Flavoured stuff is nasty and anything with emulsifier in will almost certainly be soy lecithin. At a push thickened with egg lecithin is better, but ...

Undenatured is the word to look for - this is extracted from raw milk (discarded from the cheese industry) and has a pretty good profile, glutathione boosting and so on.

I don't eat protein powders much, but maybe once every 2-3 weeks on average for some reason or other and I use MyProtein Essential Whey 60.

http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/essential-whey-60

http://www.myprotein.com/uk/Files/Documents/852.pdf

I like it straight up with water (200ml and one scoop), then a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt and re-shaken. Also, coconut milk instead of water and no yoghurt. A shot of espresso and/optionally, a shot of whisky is really good after a long walk.

In summary, while it is technically processed food, it can be useful. Get the best you can, which in this case means as less processed and with the fewest fake food ingredients. Also, keep in mind that predators need not drink their food.

Curious to hear your thoughts about the egg protein powders.  There are several on the market that seem to be ok to me with the exception of the whole splenda thing.

Thanks for the quick response.  Life for me is a bit busy from 0500 to usually 2100 each night between my business, teaching classes each night, running my teenager hither and yon, etc, so I asked about the powder because a smoothie of strawberries, blueberries (they grow about a mile from my house when in season 🙂 ) and some coconut milk is a quick solution for a snack on the go.  I tend to do a smoothie or a small salad during the day and then a larger meal at night so I don't think I am getting anywhere near enough protein.  I would like to add a protein powder to the smoothie to give it more substance. Perhaps that is just my brain saying "I like meat, give me more."

I have used Whey once and got terribly stopped up (gross, I know) so not sure what the deal is with my system. 

Honestly, I kind of came to terms with the sucralose in protein powder and/or BCAAs.

It's not a majority of my diet (protein powder especially) but sometimes to reach your goals you have to give and take. Example: BCAAs are my compromise before "fasted" workouts.

It's three times a week with 99% of my other nutrition coming from real foods. And if I think the gut needs some help, I eat something like fermented dairy (cheese, yogurt, etc) from trusted sources.

I just wouldn't make it your staple - I've done that before in my younger years and you NEVER really feel that full from them unless you're drinking a ton of water.