After a long day on the trail – “Got Milk”?

"I understand there is published "research" promoting recovery drinks containing large amounts of sugar and/or sugar substitutes, along with other ingredients (and that does work) but, consider the source of the research . For me, I'll prefer to believe the findings of the universities and the Olympic committee who don't have a profit motive for what is best, over a company who likes selling their sugar at $20.00 per pound."

I can see where you might argue that chocolate milk is better than maltodextrin/whey protein based recovery drinks from a price standpoint, but when it comes to which is healthier I think you're on less solid ground. Below are a couple of links to nutritional and ingredient information for chocolate milk. I find the third link particularly interesting, in that it contains images of the labels of a number of commercial chocolate milks. They are all heavy on sucrose and, in some cases, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. If you can make a case that these sugars are healthier than maltodextrin, I'd very much like to hear it.

http://blog.fooducate.com/2009/03/16/whats-inside-nestle-nesquik-chocolate-milk/

http://www.healthyeating.org/Milk-Dairy/Nutrients-in-Milk-Cheese-Yogurt/Nutrients-in-Milk.aspx

http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=chocolate+milk+ingredients

"I'm not diabetic like Bob but, I too have a recovery drink consisting mostly (not all) of Cacao powder and Nido after I'm done walking for the day."

If all you are using in this drink are the two ingredients you list, you are not getting enough carbohydrates to make an effective recovery drink. The generally accepted ration of carbs to protein for a recovery drink is 3:1-4:1. Nido contains ~11 grams of carbohydrate/oz and ~8 grams of protein, so your ration is ~1.4:1, considerably shy of the recommended range.

All that being said, to each their own and if it works for you that's all that really matters.

Tom,
I believe you are confusing real chocolate milk made from Cacao with its cheap counterpart, which is basically chocolate flavored milk maked from corn syrup, sugar, malto or other ingredients. To get a good milk based recovery drink,it needs real cacao in it, along with some needed sugars, but not based on it. And as mentioned above, I add other ingredients to the mix, which do add carbs (cacao powder for one), I also add Rodiola, Maca, Cordyceps, Magnesium, Taurine, Creitine, Schizandra and a few other ingredients.

"I believe you are confusing real chocolate milk made from Cacao with its cheap counterpart, which is basically chocolate flavored milk maked from corn syrup, sugar, malto or other ingredients."

This is the first time I have heard chocolate milk defined as you do, but as long as I know what your terms mean, I am fine with that. Beyond that, I still don't know what the carb, protein, and fat content of your real chocolate milk is. Without that information, it is hard to assess how effective your formula is. But if you are adding sugar, I fail to see how it is any healthier than a recovery drink based on maltodextrin and whey protein. I guess I am also a bit skeptical as to the proven nutritional benefits of Rodiola, Maca, Schizandra, other unspecified ingredients. Perhaps you could clear this up for me?

My own recovery drink, FWIW, is 1.5 oz. of maltodextrin, .5 oz. of whey protein, and 1 oz. of Nido, which contains 52 grams of carbs in the form of glucose polymers and lactose, 20 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fat from the Nido, and yields 355 calories.

For those of us whom cow milk and soy make mucuous filled, there is goat milk powder and as another mentioned rice protein (also pea protein, hemp, etc).