Non-dairy protein mix

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Does anyone have any experience with non-dairy protein mixes? I used to do whey protein but have developed a pretty bad allergy to dairy (FML) and so am looking for suggestions/recommendations for a replacement. I know there's egg protein ones but I wasn't sure how well those work/taste.

I'd mainly just it with water or almond milk as I don't have an actual good blender.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
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I feel bad for you. I am a bit on the lactose intolerant side (I can't drink milk or eat ice cream), but whey protein in some almond milk has never given me a problem.

I think the non dairy based protein is more expensive (because it is harder to manufacture / process), but I've no real experience with it.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I feel bad for you. I am a bit on the lactose intolerant side (I can't drink milk or eat ice cream), but whey protein in some almond milk has never given me a problem.

I think the non dairy based protein is more expensive (because it is harder to manufacture / process), but I've no real experience with it.

Yeah, too much will actually make me break out in hives, no matter the source. On the plus side it's helped me lose quite a bit of weight :awe:
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
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Protein in water? I went through a phase of taking protein shakes 5-6x a day with milk and now I can't stomach milk with my shakes anymore :p

Water for me now.

Koing
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Yeah so...back on the actual topic; any recommendations? Just go with egg-based protein?
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
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It seems like your best choices are egg based and rice based, with egg based being better. It does note it has oxidized cholesterol though, so if that is concern, you might be better off going with rice. I think there are some kind of allergens in the egg based protein as well, so be careful with that.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Yeah so...back on the actual topic; any recommendations? Just go with egg-based protein?

Plant Fusion is best-tasting out there imo:

http://plantfusion.net/

A basic list:

1. Plant Fusion protein
2. Egg protein
3. Brown rice protein
4. Pea protein
5. Hemp protein
6. Soy protein (with Spirulina tastes the best)

Most of these are not very good in plain water. At minimum I'd suggest some kind of alternative milk (soy, rice, almond). Even Plant Fusion isn't that great, but they are pretty good if you mix them with some frozen fruit & fruit juice. Brown rice & pea protein are especially gag-friendly in water. The Plant Fusion & soy proteins are pretty decent. A lot of soy proteins are offered with spirulina (algea), which definitely helps the taste. Hemp protein is supposed to be one of the easiest proteins to digest.

Sometimes I do shakes with them. For example, some vanilla protein powder, a microwaved sweet potato, a milk alternative, and some pumpkin pie spice mix makes a pretty good sweet potato smoothie. Avocado, vanilla protein powder, an apple, and a milk alternative is also pretty decent. Otherwise frozen fruit (especially a frozen banana for creaminess) with either fruit juice or a milk alternative makes a pretty good smoothie.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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I went to buy that plantfusion online and holy smokes it's cheap; 2lb for $27?

It must be on sale, it's usually $40 or $50 - it's not cheap stuff! The vanilla is the best flavor, although I've found that cookies & cream works really well in fruit smoothies, gives it more flavor. Not a big fan of the chocolate & haven't tried the other flavors or the Phood mix.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Also, pro-tip on cheese: Daiya is the only stuff worth buying imo. Comes in slices, wedges, and shreds. Shreds are good for omelets & pizzas, slices are good for sandwiches. Never bought a wedge because it's not good enough to eat on its own, and if I eat too much, it melts my stomach. Also, it does a great job melting. Most fake cheese don't, or if they advertise that they do, what they really mean is that they liquify when cooking and then re-solidify when cooling down.

http://www.daiyafoods.com/

One other product that uses Daiya is Amy's mac & cheese, which is pretty great for dairy-free:

http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/details/000043

Plenty of great ice creams too. Sorbets (Sweet Frog has a couple non-dairy flavors) & Italian ice (like Rita's) are generally safe (not ice creams or sherberts). A few good ice cream brands:

1. Amy's (mint chocolate chip is the best flavor, the chocolate is pretty meh)
2. Turtle Mountain (especially their coconut milk-based ice cream, it's VERY good)
3. Tofutti (generally not a fan of soy-based ice cream, but this is really good)

As far as candy & so on goes:

1. Justin's Nut Butters makes a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup that is dairy-free (and great)
2. GoMax makes a variety of knockoff candy bars; rice chocolate is kinda weird (waxy) but if you need a Snickers bar fix or something, they are pretty good: http://gomaxgofoods.com/products/
3. Oreos are actually made with soy, not milk, so those are safe
4. Whole Foods has the best chocolate chips. In the green bag labeled as Vegan soy chocolate chips or something. Nearly as good as milk chocolate chips in recipes.
5. Frosting: (cake, cupcakes) A lot of margarine actually has dairy in it. I use Spectrum shortening instead. Plenty of recipes online (vanilla frosting, chocolate frosting, peanut butter frosting): http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=87 Nice if you need to make a dairy-free birthday cake or something
6. Namaste Foods: Blondies, Chocolate cake mix, Spice cake mix, muffins, pizza crust, waffle mix
7. Betty Crocker: Yellow cake mix, Chocolate chip cookies, pancake mix

Hmm, what else. If I do a milk, I usually do like a vanilla rice milk since it's a pretty neutral flavor. If I need something sugary, Silk has a Very Vanilla Soy milk that is pretty good (I like that one with my sweet potato smoothies, it's like drinking a pumpkin pie haha). Anyway, feel free to ask away. I've been dairy-free for about 5 years now (allergy), as well as gluten/corn-free. Helps to have a resource available when you want to cook something but can't find a substitute haha!
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
9,142
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I hate to say it but the of all the "lactose free" alternatives (rice\egg\vegan bean crap) Muscle Milk naturals worked best for me. The rest of them either had horrible taste or horrible texture or some sort of down side.
I stopped using the Muscle Milk because it was like buying condoms at the pharmacy when you are a teen. You hope no one sees you buying it and you are embarrassed when the guy behind the counter makes eye contact. That and all the chemicals in it.

A quality whey isolate might be the best route. I'm lactose intolerant and I've been fine so far on it.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
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I hate to say it but the of all the "lactose free" alternatives (rice\egg\vegan bean crap) Muscle Milk naturals worked best for me. The rest of them either had horrible taste or horrible texture or some sort of down side.
I stopped using the Muscle Milk because it was like buying condoms at the pharmacy when you are a teen. You hope no one sees you buying it and you are embarrassed when the guy behind the counter makes eye contact. That and all the chemicals in it.

A quality whey isolate might be the best route. I'm lactose intolerant and I've been fine so far on it.

I don't understand why, as a teen, you'd be embarrassed to buy condoms. Wouldn't that signify you were getting some (or at least pretending to be), and therefore, superior to that store clerk working his dead end job?
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I'm not lactose intolerant, I'm actually allergic to dairy and most, if not all things, derived from it. Muscle Milk would probably kill me :)
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Thanks for that! Daiya cheese is what we've been using for our cheese fix, and those other things I will definitely bookmark at home :)

http://www.herbspro.com/shop/xq/asp/ptid.80224/qx/productdetail.htm

Add to cart and it went down to $26, plus shipping.

Ah excellent, I'm always surprised when people have heard of it because so many people who are off dairy have no idea it exists. It's not fabulous, but it's better than nothing for sure!

Yes, that's an amazing price. I've never seen it on sale like this. I should stock up! haha.
 

ewdotson

Golden Member
Oct 30, 2011
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I've tried Carnivor. It's pretty vile stuff, but not so much that I found it completely undrinkable. The reviews talk about it mixing poorly, but I didn't have too much problem getting it to work with water. In fairness, I think I use more water than I'm "supposed" to. It helps dilute the flavor (seriously, that's a good thing) and it's not like I'm in any danger of drinking too much water.