I am on day 6 of my 2 week pre-op diet and wanted to share a couple of the recipes with you that have been helping me get through this time! All of these are additions to vanilla Protein shakes. Enjoy!

Gingerbread shake: Add a dash of each: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ground ginger along with a tablespoon of sugar free caramel coffee flavoring.

Morning Coffee Shake: Add a single serve packet of instant decaf coffee a tablespoon of sugar free chocolate syrup, and a dash of cinnamon

Coconut cream pie shake: Add a teaspoon of coconut extract, a dash of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of caramel coffee flavoring

"Mounds" shake: Add a teaspoon of coconut extract and a tablespoon of chocolate syrup

I have several more, but these are a few of my favorites that go beyond the standard chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. :-)

PB extract? Never heard of such a thing.....I'm curious where you get it too!

still pre-op here, but I've been doing Protein shakes to get used to them in preparation for pre- and post-op diet.

I LOVE muscle milk. chocolate and vanilla creme are all I've tried so far, but I really enjoy them. I also have sugar-free spiced chai powder, been mixing that with the vanilla for a nice "chai latte" that I used to always get from Starbux. I've also used coffee extract (found it at Whole Foods) or sugar free raspberry syrup in the chocolate shakes. The shakes are also good by themselves (IMO), but I like to flavor it up for variety. I haven't tried the raspberry with vanilla creme yet, but I plan to - I also want to get some strawberry syrup or extract as well.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried both the muscle milk ready to drink shakes and the powders. I've only been using the ready to drink shakes, but it's SO expensive to do it that way... would like to try the powder but am afraid it won't be as good. Anyone know about this?

Im one week out...how much Protein are you actually able to get in a day? Im still drinking about 2 bottled waters a day and maybe 5g protein a day if that. I hate crystal lite and Im still on the liquid stage. I'm not just knock down tired but require one nap a day. Still in pain so I don't walk yet. On a scale of 1-10...its about an 7 all the time. When I drink' date=' its only about 3 sips and I'm done for a while. I mostly only crave Water which may be from the pain medicine. Is there another way to get protein in a liquid other than store bought Protein drinks or vials?[/quote']

broth and consommes have protein, and you can also buy protein enhanced Soups on line.

still pre-op here' date=' but I've been doing Protein shakes to get used to them in preparation for pre- and post-op diet.

I LOVE muscle milk. chocolate and vanilla creme are all I've tried so far, but I really enjoy them. I also have sugar-free spiced chai powder, been mixing that with the vanilla for a nice "chai latte" that I used to always get from Starbux. I've also used coffee extract (found it at Whole Foods) or sugar free raspberry syrup in the chocolate shakes. The shakes are also good by themselves (IMO), but I like to flavor it up for variety. I haven't tried the raspberry with vanilla creme yet, but I plan to - I also want to get some strawberry syrup or extract as well.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried both the muscle milk ready to drink shakes and the powders. I've only been using the ready to drink shakes, but it's SO expensive to do it that way... would like to try the powder but am afraid it won't be as good. Anyone know about this?[/quote']

Hey make my own luck!! I've tried both the pwd & ready to drink muscle milks. My fav is the cafe latte-either way...& a friend told me to try the Cookies & cream-I'm not an Oreo fan, but tried it anyway (pwd) & it was really good! I don't care for the straw, or the banana

I use the ready to drinks when I'm out-

And the pwd for when I'm home-once u use the pwd tho-u'll like it better cause u can use as much as u want & add stuff!

Hey make my own luck!! I've tried both the pwd & ready to drink muscle milks. My fav is the cafe latte-either way...& a friend told me to try the Cookies & cream-I'm not an Oreo fan, but tried it anyway (pwd) & it was really good! I don't care for the straw, or the banana

I use the ready to drinks when I'm out-

And the pwd for when I'm home-once u use the pwd tho-u'll like it better cause u can use as much as u want & add stuff!

oooo, haven't seen cafe latte! I've been buying them at my regular grocery store and their selection is limited. I was thinking of going to Vitamin Shoppe, do you know of any other retailers that have a wider variety in stock (and aren't terribly pricey)?

I appreciate the advice!! Thanks!

oooo' date=' haven't seen cafe latte! I've been buying them at my regular grocery store and their selection is limited. I was thinking of going to Vitamin Shoppe, do you know of any other retailers that have a wider variety in stock (and aren't terribly pricey)?

I appreciate the advice!! Thanks![/quote']

My Walmart carries the cafe latte ones & GNC has them-if ur a gold card member there, it's not too bad on price. I'm still experimenting with diff ways to make these shakes-if I come up with a really good one-I'll def share

I have a surgery date of 10/1/12. My 2 week preop will be 4 Optifast box drinks and one Optifast bar each day. They don't really taste the best so I was wondering if I could change them up a bit by adding some other flavorings and ice to make like a frozen smoothie. Every one has such good sugestions. I'm new here and I am all over this forum reading it all day! And if I drink maybe an extra one a day is that really cheating ???

I'm in TX & they wanted to charge me $190 for Optifast for the 2 weeks but instead she said an alternative was to do Atkins Advantage shakes & they taste ok...

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I love Visalus! Mixes with anything!!! Lots of recipes!!!!

I have a surgery date of 10/1/12. My 2 week preop will be 4 Optifast box drinks and one Optifast bar each day. They don't really taste the best so I was wondering if I could change them up a bit by adding some other flavorings and ice to make like a frozen smoothie. Every one has such good sugestions. I'm new here and I am all over this forum reading it all day! And if I drink maybe an extra one a day is that really cheating ???

My date is 10.1.12 too! My 2 week pre-op diet is full liquids. Not looking forward to it at all!!

Reese's shake

1.5 scoop vanilla Protein powder

1 TBSP creamy Peanut Butter (I used crunchy)

1 TBSP hershey's cocoa powder (I used swiss miss hot cocoa mix)

8 oz. unsweetened almond milk (I used FF braums milk)

4 ice cubes (I used crushed and to my liking)

Put in a blender and enjoy! IT'S GOOD TOO! I wonder how it'd taste with PB extract instead of PB JenniJune! Hey it'd save on calories (but does cut some protein out too' date=' oh boo).

I have quite a few other shake recipes if you want them, but that is one that I used just the other day and it was good - the whole family thought so.

And protein bullets are nasty to me... but try Cytosport's whey Isolate drinks <<for any phase in the diet plan (i.e. clears TO full).

They are RTDs that I bought from Vitamin Shop and they are Clear Liquids. If memory serves me correctly, it's 38 g of protein per 16 oz. bottle. The best two of the three flavors that I liked were tangerine and tropical. You can buy them individually from Vit Shop's refrigerated section. If you don't like them, return the opened container with the receipt w/in 7 days and you get a full refund! (love vit shop for that reason alone) <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

As you progress to real foods, it's much easier to get your protein in via real protein sources (i.e. fish, meat, shrimp, etc.). I eventually cut most of my protein additions (like shakes/RTDs/protein puddings) out (as they add in quick calories and it slowed me down in losing/reaching my goal).[/quote']

Can u give me some more Protein Shake ideas?

SF Chocolate and Coconut syrup with chocolate protein powder shake until mixed you have a mounds bar, nummy