Gear Reviews

Skoop: Ingredients for a Healthy Life

posted by gumptiongear November 5, 2014 0 comments

Skoop

Most of us are knee deep in a busy-time-deprived-life that requires a masterful balancing act of work, family, errands, training and if you’re lucky, maybe a bit of social revelry. In the midst of the mayhem, are we consistently get all of the nutrients our bodies need to thrive? With 100% plant-based supplements from Skoop, you may never have to question the sufficiency of your nutrient intake again.

Skoop is a Colorado-based company founded on the ideal of providing authentic plant-based nutrition that’s affordable and sustainable. Made with high quality natural ingredients, the Skoop line of supplements are designed to fuel your body with the nutrients it needs. Whether you’re an athlete, weaving your way through a busy life, or upgrading to a healthier you Skoop offers whole-food sourced super nutrition.  In short, it’s how mother nature does performance enhancement.

B-Strong: Protein for the Masses

B-Strong Skoop
More than a fundamental building block, protein is the cornerstone nutrient when it comes to building, maintaining and repairing bodies at the molecular level. When it comes to increasing your dietary protein intake you have two choices: Eat more protein rich foods, or utilize a protein supplement. But, with over 150 different protein supplements on the market, finding the right one can not only be time consuming, but complicated.

B-Strong breaks through the clutter and offers protein for the masses with a 100% plant-based powder. While some protein powders contain ingredients that you may not expect or want (ie artificial sweeteners or sugars), Skoop uses all organic ingredients – where possible – and sweetens its products using a small amount of honey and cold water extracted Stevia.

And that, in part, is the beauty of B-Strong – a list of basic straight-forward ingredients that doesn’t require a PhD to understand. Derived from pea and rice proteins, B-Strong also contains essential vitamins and minderals as well as prebiotic fibers help your body break down those vitamins and minerals. As an added bonus, Skoop adds in plant-based, antioxidant-rich foods to help your cells recover faster from workouts.

By combining pea and brown rice you get a protein that’s as complete as eggs or dairy (without the lactose), and about 4 times as bioavailable (the proportion of a nutrient that is absorbed from the diet and used for normal body functions) as beef. Not bad right?

But enough of all the jargon, how does it taste? Admittedly there was no white lab coats and blind taste tests in the Gumption HQ to determine an official taste ranking. However, after six weeks of consistent usage and based on two-decades worth of nutritional supplement experience, our athletes believed that B-Strong easily deserved being ranked as a top shelf option.

Looking for quality recipes or creative ways to make your B-Strong even tastier? Skoop offers a number of recipes on their twitter feed that aren’t just delightfully good, but damn good for you. And whether your mix it with coconut milk or almond milk you can expect B-Strong to dissolve quickly and easily ensuring you never need to relive your old experiences with those chalky chunky protein powders.

Get Your A-Game On


Now it’s time to get serious and talk about phytonutrients. You know what they are, don’t you? Phytonutrients are those chemical substances found in plant based foods such as fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts that benefit your body by aiding in cellular repair and recovery.

There’s not doubt we all want to be on our A-Game all the time, so to give you a boost in the right direction Skoop created A-Game to ensure everyone can get all of the nutrients your body needs. In true Skoop style, A-Game is composed of all natural ingredients that even your toddler would recognize on the grocery store shelves. Not only is it soy, dairy and gluten free, but it’s high in antioxidants, probiotics, fiber and adaptogenic herbs which help reduce inflammation and keep your immune system up to the task of fending off disease.

Each serving of A-Game offers the equivalent of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables based on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) score. ORAC is a method of measuring the antioxidant capacity of different foods developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While not  intended to replace your daily multivitamin or even your fruits and vegetables, it perfectly complements your diet to ensure your body gets all of the healthy nutrients it deserves. After all, there is only one you. Take care of you as best as you can.

We all know that even the process of blending and mixing your supplements can be a frustrating and time consuming experience. Thankfully, mixing A-Game is easy – and that’s a good thing because the easier it is to mix, the more likely you’ll be to stay consistent with your supplemental routine. Over the course of our testing period we alternated between mixing it with B-Strong and the many different variations we sampled and simply mixing A-Game with water.  Our preference is to keep things simple as we enjoyed both the fresh taste of sweetgreens and chocofresh.

Notes from the Field…
Skoop’s products excel at everything that matters: tastes good, it’s utterly nutritious, and easily digestible. Plus, Skoop does us all a favor by making our vitamin-taking-process more noble by helping provide fruits and vegetables to public school kids.

There’s not doubt that the big upside to Skoop is a easy and natural way to sustain your nutritionally fit lifestyle. The downside is that it comes with a hefty pricetag. At $67 per 30-day supply of B-Strong and $65 for a 30-day supply of A-Game, Skoop’s line of supplements definitely carry higher price tag than many of their competitors. However, it’s worth noting that a single serving of B-Strong or A-Game is less than your morning skim-mocha-java-latte-with-whip.

Bottom Line…

By supplementing your diet with B-Strong and A-Game, you’ll have all the ingredients you need to lead a healthy life.

 

*Gumption Gear Review received a product sample of the item featured in this review from Skoop at no cost, and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The item featured was provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.

*** The information contained in review is based solely upon our personal experience and use of the Skoop line of products. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended for use as medical, nutritional or legal advice. While the Skoop line of supplemental products are dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free be sure to check the label for other potential food allergens.  As always, make sure you consult your physician or other qualified healthcare professional prior to making dietary changes including the addition of supplements.You know who you are.