Making Protein Powder drink less sweet

richardmroyal

Hello everyone!

I know the taste of protein drinks has been discussed before but ive gone through previous threads and not resolved the problem.

ive recently bought two tubs of protein powder - Isopure Cookies & Cream, and Metapure Red Berry. They came recommended because of their high protein but zero carb makeup, as im trying to lose my belly whilst retaining/increasing my muscle.

Ive tried them both with water, milk (normal and almond/soya) and as part of a smoothie. But I can't for the life of me get away from the horrendously sickly sweet taste. It's just all consuming and overpowering!

Having looked through the forums ive seen suggestions of mixing it with various things. So far ive tried bananas, kiwis, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, beetroot, cinnamon....nothing so far has made it any more palatable. I wouldnt mind so much retaining some basis of the flavour but the sweetness has to go, it just makes me gag!

I know some might say "just water it down more" but I dont want to have to drink five pints after training just to consume a scoop full of powder!

Equally I'm sure lots of you will suggest better tasting alternatives. Ive had plenty of decent tasting prepared shakes and bars that ive bought before so I know theres nicerr stuff on the market. The issue being that ive already got two tubs of this stuff, and at £30-40 each, id rather find a way of using it than throwing it away!

Ive even wondered if I can turn it into some tablet form just to get it down the hatch!

Can anybody suggest a resolution?

takumaku

What I believe you are trying to do is what I commonly call Flavor Balancing. I.e. the yin/yang effect.

Saltiness is balanced by sweetness.

Sourness is balanced by saltiness or sweetness.

Bitterness is balanced by sourness, saltiness, or sweetness.

Fat will decrease (subdue) to overall taste sensation.

Tanana66

^
I would not add salt.

Ok, here is what I would do - get anther tub of protein powder - Solgar vanilla is good and it does not have any sugar or sweetener in it, mix it with the other protein you have. Try a scoop of each, see if the flavours work.

rileysowner

I no longer get flavored protein powder. I get unflavored, unsweetened whey protein isolate and mix in the flavors and sweetening I want. It is less expensive than the flavored stuff, and ends up tasting exactly like I want when I am done. I get mine online. I am sure some googling will find what you need.

richardmroyal

Yep, I'd rather have unflavoured probably, but for the brands I was recommended (for zero carb reasons) flavoured was the only option.

rileysowner

Yep, I'd rather have unflavoured probably, but for the brands I was recommended (for zero carb reasons) flavoured was the only option.

Unflavored has no carbs, or at least as little as you can have since it is pure whey protein.

MityMax96

Try Met-Rx

That is why I use, and drink it with milk.....
no odd taste....to me anyway

Optimum Nutrition (ON) has a decent tasting protein powder too.

Iknowsaur

Mix it with half unflavored protein, or get something better than isopure because isopure is disgusting.

UsedToBeHusky

Ive even wondered if I can turn it into some tablet form just to get it down the hatch!

This is a genius idea! You should seriously develop and then go make a ton of money.

I'll say I knew you win.

I am being serious...

krokador

Stay away from anything with acesulfame potassium or aspartame in it if you want to avoid the sickly sweet taste. Or at least get something where it's the very last ingredient or so, behind sucralose. (or avoid artificial sweeteners in general xP) I have a similar issue with the overly sweet thing, and on top of that ace-K stays in my saliva for HOURS.

As for "watering" it down, you could try mixing a scoop in 3/4 cup of plain fat free greek yogurt. Yah, there will be a bit of carbs there, but the sourness of the unsweetened yogurt should balance out the intense sugary flavor. Heck, that's how I got myself to enjoy plain yogurt at all. On top of that, it turns out more of a pudding kind of mix, so it's more filling than drinking the stuff! Cottage cheese is also a decent option. It looks disgusting, but it's actually not bad at all.

Of_Monsters_and_Meat

Ive even wondered if I can turn it into some tablet form just to get it down the hatch!

This is a genius idea! You should seriously develop and then go make a ton of money.

I'll say I knew you win.

I am being serious...

Just get some empty gel capsules.

UsedToBeHusky

Ive even wondered if I can turn it into some tablet form just to get it down the hatch!

This is a genius idea! You should seriously develop and then go make a ton of money.

I'll say I knew you win.

I am being serious...

Just get some empty gel capsules.

Yeah, but can you get an entire scoop of protein powder in a gel capsule?

LindseySprake

I've had this problem belore, best solution I found was to mix it into Fat Free Greet yogart with a little milk and have it as a 'desert' instead.

Most plain fat free greek yogarts have a pretty bland/bitterish taste which will counter act the overly sweet taste of the protein powder.

I usually do:

80g Yogart + 30ml milk to every 1 (30g) scoop of protein.

Hope this helps :flowerforyou:

Of_Monsters_and_Meat

Ive even wondered if I can turn it into some tablet form just to get it down the hatch!

This is a genius idea! You should seriously develop and then go make a ton of money.

I'll say I knew you win.

I am being serious...

Just get some empty gel capsules.

Yeah, but can you get an entire scoop of protein powder in a gel capsule?

Take 25 of these and call me in the morning.

stealthq

I have this same problem with almost all of the flavored protein powders I've tried. Especially the ones with stevia (yes, trutein, I'm looking at you!) - so sweet and with such a disgusting aftertaste that I just can't shake!

Anyway, for me, the best counter to overly sweet has been pure cocoa powder and/or instant espresso powder. The darker and more bitter the better. I will say it did not work for me with the trutein because the aftertaste still came through. But if the problem is just that it's too sweet, then these should do the trick. At least enough that the result is edible.

richardmroyal

Thanks everyone!

I'm going to keep trying a variety of options though I suspect some will be more effective than others!

I've got some cocoa powder which I'll try ... might go better with the cookies & cream than the red berry!!! I will go and get some greek yoghurt and see if that works.

Other considerations are....

- Black treacle (kind of removes the point of low carb/sugar)
- Strong cordial
- The syrup you can get to mix with coffee (gingerbread etc is sweet but might become the dominant taste)
- Lemon/lime juice!

I feel like I'm in a laboratory!!!!

If the gel capsules don't fit it in, how about a syringe or saline drip?! :P

richardmroyal

Just an update ... it seems that Greek Yogurt may have done the trick! It at least disguises the taste so that I can get the stuff down, and makes smoothies etc with the powder more bearable! Although I suspect the amount you need to eat to cope kind of negates the zero-carb powder! Even though I'm using 0% fat yogurt!

laurelthistle

I like to mix the chocolate flavored kind with coffee. The bitterness of the coffee offsets the sweetness of the powder and actually tastes pretty good. Tried it in milk first and it was gross!

basowner

I also use greek yogurt, I like the consistancy better than drinking the watery stuff.

bzalisko

Here's my recipe:
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (contains icky sucralose that makes it too sweet)
- coffee and a little milk
- ice cubes or coffee cubes (if u want that extra buzz)
- a big hunk of peanut butter (2-3 tablespoons)
- about 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
- blend that bad boy

The cocoa powder, coffee, and peanut butter all are bitter to resist the sweetness. A pinch of salt can help too, but I don't use it. If you want even less sweetness, use more cocoa powder and stronger coffee, decaf if you need. You can also use instant coffee or concentrated liquid coffee you store in the fridge. Don't use any fruit, which will make it sweeter.

stanmann571

Don't obsess over "zero carb"

Try better/different brands/flavors.

MizMareedy

I suggest mixing either with a strong coffee. I do this sometimes and have considered flipping to a hot protein shake instead of iced & blended shake for the winter. I'm planning on making 1-2 cups coffee then stirring in 1 scoop of protein powder. I have vanilla and chocolate - so we'll see how this goes. Right now I mix mine (body fortress) with triple berry mix (raspberries/blueberries/blackberries) and it takes the sweetness way down (which is why I add 1 packet sweet n low).

erockem

This doesn't help you now, but going forward here is what I buy which may help.

MyProtein Vanilla, pretty lite taste for sweetness. I had to mix with chocolate protein to make it sweeter. There is also unflavored.

Rated spots 1,3 & 9 @ labdoor. Protein Rankings

stevemarvell

I find the Kaged powders too sweet. Take the chocolate one. First, dump a universe of cocoa powder (not hot chocolate) into the tub. I find that if you find a thin, natural yoghurt (like Yeo Valley), add the tartest fruit you can find, like blueberries or cranberries, and spinach and blast that all with some water then it's perfectly drinkable

Hannahwalksfar

I loveNo Way powder as I hate overly sweet things and No Way is the perfect level of subtly sweet without knocking your tongue off first thing in the am. Also dairy free which is necessary for me.

SnifterPug

I fell into that trap recently. The flavour I bought (different brand to you) is vanilla and almond. It is tooth-janglingly sweet. It also turned my yogurt to liquid (I wanted to add it to Bircher muesli) which was vile. I have discovered that the only way it is tolerable is by mixing half a scoop with some cold water and then adding that to a double espresso. Actually it is not too bad that way and I am happy to use it up. Maybe try that with your cookies and cream version. For the red berry version I guess I would be seeking out redcurrant or tart blackcurrants to blend in and see if that helps. I don't know if you can get sugar free cranberry juice but that might also work.

lynn_glenmont

If you want your protein drinks less sweet, stop buying sweetened, flavored protein powders. Buy a plain, unflavored powder, and get the flavor from whatever other ingredients you want to add.

CipherZero

Cocoa powder goes a long way in chocolate whey powders.

My personal favorite brand is MyProtein. Other than the rocky road, they don’t make bad flavors.