Hi Scott. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2005, and protein powder has been a part of my daily diet since. I shopped and shopped and shopped and read and read and read, and mixed and tried and mixed and tried. I tried a whole lot of really icky stuff in my quest for a good all-around protein powder.
What I found was a brand called Unjury. I have no affiliation with them, don't get any perks for pimping them. After lots of trial & error, I am just SOLD on the stuff. Check them out at
www.unjury.com.
Here is what I liked about this product compared to others: 20 g high quality protein per scoop & otherwise meets my nutritional needs (ymmv, check the info on their site); mixes into everything, hot and cold, with no nasty residue (not gritty, chunky, chalky, etc); great tasting in the case of vanilla and chocolate flavors (haven't tried strawberry or chicken broth); NO tasting in the case of their unflavored - and that is rare, all other unflavored proteins I tried added some kind if nasty flavor to whatever they were mixed in, but this stuff does not.
It's marketed as a "medical quality protein." Lots of what is sold in stores (even health food stores) is full of junk. Some of it, while technically "protein," is really not made in a way that it can be used AT ALL in the body for the things we usually associate with protein - cell building, etc. I am no scientist - if you are curious about how the composition of protein products affects the ways the body can use it, the
info on the unjury site is a good starting point.
This stuff is not cheap, but it's not the most expensive you'll see either. I have found it to be a good value. It comes in cannisters and single-serve envelopes.