Herbal Life Formula 1
Although allot of us talks about Herbal Life, it is actually Herbalife. Having said that the Formula 1 Shake is still the number 1 meal replacement supplement in the world. With 10 flavours available you should not get bored any time soon.
I have been using Herbalife Formula 1 shakes for a while now, and I am no stranger to shakes of all kinds. When reviewing protein shakes or meal replacement shakes there are 3 things that are important to me.
What is in it?
How easily does the shake mix and dissolve?
How mobile is the whole solution? (I will explain in a minute)
What does it taste like, can you drink this 2 to 3 times a day sustainably?
1. What is in it?
I am not vegan or even vegetarian, however, I do endeavour to favour plant-based foods over animal products. The reason is more selfish than trying to save the planet. I have done a lot of research and the evidence is overwhelming in favour of plant-based diets. Although with a house full of fussy eaters a fully plant-based diet is not something that is obtainable in the near future. But when it comes to shakes I tend to favour plant-based options.
The Herbalife or Herbal life as it is pronounced Formula 1 Shake itself is plant-based. However it is recommended that you mix it with low-fat milk, but it also recommends fortified soy milk for a vegan option. Even the nutritional value is given with low-fat milk and fortified soy milk.
It contains 21 vitamins and minerals, which I am not going to list, but here is a photo of the nutritional values of the shakes. None of them provides 100% what you need per day, but if you use 2 of these shakes a day you will come very close on most of them.
How easily does the shake mix and dissolve
I have tried 3 of the 10 flavours available, Vanilla Cream, Cookie Crunch and Chocolate. All three of them mixes with the same ease. I have tried them in a variety of hand shakers, from the traditional to, to a cone strainer one and the loose ball inside kind also. The ease of mixing is the same. I have also tried it in an electric blender, but it does tend to be very frothy.
It does not make clots or cakes, something I have had a problem with before in other plant-based shake powders. For mixing, I give it a 10 out of 10.
How mobile is the whole solution?
Here is the scenario, if you are out and about, and you drink a shake for lunch, it is easy to take a shaker that can hold the power in a little screw on the holder at the bottom. With a shake that was designed for water, it is easy enough to get hold of or to take with you, as water does not go off when it gets warm even when you take it with you.
Milk on the other hand does complicate things a little. Sure you can buy cold milk and use it straight away, but that is rarely in a quantity of 250 ml, which does complicate the mobility somewhat. And if you cannot store the leftover milk in a cold place, it may very well go off which is a bit of a waste.
For mobility, I will give it a 5 out of 10.
What does it taste like, can you drink this 2 to 3 times a day sustainably?
I have bee using 3 flavours mainly, Vanilla Cream, Cookie Crunch and Chocolate. The consistency of all 3 are the mostly the same, however, the cookie crunch does have a bit of a twist to it. It is not thick like a smoothie, but not thin like pure milk either. I would say it is about 60% thinner than a thick milkshake. This is a guess though, I have not measured the viscosity in any way. The consistency and thickness to me are about perfect.
The taste is very pleasant, however, I know that this is very subjective, but I will give it my best shot to describe.
Vanilla Cream
This is Herbalife's best selling Formula 1 Shake flavour, and with good reason. It has a mildly sweet taste to it, not nearly at sweet as a cereal would be. I would say about as sweet as a coffee with milk and 1 sugar.
If you are used to sweetening cereals for breakfast, this would not be sweet enough and you might want to blend some sweet fruits with it. Other than the sweetness, the taste is like vanilla, muted and pleasant.
Chocolate
This was a bit of a surprise. To start with I am not a chocolate shake fan at all. I don't like or drink chocolate milkshakes either. The chocolate flavour was not overwhelming at all, you can taste the chocolate, but not in a punchy way. The colour is also not chocolaty at all, and the sweetness level is in the same ballpark as the vanilla, it is not sweeter.
I would say that the taste and the colour are about the same as if you mix half the recommended amount of chocolate Nesquik to milk.
Cookie Crunch
This shake has a bit of a twist to it. When you look at the powder, you notice some dark spots in it, they are small but present. When you mix it in a shaker with milk, they expand and gives the shake an actual crunch. With this flavour, you do have to chew a bit. It is almost like having a bit of cereal with your shake.
The sweetness level is about the same as with the Vanilla and Chocolate, but it has a bit of a caramel undertone and a crunch to it.
I do love this flavour, but not for breakfast. This is so far my favourite lunch meal replacement. It gives you a bit of a feeling of eating lunch without compromising calories, sugar or any of the other stuff that hampers your goals.
Verdict
The vanilla is probably the one you can have the most often without getting tired of it. The chocolate I like to have every 3rd day or so, and the Cookie Crunch I can have every day, just not twice every day.
My recommendation, if you want to drink the Herbalife (Herbal Life) Formula 1 shake two or three times a day, get 2 different flavours and swap them out. If you only want to replace one meal per day, then get any 1 flavour.
If you want to drink it multiple times a day, and want to use only one flavour, go for the vanilla. And yes, you can drink this all the time sustainably.
If you would like to get hold of a bottle, it is the easiest to get it from Amazon.
If you would like to use it sustainably and get 25% of all your Herbalife products just click here.