Protein powder rec

[mmasc]

I need a protein powder recommendation for my teen boy. He’s very picky, crazy high metabolism, lean/thin, and athletic. Burns through who knows how many calories a day, yet consumes not nearly enough protein, or calories probably. (I’ve tracked the protein before, but not calories)
 

parameters:

*needs to be vanilla

*needs to be virtually undetectable in smoothies—no weird taste, aftertaste, grit, etc or he will notice and not like it
 

He will be putting it in his smoothies, which usually consist of frozen fruit, vanilla Greek yogurt, and juice. I’m trying to slowly switch to milk to up the protein, but he likes the sweetness of fruit juice. He likes milk, just prefers juice in his smoothies. 
 

Any suggestions? Or is this impossible to find?

(we’ve tried ready-to-drink and he doesn’t like them. We tried unflavored whey and it was horrible)

[prairiewindmomma]

My picky teen likes this brand: https://www.costco.com/optimum-nutrition-gold-standard-100%-whey-protein%2C-80-servings.product.100428750.html  IME, there's an aftertaste that's not entirely hideable depending on the blend of fruit and veggies you put into the mix.  Raspberries and strawberries cover it well, but there is some funk if it's spinach and blueberries or if you do a veggie blend like zucchini and spinach and carrots. The price is much much more reasonable in store, fwiw, compared to ordering online. 

Also, fwiw in dealing with an underweight teen who has sensory issues with food---it's so much easier to feed them food rather than protein drinks. Nearly all teens get enough protein in their diet. You're just looking at boosting calories.  Things cooked in bacon fat, avocado, handfuls of nuts, even ice cream really can be better choices than a protein shake. One scoop of protein powder starts you at only 120 calories. It's low fat and low carb.  You're having to add all of that in.  Protein shakes make more sense for body builders and for people who have a sweet tooth they are trying to curb and for people with swallowing disorders.  For the average teen boy, even really athletic ones, they just aren't good nutrition.

[MEmama]

We like vanilla Spirutein. https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-Vanilla-SPIRU-TEIN-Shake/dp/B01MQ09ICX/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2X4NMHKVCRUS1&keywords=spirutein+vanilla+protein+powder&qid=1647297655&sprefix=Spiritein%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-2

Our smoothies are almond milk, protein powder, blueberries OR pumpkin OR spinach, peanut or almond butter, flax or chia seeds. Add avocado for extra calories and fat. Very low sugar but high density and high protein. 

Edited March 14, 2022 by MEmama

[mlktwins]

This is what my son used when he had his wisdom teeth out.  He is not as picky as I am, but I didn’t mind this at all.

[mlktwins]

Sorry the pic is so big 😬

[Tap]

If you want almost undetectable. Just Egg is great. DD23 is super sensitive to protein powders. This is one of the few her body can tolerate.

For milk, Maybe try almond milk. Or coconut milk from a can (not the kind for drinking). I used this for years, when I was trying to up the fat content of ds's food. Or Ice cream LOL He was a swimmer and needed all the fat/calories/protein I could get him to eat. 

[gardenmom5]

My ND wanted me to use Brown Rice Protein powder.   (and to stay away from milk products.)  kinda grainy.

I've also liked Gold Whey (milk) protein powder.  the vanilla is sweet - reminds me of cake batter. . . . 

[mmasc]

Well, he drinks whole milk and LOVES ice cream...maybe I just need to be making him milkshakes every day 😁

thanks for your replies and suggestions!

[history-fan]

Stevia tends to have a strong bitter aftertaste that is prominent.  You may want to try one without stevia in it. We used a brand for years then 2 years ago they switched to stevia and nobody could swallow it no matter how we tried to mask it. We prepared them in a nutri bullet.

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by history-fan

[itsheresomewhere]

We have been using quest.  When used in oatmeal and bake goods, no taste.  DD says it is fine in smoothies. 

[KungFuPanda]

1 hour ago, mmasc said:

I need a protein powder recommendation for my teen boy. He’s very picky, crazy high metabolism, lean/thin, and athletic. Burns through who knows how many calories a day, yet consumes not nearly enough protein, or calories probably. (I’ve tracked the protein before, but not calories)
 

parameters:

*needs to be vanilla

*needs to be virtually undetectable in smoothies—no weird taste, aftertaste, grit, etc or he will notice and not like it
 

He will be putting it in his smoothies, which usually consist of frozen fruit, vanilla Greek yogurt, and juice. I’m trying to slowly switch to milk to up the protein, but he likes the sweetness of fruit juice. He likes milk, just prefers juice in his smoothies. 
 

Any suggestions? Or is this impossible to find?

(we’ve tried ready-to-drink and he doesn’t like them. We tried unflavored whey and it was horrible)

It’s not THAT hard to get enough protein. What does he need? About 50 grams? I make my daily smoothie with a cup of milk, a cup of yogurt, 1/4 cup of peanut butter, a banana, and 1/4 cup oatmeal and that gets me almost to 50 without trying too hard or making a giant portion. He’s young and thin. He can afford to put a scoop of ice cream in there too if he likes vanilla and sweetness. You can get the indian yogurt at Costco by the half gallon and it’s full fat. If he’s not planning to do serious body building, he should be able to get enough protein without trying too hard. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by KungFuPanda

[mathnerd]

add some (1/4 cup's worth of) cottage cheese, silken tofu or nut-butter/seed-butter to his smoothies to bump up the protein content 

[mmasc]

9 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

add some (1/4 cup's worth of) cottage cheese, silken tofu or nut-butter/seed-butter to his smoothies to bump up the protein content 

I never thought of that. Thank you! Does tofu have much flavor? He doesn’t like peanut butter in his smoothies, but I could try the tofu if its flavor is masked by fruit/yogurt smoothies. 

[mathnerd]

25 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I never thought of that. Thank you! Does tofu have much flavor? He doesn’t like peanut butter in his smoothies, but I could try the tofu if its flavor is masked by fruit/yogurt smoothies. 

Tofu is flavorless and takes on the flavor of the medium that it is added to. so, it is ideal for people who are sensitive to flavors. Be sure to buy the "silken soft" tofu as other kinds of tofu are more grainy in texture and are not the best for smoothies.

Here is a sample recipe using silken soft tofu:

https://morinaganutrition.com/blogs/beverages/strawberry-banana-tofu-smoothie

 

[itsheresomewhere]

35 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I never thought of that. Thank you! Does tofu have much flavor? He doesn’t like peanut butter in his smoothies, but I could try the tofu if its flavor is masked by fruit/yogurt smoothies. 

I think it depends to each person.  I can’t taste it but DS and DH can. 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@mmasc Depending on how concerned you are about his diet, you might want to consider a consultation with a specialist sports dietitian.

We did this and it was incredibly helpful.

We kept a food diary and exercise diary for a week, and then the dietitian let us know what was okay, what was lacking etc for a growing athlete.

And she gave expert recommendations about options to boost the things we needed to boost, namely calories, protein and calcium. Nutmeals became one of our staples. They can mix into all sorts of things.

Fwiw, my female teen athlete needs 90-100g protein per day, and 2500+ calories per day.