Walmart has 2 pound canisters of whey protein concentrate (chocolate,
strawberry, and vanilla flavored) for $15; each scoop ends up costing
about fifty cents and provides 26 grams of protein. It doesn't taste
very good, but it's not awful, and it makes an OK base for a smoothie.
But that's not what I want to talk about.

At the little Mexican grocery store, I bought a 2 pound bag of
unflavored textured soy protein a few months ago. I don't remember what
it cost, but it wasn't much. I'm pretty sure it was less than $3. Each
100 grams provides 50 grams of protein and 17.5 grains of fiber. I
sometimes use the stuff as filler in soups. Well tonight curiosity got
the best of me and I tried using it in a smoothie. I weighed out 50
grams of the stuff (almost exactly 1 cup) and put it in the blender with
a cup of lowfat milk, a packet of Splenda, and a few frozen
strawberries. Let it soak for a bit, then blenderized it. Tasted it,
and yuck. It was too "meaty". So I added a few more berries, a frozen
banana, 2 more packets of Splenda, and a splash of vanilla. Blended it
a good long time to liquefy everything. The extra fruit and the vanilla
hid the disturbing meat flavor. It was still kind of gritty, but other
than that it tasted OK I guess. :-P

It was filling, I'll give it that.

Bob