef Isolate Protein Powder, Au Naturel, Rich in Collagen Peptides for Protein Shakes or Smoothies, Gluten Free, Keto, Paleo, Unflavored, Unsweetened,1.1lbs (20g Protein Per Serving)

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Amazing flavor, ingredients are superior, doesnt hurt my stomach/easy to digest, great quality. I mix it with my coffee daily

Loved the taste, like Horchata,mmm!

I recently became lactose intolerant and I can't take whey protein anymore. But before I became completely intolerant of Whey I was feeling bloated from Whey. With this beef isolate I do not feel bloated at all. The beef isolate digests very easily. The only downside of the flavorless version, which is the only one I have tried, is the taste but its not too bad. No digestion issues makes this a win.

After looking into the company, I decided to try their protein powder as I’ve been looking for alternatives to non-dairy protein powders, other than vegan options. Opened it up, and it smelled like sugar cookies. This seemed promising. Added recommended amount of water (10oz) and added a scoop.Right off the bat, it does Not dissolve or even mix with the water. Even using an electric mixer on top of shaking did nothing to break it down enough to be smooth to drink. It was clumpy and reminded me of when you accidentally get collagen powder on slightly wet hands (that sticky, grainy feeling) but never breaks down because of whatever else they have in there that makes it impossible to fully dissolve. I tried multiple attempts, and wanted to like this but each experience was the same.Now I’ve had chunky drinks before, and am willing to power through, but what really makes it unbearable is the perfume like fragrance that hits you at your first sip. I don’t know what goes wrong once water is added, but it completely changes the smell. The first sip is even more shocking to the system as you are hit with a sickeningly sweet yet chemically flavor due to too much clove and stevia, and whatever else is in “natural flavor”. Being the last ingredient, I had hoped the stevia flavor wasn’t going to be a huge part of the flavor profile, but based on the flavor you would have thought it was first. Major disappointment.Honestly, just don’t do it. Maybe their other flavors are better, but save your garbage can the space and skip over this one.

Good clean protein. Love the actual cacao powder as opposed to the cocoa powder you typically see, the salt content also adds some benefits as well as a little more depth to the cacao flavor. My 7 year old loves it too. I take it with the Santa Cruz creatine almost every morning.

I will preface this review with the fact that I've never tried authentic horchata before. I decided to give beef isolate protein a try since I am lactose intolerant, and other types of protein powder upset my stomach. I saw Brendan make protein pancakes using this beef isolate protein powder and decided that would be the first recipe I made when I got my own bag. I added one ripe banana, one whole egg, one scoop of horchata-flavored protein, and some sprouted oats in a blender and blended them until smooth. I used ghee to fry the pancakes and topped them with maple syrup. These honestly tasted so good, and I was shocked since I didn't taste any beef flavoring. I highly recommend people try this out and make smoothies or even pancakes with this protein powder. The only issue I have with this protein is that even in a blender, the mixing seems inconsistent. I typically have to stop blending, remove the blender, and stir the contents within before blending again. Other than the minor complications with mixing, I highly vouch for it! The taste is impressive, and the macros are even better!*EDIT*: After testing out multiple ways to make the pancake mix, I found that blending the banana, egg, and oats first and making them a good mix mixture first made the protein easier to blend. After making that mixture, blending in the beef isolate protein became a breeze.

Great Product

I am an avid consumer of whole food protein powder. I bought this bag because the ingredients really are great, and have only heard great things about Santa Cruz products. THIS…. Is the WORST. TASTING PROTEIN POWDER I HAVE EVER TRIED. If your just looking at nutrition, it’s a great powder. If you DON’T want to eat powder that tastes like your cremated grandmothers ashes, then go with another brand like 5% nutrition.