Low Carb Protein Shake?

[ClockworkOrange]

I get very confused and muddled, there I was, trying to figure out a healthy skimmed milk drink for after I have been swimming first thing in the morning.

Then I seemed to have side tracked into things like protein whey powder?

All was going well, until I realised this can be very expensive and do I want extra muscles..............lol

Any good suggestions for a healthy low carb protein drink?

[OakLeaf]

Well, our local natural food store used to have the following on their sign:

Fresh Organic Chicken
Smoothies


You could have one of those chicken smoothies...


I'm not helping.


Seriously, decent quality protein powders are expensive, and I wouldn't mess with the cheap ones. I use a protein powder, but now that I'm not doing a lot of heavy strength training AND I'm eating meat and/or fish at least once a week, often twice a week, I don't need it near as often. What symptoms are you having that tell you you're not getting enough protein?

[marni]

I buy apex protein powder (whey protein) since I can't have any soy which while not inexpensive is reasonable when I consider that I only use half the suggested amount, along with a cup of skim milk, a banana, 3 ounces of greek yogurt, a sprinkle of instant espresso or hot chocolate mix works out to about .50 a shake and is delicious. That is my standard recovery drink or lunch most days along with a slice of whole grain bread, perhaps a bit of chicken or salmon and an extra piece of fruit.

Perhaps you should start comparing the cost per use to that of purchased smoothies, protein drinks etc. to put it all in perspective.

My rationalization is that I don't buy junk food, nor do I eat out or consume fancy coffee drinks so the money I spend on protein powder seems justified.

just saying.

marni

[emily_in_nc]

I use whey protein powder in my cereal and fruit smoothies to help balance the multitude of carbs in both, and since I don't eat much meat. Protein powder will not make you build bulky muscles, I promise. Gotta have testosterone to do that.

[Catrin]

I use whey protein powder in my cereal and fruit smoothies to help balance the multitude of carbs in both, and since I don't eat much meat. Protein powder will not make you build bulky muscles, I promise. Gotta have testosterone to do that.

Emily, I've tried this for the same reason you do...but it always seems to add taste I don't want. What brand do you use? I think some brands add flavor that doesn't need to be there...

It is very hard for women to bulk up like men do, it takes a lot of dedicated work to do that and I am not talking about the average weight training session (with or without a trainer) 3 times a week. I have a high protein diet to help maintain good blood sugar balance and also to control my appetite.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I've tried this for the same reason you do...but it always seems to add taste I don't want. What brand do you use? I think some brands add flavor that doesn't need to be there...

We use this one: http://www.nowfoods.com/Sports/Produ...ds/M003246.htm

It does have a vanilla flavor, but I don't mind that on either cereal or in fruit smoothies. I like that it has no artificial ingredients (including fake sweeteners).

We don't have a lot of choices here in Belize. This one is ordered for us by the one health food store in town, and we really like it.

In the US, I used to order from trueprotein.com. You can "build your own" protein powder from many custom choices, add-ins, etc. We used to get the most simple micro-filtrated whey protein with no added sweeteners, but we did get vanilla flavored even then, because we like it. I think you can get it completely unflavored, so you might try a pound from them and see if you like it, if you're looking for no flavor at all.

Good luck!

[OakLeaf]

Anyway, this is the one I use, and there are few others I would even consider.

Remember if whey protein is not organic, it's likely to be contaminated with rBGH - anyone who avoids soy for health reasons ought to be doubly concerned about that.

Other non-soy non-whey protein powders often contain potato protein, which unless they're organic, potatoes are grown with MASSIVE amounts of pesticides. Farmers, farmworkers and water supplies are indisputably poisoned whether or not you're worried about your own body.

Protein can be extracted with hexane, which can and does leave residues - check the label as most quality protein powders will say that they use a hexane-free extraction process.

Hemp protein powders appear to be plenty safe, but every one I've tried has both a pretty strong flavor and a grainy consistency. Also, whether it's the amino acid profile or some other reason (maybe just not consuming enough because I couldn't get past the taste!), I never felt hemp protein powder helped me that much with low protein symptoms (delayed recovery after running 2+ hours, excessive soreness after heavy strength workouts, brittle fingernails and toenails).


Honestly - I've always preferred real food, but I'm coming around more and more that way as I get older - if you're not vegetarian, then it's not that much more expensive to get a decent piece of local (or at least from your region, if you're from a megalopolis) grass-fed beef or pasture-raised chicken once a week, it's better protein, better for the environment and better for your local economy. If you're used to supermarket shopping exclusively, it takes some rearrangement of your buying habits, but that could open up a whole new world of food.

[ClockworkOrange]

Now why didn't I feel this was going to be an easy decision but saying that, big thanks to all the different opinions and suggestions.

This is going to take me whey to long to decide what to buy in a matter of minutes, so am checking out which products I can purchase here in the UK.

When I have decided will post and thanks again.

[Anelia]

Hi, I think that this is the best whey protein powder. I don't know about prices in UK but in my country the price of 1 gr protein is cheaper than buy milk or meat. I mix protein powder with whole milk and you can mix 400 ml milk with half a dose of protein powder. Thus you will use the box for 2 or 3 months and it will not be so expensive. And yes, you won't bulk The tastes of protein powder are so delicious that many people substitute candy cravings with healthy protein shakes.

[ClockworkOrange]

Hi, I think that this is the best whey protein powder. I don't know about prices in UK but in my country the price of 1 gr protein is cheaper than buy milk or meat. I mix protein powder with whole milk and you can mix 400 ml milk with half a dose of protein powder. Thus you will use the box for 2 or 3 months and it will not be so expensive. And yes, you won't bulk The tastes of protein powder are so delicious that many people substitute candy cravings with healthy protein shakes.

Thanks Anelia for going to the trouble to find the website in the UK, sounds like a good one.

It would be so helpful if you could buy a small satchet of these powders, just to experiment.

Off to my local Health Shop tomorrow, to see what they stock, at least thanks to you guys, I have more of an idea what to get.

[Anelia]

Hey, did you get protein shake? Are you hapy with it?

[ClockworkOrange]

Hey, did you get protein shake? Are you hapy with it?

Cheers Anelia for asking.

Well, I kind of got side tracked, I went into my local health shop and there were so many protein drinks to choose from, although none happened to be organic. I ended up buying Acai powder, phew, that's not cheap either.

I remember reading on here about various butters you can buy, then I spotted Almond butter............OMG!!! It's gorgeous but it did not last long, so all my healthy ideas have kind of gone upside down!!! I also noticed Coconut organic oil that can be used on the skin but also internally, so that was another addition. So my skin should be good on the outside and inside.

When I've finsihed the Acai powder, I will try the protein powder.