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Many discussions about finding the best protein powder miss a key point: "protein powder" is not a single ingredient but a complex mix of many things. The flavorings, sweeteners, gums and stabilizers vary considerably. For example, some people here use protein powder AND pudding mix but this is often unnecessary as some protein powders have many of the same ingredients as pudding mix. Because these blends vary so much between brands, you cannot easily substitute one for another in a recipe and expect the same outcome. Professional ice cream makers, making 'real ice cream' often use non-fat milk powder to make their products denser and creamier. Non-fat milk powder is simply another type of protein powder. Even "real ice cream" can benefit from adding them! Each protein powder type has different effects on your final ice cream. Whey protein mixes into a thin liquid and makes your result creamier. People who use it often talk about a soft-serve consistency. Casein, however, creates a much thicker, denser mixture. Personally, I have found a mix of whey, casein, and non-fat milk powder to be effective. People aren't adding protein powder \*just\* to improve their macros. Adding any type of protein powder increases the 'solids' in your mix which helps out the final texture. This is most helpful to lower fat recipes but can help even 'regular' ice cream. This leaves two main approaches 1. **The Simple Method:** Find one pre-mixed protein powder that you like and use it exclusively. If you can find a product that tastes good and gives you a nice texture, this is a great solution. However, it's fairly narrow with a single flavor, sweetness, and texture. Love it or leave it. 2. **The Custom Method:** Purchase the raw, unflavored ingredients, such as whey, casein, and non-fat milk powder, and create your own blend. This approach gives you complete control over texture, avoiding the off-flavors or unwanted textures sometimes found in commercial mixes. Once I found a ratio that I liked, I just made my own blend so it's very easy to just dump a cup of it into my blender. Of course, you have to add your own flavors and stabilizers (which is it's own adventure) While the custom method is more involved, you get complete control over the flavor and sweetness and can actually share recipes with others. I realize many won't want to do this. My point was just to point out WHY finding the right "protein powder" is so hard! It is a very confusing term and your results will vary quite a bit between different brands. If you're interested, here in the US, I use the "Naked" brand of whey and casein powders. If you try one of these and don't like the flavor, that just means you don't like whey or casein protein, so don't use them! That may also explain why you don't like a specific protein powder as it's likely using one of these 'base proteins' that you don't care for. I don't have much experience with vegan protein powders so I hope others chime-in in the comments about which ones work best for them.

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