Hidden Allergens in Iconic Kids Protein Drink

Iconic Chocolate Carnival Drinks
Everyone in my family has food allergies or intolerances. Mine are not unique but not among the more common. When I agreed to test out Iconic Kids Protein Drink in the Chocolate Carnival flavor it never entered my mind that my allergies might be triggered by this product. Yes, it does say one serving of veggies on it but who would put things like kale in a milklike product? Iconic did. Their "Greens Blend" includes Kale, Broccoli, and Spinach and I'm allergic to two of those. I spent the entire afternoon very ill after trying one of these. That said, I will attempt to be fair about the flavor but you all needed this warning. I got this product through the Amazon Vine program, this article on The Chocolate Cult is a bonus.

Glass of Iconic Chocolate Carnival
What should Chocolate Carnival protein drink taste like? Obviously chocolate, right? At the first few sips it does taste like chocolate, not a chocolate bar but something made with chocolate. The sweetness made me think of a baked good and given the image on the bottle, cake seemed a fair guess. However, after about three sips the sweetness built up and intensified. I knew that flavor because I've had it before in so-called healthier chocolates. A check on the ingredient list confirmed it: stevia and monkfruit, both of which are used too often in quantities that are overwhelming in chocolatey products. Stevia I've had no problems with in terms of aftertaste, just the overwhelming sweetness, but monkfruit? Oh, yeah, that's got an aftertaste that I and some other folks don't like.Cocoa powder is listed on the ingredients but only as the 6th ingredient. Don't fool yourself, this isn't milk because the first two ingredients are filtered water and grass fed milk protein isolate. The company never claims this is milk so don't lie to yourself about this if you decide to try it.

Perhaps as an adult, I just don't get what kids like so I offered some to a few parents I know. Don't worry, we social distanced while I gave it to them. The kids thought it was sweet but not too sweet. However, they did not like that aftertaste. I have to wonder who taste tests these sorts of products who actually likes the monkfruit aftertaste?

Iconic Chocolate Carnival Kids Protein Drink

Is getting just 80 calories for 8 fluid ounces worth the sweetness and aftertaste? Calories in a cup of chocolate milk vary from over 200 for whole milk to 120-140 for low fat or skim milk. I'd rather cut back on something else and fully enjoy my chocolate milk than have this with such a horrible aftertaste. Maybe your kids or you love monkfruit and stevia's flavor, someone must, and you aren't allergic to any of the ingredients but for now, I'm feeling sick it hasn't even been a half an hour since I tried this for all of you.

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