High Protein Drink

I started buying these Whey Protein powders at Wal-Mart last January. Our church was participating in a "Daniel Fast" for two weeks, where you eat only healthy foods and no substitutes, beef, pork or chicken. So with a very limited food shopping list, I was on the lookout for anything that would help get us through and out of our "fast food and junk food" spoiled lives. That's when I came across this protein powder.

The powder comes in 3 flavors - chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. We normally use soy milk, since we could not have regular milk at all - skim milk doesn't make it off a shelf and into our refrigerator. ..- Then we add either fresh or frozen fruits and two scoops of this powder. Mix in the blender and sometimes add a little crushed ice. It makes for a great smoothie. With the strawberry flavor, I sometimes add a 100% fruit juice, instead of soy milk. I don't find this powder to be gritty at all, like other powders have been.

Our favorite of course is the chocolate, but strawberry is very good too and reminds me a lot of Nestle Quick's Strawberry powder. You can mix this powder in a blender, shaker or by stirring. It still dissolves just fine.

My husband was also diagnosed as having borderline type 2 diabetes, which meant we were looking for ways to increase his and our protein content, to help offset any carbs consumed during the day. His mother has controlled her type 1 diabetes with large amounts of protein and was so pleased that I found this. She also takes it during the week or when her blood sugar is too high.

There are about 14 servings per container, if you use 2 scoops (which is recommended). Double that if you use one scoop.
I will include two sets of numbers here. The first relates to 2 scoops and the second number is 1 scoop:

Calories = 270 / 130
Total fat = 4g / 2g
Cholesterol = 90mg / 45 mg
Total Carbs = 7g / 3 g (these stats are included with the carb count section:
Dietary Fiber = 1g / Sugars 3g/ 1g
Protein = 52g / 26g
Calcium = 172mg /86mg
Iron = 1.2mg / 0.mg
Phosphorus = 15mg / 76mg
Magnesium = 49mg / 2mg
Zinc = 0.24mg / 0.12mg
Copper = 0.16mg / 0.06mg
Sodium = 100mg / 50mg
Potassium = 470mg / 240mg

As anyone familiar with proteins and sugar can attest, having 52 grams of protein and only 7g of total carbs is a great ratio.

These powders are recommended that athletes and bodybuilders drink it immediately after a workout. Now, I am neither of those, but do like the flavors and the ingredients. Plus, with a price of only $13.88, it's a great deal. I have seen our Wal-Mart go as high as $14.66, but normally it's the lower price when I buy it. And compared to my friends who were buying protein powders for almost around $45 for half the amount of protein and other minerals, I'll stick with this one.

Oh, I also deal with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and when I do have this as a shake, compared to eating a full breakfast, cereal or waffles, I am able to make it to lunch much easier. I have to watch my sugar content, as if I get too much at one time, it will cause my sugar to spike very high and I am prone to passing out when that happens. I really am glad to have found this protein powder and we'll continue to have it in our house and even when we are fasting.

Disclaimer: As with any supplement or dietary routine, you need to check with your doctor or practitioner first. I can only attest to what we have used and how it has worked for us. Everyone's body is different, so show the ingredients to your doctor and see if they would recommend it for you, like ours did.

Update On Apr 14, 2010: Such a great drink to get lots of high protein! No bad aftertaste and it's even great without anything else added. Of course, smoothies are still my favorite. The price fluctuates at Wal-Mart within a dollar of what I have paid.