Transparent Labs is a popular supplement company that really likes to emphasize — big surprise — transparency in their products. They don’t just get really, really specific with their measurements (there are 9.411 grams of pea protein isolate per serving of their vegan protein), but they also provide certificates of analysis and authenticity on their website. Today we’re reviewing their organic rice & pea protein powder.
Another potential bonus, at least for some customers, is that there are no artificial flavors or sweeteners in any of the supplements they offer. Their vegan protein has a lot of other things going for it that many competitors don’t: it’s organic, it’s soy free, and boy oh boy is it low carb.
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein is available in two flavors, and we took the Vanilla for a spin.
A surprisingly low carb vegan protein powder that's totally free from artificial ingredients and soy. Use the code BARBEND10 to get 10% off!
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein Nutrition
One scoop is 32.05 grams — again, they get very specific — and there are 120 calories. That’s 24 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs (1 gram fiber, 2 grams sugar), and 2 grams of fat (none saturated). There’s no cholesterol, no sodium, and no vitamins or other minerals at all.
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein Ingredients
Everything except the salt here is organic: rice protein (20g), pea protein isolate (9.411g), natural flavor (1.56g), pure vanilla sugar (500mg), Himalayan rock salt (310mg), and stevia (270mg).
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein Benefits & Effectiveness
The first thing I noticed with this product was that it’s extraordinarily low carb for a vegan protein powder. Contrary to popular belief, plant-based products have no trouble providing a complete amino acid profile — putting rice and peas together does a great job — but coming up with a low carb vegan protein can be tricky. The macros in Transparent Labs’ product are akin to what I’d expect to find in a whey concentrate. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a high protein to carb ratio in a plant-based product and while this isn’t to say carbs are something that should be avoided, it does make for a protein powder that’s very versatile.
I was also surprised by the micronutrients. For something made mostly from rice and legumes, it’s a fair assumption there would be at least some B-vitamins, but no vitamins or minerals are listed here at all. Few people consider protein powders and great sources of micronutrients, but it’s not uncommon for competitors to contain a decent amount of calcium or iron. Not so here.
But there are still a lot of things going for this product. Not just the lack of artificial ingredients, but there’s also no soy, no gluten, no preservatives, and it’s organic. That said, there’s an allergen warning stating that the product was made on equipment that also processes products containing milk, eggs, soybeans, wheat, shellfish, fish oil, tree nuts, and peanut oil. If you have super sensitive allergies or if you don’t like your vegan products to be anywhere near animal products, that might be a reason for pause.
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein Price
You can pick up a 2.12-pound bag for $49. That provides 30 servings, so it comes to $1.63 per serving or 6.8 cents per gram of protein. That’s pretty reasonably priced for an organic vegan protein, which typically cost between 6 and 8 cents per gram.
You can save cash by buying in bulk: two bags cost $46 each and 3 bags cost $41 each.
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein Taste
This is an unusual vanilla taste which actually tastes more like cookies and cream — well, cookies and cream flavored protein powder. To be honest, many people feel that “cookies and cream” is the one flavor no one has been able to get quite right in protein powders and I don’t love this one; despite the fact that it’s all natural, it tastes like an artificial vanilla. Suffice to say, if you hate other cookies and cream protein powders you might not like Transparent Labs’ vanilla.
On the plus side, it manages to avoid the nutty taste that almost all vegan protein powders tend to have in vanilla.
The Takeaway
Super low carb, organic, all natural and reasonably priced, there’s a lot to like about Transparent Labs’ Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein. I can’t say I loved the taste and I would have preferred something more nutritious, but I think the pros definitely outweight the cons here.
Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Rice & Pea Protein
Per Serving: $1.63
Pros
- No artificial ingredients
- Very low carb
- Reasonable price
Cons
- No vitamins or minerals
- May contain allergens
- May have come into contact with animal products
