I have been using this product loyally (and daily) for several years - high quality and until now great taste. without my noticing upon re-order that they had a little "new and improved" tag on the picture of the container i ordered again. my wife and i both noticed the taste was different and not as good. we checked the ingredients - organic cocao was no longer the first listed ingredient and vanilla was gone. i guess that was done to save the company money on these two expensive ingredients that i'm sure have gone up in cost - but it would have been better to raise the price by $1 or whatever it cost them rather than mess up the flavor. We don't like the other flavors of this product so now we have to consider finding something else. MISTAKE

I was hesitant to get Garden of Life and take a chance on it. A decade or more ago my husband got it for me to use and I could not handle it! The main issue is that it would turn into sludge REAL quick!! Less than 5 minutes. Could not bare drinking sludge and way too thick to get down. I don't recall the taste of it then. My mom said she got it recently (in the last 3 months when caring for my now deceased grandmother) and it doesn't turn to goopy sludge anymore. Still hesitant, I read the reviews to get some insight. Some confirmed my hesitation and some eased it lol Asking her again about it more specifically she said it was good and okay. So I went ahead and took the chance!

I'm so glad I did!! This was one of the ones with the better and more extensive ingredient list and even uses sprouted nuts/seeds. Which is what I wanted. The taste is great!! Sometimes these nutrient powders have a distinct taste to them and this one is very minimal to non existent. However, I never minded that taste to begin with. If you're more sensitive to it in general you may notice a slight taste of it. I got the chocolate flavor. It isn't super rich with chocolate, but it is good and one of the better tasting chocolate ones I've had so far. There is no goopy sludge and I've had the last little bit sitting for over an hour now!! Also, some reviews complained about it separating within 3 minutes or so. Which is to be expected with these powders. The powder I used previously to this one did separate after awhile. This was has not separated yet after all this time. I am pleasantly surprised with this stuff! It has come a long way since I've walked away from them 10+ years ago!!

The way I prepared was with milk, one full banana, bee pollen, liver powder, hemp hearts and a level scoop of Garden of Life chocolate flavor. Blended well in a Hamilton beach personal blender (not sure the model name/number. bought it from Amazon as well).

Overall, It is delicious without that heavy nutrient taste. Doesn't turn to a goopy sludge within minutes. Its a smooth consistency. With my experience it has not separated after a long while of sitting out.

I recommend you give this product a shot if you're looking for a great nutrient dense powder to try!

I will be trying other flavors as I need to reup on it. P.S. My kiddos who are all under 8 years old love it!!! More than the other brand too.

It Works for me perfectly. It taste good & sort of like a vanilla/banana shake. First let me to all the people that keep saying that it mixes up to thick, well I found out why, it is because the scoop is actually really a double scoop because if you look insides of the scoop it has a fill to line inside of the scoop, so you are only suppose to fill only tip the line in the middle of the scoop & yes I agree with what your probably thinking because I thought the same thing & that is, why did they give a big scoop that is double what you should mix & the answer is I do not know, but I think they are trying to get you to make that mistake & use it up sooner then what it would last if you were mixing it up correctly or something. Who really know whats these companies do stuff for, but I thought at the time of grabbing this scoop that why didn't they just give us the right size scoop in the big bottle/canister? Don't really know, but all I know the first time I mixed this up I filled the scoop only tip the middle fill line that you can only see inside the scoop, so when I mixed the powder up it tuned out perfectly & I even mixed it with a banana & almond milk & spring water with no sugar because for me it does not need any because it is actually sweet enough. It is a really good probiotic & fiber supplement, not to mention all of the organic healthy plant based nutrition in it. It feels the stomach using the Psyllium Husk & Chia seeds & flax seeds in it & it just works perfectly for me. The pros part I am copy & pasting from this companies website

Pros:
(My Words): It taste similar to a vanilla/banana shake & it includes all of the healthy nutrition that your body needs especially vitamins, so you don't have to take a multivitamin because it has everything in it already. Love it
Pros: (Now "Garden of Life's" Words):
RAW Meal goes beyond organic by providing live probiotics and enzymes, Vitamin Code RAW Food-Created vitamins and minerals, as well as nutrient Code Factors such as beta-glucans, SOD, glutathione and CoQ10, enabling natural recognition by your body.
Containing 26 superfoods from RAW organic seeds, sprouts and greens, RAW Meal provides 34 grams of protein, 9-16 grams of fiber (depending on flavor) and a healthy 2.5 grams of fat making it an excellent choice for "weight conscious" individuals. RAW Meal also offers 20 Vitamin Code vitamins and minerals providing at least 100% of the Daily Value of 16 key nutrients.
Just as important is what's NOT included in RAW Meal. It is gluten-free, dairy-free and lactose-free. It has no fillers, no synthetic nutrients, no artificial flavors or sweeteners and no preservatives.
What are the Key Benefits of RAW Meal?
A convenient meal-on-the-go, RAW Meal is suitable for almost anyone including those on vegetarian or vegan diets, those on low carbohydrate diets or those with gastrointestinal sensitivities to milk, whey or other protein sources. RAW Meal offers the following:
* Provides the nutrition of a well-balanced, healthy meal
* Naturally filling, satisfies hunger, provides energy
* Excellent source of RAW organic, plant-based protein (34g) - including all essential amino acids
* Excellent source of 20 Vitamin Code vitamins and minerals - RAW Food-Created Nutrients and RAW Food-Chelated Minerals that enable targeted delivery and natural recognition by your body
* Excellent source of soluble and insoluble fiber (9-16g) depending on flavor
* Provides live probiotics and enzymes for healthy digestion
* Made exclusively from RAW natural, plant-based, whole foods - uncooked, untreated, unadulterated
* Contains 13 RAW organic sprouts, 4 RAW organic cereal grass juices, 5 RAW organic fruits, spirulina and chlorella
* No Trans Fats
RAW Meal naturally satisfies hunger and increases energy, making it great for those looking to manage their diet and looking for a convenient alternative to the pre-packaged or fast-food meals that dominate our on-the-go lifestyles.
CONS: The huge double the size scoop which is very confusing for the purchaser & user of this product.

I'm not taking any stars off from the five stars because I think it is a very good product & plus I was one of the ones that was not tricked by the size of the scoop because I looked at other peoples reviews first because when I pulled it out I knew/noticed this scoop looked just way to big especially for the amount of water, almond milk or liquid of your choice, so I immediately started looking for a fill line & plus I knew what to look for because I order & use a lot of plant based herbs, so a lot of them have fill line scoops, but usually the right size unlike this one. But all in all it's an excellent product & I surely recommend this product & I will most definitely be purchasing this product again & probably for a life time because it has everything in it that I was paying way more for by purchasing many of the plant based herb in this product by themselves, so this with everything was way cheaper for me because just my probiotic was 31 dollars by it self, so when I came across "Garden of Life Raw Meal" I was just totally stoked. Plus I like the fact that it is Organic Raw & Plant Based because I changed my diet to a mostly raw organic veggies & fruits by juicing them, making smoothies & eating fruits & veggies, making salads, No processed food's of any kind. I eat steamed veggies & soups, but only vegetable soups made by my own hands for health reasons & this program works out good for me personally. But anyway if you have not purchased this wonderful product, then do so now.

This "improved" product is now more expensive (probably the main reason they changed something, to make it cheaper to produce and also to justify charging more), but the taste is slightly less appealing than the original version. It's not a HUGE difference in taste, but noticeable. And it's not gross or anything, just less appealing. The blendability is about the same - it often does not fully blend (with milk) without leaving some lumps and "cakes", no matter how long I stir. I don't use a blender which would likely help, and it's not a huge drawback in my opinion, just something I've learned to deal with. Wish they hadn't raised the price so much, I may consider other products in the future due to the cost. Have been using this brand/product for several years now, it used to be much more reasonably priced. Feels like the company is starting to get a bit greedy now. Rather than rewarding their loyal customers with keeping price reasonable, they have gone the route of so many others who are only out to make as much $ as they can.

I do the four hour body Slow Carb system. My boyfriend and I have been using it as a baseline for about twelve years, mixing w/ mediterranian elements and common sense, usually a little more hardcore between Feb and may every year ( gearing up for beach weather). Over the years I've learned what to tweak it in terms of what works best for me. I no longer drink red wine or eat tomato much during the week (which is ironic since those two factors are what I found enticing in regard to slow carbing in the first place). I never did the "thirty before thirty" (30g of protein w/in 30 min of waking) and still had coffee w/cream, which I still do. However, I do have this shake usually about two hrs after my coffee, and it replaces the huge brunch I used to eat (turkey chili w/spinach and a scrambled egg) at the same two hours post coffee. The difference is huge - no lethargy, no bloating, and I supplement the shake by adding 3 frozen strawberries, 9-11 blueberries, 2tablespoons of sauerkraut (I need the prebiotics), and a dollop of natural peanut butter and coconut milk. Tim's big issue w/4 hr body is sugar- except the red wine and tomato, I swap it out for the strawberries and blueberries- AND if I get hungry in the afternoon I snack on half a Granny Smith apple (about six grams of sugar) with natural peanut butter. I find this works for me just as well with a slow carb supper (and a decadent cheat day of feasting on saturdays) to stay on track for about one pound weight loss per week. When I started 4hour I was depressed and fat- I lost eighty pounds, I now use it as a maintenance tool and eat healthier overall. These shakes work for me and I don't taste anything icky (even the sauerkraut!). I have subscribed!