Protein Shakes/Supplements?

[iceman]

Hey my kid is allergic to chicken (all poultry, actually) and some kinds of fish (salmon and cod we know about, there may be others), he is playing sports every day at a pretty high level for a 15-year-old, he is growing like crazy, and he is skinny as a rail (must be his mother's genes on that one, I never had that problem) in a position where skinny is not a real positive. But more than sports, I just want him to be healthy. He would eat burgers or steak every day but that's not healthy either, so I need to figure out a way to get more nutrition into him.

He just won't eat stuff he doesn't like, and I don't want him getting any funky stuff like creatine, etc., so I need to find something that is heavy on protein and vitamins, doesn't have any steroidal or other crap in it, and most of all tastes good. It won't do him any good if he doesn't eat it, and he's stubborn as all hell about eating things he doesn't like.

So, little help?

[RootSkier]

He would eat burgers or steak every day but that's not healthy either

Why not? Sure, fast food burgers are crap but I wouldn't hesitate to let a kid eat as much red meat and pork as he can put down, as long as it's good quality.

Other than that...whole milk.

[iceman]

Why not? Sure, fast food burgers are crap but I wouldn't hesitate to let a kid eat as much red meat and pork as he can put down, as long as it's good quality.

Other than that...whole milk.

Well that's what we've been doing, along with ice cream, but it seemed like a lot of fat and that it would probably be smart to mix things up a bit. He'd most likely be eating this stuff as an addition, not a replacement, to his diet, and I know jack shit so I figured I'd see what the collective came up with.

[Rontele]

Ensure is a great protein supplement and its dairy free too!

[dumpy]

Beans-Lots of ways to eat these, burritos are my favorite way to eat a shit ton of beans in one sitting. Very easy, tasty and cheap way to get protein.

Tofu- might be hard to get him to like it, but it's jammed with protein and pretty versatile. Get creative and read around for ways to eat it. Eating it crispy and fried is a good gateway into the world off tofu, albeit not a very healthy one.

Soy Milk- The Silk Vanilla is tasty stuff. Good on its own, but excellent in smoothies.
For breakfast lately, I've been doing strawberry, bandanna, soymilk and a touch of cinnamon and maple syrup for taste. Very tasty stuff.
Occasionally the missus will put spinach in too for extra nutrients, doesn't really affect the taste at all, but it looks like thick diarrhea. If making for a 15 year old, I'd suggest leaving out the spinach.

[haydukelives]

egg whites.
whey.
non-fat dairy.

[iceman]

egg whites.
whey.
non-fat dairy.

I was thinking more along the lines of "GNC Protein-O-matic: open container, mix with milk, drink", but of course that's all good advice too, thanks.

[dumpy]

I was thinking more along the lines of "GNC Protein-O-matic: open container, mix with milk, drink", but of course that's all good advice too, thanks.

[bagtagley]

Does he have issues with eggs? If so, he could try duck eggs.

Grass-fed beef has good fats and is high in Omega 3s. I'd have no hesitation eating it on a daily basis if I could afford to (or if I could come up with enough interesting shit to do with ground beef to keep from getting sick of it). You can get Polyface up there.

[Brock Landers]

Lots of eggs, if he is so energetic and athletic, meat will be fine. If he needs a protein supplement I go with the GNC Pro Performance or Optimum Nutrition whey. And ON casein protein at night- its like time release protein.

At 15 though I dont think he needs it- Im guessing you want him to put on some more weight for lax? Just have him start hitting the weights a little more when he turns 16 and eat more. Whatever he is eating now, eat more of it. Just keep chicken out of it (although chicken is basically 50% of all my calories). At 15 I feel like hes still growing into his body and gaining coordination, etc. Too early to start putting on weight in my opinion

Forgot to mention...a TON of peanut butter. Like a jar a week. And regular beans...green, black, kidney, whatever, and choco milk is excellent for protein/carbs after a workout (in case he doesnt have any protein around)

[iceman]

Does he have issues with eggs? If so, he could try duck eggs.

Grass-fed beef has good fats and is high in Omega 3s. I'd have no hesitation eating it on a daily basis if I could afford to (or if I could come up with enough interesting shit to do with ground beef to keep from getting sick of it). You can get Polyface up there.

Actually I just made a deal with my plumber (a born-and-raised dairy farmer who now raises organic beef cattle on his place so he can work at plumbing and not have to get up at 4 AM every day for the rest of his life) for half a Texas longhorn. And the landscaper's neighbors are raising organic heritage-breed pork so I'm getting half of one of them, too. Not sure when they're coming (well the pig will be fall for sure) but I need a freezer.

[zion zig zag]

Although my kid is not allergic to anything he just wasn't getting enough protein and calories. He was doing two practices a day on the swim team and he said he stayed hungry all day. Among other things I bought him a case of muscle milk from costco. It's a ready to drink protein shake with the straw attached. I also bought cases of the organic chocolate milk that doesn't have to be refrigerated.

[iceman]

Im guessing you want him to put on some more weight for lax?

Yeah, lax and football. He's taking all the faceoffs in lax and staying on to run shifts at middie. I probably shouldn't worry about it but many if not most of the kids repeated a year when they came to this league and he didn't plus he's young for his class year anyway so a lot of these kids are almost two years older and huge, and I worry about him getting crushed, especially cause he's so damn skinny.

[AltaAndy]

I drink a smoothie with whey protein almost every morning. I just get the big ole container at wallys, its $12. i have also heard that 8oz milk + protein powder + a banana is a really easy, tasty way to get a lot of protein

[userA]

ice, good morning,
congrats on the healthy athletic son you are raising, keeping him active throughout his teen years is important to his ability to remain active throughout his life. try not to focus on bulking him up, but remain vigilant in ensuring a balanced complete diet.
some bodies perform best not having to carry excess weight, lean muscle stretched along the whole frame, not big loads in specific areas.

have fun
f a

[dk_alaskan]

ESA Edge protein powder in chocolate is pretty good and tasty and low in sugars. Muscle Milk, not so much, tasty as a 2 day hangover with a midget bouncing around in your head

[QuikR12]

Sounds like me when I was growing up. I went from about 5'3''/110 lbs to 6'1''/170 in about a year... I spent one season off wrestling so i wasn't cutting weight excessively, got on a BFS (bigger faster stronger) weightlifting program and ate as much protein as my body could digest, and this was also simultaneous with my growth spurt. Yes, I would recommend a similar program. If he's into sports, weightlifting during the growth spurt is a great way to maintain and build athletic strength as your skeletal system grows. You will adapt much more quickly to the added length/mass of your body.

The best protein I've found both in terms of taste and performance is the Dymatize Elite Time Release (Banana Nut) believe me it is absolutely delicious, and that's a bold statement for any whey protein...

[iceman]

Nice Quik, I'll get some of that. He's lifting with the teams 3x/week for an hour, that seems to be plenty for now.

Alpy, thank you for the advice, although I'm not trying to really bulk him up per se, rather I'm just trying to get more nutrition available to his system in general. ps. good luck with your next membership drive.

[frozenwater]

Try looking at a local "natural" store. (not gmc or whole foods, but a local store that does organic produce, and health food).

They will have a ton of good ideas.

Look into "green smoothies". My wife is nuts about them. Uses almond milk, tons of fresh fruit, then blends in greens like kale, spinach, etc. good nutrition that actually tastes freaking awesome.

Google the term you will get boat loads of information.

[DoWork]

I'm partial to the blueberries and cream Muscle Milk. Really good stuff, and I've tried a lot of different kinds. Helps me maintain a lean muscle mass, and it's pretty easy to dial in my bulk level by messing with the other stuff I eat and how much cardio vs. weight training I do. Can't recommend it highly enough for someone looking to add a protein source to their diet without overdoing it on the red meat or beans.

Also Bolthouse Farms makes protien drinks that are great. I like the cappucino flavor, but it's more like chocolate milk. 40 grams of protein in the larger size if I'm not mistaken. Handing him one of those as he heads out the door will help him gain healthy mass if he's naturally skinny. I have a friend that's the same way and has trouble remembering to eat properly and they helped him pack on a few pounds of muscle in a few short months. Nothing huge, but thats not what he was going for anyways.

Hope that helps in any way and best of luck to your son in his athletic endeavors!

[Neurodoc]

I was thinking more along the lines of "GNC Protein-O-matic: open container, mix with milk, drink", but of course that's all good advice too, thanks.

This thread might be helpful:

[ame="http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=54204"]Best TASTING Protein Powder - Bodybuilding.com Forums[/ame]

Syntha-6 Chocolate is probably what you're looking for, but Optimum Nutrition Double Chocolate, Myofusion, and Xtreme Formulations have their supporters as well.

Our local GNC is pretty good about letting you bring back stuff if it's vile.

Obviously natural sources of protein are best, but I hear you on the convenience thing.

[danimal's dead]

Elk, venison, duck, goose, moose, buffalo meat, all very lean and super healthy and full of protein. I'd be happy to send you some pepper sticks and sausage, if you mix it with ground beef or pork and put it through a $20 meat grinder he'll never know the difference.

[danimal's dead]

I'd be careful with that GNC crap, it can be bad for your kidneys, and when he stops taking that stuff what will happen to his body. Anything processed in a factory and mixed with chemicals is gonna have side effects,

Fat is not bad for you unless you're already fat, in fact, fat is very necessary as part of any active persons diet. All that vegan crap is a big load of BS, it isn't healthy for athletes trying to build and maintain muscles mass.

[skifishbum]

Pm iceman for the m&m muscle building diet

Marlboros ,maxwell house and macallen go 18 cause lifes short

[Alaskan Rover]

Do your son a favor and a lesson that he may take with him for the rest of his life....start instilling in him that health does NOT come in a bottle.

If one has a proper diet, filled with natural foods and fruits and vegetsables, there is really very little need for supplements. Cut down on the VAST amount of carbohydrates and simple sugars that most Americans daily ingest. Protein is INDEED needed for muscle-building, but it does not need to come in the form of whey protein. Whey is popular because it is amazingly cheap for a manufacturing company to obtain, and then put in with other "enriched" ingredients at GREAT profit to that company.

There are wonderful sources of natural protein: Legumes such as beans, Crowder Peas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, etc are great. Nuts have lots of protein. I agree with others here that venison is an almost perfect form of amino acids WITHOUT having to worry about ingesting the variety of hormones normally given to beef. The "rangy" taste I think is actually one of venison's best attributes, and makes incredible Shepherd's Pie!! Cold-water ocean fish are another excellent source of healthy protein.

If those HEALTHY protein sources are followed up with green vegetables such as collards, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, sprouts, etc etc

And fruits such as bananas and breadfruit, oranges, apples, mangoes, grapes, grapefruit, etc etc,

then you and your son are on your way to a good, healthy and protein-rich diet and your body willl thank you for it with more energy.

Like I said, keep your carbs down (although carb-loading DIRECTLY before a game HAS been shown to give you decent energy supplies DURING that game), but you must consume bread, home-made bread made from a mixture of 100% whole-wheat flour and white-flour is good. You can add in sunflower seeds, finely chopped nuts, sprouts, bran and oatmeal flakes to the bread while mixing the dough. A bread machine is a GREAT and easy way to make good, healthy bread that YOU know the ingredients of!!!

Protein drinks? You can make your own: The internet is full of recipes. My favorite is orange juice or grapefruit juice, banana, orange, apple, kiwi, all mixed together in a blender. I personally don't put powderized protein powder in it because I get plenty of sources of protein in the above-mentioned foods, but you can add whatever protein source you want.

Eventually, you will get a hankering for an orange or a banana instead of a Milky Way bar.

Good luck.