YouShake is a second product offering from the company YouBar, whose bar products I have addressed in a separate review. YouShake products are convenient, individually packaged mixes that you add to water, juice, or your favorite milk alternative for a quick pick-me-up. While this idea alone is a great one, YouBar takes it a step further, allowing you to customize every ingredient in your YouShake and even name the product whatever you like.

This is fantastic for special diets, since they have various protein powders, sweeteners, and add-ins to choose from. I made mine dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free by requesting the following ingredients: Egg White Protein, Organic Cane Juice, Organic Vanilla Powder, Organic Strawberries, Organic Bananas, All-One Vitamin Infusion, Bee Pollen.

All I can say is WOW, dee-lish-us! I loved everything about the taste of this mix, with one exception; it had a bit more sugar than I like to indulge in daily. Next time I would tone down the sweetener (which you can do!), but for now, I am enjoying its dessert-like appeal as a serious reward after my workouts. My husband also loved it, saying “it tasted like strawberries” with a huge smile.

As for performance, it isn’t high in protein (just 7 grams per packet) so I found it best as a recovery shake rather than a protein boost or meal.

Though you could easily enjoy the shake just mixed into water or milk alternative, a smoothie simply isn’t a smoothie for me without some fruit … and there is no better smoothie fruit than the frozen banana. So after trying the YouShake all on its own, I blended in a frozen banana (along with ½ cup of unsweetened coconut milk beverage) and voila! … sheer smoothie bliss. Really, it was so delicious, I was tempted to make a second batch right there.

In another batch, I added 1/2 Tablespoon of acai powder per serving, which further enhanced the fruit flavor and mellowed the sweetness a bit.

To sum it up:

• Pluses: High quality ingredients, serious personalization, ability to change things up however you like them, excellent customer service.
• Minuses: Pricier than your average protein shake (as to be expected), limited natural sweetener options for the shakes.

Honestly, though we loved the taste, I couldn’t see spending $2.89 per shake without more oomph than 68 calories (especially since we do have protein shakes daily). I had the small version, at just 20 grams per package. The shakes do come in medium ($2.99 for 30 gram shakes) and large ($3.19 for 40 gram shakes) for better value, but this is still a little out of my everyday budget. Nonetheless, for a customized gift, a special dessert-like treat, or simply for fun, I can certainly recommend YouShake.

Also, you can buy one of YouShakes Popular Shake Mixes (in a 13-count package) for just $1.99 per YouShake, but at the time of review only the soy-based "Vanilla Dream" variety was dairy-free.

Note: All YouBar products come with nutrition label including ingredients and full nutrition facts. Since the products are made on shared equipment, those individuals with severe food allergies should speak with the company first, since the products may not be “safe” for them.

This is a third party review by Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide & Cookbook. For more information on these products and to purchase, see the YouBars Website.

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