Unsweetened Whey Protein Powders

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So Hans and Yuji got me all psyched up to get back in climbing shape and I find that the easiest way for me, as a vegetarian and lazy cook, to get protein, is from protein powders. Most experts seem to think that the best protein powders are whey protein isolate (which is different from whey protein concentrate). The Hammer Nutrition folks say that soy protein is actually better if you are in the midst of an event, but mostly want it for recovery. The problem is that most protein powders are full of sweeteners, which I find yucky (I don't care if the sweetener is healthy or not, I just don't like it!).

So here's a list of unsweetened protein powders that I've found. Most are unflavored too. Only the Solgar Whey to Go powder is flavored, but not sweetened. If you know of others, please add them in the comments. If you know of a really good deal on an unsweetened powder, please add the link in the comment. I think that links in comments will be put in as plain text, but I can edit it them after the fact and make them work right.

  1. NOW Mega Pack ($76.99 for 10 pounds). This is the best deal I could find and I have it on order now. Damn, though, 10 pounds is a lot to order. That's 162 servings with 25 gms of protein in each serving (most manufacturers have servings with about 20gms of protein). Only the unflavored version is unsweetened.

    [UPDATE: so I plunked down the $80 and bought this. Actually, quite happy. Unlike vanilla-flavored Solgar, I can put this in smoothies, milk, juice, plain water. It tastes a little funky in water, but even Theresa will drink it in a smoothie (she hates protein powders in general). Also, this was my first purchase from Bodybuilding.com. It's sort of funny for a skinny guy like me to order from BB.com, but the price was right, so why not? Actually, I'm quite impressed. They shipped my order the same day and since they have multiple dropship centers, it arrived within a couple of day. Thumbs up all around (but keep in mind, it's not a health thing, I hate sweetened, flavored protein drinks; you might feel differently and this is a BIG pack so ya better like it).

  2. Jarrow Formulas Whey Protein Isolate ($25 for 2 pounds) from the Vitamin Shoppe. I haven't tried this one, but it looks decent.
  3. Hammer Whey Protein (1.37 pounds) is unflavored, unsweetened, and fairly expensive at over a dollar for each serving with 18 gms of protein. Same price at Bodybuilding.com or from Hammer. I don't use this one because of price, but I do like some other Hammer stuff. If you order from them and it's your first order, give them my customer number, 77757, and you'll get 10% off and I'll get a 10% credit. First-time orderers only as far as I know.
  4. Solgar Whey to Go, Vanilla. If you want a flavored powder, this is the one. The vanilla powder has nothing but whey powder and a few amino acids and vanilla bean. Unfortnately, it's not cheap either ($41.25 for two pounds). I've been using it for years, but am looking for something decent but cheaper and also something that will have no strong flavor, because I don't like Mango-Vanilla Smoothies!