I’d heard about Naked Nutrition protein powder a few times and knew I wanted to try it, but I kept procrastinating on buying a tub. So of course I jumped at the chance to do a Naked Nutrition review when they asked me.
Thank you to Naked Nutrition for sponsoring this post.
In this case, I had the opportunity to give the (seasonal) Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Muffin Vegan Protein Powder. I usually go for chocolatey flavors if I’m not sticking with vanilla for its versatility, but as soon as they asked me about trying this one, recipe ideas flooded into my head. I still haven’t made them all.
My first thought: ice cream! I’ll get to that recipe in a little bit, but let’s talk about the protein powder itself first.
About Naked Nutrition Protein Powder
Here are some things that stand out about Naked Nutrition protein powder:
- It’s easy to digest
- The list of ingredients is short, recognizable, and doesn’t include additives or artificial sweeteners.
- Heavy metals testing is done by an independent third party.
- It’s smooth enough to just mix with water (even the vegan protein powder!).
- There are other products in the Naked Nutrition line that complement the protein powders well, so you don’t have to look far to find the perfect combination to boost your health or take your daily shake/smoothie up a notch.
Naked Nutrition Review: Is the Lemon Blueberry Protein Powder Worth It?
The short answer: Oh, yes. And there are other flavors I want to try, as well. I wish I’d tried this sooner. I think this will be my go-to protein powder brand from now on.
How I Tried It
I tried the Lemon Blueberry Muffin Naked Nutrition Protein Powder four ways, so far:
- With water
- With unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- In ice cream (using my Ninja CREAMi, but you might be able to get similar results by tweaking the recipe and using a blender)
- In overnight oats
Water
I know a lot of people don’t like to use protein powder with water, but it’s the ultimate test for me. If it’s good with water, it’ll be good anywhere.
Plus, if I’m on the go or decide to venture out to the gym, I might not have many options for a post-workout protein shake if I can’t choke the protein powder down with water.
Because I was testing it with water and almond milk at the same time, I just put one scoop in four ounces of water and shook it up in a shaker cup.
Naked Nutrition protein powder passed the test.
This was actually really good with water. Would I prefer it as ice cream? Of course, but that takes more planning. I found this mixture to be smooth, for the most part.
There was obviously a powder in there, but it wasn’t clumpy or chalky. The flavor was nice–not overpowering and there was nothing artificial to leave a lingering aftertaste.
Here’s how it looks when shaken with water:
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
I don’t know what it was about adding the vanilla almond milk to this Naked Nutrition protein powder, but the flavors just sang!
It was a little creamier than the water mix, but what really shocked me was how much this combo reminded me of fruity cereal. You can see that it looks a little frothier here:
Again, I could tell there was powder mixed in with the liquid, but it was far from chunky or off-putting. This is the best texture I could hope for from a protein powder mixed with liquid in a shaker cup.
Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Protein Ice Cream Recipe
I just got the Ninja CREAMi this month and felt a little nervous about using protein powder in it because I hadn’t had much time to experiment. I was floored by how this turned out–perfect on the first try. My daughter and husband even liked it.
It wasn’t as smooth as traditional ice cream, but there was no heavy cream in it or anything to give it that texture. It reminded me of lite ice cream, which is the setting I used to make it, too.
I had fun by adding butterfly pea flower powder (totally optional, by the way) in one section of the pint and lemon juice in another section, not combining it all too much, and then freezing the whole mix.
When I mixed it with the machine, I got gorgeous variations in color (lemon juice changes the butterfly pea flower powder from blue to purple).
Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Protein Ice Cream
This healthy spin on ice cream features Naked Nutrition protein powder in the Lemon Blueberry Muffin flavor. It's sweet, light, and perfect on a summer day.
Ingredients
- 2 scoops Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Muffin vegan protein powder (1 serving)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/16 tsp of stevia (I use the Trim Healthy Mama brand, which is powerful, so you may want to use more to taste if using a different brand)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp butterfly pea flower powder (optional, for color)
- Splash of vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup blueberries (I didn't blend these first, but you may want to, depending on how comfortable you are leaving them whole in the CREAMi)
- Enough unsweetened vanilla macadamia nut to make it to the fill line on the CREAMi pint
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except lemon juice, butterfly pea flower powder, and macadamia nut milk to the Ninja CREAMi pint container and stir.
- Add butterfly pea flower powder on one side of the mix and stir it around in that area of the container.
- Add the lemon juice to a different area of the container. Keeping this separate from the butterfly pea flower powder at first should create color variation in your finished ice cream.
- Put the lid on and pop the container in the freezer for 24 hours. Make sure it's standing up straight so the top of the mixture will be as flat as possible when frozen.
- Remove the mixture from the freezer and let it thaw on the counter for 10 minutes.
- After the mixture has frozen for 24 hours, take the lid off and see if the top is flat. If not, you can scrape the top with a fork and pack it down. This step protects the blade on the CREAMi machine and helps your ice cream turn out great.
- Set up the CREAMi with the pint in place and select Lite Ice Cream.
- Check the consistency (it'll probably be powdery). If needed, run through a Re-Spin cycle. Optional: Add more liquid before you run Re-Spin (I didn't).
- Remove the pint from the machine, scoop, and enjoy!
Notes
Prep time includes putting the mixture together, giving it time to thaw after it's frozen, and using the CREAMi to make it into ice cream.
If you don't have the Ninja CREAMi, you can probably create something similar and just as delicious by adding these ingredients, plus extra frozen blueberries and half of a frozen banana (or a whole one), to a blender.
Bonus: If you already have frozen fruit on hand, you won't have to wait 24 hours for anything to freeze.
Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Protein Overnight Oats Recipe
I used to make overnight oats all the time, but I stopped for a while. The arrival of the Naked Nutrition protein powder inspired me to start again.
Getting the recipe right took two tries (the first one was too soupy). I’ll share the winning recipe below, too.
This recipe wasn’t chalky, even though I used the full two-scoop serving size.
Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Protein Overnight Oats Recipe
I'm all about easy-peasy convenience breakfasts that are already made when I get up. Even better when they're actually healthy and have plenty of protein to get my day started strong. This one uses the Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Muffin flavor for a bright, summery pick-me-up you can grab and go.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 scoops Naked Nutrition Lemon Blueberry Muffin protein powder (1 serving)
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 tsp dried lemon zest
- Splash of vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp flaxseeds
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen berries (I used mixed berries because I didn't have blueberries on hand)
- 1/4 cup fresh blueberries (next day)
- Drizzle of honey (optional)
Instructions
- Put everything except the fresh blueberries in the jar or other container and stir to make sure everything is mixed well.
- Put the lid on the container.
- Refrigerate overnight (or at least 2-3 hours).
- Give the container a shake and stir the next morning.
- Add fresh blueberries (and honey, if you want it) on top and enjoy!
Lemon Blueberry Muffin Protein Powder Flavor
I’ve tried so many protein powders and shakes in my life. I expected to think Naked Nutrition protein powder was good, but not incredibly impressive. (I was wrong. It’s my new favorite.)
It’s not my usual flavor profile. I like being able to drink protein powder with just water, and Lemon Blueberry sounded like it’d need to be part of something more complicated than that–at least a simple smoothie.
I can taste the lemon and blueberry in every creation I make with it, but unless there’s something that makes those flavors seem brighter (like unsweetened vanilla almond milk), they’re more muted and the emphasis seems to be more on the “muffin” part of the name than the fruits (in a good way–the blueberries and lemon taste like they’re part of a pastry, not fresh out of the fridge).
Everything melds together nicely, just like in a baked good; there’s nothing tart about the lemon or blueberries, but you can tell they’re there.
The Texture
This is one of the finest, smoothest protein powders I’ve ever used. That’s even more impressive because the Lemon Blueberry flavor is vegan. They’re almost always chalky, whereas whey tends to be smoother.
There’s only a hint of graininess here; no protein powder can escape that.
Look how fine it is, though:
Less Is More: Naked Nutrition Protein Powder’s Ingredients
The short ingredients list drew me to Naked Nutrition protein powder in the first place. I don’t dislike when protein powder has superfoods added in as long as they don’t wreck the flavor, but I hate picking up a tub and seeing a lot of things I don’t recognize or don’t feel good about consuming (like artificial sweeteners). Short and sweet lists are good.
This list is short and sweet:
- Pea protein (from farms in the US and Canada)
- Coconut sugar
- Natural plant-based flavors
- MCT powder (MCT/Acacia)
- Fruit blend (lemon juice, blueberry juice, maltodextrin)
- Potassium chloride
- Sea salt
- Fermented cane sugar (Reb-M)
Pea protein is hit or miss for me and sometimes causes uncomfortable bloating. I will still try protein powders with pea protein because whey often has the same effect anyway. This one didn’t seem to bother me, even after drinking/eating it several days in a row.
Coconut sugar is still sugar, yes, but I’ll take that over most artificial sweeteners any day. It also comes with some perks regular ol’ table sugar does not, like trace amounts of vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, and antioxidants.
Plus, the glycemic index of coconut sugar is 36, compared to 60 for table sugar, which means it won’t spike your blood sugar like regular table sugar would.
I’ve been a big fan of MCT oil for years, and love that this has MCT powder in it. Healthline lists the benefits as: potentially beneficial for weight loss, an energy source, assistance in burning fat for energy instead of carbs, good for brain and heart health, fighting yeast and bacterial growth, and keeping blood sugar levels in check.
The potassium chloride and sea salt can help replenish electrolytes.
Nutrition Facts
Another thing I love about this Naked Nutrition protein powder is the fact that you get a whopping 20 grams of protein per serving without a lot of carbs (7 grams), fat (1.5 grams), or sugar (5 grams).
Conclusion: Yes, Get This Naked Nutrition Protein Powder Flavor Before It Sells Out!
If you like to use vegan protein and love trying fruity flavors on their own or in other creations, I recommend getting the Lemon Blueberry Muffin one before it sells out.
Now that I’ve satiated my curiosity for ice cream and overnight oats, I can’t wait to try it in muffins and pancakes.
I usually think of vanilla and chocolate as the most versatile options, but this flavor works for so many types of recipes.
I’ve been better about my workouts lately. This couldn’t have come at a better time.
This sounds amazing! I love that you made ice cream!