Carnation Breakfast ESSENTIALS No Sugar Added Chocolate Powder, 7.05-Ounce Jar (Pack of 3)

Despite the reservations I have about this product, CARNATION INSTANT BREATKFAST ESSENTIALS, COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL DRINK, NO SUGAR ADDED, 8.46 OUNCES, PACK OF 3 --I must say here that it tastes very, very, very, very, VERY G O O D : ), (Yummy!!!!!) It's somewhat of a misnomer, then, that I give it only two stars -- I DO like it -- but the only thing I like about it is the taste....and the fact that it mixes easily. However, I do have very serious reservations about the sweetener combination which is in this product, and the fact that it labeled, (clearly, but in a place somewhat difficult to find on the label) NOT A LOW-CALORIE FOOD.....This powder mixes well with milk -- but, as with many ready-to-mix drinks, one must add the powder TO the milk and mix. The old idea of adding a bit of milk to the powder, making a paste, then adding more milk, only makes for a cakey mess with these newer products. So, it is curious to me that the directions on the back of the package say: "TO MIX, Scoop 1/4 cup, or 4 level tablespoons into large glass. Add 1 cup cold, fat free milk, stir." Well, I guess it could work both ways, (making a paste of a small amount of milk and a small amount of poweder is still not recommended here -- rather adding a lot of milk to the powder) -- but I find that adding the powder TO the milk works well for me.And yes, it is filling. Not quite so filling as the NOW NUTRITION CHOCOLATE WHEY mix, (which I have also reviewed for Amazon) -- but this Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added drink is much, much easier to prepare, and also has fewer calories.However, Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink Essentials Milk Chocolate, No Sugar Added, is NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD. It says so, in smallish letters, right there on the bottom of the left side of the cannister. Just where a picture of the FRONT of the cannister, (most usually used to advertise this product), will NOT show it! It's true that the only trace of sugar in this drink is from the lactose in the powdered,nonfat milk which is the first ingredient listed. This gives the product 7 grams of sugar. Not a lot, but.... The strange thing is, however, that this product, though hiding the words, "Not A Low Calorie Food" on its label, actually HAS made me lose weight. Yes, it took some effort -- but not as mcuh as usually. BECAUSE CARNATION INSTANT BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS, (at least in this milk chocolate flavour), DID MAKE ME FEEL FULL, AND NOT TOO HUNGRY, FOR AT LEAST THREE HOURS! It contains 60 calories per serving, (without milk), compared to 130 calories per serving, (also without milk), of the less-costly full-sugar version. A low-calorie food probably has less than 60 calories per serving but, as the product here being reviewed DID make me feel full, (and also gave me vitamins and minerals), I was able to lose about 10 pounds using it as one of my meals each day. But -- although I totally love chocolate drinks, it DID get a bit boring drinkng just this chocolate milk drink for one meal each day. Hmmm...I see it ALSO comes, (in the sugared variety), in "chocolate malt" flavour, Yum! I've ALWAYS loved chocolate malteds, ever since I was little. OK -- it will have twice the calories, but, even so....using 3 envelopes, (as I sometimes do), per 20-ounce glass size, this would give me 390 calories per 20 ounce glass. Not bad or a meal. The only trouble is, of course, that flavours OTHER than plain chocolate, (as is the item being reviewed here), plain vanilla and plain strawberrry, are available ONLY in 10 individual envelope boxes. I like the freedom, (and lesser expense), of a cannister --which is why I probably bought the chocolate flavour, instead of the chocolate malt flavour, this first time. Oh, well, I guess I can always combine them....The no-sugar powedered chocolate flavour, being reviewed here, (and probably most of the other flavours), contains powdered milk. Which is nice if all you want to add is water. However, the powdered milk used here, though fat-free, is NOT lactose-free. Which is important, if you are lactose intolerant.True, there is no sugar in this product. However, here is where I get very nervous reading the ingredients, and imbibing the product, however good it may taste. For, what gives this product its sweet tast is two other kinds of sweetening: ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, and SUCRALOSE, (which usually goes by the trade name of SPLENDA.) Sucralose -- as Splenda -- has been called the safest of the artificial sweeteners, in "Eat This, Not That -- Supermarket Survival Guide", by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, and is recommended, highly, by Dr. Jana Klauer, a Park Avenue, New York, diet doctor, in her book, "How The Rich Get Thin". Still, sucralose/Splenda has been linked to shrinkage of the body's vital "t" cells, (as these grow shorter, a person ages more), and, being made from sugar, (albeit changed from sugar by replacing one sugar molecule with another), it still oould, concievably, cause cancer, as it IS made FROM sugar to begin with. However, I, personally, am much more concerned about the ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, (a.p.) sweetener in this product. Although acesufame potassium is often mixed with splenda/sucralose in many products, I don't like the idea of "a.p." -- which has often been cited as a potential cancer causer, and, unlike splenda/sucralose, is NOT made from a naturally-occuring substance, (sugar) -- to be mixed with anything else. Except maybe with sugar itself, which is totally natural. Mixing a.p. with anything else -- even the relatively safe(?) splenda/sucralose, raises little alarm bells in my mind. Maybe I'm being overly cautious here --but when I mentioned this to my doctor, he agreed.Therefore, I feel this product should be used with caution, even by diabetics. (Diabetics have enough problems --surely they don't need a potential cancer causer combination!) The "regular", sugared variety of Carnation Breakfast Essentials, Milk Chocolate (or any other) Flavour, will be my choice from now on. There is about twice as much product in the non-sugar-free variety. This "sugar-free" variety has on its label: "NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD", right there on the bottom left of the front of the label, as I have stated before. Still, as I also stated before, it actually did make me feel full....and therefore, did help me lose (a little) weight....But yes, this is yummy stuff. Very, very tasty. But I am reminded of a fairy-tale, in which a human man was captured by an ogre. The ogre's wife gave him some oatmeal --poisoned oatmeal. "This stuff is good", said the man. "Can I have some more?" "Certainly," said the ogre's wife. Sadly, the man was soon not able to ask for a third helping....or indeed, anything else.Another reviewer has said that it gives him or her diarrhea -- but this can have a good effect on those beset with constipation! Bu there are other remedies for constipation -- and I am hoping that Carnation Breakfast Essentials, (REGULAR), Milk Chocolate Flavour, will be one of them!

I decided about six months ago, that I needed to lose weight. Among other things in my endeavor was to sign up with a weight loss group. At one of the first meetings, we were introduced to food labels. The thing I found interesting was there was a can of Carnation Instant Breakfast there. I didn't think that would be good nutrutionally, but they said sure. So, I decided to try it. My breakfasts are not limited solely to this, but it's just one of a variety of breakfast choices.I couldn't find the cans of no sugar added at the grocery store, so when I saw it at Amazon, I decided to order. Of course, I was disappointed to see a five week wait, but ordered anyhow. As it turns out, the five week wait turned out to be only about two weeks, so no big deal.I always enjoyed the taste of the yellow packaged breakfast, and was worried the no sugar added may not have the taste, but it does. It really does taste good. I also add about 10 - 15 g of flax seed meal, and it makes a great breakfast. I'll continue to buy and use it.

I had bariatric surgery (the sleeve gastrectomy) a year ago, and due to my diabetes, part of the diet regimen was the Glucose Control version of Boost. Now, Boost is actually pretty tasty (even the sugar-free Glucose Control version), but it's also expensive, around $10 for a six-pack of 8-oz bottles (maybe a few dollars cheaper in certain spots). Clearly, a less expensive alternative was desired, if not to replace then at least supplement my use of Boost.Enter the No Sugar Added version of Carnation Instant Breakfast. It was originally a part of the liquid diet I was required to be on before and after the surgery, so I already knew it tasted good and was quite filling. Since I still use Boost, though, I wanted to save some money, so I continued to use it to "boost" my Boost supply. It's giving me the same (or similar) benefits as Boost, while costing a whole lot less (each canister has 12 servings, so 36 servings per three-pack, plus the cost of skim milk, equals saving a ton of money compared to Boost). Ordering it from Amazon has been beneficial as well, as it's almost impossible to find the NSA variety in stores, and even if you do it's usually the boxes of individual packets.In short, good value, good product, tastes great, quite filling. Recommended whole-heartedly.

Echoing what others have said, it's a relief to be able to get the No Sugar Added product here, as it's almost impossible to find in stores (except for boxes of individual packets; if a store does sell the containers, they're only the yellow, with-sugar ones). The lower score doesn't reflect the product, which I think is great. Rather, the lower score is for the shoddy packing job that Amazon does. The first (and only) time I ordered the 12-pack, at least four of the containers had dislodged lids and broken seals, and of those, one of them had lost about half the contents all over the inside of the box. If this had been a single container or a 3-pack, I would have complained and insisted on a replacement, but since it was a 12-pack (which will last me a long time before I have to order another), I didn't bother. Each container should be wrapped individually to prevent this, which they do on the single and 3-packs, but why they don't on the 12-pack is beyond me. Caveat emptor! Other than this issue, the product itself is excellent.