NSAIN Warrior Food - Moosemilk 🦌🥛
As y’all know, I make a point to make my blog / content unbiased - which is why I don’t sell stuff, and pay for everything I review. Having said that, I have had a few brands reach out and ask that I review their supplements, and NGL that always makes me feel like a bit of a big deal.
Native Strength And Iron Nutrition (or NSAIN for short) was one of the first brands to reach out, – and I’m glad they did. Ego boost aside, I actually discovered a very good product that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have found. Also, it’s nice to support smaller businesses, particularly in difficult / uncertain times. (more on that below)
The Product Summary
📋 Product: NSAIN Warrior Food
🥛 Type: Whey Protein Blend
👄 Flavour: Moose Milk
💰 Price: £29.95
⚖️ Weight: 2.2 lbs
🥄 Servings: 33 scoops
The TLDR
This is a really mellow-tasting protein with some unusual and healthy add-ins. The product has no chemical / protein aftertaste, which makes it extremely easy to drink and super versatile. Overall very happy with this
The Macros
🔥 116 Calories
💪 21g Protein
🍬 4.5g Carbs (1.8g sugar)
🛢️ 1.8g Fat (1g saturated)
The Brand
If you haven’t heard of Native Strength And Iron Nutrition … it’s probably not because you don’t lift. The company is quite small and relatively new - with their first Instagram post coming in 2018. Although the company is quite young by industry standards, the owner (Steve Shoesmith) of NSAIN has a ton of experience, and spent 5 years working with the late Rich Piana, along with over 30 years of fitness / supplement experience.
What is also noteworthy, is that NSAIN is the first ever Native American owned and operated supplement company. This clearly shouldn’t be the only reason for buying supplements from them (the products have to be good!), but I personally do feel better supporting a small, family-owned business vs. a large multinational.
That “personal touch” from a small business was very evident throughout my interactions with NSAIN. My order came with a personalised note, Steve (the owner) was on hand to answer all my questions, and routinely checked in to see how I was liking the protein. All of those were nice added touches, and very much appreciated. The small business vibe also extends to NSAIN’s branding - which I would describe as being “no-nonsense”. As you can see below, the products don’t have that slick “institutional” look, and the branding in general is quite basic and minimalistic
Really liked the compactness of the tubs!
Before we get into the formula, I should mention that I got weirdly excited about the shape of NSAIN’s tubs…
You ever open up a brand new tub of tein - and quickly realise that it’s half empty (or half full I guess, depending on your philosophical inclination)? Don’t worry, you’re not getting ripped off - this is actually quite normal, because protein is sold by weight, and not by volume. (Fun fact, the reason protein powders traditionally come in super large tubs, is because guys perceive bigger tubs as better value, and bigger tubs align with our aim of getting swole. Interestingly, female consumers actually favour smaller sized containers). But, as people are increasingly concerned about waste / plastic usage, it stands to reason that protein powders should come in an appropriately sized tub.
This is exactly what NSAIN have done - just look at how compact the tub is in the picture above. This made it super easy to store, and carry around in my gym bag. Don’t know about you, but I don’t feel the need to whip out a huge tub of protein at the gym for everyone to see #SizeDoesntMatter😏. If you don’t care about size and / or plastic usage, then just know that a smaller tub = less digging around for the scoop.
The Formula
First thing to note, is that Warrior Food isn’t designed to be a traditional protein powder - it’s meant to be a more rounded post workout recovery matrix, and hence it’s slightly lower in protein (21g vs. the “standard” 24g) and higher in carbs. In addition to three kinds of protein (Whey Concentrate, Whey Isolate, and Milk Concentrate), the product also includes fine oats to help replenish the lost glycogen, some pre and pro biotics to aid digestive health, and some spirulina for general health
Starting with the most important ingredient - protein. This is a blend of whey concentrates, isolates, and milk protein. Whey concentrates and isolates should be familiar to most people - they’re basically the same thing, except isolates are filtered a bit more, and therefore is easier to absorb and more pure than concentrate. Milk protein is slightly different, in that it is a mix of whey and casein (like milk!).
This means that Warrior Food is a mix of predominantly fast digesting whey proteins, coupled with some slower release casein. As I’ve written on numerous occasions, I don’t think protein absorption makes a huge difference for most of us, but it does have implications on taste, texture, and digestibility.
Not a whole lot to say about the oats, as I assume most of y’all know what this is. Moving on…
For those that don’t know the difference between probiotics and prebiotics - here goes. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for you, especially your digestive system - this is the stuff that usually comes in your digestive yoghurts. Prebiotics on the other hand, are types of fibre that humans cannot digest, but serves as “food” for your probiotics. Basically, it makes sense to take both to really help with your digestion.
I personally don’t suffer from any digestive issues with protein anyway, but it’s always good to know that a certain product contains digestive aids that help reduce or eliminate bloating. Worth noting that Warrior Food doesn’t contain any digestive enzymes, so if you’re lactose intolerant this may not be the best bet for you
Lastly, spirulina is an algae that people often takes as a supplement. It has a whole host of health benefits, including an excellent nutritional profile providing a host of vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Basically, it’s good stuff, and super healthy. While the product clearly contains a whole host of good stuff, this is still ultimately a protein powder, and you shouldn’t be relying on it for your daily dose of spirulina, for example. By the same token, if you’re looking for a “complete” post workout shake with carbs, you may want to add more oats to your shake.
Overall, a very clean formula with lots of good stuff in addition to your protein.
Full ingredients list below:
Whey Protein Concentrate (Milk), Whey Protein Isolate (Milk), Fine oats (Gluten), Milk Protein Concentrate (Milk), Flavouring, Spirulina, Pre & Probiotics (Lactobacillus Acidophilus & Orafti Synergy 1), Colour, Sweetener (Sucralose)
The Mixability
Somewhat surprisingly, the mixability is very good. I say surprising, because protein powders ordinarily have some sort of lecithin to help with emulsion, but NSAIN’s Warrior Food omits this entirely. This turns out to be fine, because I did not have any issues on the mixing front. This dissolves into a smooth drink when shaken in a standard wire-ball shaker, and I had no issues mixing this into warm or cold oatmeal.
The consistency of the drink is very good - not too thick, but also not overly thin. I’d probably liken it to the texture of full-fat milk.
The Taste
So I’ll be honest, I had no idea what “Moose Milk” before I tried Warrior Food. Turns out, Moose Milk is a traditional Canadian alcoholic mixed drink with roots in the historic celebratory events of the Canadian Armed Forces. Moose milk is composed of five different classes of ingredients:
Spirit: typically a combination of Canadian whisky, vodka, or dark rum
Coffee beverage: Kahlúa and occasionally prepared coffee
Dairy: a combination of whole milk, cream, condensed milk, egg nog, or vanilla ice cream
Sweetener: maple syrup or sugar
Spice: nutmeg and occasionally cinnamon
Having read the ingredients list above, I now understand why NSAIN flavoured their product with chocolate and vanilla maple syrup powder.
Actual glass of Moose Milk - complete with a cinnamon stick
In my opinion, NSAIN’s Moose Milk tastes excellent – it’s got a nice natural, mellow, milky flavour with a hint of nutmeg. What I loved most though, is that there is literally zero chemical or whey protein aftertaste. Overall I was very happy with the flavour, and think this would be make a very good vanilla substitute.
The Flavour Longevity
With the standard caveat that this is a small-ish tub, I didn’t get sick of this flavour at all. I remember having about 4 - 5 servings in the first few days I got this, because it was very easy to drink. It’s usually the case that mild, “normal” flavours tend to fare better on the longevity front, and this was no exception. I could conceivably see myself drinking this for an extended period of time without getting tired of the taste.
The Versatility
Because the flavour tastes quite natural and mellow, with a hint of sweetness, this made it really easy to pair with fruits, oatmeal, and milk. I actually ended up “eating” a lot of this - meaning I’d mix this into my oatmeal or cereal. You can also quite easily blend this with fruits and peanut butter to make a nice smoothie.
My favourite use of this was mixing with water, and using it as a milk substitute in my morning cereal. I’m sure somebody with more culinary talent than myself could make some delicious pancakes (or similar) with this.
The Pricing
At £30 for 33 servings, this product falls just below the £1 per scoop mark, which is my rule of thumb for the standard price of a 2lbs tub. I’m aware that NSAIN sponsor a few athletes, who all have 10% discount codes, so have a dig around instagram and you could potentially pick this up for £27.
Even at £27, this is by no means a “cheap” product, with protein from a few companies like CNP and Per4m coming in at similar / slightly lower levels. However, I will say that I think this is a solid product that is worth the price, and shouldn’t be looked at as a “cheap” alternative.
As with a lot of the stuff I review, I didn’t pay full price for this, and on this occasion received a 10% discount from the brand. As above, I’m quite happy with this at the £27 price point.
The Verdict
I think NSAIN have created a very good product here, and I really enjoyed the Moose Milk flavour, more than I expected to be honest. The macro profile is good, and the ingredients list contains a few surprising but healthy add-ins.
My only complaint is around the branding - in that it is quite basic. However, I am somewhat conflicted here as I I really liked the size of their tubs, both for environmental reasons and convenience. Obviously both very minor in the grand scheme of things, so on balance I would be quite happy recommending this to someone looking to try a new product in a novel flavour, and support a small growing business along the way.