Choosing The Best Animal Based Protein Powder- A 2026 Guide
- Josh Boughton
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
I am so freaking excited right now. I’ve been waiting and wanting this type of thing for a long time, and it’s finally here! Thankfully, after lots of pleading and begging (ya’ll don’t even know how much I debase myself to get you good products), I finally got someone to make my dream nutritional shake, and I cannot wait to share it with you.
It's time to announce the arrival of the Animal-Based Protein Powder!
What IS AN Animal Based Protein Powder?
Animal-based protein powder combines protein derived from sources like beef or whey with nutrient-dense whole foods.
A high-quality version is free of the many problems that plague most nutritional and protein shakes on the market right now, including high levels of heavy metals, pesticides, contaminants, ethical issues, unknown sourcing and manufacturing, adulterants, quality control problems, questionable ingredients, gums, natural and artificial flavorings, and non-nutritive sweeteners, etc.
What's in a good Animal Based Protein Powder?
A good animal-based protein powder should be more than just protein, but the base will be protein. While I love native whey protein, many people cannot tolerate it or have dairy allergies, so to make it accessible to as many people as possible, a different protein source would be needed. It would need to be a complete protein, highly bioavailable, easily digestible, ethically sourced, and traceable back to the farms and facilities where it was produced.
After protein, we would need our nutritional add-ins. These would be various nutrient-dense whole foods that provide ample nourishment. These foods would be chosen not just for their nutrient density, but for their ease of digestion. Most companies that make nutritional shakes add isolated or synthetic vitamins and minerals rather than whole foods. I prefer the whole food approach whenever possible.
After the main ingredients, many shakes would add flavorings and questionable sweeteners. I didn’t want any of that. The goal was a base option people could add to whatever they wanted to give it their own flavor profile. There could be some versions flavored and sweetened with whole foods (not flavorings or problematic sweeteners), but I definitely wanted an unflavored version.
Next, there would be no gums, thickeners, fillers, or unwanted additives, because a clean shake was the goal.
It would also need to not contain the high levels of heavy metals often found in many protein and nutritional shakes.
After that comes traceability, including where the foods come from and who makes the product. A few big companies make the vast majority of protein shakes, and then other people slap their labels on them. This is called private or white labeling. Very few companies actually make their protein shakes from scratch, from raw materials to finished product. It’s important to know who makes your supplements, not just whose name is on them. We looked at a lot of animal-based protein powders while trying to find a good one, and one thing we consistently found is that the companies were almost entirely just marketing companies. They didn't make the ingredients that went into the powder, nor did they make the products. They were putting their name on the label and marketing the hell out of it. I wanted a version where I knew who was actually making the product, where the ingredients came from, and how it was made. This is far more important to me than whatever nonsense the marketing teams put out on social media and ads.
What's In The Best Animal Based Protein Powder?
This incredible Animal Based Protein Powder is filled to the brim with nutrition.
First up is the protein base, grass-fed beef. Don’t worry, the vast majority of the flavor molecules are removed during the manufacturing process. This beef protein is 100% grass-fed and finished. It is made from fresh muscle meat and bones. This is very different from many beef protein powders, which are just repackaged collagen. It contains all the essential amino acids, as well as naturally occurring nutrients such as iron. It is made in-house, not purchased in bulk from a questionable middleman. The meat is traceable back to the regenerative family farms and individual cattle it comes from. The cattle are not given hormones, antibiotics, synthetic feed additives, or MRNA vaccines. They graze freely over the wide open pastures of the Lake Eyre River Basin of the Australian outback.
Here’s how the beef protein powder is made:
It begins with beef. Then they use a clean, no synthetic chemicals, no harmful solvents process. All that is used is clean water, heat, and an enzyme to hydrolyze the beef. This process removes meat and fat from bones. Following this, the bones are crushed. The muscle meat and bones are added to a large kettle, and the enzyme and time convert the bones and meat into a concentrated liquid. From there, it is gently freeze-dried for 48 hours into a nutrient-rich powder packed with protein, collagen, gelatin, and a complete profile of amino acids the body needs to thrive.
Added to the protein is the first superfood blend, organ meats. They come from the same farms as the beef and bones for beef protein. The organ blend contains beef heart, thymus, lung, kidney, spleen, liver, and pancreas. They are gently freeze-dried for 48 hours and cryogenically milled to avoid thermal damage caused by traditional milling. Organs are among the most nutrient-dense foods, making them a great whole-food alternative to the synthetic vitamins and minerals found in most nutritional shakes.
The next add-in is the organic fruit blend. It contains pomegranates, blackberries, black currants, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, maqui berries, acai berries, and acerola cherries. They are low-temperature dried to preserve important compounds and nutrients. Fruits are incredibly nourishing and have so many proven benefits. Ignore all those crazy social media influencers saying fruit is bad for you, or that because they have a bit of sugar, you shouldn’t eat them. Those people are nuts. You need to eat fruit!
That’s it! No fillers, no non-nutritive sweeteners (the chocolate version is sweetened with organic date powder), no gums, no thickeners, no flavorings, no yucky things. Just pure, whole food goodness. A huge shout-out and a big thank you to our friends at NXGEN Wholefoods for bringing my vision of the most nourishing nutritional shake to life.
Now, because it’s made from whole foods, doesn’t contain any emulsifiers, and has not been instantized (a harsh process that can damage fragile compounds), it can form a few clumps when shaken by hand. That’s why, on your first order, we’ll give you a free electric frother to help you mix it and avoid clumps!
For all you chocoholics like me, it comes in a chocolate version made with real organic cocoa powder, not chocolate flavoring, and organic date powder for the sweetener.
How to use Animal Based Protein Powder
You mix with whatever beverage you like; we really like a combination of milk and honey. Smoothies are another great choice, mixed with your favorite fruit. It can also be added to recipes for things like muffins and pancakes to provide a nutritional and protein boost. A serving size is one scoop, and it provides 22 grams of protein, the same amount as about 4 ounces of steak. If you need more protein, you can definitely use an additional scoop or two.
After opening, store it in a cool, dry place away from moisture and direct sunlight.
Animal Based Protein Powder Recipes
Berry smoothie
1 scoop Animal Based Protein Powder
8 oz of milk
1 cup frozen berries
Blackberries are a great choice to give you lots of fiber, which most people do not get enough of!
Tropical smoothie
1 scoop Animal Based Protein Powder
8 oz of milk
½ cup frozen pineapple
½ cup frozen coconut chunks
Chocolate peanut butter shake
1 scoop Animal Based Chocolate Protein Powder
8 oz of milk
2 tablespoons of peanut butter (try Pics brand for the tastiest, low omega-6 peanut butter)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup (more or less to taste)
Pinch of salt
Other uses
Add a scoop to baked good recipes, pancakes, waffles, basically anything that you make a batter for.
Add to homemade salad dressings. ½ a scoop to 1 and ½ cups of dressing.
Add to homemade hummus. ½ a scoop to a can of chickpeas.
Add to smoothie bowls.
I’m so excited to finally be able to offer a whole food nutritional shake that makes it easy to add a ton of nourishment to your day.
Animal Based Protein Powder Questions and Support
If you have questions about our new Animal Based Protein Powder, please email us at info@rooted-nutrition.com, and we will be happy to answer them!
