I Was Skeptical About Drinking My Greens—Here’s the Yummy Mix That Changed My Mind

Photo: Stocksy/Lucas Ottone
If you've ever been on TikTok (like, ever), you've probably seen the hype around greens powders. You don't have to look hard to find videos of creators touting the well-being-boosting benefits of their daily green drinks. But as with most social media supplement reviews, I was a bit skeptical about whether they actually lived up to the hype.

I decided the only way to find out was to try one for myself—so I ordered Clean Simple Eats Peachy Greens Superfood Powder Mix from The Vitamin Shoppe® and started my personal experiment.

One of the reasons I was originally intrigued by greens powders was that as a young professional with a busy schedule, I consistently found myself falling short of my recommended five servings of fruits and veggies per day. Thankfully, using the drink mix to push me over the finish line was a dietitian-approved method.

"Greens are gold when it comes to nutrition because they’re low in calories and packed with nutrition that is many times lacking in the average diet," Brittany Michels, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian with The Vitamin Shoppe says. "Including a greens powder is one of the easiest ways to supplement an array of nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial compounds. Since greens powders typically include dried vegetables, herbs, grasses and/or algae, they may be used as a vegetable serving replacement."

The most important element of a greens powder for me (besides, you know, helping me get my greens in) was taste, which is what Clean Simple Eats is known for, especially after it went viral on TikTok. "Per loyal customers of Clean Simple Eats, the greens powder is great tasting, mixes smoothly, and goes down easy," Michels says. "It also includes prebiotics, and has zero artificial sweeteners, which makes it easy to fit into a clean, whole foods diet."

I also picked up the Clean Simple Eats Blackberry Lemonade Super Collagen Mix and Coconut Cream Protein Powder because I figured if I was dipping my toe into the health powders world, I might as well try out more than one. Here are my honest thoughts.

The taste test

For my first try, I decided to try the greens mixed with just water to get a general feel for the taste before I started experimenting with different combos. I was still feeling a little skeptical—until I took the first sip. Seriously, it somehow tastes exactly like liquified peach rings, which my sweet tooth and I very much appreciate.

I actually re-checked the packaging to make sure there weren't any artificial sweeteners because it was hard to believe something this yummy could actually be healthy. But all I found on the ingredients label was a list of 25 fruits, veggies, and other superfoods—plus confirmation that the peach flavor came from actual peaches.

After mixing the powder with water, I tried it in a smoothie and with green tea, which was a total hit for a sweet peach tea vibe. But TBH, it was good enough alone that most mornings I just drank it mixed with water—which was a double whammy of goodness since it helped me up my water intake, too.

The other powders

Like the greens powder, I was honestly blown away by how good the other two powders tasted. I opted to follow my glass of morning greens with the Blackberry Lemonade Super Collagen Mix in the afternoons, and I usually just mixed it with water, though it also tastes great with lemonade.

Many collagen powders provide collagen type I and II for hair skin, and nails support, but the Clean Simple Eats collagen also adds in type II for joint support in addition to the aforementioned benefits, according to Michels.

As for the protein powder, I was grateful for the protein boost in my lunchtime smoothies since I'm a flexitarian and sometimes struggle to hit my daily protein goal. Plus, the coconut cream flavor tasted like ice cream, and who doesn't want to eat ice cream for lunch?

The verdict

Drinking my greens has become one of my favorite parts of my morning wellness routine. After I shower post-hot yoga, I grab myself a glass of ice water and stir in my greens before setting up at my desk for the day. Even though it's literally good for me (hello, first serving of greens for the day), since it tastes sweet, it feels like a gift to myself to start my morning.

Beyond making getting in a daily dose of greens easy, I noticed that it has helped to decrease my usual bloating (my heart loves cheese, my body does not), thanks to the added prebiotics. Overall, my journey into the realm of health powders has been quite the success, and I'm planning on  using them daily for the foreseeable future. In fact, I'll be stocking up come Nov. 1 when The Vitamin Shoppe has a buy one get one 50 percent off sale of Clean Simple Eats products through Nov. 19. Sometimes, TikTok really does know best.

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