Fresh whey, from cheese-making
For more than 20 years, I’ve been making a smoothie every morning. For the protein, I originally used a soy protein powder, but I developed a food sensitivity to it, so I switched to a whey protein powder. But I developed a sensitivity to that, and to all the others I tried. I realized the problem was the high temperature used to dehydrate the protein substance into a powder; that heat denatures the protein resulting in changes in the 3-D structure of the amino acid chain, so that the protein was no longer recognized as “safe” by my immune system. e
What was I to do? I switched to a combo of cottage cheese and whole coddled egg for the protein. Then one day I spotted something new on my grocer’s shelf: Bob’s Red Mill Whey Protein Powder. Bob’s Red Mill is a company I knew well from my years living in Portland – a company that takes pride in not denaturing its products, nor adding questionable ingredients. I’d been using their sweet dairy whey as a sugar substitute for years without any sensitivity issues because it is processed at low temperatures. So I grabbed a bag of the protein powder and added it to my smoothie. Wonderful! no sensitivity issues! And delicious, too.
See their great smoothie and shakes recipes on their website (BobsRedMill (dot) com; disguised for security)
So here’s a collection of their recipes (1) from my latest bag of their whey protein powder, adapted slightly for my needs. Give one a try!
- Includes: 1. Berry Smoothie; 2. Greens & Apple Smoothie; 3. Nut-Butter Smoothie 4. Tropical Fruit Shake
- See also: 1. Beverage Menu; 2. Cat’s Full-Meal Smoothie
About Ingredients
Protein
The following recipes use Bob’s Red Mill (BRM) Whey Protein Powder (1), which is processed at low temperature so the proteins are not denatured. NEarly all other whey protein products are processed at high temperatures, which denatures the protein.
Another option – especially if you make cheese – is fresh liquid whey (from cheesemaking). Unfortunately, 1 cup of fresh liquid whey only provides about 3 g protein (as opposed to BRMs whey protein powder which provides 15 g protein per 1/4 cup (2)). You could use liquid whey instead of other liquids in the recipes. Or use 1/4 cup liquid whey plus 3 – 4 Tbsp of the whey protein powder.
Probiotic
These recipes use plain unsweetened yogurt, which is best if you make your own. Another possibility is homemade kefir.
Fruits and vegetables
It is always best to use organically grown local fruits. This is especially important for papaya (to avoid GMO version) and pineapple (non-Organic mono-culture production involves spraying heavily with toxic pesticides; it won’t be long before a GMO-version becomes available).
Avoid the GMO Arctic apple. Also it is best to make your own apple juice, as iit would be fresh and not pasteurized.
Honey
It is always best to use raw, local honey, as that helps with environmental allergies. Visit the source to determine no GMO crops are grown nearby (for example, canola), as the chemicals sprayed on GMO crops negatively affects the quality of the honey.
Berry Smoothie
- Combine in blender:
- ¼ cup BRM Whey Protein Powder
- ½ cup plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt OR Greek yogurt with honey
- 1 cup pom-cran berry juice mix, unsweetened
- 1 cup blueberries or raspberries, or 10 – 14 blackberries
- 2 Tbsp freshly ground flaxseed
- 1 or more drops liquid stevia extract, to taste
Greens & Apple Smoothie
- Combine in blender:
- ¼ cup BRM Whey Protein Powder
- 1 – 2 Tbsp ground bulgur or oat bran
- 1 cup packed spinach or chard
- ½ ripe avocado
- 1 cup chopped apple
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 or more drops liquid stevia extract, to taste
Nut-Butter & Banana Smoothie
- Combine in blender:
- ¼ cup BRM Whey Protein Powder
- 1 Tbsp nut- or seed- butter (I like almond butter)
- 1 banana
- 1 tsp raw local honey
- 1 cup whole milk, preferably raw
- handful of ice
- 1 or more drops liquid stevia extract, to taste
Tropical Fruit Shake
- Combine in blender:
- ¼ cup BRM Whey Protein Powder
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen mango chunks
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ¾ cup coconut water, pineapple, orange, clementine, lime or other tropical juices or juice mix
- 1 tsp chia seeds or 1 Tbsp freshly ground flaxseed
- 1 or more drops liquid stevia extract, to taste
References
- Bob’s Red Mill (BRM) recipes
- Livestrong on nutrition in liquid whey: livestrong.com/article/425693-the-nutrition-in-liquid-whey/
