Protein Shakes - Whey or Plant Based

Heidijjo

Hi everyone.

I don’t know about you, but protein shakes are a staple in my meal planning.

I use them to grab those extra calories I may be missing to meet the day or a quick grab if I don’t have time for a meal. Sometimes they are my breakfast, because that is the hardest meal for me to wrap my head around. I’m just not hungry in the mornings.

I like the “Only what you need” plant based shakes. I use these because I find that whey leaves me feeling bloated. I also prefer to get my protein from animal sources, so I feel it’s a good option for me to supplement with plant based. Mix it up a bit. I don’t mind the pea protein like most do.

I also enjoy the Slate proteins on occasion. They have caffeine in them and give me an afternoon boost.

I do use whey proteins in baking. I try to find the unflavored or less sweet powders.

I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts, experiences and suggestions on this
topic.

neanderthin

I get enough protein but I use to use whey back in the day.

mjbnj0001

I use plain (unflavored) whey powder in my frequent morning oats, occasionally add it to my flour when making breads, and experiment with it in other recipes for protein boosts (I am on a reduced-meat trajectory). I also have done some experiments with liquid whey extracted from whole milk plain yogurt (i.e., what I call "Greekifying" regular yogurt) for breads, chicken marinade, sauce bases, etc. I sometimes make up a meal replacement shake using basically only powdered whey with minimal other ingredients; I have accustomed myself to the taste. I do also occasionally use pea protein. I like it fine, but the "pea-ness" of it (at least in the Whole Foods version of it I have on hand) as a culinary ingredient somewhat tempers its use for me; I think the whey is more versatile.

Below: using liquid whey as part of the fluid in making bread dough (replaces an equal volume of water) --

Heidijjo

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

I use plain (unflavored) whey powder in my frequent morning oats, occasionally add it to my flour when making breads, and experiment with it in other recipes for protein boosts (I am on a reduced-meat trajectory). I also have done some experiments with liquid whey extracted from whole milk plain yogurt (i.e., what I call "Greekifying" regular yogurt) for breads, chicken marinade, sauce bases, etc. I sometimes make up a meal replacement shake using basically only powdered whey with minimal other ingredients; I have accustomed myself to the taste. I do also occasionally use pea protein. I like it fine, but the "pea-ness" of it (at least in the Whole Foods version of it I have on hand) as a culinary ingredient somewhat tempers its use for me; I think the whey is more versatile.

Below: using liquid whey as part of the fluid in making bread dough (replaces an equal volume of water) --

Amazing! I didn’t even think about liquid whey. I imagine the taste is different. Fantastic insight. Does the whey bloat you at all? I usually stay away from bread in any form except around the holidays. Whey, depending on what brand it is, doesn’t sit well with me. Yet I can eat Greek yogurt and whole milk with no problem. Thank you for sharing.

COGypsy

I drink the Fairlife Corepower drinks most days. They're whey based, but that’s never been a problem for me to digest. I just like the convenience - a drink and a piece of fruit or some veggies and dip make a good lunch for me. This brand in particular has managed to eliminate the gritty whey taste that most shakes seem to have.

mjbnj0001

Heidijjo wrote: »

Amazing! I didn’t even think about liquid whey. I imagine the taste is different. Fantastic insight. Does the whey bloat you at all? I usually stay away from bread in any form except around the holidays. Whey, depending on what brand it is, doesn’t sit well with me. Yet I can eat Greek yogurt and whole milk with no problem. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks. Glad to.

1. My preferred whey powder is Jarrow Unflavored. "Nothing but whey," although a little lecithin added for unclumpiness.
2. Whey is an acquired taste (powder and liquid), I don't have issues with it. I think it is fairly mild, but there is a taste. Used to be a common thing, remember Little Miss Muffet's "curds and whey"? I understand in 18th and 19th centuries "taking whey" (liquid) was a commin practice for health and nutrition.
3. No bloat. No dairy issues at all. I buy plain unsweetened/unflavored whole-milk or low-fat yogurt by the quart; I used to make it, but I have other things I do myself so I no longer usually bother. I also buy plain kefir regularly. I think these help my system. I use them in a variety of ways besides just drinking/eating. By the way ... male, 70yo, overweight with a variety of age-related things, but cholesterol isn't one. I average well below 150 total chol, and, frankly, I can't live without cheese, either, lol. But I do do higher fiber, higher veg, lower meat etc. than most folks I know. And avoid ultra processed, HFC, added sugar, etc. I think some of the bloat or discomfort people get is from their difficulty in digesting lactose, so yogurt should not exhibit such a problem. Liquid whey may have some residual lactose in it, but I believe not as much as straight-up milk. Gotta check on that.
4. I bake about 80% of the bread products we use. I started pre-pandemic with basic no-knead methods, and have evolved from there. Generally, I stick to the basic flour, yeast, salt, water ingredient list unless I'm going for something specific. And never use any of the chem lab stuff that's in commercial breads, even "good" ones. I am not a simple anti guy, I have worked in the industry, and have some background. I do science with myself as subject, what's now commonly called "n=1" testing.
5. I buy good flour, not necessarily organic, but also not chem bleached, etc. One of my forthcoming winter projects is milling my own from whole wheat. I have also been working towards a "hybrid sourdough" (also called "faux sourdough"), combining commercial yeast with live yogurt or kefir cultures in a long-fermenting (12-ish hours+) dough batch. I haven't been successful in maintaining a proper sourdough culture past a couple of generations of use. I know it's pitiful, I can't keep bacteria alive, lol.
6. Here, in the "Recipes" group, in the "What do your meals look like?" thread, you can go back a few months (pp. 808+ I think) to see some of the liquid whey experiments I did. Also, more detail on a whey/yogurt thread (can't remember the exact title offhand, something like "what do you do add to yogurt?") - there's only a few pages, you can see my extraction method and conversations about alternatives.

Good luck! (apologies for length ...)

Corina1143

I don't use much protein powder cause I'm a meat eater!
But occasionally I need a little boost, so I usually just add whey isolate to my milk. Then I put it in my coffee, cereal, etc. Just makes it a little richer, milkier.
I haven't tried many protein powders. I have tried soy. I didn't like the effect on my body.