Kaged Clean Meal: The Most Underrated Meal Replacement on the Market

Finally, a meal replacement that does things the Kaged way – with whole foods, tons of micronutrients, and even some mushroom extracts! Here we get a peak at the new label rolling out in 2022

Proper nutrition is essential for health, performance, and recovery. But for people with busy lifestyles, it’s difficult to properly prepare and eat three square meals a day every day. Sometimes you need a little help, and that’s where meal replacement powders (MRPs) come in.

But if you look at the most popular products in this category, they can’t even be bothered to use quality protein let alone whole food carbs!

The masterminds at Kaged developed Clean Meal for exactly that purpose, to combat the low-quality, collagen-filled MRPs that stain the industry. This premium (and vastly underrated) MRP uses nothing but high-quality ingredients from start to finish, leaving you no excuse to miss a healthy meal.

By “healthy meal”, we mean one that’s:

• Rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals)
• High in protein with a full spectrum of essential amino acids
• Contains healthy fats and enough low-glycemic carbohydrates for your goals

The new look of Kaged Clean Meal: Feel the difference

And that is the framework Kaged used to formulate Clean Meal.

Clean Meal’s Macros

Each two-scoop serving of Clean Meal has:

• ~240 calories
• 28 grams of protein
• 18 grams of carbohydrates (2 grams dietary fiber and only 1 gram sugar)
• 4.5 grams of fat
• 25% daily value of 21 vitamins & minerals

Kaged uses whole-food ingredients that are easily digested and absorbed to fuel your body with nutrients to perform optimally, such as:

• Whey protein isolate (as ioWhey from Ingredient Optimized)
• Swedish oats
• Organic quinoa
• Coconut MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil
• Organic fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms

Compare that against the competition, which uses nearly all collagen, low-quality plant proteins, and/or synthetic processed carbohydrates!

The first meal replacement powder with ioWhey technology

Kaged isn’t the first sports nutrition company to release an MRP, but it’s one of the few that doesn’t use synthetically-sourced vitamins and minerals or low-quality carbohydrates (generally maltodextrin). And Clean Meal is definitely the first MRP with ioWhey, an enhanced form of whey protein isolate that’s shown to have superior bioavailability over standard whey protein.

Clean Meal is also Informed-Sport certified, which means it’s third-party tested to ensure that it doesn’t contain any banned substances.

See PricePlow.com/kaged to save on Kaged Supplements!

This is an incredibly versatile powder — it can be used to replace a meal or as a snack, and the delicious flavors can satisfy your sweet tooth without ruining your nutrition plan.

Keep reading to learn more about Clean Meal and subscribe below for more Kaged news, review, interviews, and deals. Our coupon-powered prices are below:

Clean Meal Nutrition Facts

The Kaged Clean Meal Ingredients and Nutrition Facts. Are you ready for a “boost” serving?

It’s important to note that Kaged lists the macronutrient breakdown on the nutrition facts panel for both a two-scoop and three-scoop serving size. This allows you to easily adjust the serving size based on your personal caloric and macronutrient requirements.

Here’s what one serving (two scoops / ~58.6 grams) of Clean Meal contains:

• Calories: 240

• Protein: 28g

• Carbohydrates: 18g

  • Dietary Fiber: 2g

  • Sugar: 1g

• Fat: 4.5g

Clean Meal Ingredients

• Protein Source: ioWhey-enhanced Whey Protein Isolate

  Kaged only uses 100% whey protein isolate (WPI) to deliver 28 grams of high-quality protein per two scoops. As we mentioned earlier, Clean Meal is the first MRP to use ioWhey from Ingredient Optimized (io).

  Since whey isolate is at least 90% protein by weight, it contains minimal amounts of carbohydrates, fat, and lactose, and is rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and essential amino acids (EAAs). Most of us know that, but Kaged asked if there was any way to make it even better?

  

  ioWhey is a more bioavailable form of whey protein that’s been shown to outperform whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate.

  The answer is yes — Ingredient Optimized technology, io further enhanced standard WPI bioavailability using a natural atmospheric plasma treatment process to improve the surface area, solubility, and dispersibility of protein molecules.^[1,2] The technology can be used to improve the absorption of various protein sources, such as whey and pea protein.

  Unlike other protein processing methods, io doesn’t use harmful chemicals or enzymes to alter the structure of protein. Instead, they carefully change the nutrients’ shape and structure to expose hydrophobic pockets of the protein molecules.^[1,2] This process enhances the protein’s bioavailability, making it more soluble in water and easier for the body to cleave off the proteins and absorb nutrients. It’s also less likely to cause stomach discomfort.^[1,2]

  A clinically-verified protein technology

  At least four human clinical trials have shown that ioWhey is better than whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (HWPI).^[3-6]

  These studies have found that ioWhey offers the following benefits:

  

  ioWhey increases plasma EAA levels approximately 123% more than standard whey protein isolate. Graph courtesy of Ingredient Optimized.^[3-6]

  • Less stomach discomfort*
  • Faster recovery*
  • Greater performance improvements*
  • Greater increase in lean mass*
  • Significantly greater elevations in EAA, BCAA, and leucine from basal levels*^[3-6]

  *Compared to whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein

  Overall, ioWhey has numerous advantages over standard WPI and HWPI. Researchers theorize the difference in results between the different types of whey protein is likely attributed to ioWhey’s superior bioavailability.^[3-6]

  You can learn more about this technology in our article titled ioWhey: A Superior Form of Whey Protein. And as a side note, Kaged uses this same technology with pea protein isolate (as ioPEA) for their award-winning vegan protein powder, Plantein.

• Carbohydrate Sources

  To deliver 18 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of dietary fiber, Clean Meal uses two whole food, low-glycemic carbohydrates:

  • Oat flour (from Swedish oats)
  • Organic quinoa
  

  Now this is how you replace a meal. Save the cake for post workout if you’re bulking… or never, if you’re dieting.

  Oat flour is an excellent whole food carb source that’s rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and bioactive antioxidant plant compounds that contribute to several health benefits. For example, oats contain a fiber called β-glucan that’s responsible for the LDL cholesterol-lowering effects seen with oat consumption.^[7,8] (Just note that HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting insulin are better markers for health than LDL).

  Moreover, oats contain a phenolic compound called avenanthramides. They’ve been shown to be anti-inflammatory, anti-itch, and enhance nitric oxide production.^[9,10] Improved nitric oxide production signals to blood vessels to expand, resulting in increased blood flow throughout the body. These positive effects may lead to improved heart health and performance, and lower risk of cardiovascular conditions.

  Quinoa is a whole grain that, along with buckwheat and amaranth, is classified as a pseudocereal.^[11] In addition to being gluten-free and containing starchy carbohydrates, quinoa is rich in protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients, and health-beneficial phytochemicals.^[11]

  Some studies suggest that quinoa consumption can have a positive effect on cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers, such as cholesterol and blood glucose levels.^[11] However, more research is needed to fully determine quinoa’s health benefits and mechanism of action.

• Fat Source

  

  MCT Oil is short for Medium Chain Triglycerides, and it’s a fantastic saturated fat that improves beta oxidation, is available for immediate energy, and can suppress appetite in high enough doses

  The only added fat source in Clean Meal is medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) powder, derived from coconut oil. MCTs are incredibly healthy saturated fat molecules that consist of a glycerol backbone and three fatty acid chains, which can vary in length from six to 12 carbon atoms.^[12,13]

  The four main types of MCTs are:^[12-15]

  • Caproic acid (C6)
  • Caprylic acid (C8)
  • Capric acid (C10)
  • Lauric acid (C12)

  Since MCTs are shorter in length, they can be transported to the liver quickly and metabolized easily. This allows the body and brain to access usable energy more efficiently so it can perform better. Medium-chain triglycerides can also serve as a second messenger to enhance biological signaling pathways.^[12-15] Therefore, MCTs are a great additional source of energy instead of relying solely on carbs.

  Some benefits of MCTs include:^[12-15]

  • Increased energy and metabolism
  • Enhanced fat loss
  • Improved cognitive function
  • Reduced appetite

  Whether or not you believe that saturated fats are healthy (we absolutely do), there’s less controversy over these — the MCT subset are clearly beneficial.

• Vitamins & Minerals

  Instead of using synthetically-sourced vitamins and minerals, Kaged decided to use only fruits and vegetables, since they may be more bioavailable. Each serving (two scoops) of Clean Meal provides 25% of your daily value of 21 vitamins and minerals.

  

  Clean Meal was originally launched in two flavors, Vanilla Cake and Snickerdoodle

  Here are the ingredients that makeup Clean Meal’s fruit and vegetable extract blend:

  • Broccoli
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Pumpkin
  • Sweet potato
  • Sunflower seed
  • Kelp
  • Chlorella
  • Maitake mushroom
  • Shiitake mushroom

  Mushrooms in a meal replacement

  Don’t skip over those last two ingredients! There are two types of mushrooms inside, providing even more benefits that aren’t likely in your diet.

  Why? Amongst other constituents, mushrooms contain a differenttype of beta-glucans (discussed above in the oat flour section) — β-1,6 branching glucans!^[16] While the oat-based beta-glucans support metabolic health, the mushroom-based ones can activate numerous immune system pathways!^[17-19]

  

  Where the Beta-Glucans comes from makes a very big deal. 1,3/1,6 is where we get immune benefits.^[16]

  This allows the immune system to better recognize foreign viruses, bacteria, and infected cells, improving the speed of their removal. For instance, these types of beta-glucans can boost immune system cell activity against viruses and bacterial infections.^[20]

  Specific to Kaged Clean Meal, this has been demonstrated with maitake mushrooms,^[18] and Shiitake mushroom also contain these beta-glucans!^[17,18]

• Other Ingredients

  Here are the main ingredients that Kaged uses to improve Clean Meal’s flavor, mixability, consistency, and texture:

  • Natural flavor
  • Gum blend (guar gum, gum acacia, xanthan gum) – thickening agent
  • Stevia (as steviol glycosides) – natural sweetener
  • Sucralose – artificial sweetener
  • Cinnamon bark powder (only in snickerdoodle)

Clean Meal Flavors

Here’s an updated list of Clean Meal flavors:

Kaged Multivitamin: A Whole Food Vitamin and Mineral Blend

Kaged Emphasizes Bioavailability and Innovation

Ever since Kaged launched in 2014, they’ve been emphasizing high-quality ingredients, efficacious formulations, transparent labels, innovation, and maximizing bioavailability.

Over the years, the company released numerous products that use industry-first, cutting edge technology like the ioPea in Plantein.

The side of the Kaged Clean Meal Label

To this day, Kaged continues to make supplements that use tried-and-tested ingredients, such as whey protein and branched-chain amino acids and finding ways to make them even better. For example, their past three product launches—Plantein, BCAA Synergy, and Clean Meal—have used patented ingredients from Ingredient Optimized.

Ingredient Optimized focuses on taking traditional dietary supplement ingredients and improving their bioavailability, which in turn significantly enhances their effectiveness. Kaged is one of the few brands to use io’s ingredients. it’s just one thing that separates them from the competition.

Don’t forget Kaged’s other proteins!

The brand isn’t new to protein either. Their original launch lineup included Kasein (a casein protein with an insane vanilla flavor system), their post-workout supplement Re-Kaged is whey protein isolate based, Plantein is of course plant-based (using ioPea), and they have MicroPure Whey Protein Isolate for everyday use as well. But Clean Meal brings so much more to the table to round out their protein lineup.

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Note: This article was originally published on March 9, 2021, and updated on February 25, 2022 with the new labels an improved ingredient breakdown and mushroom discussion.