soxmuscle said:
I should have noted that I do make my own. I just told a buddy of mine that I would tell him the ingredients to look for in a good one because he doesn't seem to want to take the time to make his own when I've told him several times it takes just as much if not less time..
Ok - For carb sources look for things like:
Barley (whole grain barley)
Oats/ oat cereal solids, oat bran or oat fiber
Rice Bran
Whole Grain Rice (brown usually)
Prebiotic Oligosaccharides (basically a fibre source)
For fat sources:
Flaxseed oil or meal
Omega-3's (EPA or DHA)
Safflower oil/sunflower oil
Borage seed oil
evening primrose oil
Protein:
casein
whey
egg albumin
milk proteins
soy (some people don't like this - I think it is fine)
Stay away from the ones that have things like:
high levels of sugars (dextrose, sucrose, fructose or other plain sugar additives)
High levels of malto
high levels of saturated fats
Non-descript 'protein' sources (eg: "beef protein") or poorer protein sources as the only protein source (eg: only calcium caseinate)
Also stay away from anything where you need a huge number of scoops per serve - it will end up costing $$$$ and not be very good value.
Look for something that has a good balance of carbs/protein and fat per serve. Something around 50-70g carbs, 30-40g protein and 10g fat is probably good for most guys.
But personally - I would just try to convince him to make his own.