How do you eat your protein powder?

nyponbell
nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
in Food and Nutrition
As a vegetarian who is away at work all day (and I work in a school, and eat with the kids, so my food options are limited) I don't always get enough protein (especially not now when I'm lifting as part of my rehabilitation). So I got some vegan protein powder; but when I mix it in my delicious smoothies, it turns the smoothie too thick and the taste changes. And instead of gulping down my healthy and delicious smoothie, I end up not wanting to drink it all (because it's "too heavy") -- which not only wastes all the other ingredients but kind of defeats the purpose of having the powder.

So I've been thinking about just mixing it with milk and maybe a sweet fruit/berries and more or less just gulp it down, bad taste and all, just to get it in. But I don't drink a lot of cow milk (and to be honest, I dislike the taste of most non-cow milks) so before I go down that route I would like to explore other avenues. (It would be easiest to put it in my smoothie if I can mask the taste.)

And I do not want to mix it with water, because that would make things even worse I think!

If it matters, I only use about 13 grams of the powder (recommended per day is about 21 g) so it's not that I'm overdoing it; it just takes over.
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Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Mostly, I put it in yogurt. Sometimes in oatmeal. Sometimes in ice cream.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    Just drink it as a liquid
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yogurt or oatmeal. Sometimes in a shake but then only with milk.
  • Ironmaiden4life
    Ironmaiden4life Posts: 422 Member
    Shake with water or almond milk, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, brownies, cakes, cookies, muffins, fudge, bread. I do a lot of cooking with protein. I hate boring and I LOVE food...... you get the picture :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I put it in coffee with a Tbs coconut oil and a Tbs coconut cream and whip it to a froth. Yummy.
  • ambutl03
    ambutl03 Posts: 5 Member
    Have you tried PB2? It's powdered peanut butter! Delicious and you can get it from Walmart. It has 45 calories for 2 tbsp and tons of protein. I put it in almond milk and blend in some nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and throw in a banana :) i have prediabetes so I'm all about balancing protein with carbs :)
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    ambutl03 wrote: »
    Have you tried PB2? It's powdered peanut butter! Delicious and you can get it from Walmart. It has 45 calories for 2 tbsp and tons of protein. I put it in almond milk and blend in some nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and throw in a banana :) i have prediabetes so I'm all about balancing protein with carbs :)

    I don't live in the US so no Walmart and I'm allergic to peanuts. :smile:

    I'm going to try experiment with adding it to my morning oatmeal (which I have to eat fairly quickly anyway to make it to work on time, so flavour should hopefully not be an issue even if it's not "as good"). Thanks for the tips!!

  • kkarcher94511
    kkarcher94511 Posts: 196 Member
    In cereal 99% of the time. I just take a more plain cereal (I prefer those anyways) like Cheerios, puffed rice or chex then add some unsweetened cashew milk and protein powder. Flavors your cereal to whatever your protein powder is!
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    I just mix mine with water. But it tastes good on its own
  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
    It's hard to do but really effective. I usually do a spoonful at a time of the powder and just put it in my mouth and swallow. You can chomp and chew if you want but that just makes the process take longer. After about 8 spoons I'm usually pretty happy. It's good too cause all that protein absorbs into your cheeks....sort of like how chipmunks store their acorns...
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Just water, you could try water with a couple of drops of vanilla, or some other flavouring that might enhance it.
    Cold coffee?

    Cheers, h.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    It's hard to do but really effective. I usually do a spoonful at a time of the powder and just put it in my mouth and swallow. You can chomp and chew if you want but that just makes the process take longer. After about 8 spoons I'm usually pretty happy. It's good too cause all that protein absorbs into your cheeks....sort of like how chipmunks store their acorns...

    This just doesn't sound like a pleasant experience to me. Effective? Yes. Pleasant? Not so much.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    ambutl03 wrote: »
    Have you tried PB2? It's powdered peanut butter! Delicious and you can get it from Walmart. It has 45 calories for 2 tbsp and tons of protein. I put it in almond milk and blend in some nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and throw in a banana :) i have prediabetes so I'm all about balancing protein with carbs :)

    Peanut butter and Co just started making powdered peanut butter. The vanilla version is yummy in shakes.
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    The protein powder I have now is natural (I have tried some versions that have different flavourings and they often taste even worse to me) but I'm going to see about finding some way to flavour it without going overboard.

    :smile:
  • saphin
    saphin Posts: 246 Member
    My workday breakfast is often 100g of Greek yoghurt with 20 g of oat bran, a little almond or soya milk, a scoop of protein powder and bananas if I have any. Mix before you go to bed and leave in the fridge and it ends up both Yummie and filling as well as helping me reach my protein goal
  • Ringer1022
    Ringer1022 Posts: 45 Member
    Are you using an electronic mixer/blender for your shakes? I noticed the same thing, so I mix the entire smoothie first and then toss in the protein powder for just a quick zap to stir it up. It doesn't leave it anywhere near as thick.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    I snort it. Once that stops working, I intend to move up to freebasing, followed by mainlining.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    senecarr wrote: »
    I snort it. Once that stops working, I intend to move up to freebasing, followed by mainlining.

    lol.

    I pretty much only use it in protein fluff but it's mad filling so once in awhile I'll throw some in water with ice and sweeteners.
  • Rtrtiff
    Rtrtiff Posts: 25 Member
    I bought vanilla Shakeology and it was horrible the best thing I've ever done is add vanilla almond milk with peanut butter and a banana and a touch of vanilla flavoring ... That zapped the chalky taste but I'm never buying it again .. Which powder do you use?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    cmtigger wrote: »
    ambutl03 wrote: »
    Have you tried PB2? It's powdered peanut butter! Delicious and you can get it from Walmart. It has 45 calories for 2 tbsp and tons of protein. I put it in almond milk and blend in some nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and throw in a banana :) i have prediabetes so I'm all about balancing protein with carbs :)

    Peanut butter and Co just started making powdered peanut butter. The vanilla version is yummy in shakes.

    I tried the Mightynut one with chia and flaxseed! Better than PB2 so far.
  • Rtrtiff
    Rtrtiff Posts: 25 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    I just mix mine with water. But it tastes good on its own

    Which powder are you using ?
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    kkarcher94511 wrote: »
    In cereal 99% of the time. I just take a more plain cereal (I prefer those anyways) like Cheerios, puffed rice or chex then add some unsweetened cashew milk and protein powder. Flavors your cereal to whatever your protein powder is!

    Yeah, over cereal is great. I eat a scoop (vanilla) of that daily, and then another (chocolate) with peanut butter and cocoa powder.

  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    I saw GNC had a pumpkin spice flavor today. I was sore tempted to get some even though I have an ON 10 lber sitting at home. I think my eyes turned blue resisting it.Bx8JFarCMAApqUr.jpg
  • Abby_C2014
    Abby_C2014 Posts: 86 Member
    I think the protein powder you chose doesn't taste that good. I am currently taking Optimum Nutrition Hydrowhey in Turbochocolate flavor. It taste so damn good by itself and even better with almond milk (it taste heavenly by the way). You can try Intek Evolution whey protein too. Their flavors are out of this world.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I'm a vegetarian too! I use unflavored whey protein, and I mix it with milk and Instant Breakfast (a sort of fortified chocolate milk powder.. I think it's actually called Breakfast Essentials now), and because it's a milk protein, it dissolves fully in the milk and just tastes like I'm drinking chocolate milk. I use one scoop of protein powder (29 grams), one packet of instant breakfast mix (36 grams), and two cups of milk. It's a good number of calories at 500 each, but it knocks out almost 50 grams of protein!
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Protein powder also works in your favorite pancake recipe. You can make a larger batch and reheat each morning.
  • Bbeliever215
    Bbeliever215 Posts: 234 Member
    What kind of vegan powder? I've noticed that hemp is thicker than pea or rice. How about try one of those( my favorite is pea) or a combination of. I get my protein from true nutrition and you can create your own mixture. But to answer your question, I usually make smoothies with Almond milk, fruit, and ice.
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    I use the Sunwarrior Vegan Natural one, and I think it is the powder itself which tastes awful.

    I have next week off work which gives me more time to play around with different combinations; if I can't find any that works, I'm just going to chuck it in the bin and get another one. So thanks for the advice on other powders! As I don't live in the US I'm not sure if I'm able to get them all, but I'm at least going to shop around for a bit first (hopefully try a few before I commit). They should sell smaller "taster packs" of the powder, so people don't have to buy the 2 kg bags of something they end up not being able to choke down!
  • slideaway1
    slideaway1 Posts: 1,006 Member
    I get really bloated if I drink two scoops of protein in water. Fills me up more than most meals. Google or YouTube "protein Sludge" which tastes better than it sounds. Turns protein powder into a kind of pudding. I sometimes have protein powder it in porridge, but I put it on Special K cereal the other night (mixed in with the milk) which provided good protein/carbs and fibre.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    I drink it shaken with milk (shaken, not stirred).

    My husband drinks it in his coffee.

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