Review: Clif Luna Recovery Smoothie

I've long been a big fan of Clif goodies. But I've tended to stay away from the Luna line, cuz it seems like just repackaged normal Clif in smaller portions and for more $$.

Had a Luna Strawberry Banana recovery smoothie today after a little ride. It was in a little sample envelope, so I could only make 8 oz. The flavor was pretty darn good! (in all other respects it seemed just like my usual Clif Orange Mango recovery) The strawberry was perky, the hint of banana wasn't cloying. Over all it was a good mild and drinkable flavor, and it was so perfectly balanced and satisfying that I just chugged it down. Yum!

Too bad it's more expensive than Clif, (1.4 lb Luna for $23 vs. 2 lb Clif for $27) or I'd switch for a while. http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_luna_sport/1325

Edit: there are a few differences ingredient-wise between Clif and Luna recovery mixes (more protein in the Luna, for example) but the texture/mouth feel and mixability and such are pretty much the same.

I wonder how the ingredients compare to Carnation Instant Breakfast of regular old chocolate milk?

I love the Dark Chocolate Variety!

Compared to chocolate milk (another one of my favorites), it has less fat calories (I think) and same amounts of protein per serving. One serving of the Luna stuff is 16 oz instead of 8 oz for milk, though. Which is fine with me, considering I can easily drink that much after a long ride/ski.

The best part though: If I have a little bit of a drive to get back home I can bring a couple of scoops of Luna mix in a zip lock and pour into a bottle of water. That way I don't have to worry about the chocolate milk going bad in the warm car. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperRunt

The best part though: If I have a little bit of a drive to get back home I can bring a couple of scoops of Luna mix in a zip lock and pour into a bottle of water. That way I don't have to worry about the chocolate milk going bad in the warm car. :)

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Yeah, that's something I like about it, too.

I was doing V8 and a hunk of cheddar for my recovery for a while (I seriously need to eat after doing anything) but eventually my gut started getting tired of it. (and then there's the cheddar and my crazy cholesterol level... phooey.)

I just did the Sea Otter Classics in Monterey this year and the team Luna was out in full force. I got a lot of great free samples from the Luna tent and one of them was a packet of the luna recovery smoothie- chocolate flavor. I just tried the sample package this AM after an intense 3 hr. training ride and it is delish! I used soy milk w. it and it tastes just like a chocolate milkshake! I was using endurox chocolate mix previously for recover and didn't find it nearly as tasty. Also, endurox was not dissolving as cleanly in either water or soy milk by just shaking the bottle but the luna recovery smoothie dissolved really well w. just hand shaking of the bottle which I think helps a lot w. the milkshake texture. I'm actually going to go out and pay real money for this stuff based on a free sample which I rarely do.

Knott, I got some Luna bars really cheap from Amazon.com. I too, like the Clif products, but the 250 calories inthe Clif bars was a bit too much for me. I needed something smaller, with the same good taste. I think the Luna products taste better, too.
My riding buddy and I tease our husbands that if they eat our Luna bars, it will raise their estrogen levels...

I don't buy this stuff, tooooooooooo sweet, to expensive and so on. Why don't this company stop putting so much sugar/sweetner in...

It is just my opinion, everybody is different...

Resi

I love that stuff. I have only used it once, but I thought it tasted great with soymilk too!

A little expensive, but I love Luna products!:D They taste so much better than other recovery smoothies I have tried!