Low cost

Highly blendable

Good flavor

Stevia used for sweetner, not aspartame

Suculose (Spenda) ok, prefer Stevia

No to low sodium

And if possible, not to have it change texture if using in a hot drink,

Just banded one week ago, have only tried Biochem brand so far, I'm using the flavorless one, but it does blend well at all.

Low cost

Highly blendable

Good flavor

Stevia used for sweetner, not aspartame

Suculose (Spenda) ok, prefer Stevia

No to low sodium

And if possible, not to have it change texture if using in a hot drink,

Just banded one week ago, have only tried Biochem brand so far, I'm using the flavorless one, but it does blend well at all.

I use EAS (Purple/Gray package) chocolate contains Suculose. Sam's club 5lb $28.00. Mixes well with Water or milk.

For unflavored I use Designer whey. A little more pricey, 2lb $30.00, but not as noticable when blended as other brands. None of the stuff you are avoiding.

GNC Pro Performance Whey Isolate 28 was recommended to me, I haven't tried it yet but I will let you know when I do.

For me, all the Protein powder/shakes I tried were way to nasty to consider... Instead (and with the blessing of the nutritionist and my surgeon) I drink Slim Fast Low Carb (Chocolate). It took 2 or 3 to get used to the taste (like Jello pudding made with water), but after drinking it for well over a year now (before surgery), I actually like it and choose to drink it daily.

It has more protein than the high-protein slim fast (20 grams per drink), and wiht my normal diet including eggs or cottage cheese for Breakfast, and often (but now always) chicken or fish for dinner, i more than hit my protein goal... i'm supposed to be around 55g protein a day, but I actually hit much closer to 70-75g (unless i'm having a veg day... i am not a huge fan of meat).

have you tried the Isopure liquid? It's clear,kind of like juice..I drink the Fruit Punch. 40 grams of Protein per bottle, no carbs, no aspartame or preservatives, no fat, low sodium...160 calories...not everyone likes it. Some people say it leaves a kind of dry aftertaste, if that makes sense...Vitamin Shoppe sells them and so does GNC...I wouldn't buy a big case of one flavor ...try to find somewhere that you could buy it by the bottle to find a flavor you like. Like I said, I like the fruit punch. I don't do well with the mixes because of the soy content...gives me gas.

Good luck

Trisha

P.S. also they are a little pricey but you only have to drink one a day because of such high protein...whereas like EAS you have to drink two...so it kind of works out. I take the whole day to drink it so four ounces at a time...each bottle is 20 ounces

You might try True Whey by Source Naturals...I found it at the natural food store here locally. It is sweetened with stevia, pretty low sodium, AND it is the best tasting one I ever found. But eventually, I stopped using protein drinks...they were handy in the first few months after surgery, and then I would have some in my desk at work for mid afternoon hungries.....but once I was eating all foods without problem, protein drinks weren't necessary any more.