Protein powder?

I've always thought protein powder is for roided up meat heads. I've worried about what's exactly in it and have heard from nutritionists that if you get enough protein in your diet (40 mg) that you don't actually need it.

I've seen the blender bottles at the gym and my gym friends all seem to be obsessed with it. They order from bodybuilder.com and are always chatting about the latest flavors.

Maybe they've worn me down? I've seen more and more healthy recipes calling for protein powder. And I know you're supposed to get a lot of protein early in the day and because of my lactose intolerance, breakfast for me seems to be protein oatmeal, eggs or turkey sausage in an English muffin. Protein powder could give me more breakfast options? I decided to look into it.

It turns out it was a good thing I never tried protein powder. Most of it is made with milk and I am severely lactose intolerant. It would have made me sick. But I've been hearing about vegan protein powders. So I started poking around protein powder. And it all came in huge containers. I just wanted a single serve container. To see what all the fuss was about.

I found a $6 container at Kroger. It was small and plant based protein.

I thought I'd put it in a morning smoothie. Sometimes I need food before a morning workout, but don't want something heavy like turkey bacon and eggs. So before my 9:45 a.m. barre class I made a smoothie with almond milk (for calcium), a banana, pineapple, margarin oranges and some crushed ice. I added the protein powder. (It says to add it to milk, but I like my idea better).

It tasted like a milk shake! And I have had a milkshake in over 20 years. It was delightful and wonderful and filled me up. I was so happy with it, I made it the next day. (Also God bless the Lewises who gave me a bullet blender system for my wedding in 2006. It's perfect).

The protein smoothie was absolutely perfect. Filling without sitting too heavy in my stomach.

Smoothies. I've wondered what the point is if there's no protein. It's just sugar.

For me, smoothies are a way to get calcium, since I don't really like the taste of almond milk.

I've made the smoothies several times since. I know the fruit adds a lot of sugar, but I always add ice, almond or soy milk and a banana. It's pretty tasty—and a good way for me to get protein and calcium.

Cheers!