I'm a newbie to this and trying to figure out which powders I find tasty. I just got some unjury and Syntrax samples. I get my psych evaluation this week so I'm about a month out or so. I currently dump a scoop in with some almond milk , ice, fruit, spinach etc. throw it all in a huge glass and off to work I go.

I obviously won't be able to consume large Protein shakes after surgery, so my question is 2 part :

1)how do you sample to find which ones you like? Do you taste powder only, do you mix with Water, do you add all the fruits which I find hard to "taste" the powder then?

2) after surgery do you mainly make the fruit smoothies and add powder for Breakfast or do you add powder to water after workout? Guess I want to know a normal day of how Protein Powder is consumed.

I have not had any nutrition appts yet.

I do have a vitamix which we love.

Thanks

For me I had to do 3 Protein shakes a day for the first week after surgery so I did the Premier Protein Shakes that are ready to drink. I never did shakes mixed with Water. It would take me a while to get a shake down and those are 11 ounces.

Week 2-4 I was on soft foods so I still did the Premier Protein shakes for breakfast only.

Week 5 I was allowed to reintroduce regular foods so I use Jay Robb protein powder. I mix with unsweetened almond milk and add flavors via SF Torani syrups and Folgers coffee drops. Now I can drink a 24 ounce Protein Shake in about 30-45 minutes.

I ended up with Jay Robb because I got a few samples at The Vitamin Shoppe of several kinds and that was the only one I liked. Make sure when sampling shakes you only get ones that are whey protein isolate as those are higher in protein.

Jay Robb is good but it's expensive. I use Sytrax Matrix which is different than Sytrax Nectars. If you look in the food section under Protein drinks, there is a post with Sytrax's phone number and you can call to order samples.

It's going to depend on what your post op diet is. You will not be allowed to blend in fresh fruit in the beginning.

I've been having a Protein Drink for breakfast for the past 9 years. I usually use the sf syrups to flavor them but occasionally will add fresh fruit.

Protein Milkshake for women is good. They have good flavors too. I read over 100 reviews & all claim they have the best flavors.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C8A6GDA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_2&smid=A3RQEI0A49N99O

That's pretty expensive. That's almost what I pay for 5 lbs of Matrix by Syntrax.

I blend my shakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk or unsweetened cashew milk. Don't add stuff like fruit -- that's basically just mainlining extra calories, carbs, and sugar straight into your gut. If you need extra flavors, use Torani SF syrups, Sweet Leaf sweet drops, instant coffee, or small amounts of SF/FF pudding mix.

Another option for mixing your shakes is Fair Life or CarbMaster milk.

I used Unjury, Jay Robb, Syntrax Nectar (particularly the "sweets" varieties -- although the fruit and tea varieties are also good and mix well with water), Syntrax Matrix, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard, and Chike. I love the Chike but you have to be careful with it as it is higher calorie and carb than a lot of other shakes.

Keep in mind that tasting now is great, but don't just jump in and buy a full tub until you have sampled something *after* surgery. Many people find their tastes change dramatically after surgery and what the protein powder they thought they loved, they can no longer stand at all.