Protein smoothies

A newbie delurking here. I've started taking protein smoothies for breakfast and supper/dinner and I LOVE them! They're so tasty although
I might be putting too much into it, so .. just checking whether it's okay.

1. 1/2 cup milk, low fat/skimmed
2. Plain unflavoured yogurt - a few spoonfuls
3. Flavoured yogurt - one spoon, for taste. No fresh berries here, but could replace it with fruit eventually.
4. Whey & egg protein powder (3 heaped tablespoons)

The directions on the protein powder say 300ml milk + protein powder (3tblspoons) .. but that's too much milk for me. So I thought I'd replace it with yogurt.

Also .. are smoothie makers worth it instead of a blender? I wouldn't mind a blender but there's just so many out there, it's mind boggling.
I'm afraid to get one and eventually it won't crush ice. The price difference is about $100 between the smoothie maker and an ice crushing blender, which the salesmen recommended. Should I spring the extra $100 for it? Btw that's not USD$ so don't be shocked .. i'm in
Malaysia

forget the smootie maker. Get a good blender. I had a "walmart special" that worked fine for a few years. Last summer I told BF I wanted a new blender (more power... ohh, ohh). and one w/ the foodprocessor attachement.
So we got a good blender that we paid about $80 for. One thing I like is the smooth top buttons - not the cheap push buttons that get all crappy w/ food spillovers and are a pain in the rear to clean.

Anyhow - both the cheap and the 'spensive blenders work fine for smooties.

Do a google search for "Smoothies" or "Protein shakes" and IIRC there is a post that has been posted a few times over the past few years w/ tons of different recipes.

My fav is:
1 banana
5 frozen strawberries
1 scoop protein powder
1 cup Diet V8 splash
1 cup water blend (leave out the water when blending and only add to the consistency you like it). Substitute the V8 splash for: apple juice, orange juice, fruit juice of choice.
Substitute froze strawberries for other frozen berries.

This is a staple shake in our house.

Also - second point to note - Do a Calorie count on your ingredients. And don't look at this as a long term eating program - substituting 2 meals a day for 2 shakes in not teaching you how to control your eating and to eat healthier. Take the time to research and learn more about nutrition, and learn how your body handles food - so that you can lose the weight and keep it off permanently.

I have an inexpensive Hamilton Beach blender I use to make my smoothies. It works fine for crushing the ice. Just look for a model that indicates it can be used for crushing ice.

I don't always add milk but use protein powder, ice, water and frozen fruit.

Yeah, I'm with Cat. I have a good blender and it makes great smoothies. I always think of smoothie makers of just having one more complicated gizmo attached (the spout)that I would end up hating to clean. Try a smoothie with frozen fruit while it is still frozen (no sugar added), ice and protein powder and a little water for mixing. I use a sugar free whey protein powder that is vanilla flavored.. At first I thought I needed the skim milk to give it substance, but I really don't miss it at all. Throw in a bananna, too for extra flavor when you think you need potassium.

In my opinion, a smoothie maker is no different from a blender, except it has some extra attachments that you really don't need. So save your money and buy an inexpensive blender.