Review: iSatori Eat Smart Meal Replacement Supplement

Posted By elissa on Mar 4, 2009 | 0 comments

iSatori’s Eat Smart meal replacement powders (MRPs) come in four lip-smacking flavors: Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Double Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Cheesecake. These sound sinful, but the numbers say otherwise…from a calorie-carb perspective, Eat Smart is surprisingly lean.

One scoop contains only 140 calories and 9 grams of carbs, nearly half of which is dietary fiber. There’s a solid amount of protein and the sugar content is virtually nil. For someone on a cutting diet—or who simply wants to keep it light—Eat Smart looks pretty promising…so far.

What about the ingredients?

Ingredients: Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Calcium Caseinate, Fibersol® (Fiber), Nutrim™ (Oat Bran), High Oleic-Sunflower Oil, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Cocoa Powder (Dutch Process), Buttermilk, Silicon Dioxide, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Chloride, Lecithin, Fructooligosaccharides, L-Glutamine, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Sucralose, Disodium Phosphate, Vitamin/mineral Blend (Ascorbic Acid, DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Ferrous Phosphate, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Chromium Polynicotinate, Phytonadione, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Cholecalciferol, Cyanocobalamin), Dipotassium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Flaxseed Powder, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Bifidum

Ingredient labels look quite complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple to sort things out. This list can be broken down to:

• Protein (whey protein isolate/concentrate, calcium caseinate)
• Fiber (Fibersol, Nutrim, fructooligosaccharides, flaxseed powder)
• Fat (high-oleic sunflower oil)
• Vitamins and Minerals
• Probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum)
• Various additives: flavors, thickeners, dispersing agents, emulsifiers, sweeteners (found in virtually ALL commercial products)

It’s a pretty solid list.

Eat Smart uses a standard, but reliable whey-casein blend, along with some good sources of dietary fiber and a small amount of fat from sunflower oil high in oleic acid (similar to olive oil).

The probiotics are also a nice touch…although iSatori doesn’t supply any information on the number or viability of the cultures used.

Thus, while the Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria add value, I’m not convinced Eat Smart is a replacement for a good probiotic supplement or equivalent functional food product (such as kefir or yogurt made w/live cultures).

It’s a minor point, though—it certainly didn’t keep me from ordering a package of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup to check out. I’m glad I did…I thought it was quite decent in water (preferably chilled, or blended w/ice) and amazing in milk—very yummy. It was also easy to blend into liquid—there was virtually no clumping, even when using a spoon or shaker bottle.

I also liked the fact that Eat Smart is sold in bulk, rather than individual serving packets. This allowed me to customize the portion to my appetite, vs. consuming a pre-measured amount. One scoop made a good snack…two was a pretty filling meal.

My one complaint is that Eat Smart is a little weak on the vitamin and mineral side of things. It’s not unusual for an MRP to supply 25%–50% of the RDA for most vites and minerals per serving. Eat Smart, on the other hand, supplies only about 10% per scoop. I don’t see this as a deal breaker, however, as I (and most of the people I know) already take a multivitamin. Nonetheless, it’s something to consider for those who don’t.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is that Eat Smart is a well-made, satisfying and tasty MRP that’s low in calories and carbs. I liked it a lot…and I think you will too. It’s available directly from Isatori here!