Gold's Gym uses Elite protein powder. It's awesome! It's so awesome I bought it. You can make a fabulous Snickers-flavor shake with the Toffee mix. I think it's better than shakes made with ice cream. I make Snickers and Peanut Butter Cup and the like shakes all the time and never miss Dairy Queen or other ice cream shakes for a minute. And it's still pretty low-cal.

I'd prefer to get hooked on the stevia brands, but I just don't like them.

I sometimes drink an EAS Advantage EDGE Carb Control Shake. They come ready made and taste decent. They have 17 grams of protein and 6 grams of carbs. They have 0 grams of sugar. I like the chocolate ones. Not so much the vanilla. My daughter says the strawberry are good but I've never seen them. They cost $4.97 for four at Walmart. A little less if you buy a case at Sam's. I usually only use them if I am in too big of a hurry in the AM to eat before I go to work. I will drink one in the car so I can eat within one hour of waking.

I'm lazy so I just buy premade Muscle Milk Light packets. They are about $6 and you can get them at Walgreens, Walmart, and most groccery stores. The chocolate one is really tasty and the vanilla one is not half bad but both take some getting use to if you don't like protein shakes. They are 100 calories, come in packs of four, and are perfect for on the go. I usually keep them in my fridge and have one after a really heavy work out. Most protein shakes are really high calorie and meant to be used as meal replacements but since they are only 100 calories you can sneak one in whenever.

That Dr. Pepper/cottage cheese concoction sounds like something grade schoolers would dare each other to drink. I think I'll take your word on that one, haha.

I occasionally have a protein shake, and I just like vanilla whey protein with milk added. I was adding bananas sometimes for a while, but I actually like the taste just fine without the fruit added.