Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added Nutritional Drink Review

Whereas I'm not a fan of cookies for breakfast cookies, I do sometimes have a nutritional drink instead of a 'traditional breakfast.' I am a big fan of Boost and Ensure, but Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink is right up there with them. I was first introduced to the powdered Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink for the Carb Conscious, which I totally loved . Now they also have a ready-to-drink "no sugar added" version. Again, this is a total hit.

I tried the Milk Chocolate flavor, and it's sweet but not overwhelmingly so. It's free flowing like milk - for some reason I thought it would be thicker - and has a chocolate taste. Although there is "no sugar added" they do use alternative sweeteners, but there is no after taste. It's actually very delicious cold. Although it's called a "breakfast drink", I prefer to have mine in the afternoons, since it's usually a long break between lunch and dinner. Plus the protein (13 grams - 2x the amount in an egg they say) and low enough sugar content (12 grams) makes it a good pre-workout drink.

Each 11 ounce bottle of Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added Nutritional Drink has 150 calories, 5 grams total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat (7% and 8% of the RDA), no trans fat, 10% of the RDA for sodium (240 mg), 13 grams of protein and 16 grams of total carbohydrates, which includes 10% of the RDA for fiber (2 grams) and 12 grams of sugar. There is also 25%-50% of many vitamins and minerals, including 50% of the RDA for calcium. The alternative sweeteners used are acesulfame K and sucralose (Splenda).

I received this as a sample from Carnation, but they mention that a single bottle (11 ounces) retails for $1.69, while a 4-pack costs $6.42. The amount of sugar in this is lower than some other meal replacement drinks, like Ensure High Protein Drink and it's cheaper too.

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