So today I was in our local Vitamin Shoppe picking up a a few things. I had noticed before that they had indivudual 11oz. 'boxes' of Atkins shakes pre-chilled in their refrigerated section.

I've never tried the bars or the shakes, but I decided to try one today because I thought that a few shakes might be a reasonable thing to have on hand if I found myself in a pinch, and I had been reluctant to purchase a 4-pack without trying them first.

I was pleased (and surprised) to see that the one I got (strawberry; 1 net carb) had no sugar alcohols--just sucralose and ace-k. As soon as I got in the car I shook it well, popped it open and took a big swig. The sequence of events that followed:

Me to DH: "Well, this isn't as good as I hoped it would be."

*another swig*

Me to DH: "This actually isn't very good at all."

*I hand it to DH, who takes a swig*

DH to me: "It tastes really artificial."

*I take another swig*

Me to DH: "It's getting worse with every swallow. I'm throwing it away."

Which is exactly what I did when we got to the grocery store. And the whole time we shopped, I felt like I could not get the gross taste out of my mouth. How do people drink these things???

lol i haven't tried one before. i actually wanted to do it soon, since i always go for sweet drinks and beer. that sounds like an awful experience, hw exactly does it taste like??

Personally, I think they taste awesome. I like the vanilla or the chocolate. But I have drank them in the cans.
But, Im not picky. I like pretty much any kind or type of food.

Try the dark chocolate royale. I make one last a few days, sort of my go-to when I'm in need of a bit of chocolate.

I tried 'em all, and the dark chocolate royale is the only one I like.

Gotta have it really cold though.

Love the chocolate ones! They are better when they are cold to the point of almost starting to freeze.
Where do you find them in cans? All we can get here is the "new" formula in the boxes..
Used to love the vanilla but can't drink the new formula ones..too artificially sweet. Never tried the strawberry.

Different strokes for different folks! Maybe it's worth trying the chocolate one at some point in the distant future, when the memory of this experience has faded

keiramok, let me see if I can describe it--

1) it had a very heavy, almost gelatinous mouthfeel that I found really unpleasant (and I get that this particular issue is somewhat typical of protein drinks, having drank others in the past).

2) the strawberry flavor was very, very artificial

3) it left behind a really unsavory aftertaste...almost like a coating in my mouth that stuck around for a while

4) maybe the worst part was that it had small chunks in it (again, kind of gelatinous) that reminded me of spoiled milk (and yes, I checked the date immediately--it was fine--and it was completely sealed at time of purchase, nice and cold, and I shook the heck out of it before opening)

Honestly, I am not a picky person, but this was really yucky!!

I seem to recall on one of the forums I frequent that someone posted that they did have some production issues with these...now, I'm devoted to Pure Protein shakes, but you might want to contact the company if you feel you purchased a bad 'batch'. Perhaps it has improved!

Ewwwwww. You definitely got a bad one!

My friend said that the chunks have been present first in the vanilla, now the strawberry--yuck! I wonder if they're there on purpose?

First, let me say that I am very very very lactose intollerant and the shakes affected or effected me in the same way that milk attacks me. Anyway, it was not fun spending about two hours running back and forth to the bathroom, but I liked the idea of getting 15 gms of protein in one dose so I tried it again.
This time I took two gas-X, two beanos, and two of those tabs that are supposed to allow you process milk sugars before I took the second dose. It was a negatory on the helper pills so I was off to the races again.
Naturally, I didn't read the label very well so I missed the fact that the shake has whey protein in it which bothers me in the same way as milk sugars.
So, I am not saying it is a bad product but I am saying if you haven't tried the shakes before and you have had problems with whey and milk products in the past you might want to set aside a block of time before you try these little gut bombers.

Ugh, for a while the texture was AWFUL. I quit buying them. But I bought a 4 pack last week and they are fine.

I don't mind the flavors...in fact strawberry is my favorite.

I have only tried the dark chocolate and the milk chocolate. I never had any issues. But, i would have to say the dark chocolate is my favorite and tasted great. I used to use them as a snack or a quick replacement at work if i couldn't get a meal. They were only good very very cold and i always shook them like crazy. Sounds like a bad batch.

I've had two of the vanilla ones and they are too thick for me! I used to drink the Slim Fast Low Carb, much thinner, maybe I'll go back to that.

I don't like the strawberry or vanilla ones. The chocolate ones I do like.

I did not know Slim Fast had low carb shakes. I will have to look for them.