@Roo... Mold is good.. home-made penicillin!

I used to use soy milk, (benefits for hdl, insulin, etc) and other soy/ soybean products, I changed over to whey a while back after reading more into the benefits and risks of both.
For soy:
here is just one page linking some studies etc from everything from endocrine disruption, to estrogenic effects, to brain shrinkage.

here are a few quotes:
The most serious problem with soy may be its use in infant formulas. "The amount of phytoestrogens that are in a day's worth of soy infant formula equals 5 birth control pills," says Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., president of the Maryland Nutritionists Association. She and other nutrition experts believe that infant exposure to high amounts of phytoestrogens is associated with early puberty in girls and retarded physical maturation in boys. [5]

A study reported in the British medical journal Lancet found that the "daily exposure of infants to isoflavones in soy infant-formulas is 6-11 fold higher on a bodyweight basis than the dose that has hormonal effects in adults consuming soy foods." (A dose, equivalent to two glasses of soy milk per day, that was enough to change menstrual patterns in women. [6]) In the blood of infants tested, concentrations of isoflavones were 13000-22000 times higher than natural estrogen concentrations in early life. [7]

and this is an interesting article on that page:
http://www.mercola.com/2000/sep/17/soy_brain.htm

I have also been reading about the dangers of eating existing Genetically Modified varieties with transgenic genes being taken up by intestinal bacteria, the difficulty knowing which foods have GM goods in them, and the crossover to normal crops. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4709


for whey protein:
There are some studies supporting its lowering of blood sugar (and affecting insulin secretion), increased glutathione, yadda yadda.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/82/1/69
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/mar2006_report _whey_01.htm
http://www.naturalproductsassoc.org/site/PageServe r?pagename=rr_bg_whey
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_2_9 /ai_n6112779/pg_1

Yeah ok, I made up the moldy part ... but that's what I imagined when he described the nasty old blueberries.

I took a bunch of the suggestions in this thread and made a relatively good tasting smoothie for breakfast. I measured (some approximates) and came up with:

approx 1 cup ice (crushed in the blender)
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1/3 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup baby spinach (actually a handful... I approximated at a cup)
1 apple (cored with skin, Macintosh)
1 scoop Six Star Chocolate Whey Protein

Pretty tasty. The raspberries and spinach make it somewhat granular ("chunky"), but I was ok with it. FitDay gives me 411 Calories, 6g fat, 64g carb, and 31g protein (for the full approx 48 oz)

Now I just need to add this into my morning routine (it'll be tough... I'm the first one up and the blender is loud!)

Thomas, maybe make the smoothie ahead of time the night before, to minimize on blendering time. Just a quick turn to remix for breaky et voila.

I so rarely do smoothies, but enjoy the hell outta them everytime I have one.

Mental note, (thanks to this thread), to enjoy them more often.

That's what I'll probably do... I do notice that the smoothies tend to separate fairly quickly, but shaking it in a sealed bottle (nalgene-like) in the morning should work.

I love the fact that close to 42 oz is only 400 calories, high in protein and balanced carbs.

I do want to mention that the spinach was a great idea I'd have NEVER thought of!! A full serving of leafy veggies!

i have my own version of the Abs Diet summer smoothie, and everybody who has tasted it loves it..

4 ice cubes,
1 scoop vanilla whey
one container of fat-free vanilla danon yog.
approx. 1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup skim milk ( i use lactaid but w.e.)

i usually put the ice and stuff in last.. i hate to get the whey on the top of the blender..

it's about 2 portions maybe three, so you can always save some for later in the day when you need a snack

what size "container" of yogurt?

I do the same.

I use fat-free milk, whey protein powder (vanilla), fruit (blueberries or strawberries) and a tad bit of ice.

I guess my thing is... I'm a sucker for milk shakes, so this is my replacement treat.

This is the smoothie I make whenever I'm making one.

Put in the blender in this order:
1 Banana, broken into smaller pieces
Approx. the same amount of FROZEN strawberries as banana pieces (6-8 ish)
Orange Juice (enough to almost cover the strawberries)

I haven't tried it but I imagine adding some vanilla protein powder would be amazing.

I don't drink milk so this combination has served me well for years!

I tend to make alot of smoothies at once and then freeze them in those ziplock containers, that way I can just take one out the night before and have it defrost in the fridge for the morning. That way i don't wake everyone up in the morn with the blender and its all ready to go.

oh, that's clever.... I think I may do that this weekend!