Plant protein for lactose intolerance, tested a week: Cleanit Protein

Breakfast is always a tightrope walk for a lactose-intolerant office worker

At 8:15am, every time I step onto Line 2 of the subway, a small war breaks out in my stomach. As someone who studied food and nutrition and lives with lactose intolerance — any dairy makes my stomach bloat and churn — breakfast has always been a precarious tightrope walk for me.

Rushing through my commute, I kept trying to find an easy protein source, only to give up every time because my stomach couldn't handle it. Whey-based shakes were simply something my gut refused to accept.

So I turned myself into a test subject and went hunting for a plant-based protein with absolutely zero dairy — not even 1%. I spent a whole weekend comparing nutrition labels on countless products, one by one. After a solid four hours of digging, what caught my eye was Cleanit's Cacao plant-based protein shake.

Pea protein + rice protein — I checked the label first

The first thing I did after getting the product was scrutinize the detailed composition on the nutrition label. The key with plant protein is a balanced amino acid score, and this one combines pea protein and rice protein so they complement each other's incomplete amino acid profiles.

Each serving delivers 19.2g of plant protein, and as someone with a nutrition background, I really appreciated that the sweetness comes from natural sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners. On top of that, it contains 2,800mg of soluble fiber, showing they thought about gut health too.

On the first morning, I worried about a beany aftertaste — but

On the first morning, I pulled out my tumbler with a mix of excitement and nerves. In the past, some plant-based shakes I tried had such a distinct beany smell or gritty, sandy texture that I couldn't finish even half of them and just tossed them. A little fear crept in that the same thing might happen again.

I poured in 200ml of cold water, added the powder, and shook it vigorously for exactly 15 seconds. When I opened the lid, the bittersweet, deep aroma of Dutch cacao spread out.

I took the first sip. Surprisingly, the first sensation on my tongue was smooth, with no clumping at all. I took one sip, then savored the cacao flavor lingering in my mouth for a second and third.

There was no hard lump halfway down my throat, and it glided down smoothly with no gritty texture no matter how much I chewed. The sweetness wasn't cloyingly sugary — it was clean and light, leaving a crisp finish that didn't get tiresome.

Add an espresso shot and it becomes a mocha latte

On the third day, I tried a small, slightly silly variation. I sneakily added a shot of my usual morning espresso into the shake. Pouring a hot shot into the cold shake on my way to work gave it a weirdly delightful vibe — somewhere between a caffè latte and an Einspänner!

The rich Dutch cacao aroma mixed with the bitter coffee notes and created a luxurious mocha latte flavor. This little secret indulgence of mine boosted my focus at work for the entire morning.

A week of breakfast replacement, an easy 159kcal cup

For a whole week, I replaced breakfast every morning with an easy 159kcal cup. It offers excellent nutritional balance for anyone looking for a light meal replacement or doing a switch-on diet.

Above all, having no lactose meant my stomach stayed comfortable on the subway every morning during my commute — and that alone made it the perfect answer for me.

It's a morning cup for office workers that checks all three boxes: protein quality, digestive comfort, and flavor.

In summary

• Cleanit's Cacao plant-based protein shake blends pea and rice protein evenly for a balanced amino acid profile in a high-protein shake.
• With no dairy ingredients, even office workers with lactose intolerance can drink it comfortably without worrying about stomach upset.
• Instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners, it uses monk fruit and stevia for a clean sweetness, at just 159kcal per serving with little calorie burden.
• Rich Dutch cacao flavor combined with soluble fiber gives it a smooth texture, making it suitable as a meal replacement.
• Mix it with water or soy milk, or add an espresso shot to enjoy it like a mocha latte — great for keeping it up without getting tired of it.