Elevation by Millville Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake (Aldi)

A tasty and affordable way to help lose weight.

I was a pretty big fan of Fit & Active’s chocolate diet shake, which they sold in four-pack bottles for $3.19 (if memory serves me right). It was never a constant purchase for me, because I never diet, but I liked having them on hand for their intended purpose: as a meal replacement, for nights that I was either too lazy to make something, or got so focused on a task that I didn’t realize until 10 p.m. that I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. Hey, it happens.

Well now, the Fit & Active shakes are gone, and seem to have been replaced with a similar product from Elevation by Millville, the line that tackles high-end energy bar and supplement knockoffs (and generally very well). Since there are six of them, the price has understandably gone up, but it’s a comparable per-bottle price, with 6 bottles retailing for $4.79 (edit: it's now $4.99, a hike that isn't drastic enough to affect the final score). It’s a little pricier than I’d normally like to spend on diet supplements, but again, it’s a nice option to have around for when the only other option is “nothing”.

It’s been a little while since I’ve had Fit & Active’s version, so I don't feel like I can accurately compare the two flavors, but from what I remember, that one was much smoother and more chocolatey. Elevation by Millville’s version has a slightly stronger chocolate flavor that isn’t very sweet, and even threatens to enter “bitter” territory as it slides down the throat, but thankfully it never does. There’s also a certain graininess to it that tells you you’re drinking something that’s supposed to be healthy…it’s the same style of “tongue grain” found in protein bars. (After drinking about two packs of these over a three-week span, I will say that I barely even notice it anymore.)

And that’s appropriate, because one thing Elevation’s drink has that Fit & Active’s didn’t (again, if my memory serves me correctly) is some added protein: 10g of it, to be exact, per 11 oz. bottle. Aside from that, there are decent-to-moderate amounts of 24 different vitamins and minerals, which can also make this great as a "breakfast on the go"

It might be my award-winning metabolism, but I never actually get “full” from these, and I’m not even sure if most people do, either (despite their “meal replacement” marketing stance), but I do like drinking one at least a couple times per week to help keep the vitamin counts up, if nothing else.

Overall: 8/10. I don’t quite like the flavor as much as I remember liking Fit & Active’s version, but Elevation by Millville’s chocolate shake provides a plethora of twenty-four different vitamins and minerals, while also providing 5g of dietary fiber, and a respectable 10g of protein (with 230mg of sodium, 6g of fat, and 19g of sugar, with 5g added.) Those are some pretty respectable numbers. The $4.79 $4.99 price tag (for six 11 oz. bottles) also offers pretty good value compared to other diet/nutritional products, and is closely comparable to Fit & Active’s $3.19 per 4-pack. On the downside, there is a certain graininess to it that prevents it from being ultra-smooth, but you won't notice after a couple bottles. If you’re dieting or just want to get a vitamin boost between meals, this is a great product at a great price.