The BOXD Nutritional Protein Shakes were kindly gifted to The Happy Sage.
Update September 2022
BOXD have re-branded the company and changed to www.yourjrny.com and are supplying multi-nutrient super powders. They have also stopped doing the whey based protein powders, one of the products I reviewed below.
BOXD
Cards on the table, I don't diet. I eat a low carb, fairly high fat diet and try to avoid ultra-processed foods and sugar. My first reaction when I was contacted by BOXD to see whether I would like to try their nutritional protein shakes was 'actually, probably not'.
My previous experience when looking for protein shakes was that most of them were full of crappy fillers, fake flavourings and tons of disguised sugars. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I went to do my research on the company and their shake ingredients. In fact I was so impressed that I wanted to try them out!
Protein shakes for women
BOXD, a UK based company, was co-founded by Jamal Ayton-Brown and Jamal Ramsey, who is also a sports scientist. They found that women were frequently put off from using protein powders as they all seemed to be geared towards men and their needs. They also discovered that many women suffered from common nutritional deficiencies and that the existing shakes on the market aimed at women were too focused around using them as meal replacements or as part of a diet.
With this in mind they developed a high quality protein shake specifically for women that not only packs a good punch of protein but also includes a range of vitamins and minerals designed to boost wellness and health at the same time. Pretty neat eh?
The protein shake comes in two versions, one whey based and the other vegan based made from pea and white hemp. Each version comes in Double Chocolate Brownie or Madagascan Vanilla flavour. The shakes are sustainable, ethical and GMO free and pleasingly, there is not a hint of plastic in sight. Even their scoops (to buy separately at £3.99) look beautiful and are handcrafted from a sustainable wood.
The other handy feature is that as well as being available in a large pouch, you can also buy the shakes in single serving sachets, which are great to take to the gym or the office with the minimum of fuss as they are already measured for a single dose.
I received sachets of the whey protein in Double Chocolate Brownie and the vegan protein in Madagascan Vanilla. The products arrived beautifully packed in fully recyclable packaging.
Each 30g sachet is fully recyclable itself and has a small nick at the top of the sachet to enable easy opening, so I didn't have to fight my way into them.
If I had one criticism it is that the writing on the back of the sachets is in white and so small that I could barely read it! To be fair to the guys at BOXD they already seem to have recognised this issue and there is a leaflet in with the delivery giving the nutritional information.
BOXD Protein Shakes
The ingredients are high quality and free from GMO and the usual cheap fillers, synthetic flavours and multiple hidden sugars. The formulas won't jack up your blood sugar and then crash it leaving you with an energy slump a few hours later either. The sweeteners used (stevia in the whey protein powder and xylitol and stevia in the vegan protein powder) are both low-glycemic sweeteners.
If you are interested, you can check out the ingredients and nutritional information for each BOXD protein shake below.
BOXD Whey Protein Shakes - ingredients & nutritional information
BOXD Whey Protein Shake Double Chocolate Brownie - Ingredients
Whey Protein Isolate (milk), Natural Flavouring, Raw Cacao, Golden Flaxseed, Potassium Gluconate, Calcium Carbonate, Thickener: Guar Gum, Magnesium Bisglycinate, B Vitamin Complex: Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyroxidine, Biotin, Folic Acid, Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin D3 (as Cholecalceferol), Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid), Sweetener (from Natural Sources): Steviol Glycosides, Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin, Zinc Gluconate
BOXD Whey Protein Shake Madagascan Vanilla - Ingredients
BOXD Whey Protein Shake Double Chocolate Brownie - Nutritional Information
BOXD Whey Protein Shake Madagascan Vanilla - Nutritional Information
BOXD Vegan Protein Shakes - ingredients & nutritional information
BOXD Vegan Protein Shake Double Chocolate Brownie - Ingredients
Pea Protein Isolate, Xylitol, Raw Cacao, Hemp Protein, Natural Flavouring, Golden Flaxseed, Potassium Gluconate, Calcium Carbonate, Thickener: Guar Gum, Magnesium Bisglycinate, B Vitamin Complex (See Table), Vitamin D3 (as Cholecalceferol), Iron (as Ferrous Fumerate), Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid), Sweetener (from Natural Sources): Steviol Glycosides, Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin, Zinc Gluconate
BOXD Vegan Protein Shake Madagascan Vanilla - Ingredients
BOXD Vegan Protein Shake Double Chocolate - Nutritional Information
BOXD Vegan Protein Shake Madagascan Vanilla - Nutritional Information
BOXD Whey and Vegan Protein Nutritional Shakes
Each premium whey isolate shake contains 24g of protein and each plant based vegan protein shake contains 21g of protein. As well as the protein, each shake also includes a range of vitamins and minerals designed specifically for women.
Additional active ingredients in each protein shake for women
INGREDIENT | UNIT | PER 30G SERVING | RI * |
Iron | mg | 14 | 100% |
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | mg | 80 | 100% |
Flaxseed | mg | 2000 | - |
Vitamin D3 (cholecalceferol) | µg | 10 | 200% |
Vitamin B1 (thiamin) | mg | 1.1 | 100% |
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | mg | 1.4 | 100% |
Vitamin B3 (niacin) | mg | 16 | 100% |
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | mg | 6 | 100% |
Vitamin B6 (pyroxidine | mg | 1.4 | 100% |
Vitamin B7 (biotin) | µg | 50 | 100% |
Vitamin B9 (folic acid) | µg | 200 | 100% |
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) | µg | 2.5 | 100% |
Potassium | mg | 500 | 25% |
Calcium | mg | 400 | 50% |
Magnesium | mg | 189 | 50% |
Zinc | mg | 5 | 50% |
*RI = Reference Intake as a guide to a balanced diet
It's these additional vitamins and minerals that make the BOXD nutritional shakes different. In a perfect world we would get all we needed from a balanced diet. Sadly, this isn't true for most of us these days given the busy lives that we lead and the abundance of easily available processed foods.
Some of the benefits from the additional ingredients in the BOXD protein shakes are:
FLAXSEED - an important source of omega-3 fatty acids which has anti-inflammatory properties and can help improve circulation. In a small study, flaxseed was also found to help decrease skin sensitivity and improve skin smoothness and hydration too!
IRON - for maintaining energy and the immune system.
VITAMIN C - essential for wound healing and also in the production of collagen for the skin - see article on the Benefits of Collagen.
VITAMIN D - helps to boost the immune system, an essential nutrient for strong bones and it may also help with low mood/depression.
VITAMIN B'S - the shakes contain a Vitamin B complex (eight B vitamins) which are essential for a whole range of issues that are important to health and wellbeing, such as energy, nerves, muscles and brain and hormone functions.
ELECTROLTE COMPLEX - a mix of potassium, calcium, magnesium and zinc can help if you have been exercising hard by helping muscles and regulating your blood pressure. Magnesium is also one of the vitamins which most people are deficient in - see article on 10 reasons you may be deficient and 25 Conditions that may be helped by taking Magnesium. You also need to make sure you have enough magnesium if you take Vitamin D as it is required in many areas of Vitamin D metabolism. Zinc is also important for the immune system and healing, has anti-inflammatory properties and has been said to improve acne.
So the protein shakes are well formulated and with pretty clean ingredients, so how did I get on when I tested them?
After the age of about 30 you can lose up to 5% of your muscle mass every 10 years so I have just added weights in to my exercise regime and though this would be the perfect time to try out the shakes.
I only supplemented with the BOXD shakes each day and no other supplements in any form.
How do you use BOXD Protein Shakes?
You simply mix either 1 sachet (a 30g measure) or 2 scoops of powder (15g a scoop), with water and shake! You can add between 150ml - 300ml of water depending on how you like your shake. The first time I tried them I was quite thirsty and added 300ml to a chocolate brownie whey protein powder sachet. The shake wasn't thick and gloopy and had a good strong chocolate taste that wasn't synthetic. There are no cheap fillers or thickeners in these shakes so if you want a thicker shake you need to use less water and I'm happy using 200ml (an average glass size) for mine.
The vegan protein shake seems to be just a little bit thicker but it's not really noticeable unless you are looking for it. The Madagascan vanilla flavour comes through well and again its a good vanilla taste, not sweet and sickly.
Both the whey and vegan protein shakes mix easily with about 8 - 10 shakes and there have been no lumps or clumps of powder in the shakes when poured into a glass.
You can also add the whey and vegan protein powders to all sorts of other things such as smoothies, chai seed pot recipes and yogurt and there are more recipes to be found on the boxdhealth.co website.
Personally I preferred the whey protein shakes but I do really well on diary products, but if you are vegan then the pea and white hemp protein powder would be ideal.
BOXD Shakes Review
The BOXD whey and vegan protein shakes tick all my boxes for a high quality whey protein or vegan protein shake plus you are also getting the bonus of a broad range of vitamins and minerals to help boost your energy and promote general health and wellbeing.
It's far easier to just take a shake each day than work your way through a pile of vitamin bottles. If you fancy boosting your protein intake, are an exercise demon and are just looking to up your overall health then a BOXD nutritional protein shake could be just the thing for you!
I found them easy to prepare and tasty to drink. I only took them for about 3 weeks so it was too short a time to analyse whether they have helped me to increase muscle mass but certainly boosting my protein intake each day will have helped.
I did find that I felt quite energised whilst I was taking the shakes and I think for me that could be the result of a regular iron intake as I do walk a lot and am quite active during the day and probably burn through more energy than I think.
It's about time women had a health and wellbeing product designed specifically for their unique requirements, and I think the guys at BOXD have just about nailed it!
BOXD Whey Protein Shakes from £12.97 - £36.97
BOXD Vegan Protein Shakes from £12.97 - £36.97
Both whey and vegan protein shakes available at cheaper prices with subscription or bundle offers.
If you want to make a low carb energy ball to go with your protein shake, take a look at the Low Carb Caramel & Chocolate Fat Bombs recipe!
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